‘Thank you, Isabel it was very kind of you to organize this,’ he said his inspection finished, closing the bag with a rustle. ‘It’s definitely worth our Chloe giving it a try. Is the receipt inside the bag too? I can pop over to the cash flow machine and fix you up now if you like. I’ll be back in a jiffy.’
‘No thanks.’ Isabel held her hand up. ‘I don’t want anything for it Don, but I would like to know whether it’s successful. You will let me know how Chloe gets on, won’t you? I’ve popped my number in the bag.’
‘Of course, I will. I have to pay you, though.’
‘No please take it, I’ve been there. I know what it’s like and I just hope it helps your Chloe.’
Don looked momentarily taken aback before he beamed. ‘Well, thank you very much, my dear. It’s most kind. Now, what do we do with it all?’
‘The instructions are in the bag.’ Isabel had written the steps out carefully before enclosing them in the bag, along with a spritzer bottle of sea water she’d collected while she waited for the hour to tick over until it was time to meet Don. She’d brewed up the horsetail tea back at the flat after she left The Natural Way much to Rhodri’s amusement, and poured it into an empty two-litre milk bottle salvaged for that purpose. The jar of organic honey was inside the bag too. She’d removed the Irish moss though, having eaten most of it while waiting for the horsetail herbs to steep, secretly pleased Rhodri wasn’t a fan—all the more for her! It was a good job she’d checked her smile in the mirror before leaving the flat, as they were liquorice green.
The cold was seeping into her bones. Isabel got up from the bench; she was keen to get moving to warm up. She patted Don’s shoulder. ‘I’ve got to go. It was lovely to see you and Riley again. Promise you’ll call and let me know about Chloe?’
‘I will indeed. You’re an angel, Isabel. I’ll be sure to ring.’
Isabel didn’t think she’d ever been called an angel before and the expression gave her a much needed warm glow. She gave Riley one last pat before striding off down the Esplanade toward Sea Vistas. She had a lady to see about gout.
͠
Constance was sitting with a cup of tea in the dining room when Isabel located her. She deposited the cherry juice and apple cider vinegar on the table. A stream of sunshine poured in through the bay window puddling on the floor beside her. It was a lovely spot, and on a clear day like today, the view to the Solent was unimpeded by grey skies. A piece of shortbread sprinkled with icing sugar sat untouched on a plate next to the cup and saucer. Afternoon tea, Isabel surmised. Her tummy rumbled, but she ignored it stating, ‘Job done Constance. Your gout worries are over because this little lot here should fix your man good and proper.’
‘He’s not my man,’ Constance replied her face a picture at the very thought of it.
‘A phrase, that’s all.’ Isabel pulled the chair out opposite and sat down; she hadn’t expected a thank you. She eyed the shortbread thinking it was a waste for it not to be eaten but not liking to help herself. Constance saved her the trouble by sliding the plate toward her and not needing to be asked twice, she took the biscuit. All this charging around had made her peckish. Constance slid a ten-pound note across the table, which Isabel slid back. ‘It's on me because I’m glad to help.’
Constance looked at her for a second, her expression thoughtful before tucking the money away. ‘Tell me a bit about yourself, Isabel.’
Isabel had a wee while yet before she was due at the pub and so she settled back into the chair and told Constance, the basic facts. ‘Well I’m twenty-six, and an only child if you don’t count our neurotic corgi, Prince Charles—I did not name him by the way, my mum did. I grew up in Southampton. My mum works at Asda and is a royalist of the highest order and dad’s going through a belated mid-life crisis but in a good way, not cheating on mum with a blonde half her age sort of way. They’re both a bit nuts, but I love them to bits especially from a distance.’
Constance’s mouth was twitching at Isabel’s eloquent description of her family. ‘But what about you, Isabel.’
‘Me?’
Constance nodded.
Isabel gazed at the strip of blue outside for a minute before she found herself telling the same tale she’d told Rhodri. Constance had tutted sympathetically and muttered, ’Good riddance to the pair of them,’ when she told her what happened with Connor and Ashley.
‘And so you ran away. All the way to Australia. The other side of the word. That was very brave of you, Isabel.’
It was the first time anybody had said that to Isabel. She’d always felt that perhaps it had been the cowards way out. She hadn’t thought of taking off the way she had as being a bold thing to do before. She found herself sitting a little straighter in her seat as she relayed some of her travel stories and told Constance how different Australia was to here. How she’d loved the carefree freedom of travelling and would like to do more, but first she needed to
