Page 10 of Wild Swimming at Croftwood Lake
Nora gave him an uncertain smile. ‘Why would you say that?’
‘I saw you wave to Toby. And I had a text from my girlfriend Lois who I think you just met? So I put two and two together.’
She desperately wanted to make some quick-witted comment but couldn’t think of anything. And besides, it was nice that everyone was so welcoming. Or it would be once she got over the weirdness of it.
‘Hey, Oliver. I hope you’re not going to need legal representation when Nora has you arrested for harassment.’ Toby called over. He’d pulled his headphones down so they were looped around his neck, and he looked amused.
‘I’m not harassing her, I’m making friends with a new customer,’ Oliver objected.
‘I’ll vouch for him and reassure you that it starts out like this but develops into something that seems more normal once you get to know him,’ Toby said.
‘Good to know,’ said Nora, grinning. ‘I’m not used to a town on this scale. I’ve moved here from Bristol,’ she said to Oliver.
‘As owner of the best coffee house in town, allow me to formally welcome you to Croftwood.’ He held out his hand and Nora shook it, noting that it didn’t have the same effect on her as when she’d shaken Archie’s hand, and making a mental note to wonder more about why that might be later on.
Toby came over and stood next to Oliver. ‘Nice to say hello properly,’ he said with a reassuring smile. ‘I think word has spread that Nora Hartford has moved to town so this isn’t the last time you’ll come across people being odd around you. Hilary’s mortified about the other day.’
‘I’m not being odd!’ Oliver said, looking offended.
Nora laughed. ‘She shouldn’t be. I was the one who took her by surprise. I should have made an appointment instead of turning up unannounced.’
‘You made her year,’ said Toby. ‘She’s been singing your praises to everyone. I imagine that’s how Oliver ended up coming across like a stalker. He’s probably been hyped up by Hilary. No offence, you’re not a Hart Pottery lover are you Oliver?’
‘I like a bit of crockery as much as the next man,’ said Oliver. ‘But I have to admit I googled you about two minutes before you walked in here, after Lois texted me. She was pretty excited.’
Nora was baffled. She was hardly a celebrity, but the demographic of people who bought her mass-produced work was thirty- to fifty-year-old women, so perhaps she shouldn’t have been surprised that other people in Hilary’s friendship group had heard of her.
‘Well, I’ve signed up for the book club and this is a pretty good chai latte so I probably will be a regular. Despite the overly attentive proprietor.’
Toby barked out a laugh and slapped Oliver on the back. ‘That’s what you’ll come to love about this place, Nora. Oliver’s a mine of information about everything and everyone in Croftwood.’
‘So get used to it?’
‘Ha! Nora, we’re going to love having you here,’ Toby said, heading back to his own table.
‘Well, it’s nice to meet you,’ Oliver said, looking abashed. ‘Next time you come in, it’s on the house.’
‘That’s okay,’ Nora said, smiling.
‘Lois’ll kill me if she knows I let you buy that one, so you’d be doing me a favour.’
Nora strolled back to her car with a smile on her face. Maybe she ought to be wary about making friends with the first people she’d met. She didn’t want it to end up like when she went to college, having to avoid people for the next three years because she’d misjudged who she might get along with. But she was older and wiser now and they seemed like genuinely nice people. Normal people, with jobs and partners. Could it really be that easy to make friends? Probably best to be cautious, just in case. But she already got on with Hilary. At least she could pump her for information about the other people she came across. Weed out the weirdos.
6
NORA DROVE TO Clevedon on Saturday morning, via Julian’s house, with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. It had been over a month since she’d seen him, and her stomach was in knots at the thought of it. She’d put him out of her mind further than was probably healthy, and knew she hadn’t been allowing herself to process the fact that the relationship had ended. Coming to terms with the fact that twenty years of her life had been spent with a person who didn’t love her enough to support her through some of the best times of her life was hard. And if he couldn’t be there for her during the good times, what would it be like in the bad? She knew that if she let herself think about it properly, it might turn into grieving of sorts. Grief for the years she’d lost. But she wasn’t in love with Julian anymore and it felt stupid to be upset about the end of everything when she wasn’t actually heartbroken.
She passed Gloucester services and made a mental note to call in there on the way home for something delicious for dinner, and concentrated on looking forward to seeing Liz at the pool. One of the best things about the people she knew from the pool was that they were friends at the pool, but not really outside of that. Their small group knew everything about each other’s lives in some detail but they all knew that what was said at the pool stayed at the pool and it had been a lifeline for Nora when everything with Julian had started to fall apart. Liz and the others knew what she’d been through because they’d been there for her, and now that she was out the other side, she wanted to tell Liz how much it had meant to her.
Once she got to the outskirts of Bristol, she had to follow the maps app to find Julian’s new place. Of course she’d googled it when he told her the address and she was surprised to see that it was in Clifton. He’d have struggled to afford anywhere in that postcode on half of the proceeds from their house, but then, it was a few years since they’d shared the ins and outs of their finances with each other, so perhaps he was better off than she imagined.
She pulled up at the side of the road a few houses away from Julian’s and took a deep breath. She could do this. If he was normal and friendly, it would be fine. What she couldn’t deal with was the surly, distant man that she’d been living with towards the end. Hopefully, the few weeks of space they’d had might have helped on that front. And anyway, once she collected this box, they need have nothing to do with each other again.
Nora pulled the sun visor down to check herself in the mirror. She applied some extra lip gloss and smoothed her hair, annoyed with herself for caring what she looked like, but it mattered. She wanted to look better than he might remember her. Like she was living her best life, which of course she was.
Julian’s new place was a town house. Tall, skinny and painted in a fresh blue shade to complement the other brightly coloured houses in the area. Considering they used to both insist they’d never live in a house more modern than a Victorian one, this was about a hundred years newer than that. It made Nora smile and somehow settled her nerves, knowing that he’d compromised his idealism in this area at the same time as accusing her of selling out. She rang the bell, forcing herself to smile in readiness for when he opened the door.
‘Nora! You’re early.’ He leant in and gave her a flustered kiss on the cheek, which took her aback. She’d been expecting a frostier welcome, so this was good. He smelled freshly showered. His hair was damp and arranged in the style he favoured to disguise the fact he was balding and receding. Why he didn’t lean into it with a hairstyle that didn’t look like it was covering something up – literally – she had no idea.
