I was still standing outside her house, in something of a daze, when Aunt Lucy called to me, “Jill, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You don’t look it. Why don’t you come inside, and I’ll make you a cup of tea?”
“Okay, thanks.”
While Aunt Lucy made the drinks, I told her everything that Grandma had said.
“You probably don’t want to hear this, Jill, but I think your grandmother may have a point.”
“So do I. That’s the problem. I was convinced that we were doing the best thing for Florence. We just want to protect her.”
“Of course you do. Everyone understands that, including your grandmother. None of this can be easy for you or Jack. The last thing I want to do is make this even more difficult for you, but I’d be less than honest if I didn’t say that it would be lovely if Florence could visit us here in Candlefield.”
“I know. I’d love to bring her over, but is it the right thing to do? The right thing for Florence, I mean?”
“Only you and Jack can make that decision.”
“I’m going to talk it through with him tonight.”
Aunt Lucy handed me the tea. “Why don’t we go outside, and sit in the back garden? It’s a lovely day. It might help to clear your head.”
“Okay.”
We took our drinks outside and sat on the bench.
“The garden is looking fabulous, Aunt Lucy.”
“Thanks. It ought to be after all the time I spend in here these days.”
Two years earlier, Aunt Lucy’s neighbours, the Bees, had moved to a larger property, to accommodate their growing family. Not long afterwards, Charlie Roundtree, a wizard, had moved in next door. Retired and a widower, Charlie was a mad keen gardener, and it had been his influence that had re-sparked Aunt Lucy’s interest in gardening.
I took a sip of tea. “Didn’t you say you were going to enter a competition this year?”
“That’s right: Candlefield in Bloom. The judging takes place at the end of next week, so I’m starting to get nervous.”
“You must be in with a great chance. Those flower beds are absolutely stunning.”
“I appreciate you saying that, but it’s nowhere near as good as Charlie’s.” She gestured to the house next door. “Take a look.”
I got up from the bench, walked over to the dividing wall, and looked at next door’s garden.
“That’s beautiful too. There’s nothing to choose between them, in my opinion. It’ll be difficult for the judges to pick a winner.”
By the time I’d finished my tea, my head had cleared a little, and I felt ready to return to the office.
***
As I made my way up the stairs, I could hear voices coming from the outer office. Talking to Mrs V was Jules, who I hadn’t seen for almost a year. She had a young baby in her arms.
“Jules, how lovely to see you.”
“Hi, Jill. I hope you don’t mind me calling in like this.”
“Not at all. You’re welcome to pop in anytime. And this little darling must be Harry. He’s gorgeous.”
And for once, I wasn’t lying. Harry really was a handsome little boy.
“Gorgeous he may be.” Jules managed a half-hearted laugh. “But he’s a little monkey. He never sleeps. I can’t remember the last time I slept for more than two hours at a stretch.”
“I know what that feels like, but trust me, it will pass.”
“I do hope so. I’m exhausted.”
“Have you decided if you’ll be returning to work, Jules?”
“Not straight away. Dexter and I talked about it and we decided to wait until Harry’s at school. Talking of which, has Florence started school yet?”
“Yeah, she has.”
“Is she enjoying it?”
“So far, yes. Fingers crossed that continues.”
“What about Jack? Is he still working from home?”
“Yes, and that’s made all the difference. He’s able to take Florence to school and pick her up every day.” My phone rang. “Speak of the devil, it’s Jack. I’d better take this. It was lovely to see you again, Jules. And you, Harry.”
I went through to my office. “Jack? Is Florence okay?”
“She’s fine. I rang to tell you the boiler packed up a couple of hours ago.”
“Great! What’s wrong with it?”
“I don’t know. I tried switching it off and on again, but that didn’t work.”
“My husband, the technical genius.”
“I’ve got a guy coming over in about an hour. Is there any chance you could pick Florence up from school? I need to stay in for the boiler man.”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll call it a day now and go straight over there.”
***
Florence’s school, Tweaking Juniors, was located at the opposite end of the village to the old watermill. A small school, with less than a hundred pupils, it served Middle Tweaking, Lower Tweaking and Higher Tweaking. Jack and I had both been very impressed when we’d looked around prior to Florence starting there.
Understandably, the school authorities did their best to dissuade parents from parking their cars near to the school, so I left mine outside our house, and made my way across the village on foot. When I arrived at the school, there were already several other parents waiting by the gates. By far the majority of them were mums, but there were a couple of dads there too. I’d only been standing there for a few minutes when a woman, about my age, came over and introduced herself.
“Hi, I’m Julie. I’ve not seen you here before.”
“I’m Jill. I’m here to pick up my daughter, Florence Maxwell.”
“Oh? Jack isn’t poorly, is he?”
“Err, no, he’s fine. He had to stay home because our boiler broke down this morning. He’s waiting for the repairman.”
“Boilers can be such
