Page 41 of New Dreams for the Village Nurse
‘So we might hear wedding bells soon?’
‘God, no!’ Ottilie spluttered. ‘It’s way too soon for that!’
Geoff’s face fell. ‘Could you hurry up? It’s ages since we had a decent wedding round here.’
‘I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it might be a bit more ages. We’re…’ She paused. What were they? She still wasn’t entirely sure she knew. ‘Taking it steady,’ she said finally.
Geoff nodded. ‘Very sensible.’
Sensible was a word she often heard in the same sentence as her name. That was her: sensible Ottilie Oakcroft. Sometimes she wished she could be something more exciting, but she supposed she could only be what she was.
Ottilie left the shop, wondering if she ought to check in on Flo on the way home. It might be nothing, but if there was a problem, she knew from previous experience that uncovering it early was a good idea where Flo was concerned.
She was tired and she wanted to get home, but if she was going to see Flo without Heath (and she had a feeling that would be more productive), then she was going to have to do it immediately because she had an entire weekend full of Heath planned.
The sun was already sinking below the horizon as she took the path to Flo’s cottage, the temperature dropping rapidly. There would be a frost, and the sooner she was at home with her fire on the better. Just one more errand, she told herself, and then the evening was all hers to ruminate on what the week had brought.
The knock echoed down the lane. A minute later, Flo opened up. She looked tired but still managed a smile.
‘I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight! I thought you’d be coming over with Heath this weekend.’
‘I was. I mean, I am. I was just passing and thought I’d call in to see how you’re doing.’
Flo gave a keen look. ‘Just passing, eh?’
Ottilie laughed. ‘All right. I can’t get anything past you, can I? I wasn’t passing, but I was sort of around and I did want to see how you were doing.’
‘You could have done that with Heath.’ Flo nodded for Ottilie to follow her down the hallway.
‘I know,’ Ottilie said as she went in and closed the front door, shutting out an ochre sunset. ‘But sometimes it’s nice for us to have women chats, you know. You can’t talk about the same things when there’s a bloke around.’
‘That’s true. What’s on your mind then?’
Ottilie found a space to sit in Flo’s cramped living room. Not cramped because it was small – although it was – but because of the countless ornaments and souvenirs that littered every surface. Flo always said she was a collector, but Ottilie would have called it hoarding. Still, she knew that Flo had a story for every piece and that everything was important; Flo wouldn’t have kept it otherwise. She might have been a bit of a hoarder, but there was still a system.
‘It’s not so much what’s on my mind as what’s on yours.’
‘Mine?’ Flo looked up sharply as she settled on the sofa. ‘Why would there be anything on my mind? Has someone said something?’
‘No. I’m only saying, if there was anything on your mind I’d be all ears if you wanted to talk about it.’
‘Nothing on my mind,’ Flo grumbled. ‘I suppose you want a cup of tea now you’re here.’
This was Flo’s way of saying she’d be upset if Ottilie didn’t stay for tea, and so she nodded. ‘I’d love one if there’s a cup going spare.’
Flo pushed herself up again and went to the kitchen. Ottilie could hear the sounds of the tap being run to fill the kettle and then it being set to boil.
A moment later Flo returned. ‘You’ve opened a can of worms, you know.’
Ottilie blinked. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Heath’s ex-wife. She saw you out with him, didn’t she?’
‘How did you know that?’
‘Because she wanted to know about you, that’s how. No shame, that woman. I can’t believe she dared to phone me after everything she’s done. I can’t believe I even gave her the time of day but she caught me off guard. Don’t worry – it won’t happen again. Next time I hear that voice I will put the phone down.’
Ottilie shifted awkwardly, unsure why she suddenly felt so unsettled by the notion that Mila had been asking about her but knowing that she did all the same. ‘What did she want to know?’
