Lois was so pleased that Rosemary had got the whole thing planned out so thoroughly. She had taken Lois’s, well Oliver’s idea and turned it into something that would work. The three of them chose the books they would start with after checking on the system for availability of extra copies, then Linda launched it on Twitter.
Rosemary had also asked Oliver if he would be willing to host the club in the coffee house one evening a month so that people who worked during the day could join in. It was a more relaxed atmosphere and more comfortable than the library with the added benefit of refreshments on hand. The logistics of organising it for the mobile library were a little trickier so they were going to have a meeting with Steph at some point to see if she had any bright ideas.
Feeling as if she was making progress at work made Lois want to extend that into the rest of her life so she spent the weekend sorting out all of Alex’s things which she moved from around the house and put in the spare bedroom along with the tidy piles of his clothes she’d already put on the bed. She wondered how he had been managing with just the clothes he had taken with him for the one week when now it was two months since they’d split up and he hadn’t done anything about collecting everything.
It felt surprisingly cathartic to clear the house of traces of him. The fact that she wasn’t overwhelmed with nostalgia or sadness was yet another sign that they’d made the right decision.
Got your stuff ready for you whenever you want to collect it. L x
He didn’t reply, not that she’d expected him to, but it was starting to niggle her that he seemed to think it was okay to leave all his things with her as if she was just sat at home looking after it for him.
The weekend dragged with not much going on. She was restless and what had started out as a cleansing experience was annoying her now. She wanted it all out of her house and the fact he’d ignored her text for the whole day had ignited an unusual rage in her.
On Sunday morning she went to the corner shop for the papers, which she never normally did, and had a lovely relaxing morning idly reading and watching the television. But by lunchtime, the novelty had worn off and she was bored and twitchy again. She looked around the lounge. Her lounge. Now that Alex was gone, this was her house again, she realised.
Gulping down her seventh cup of tea of the day, she ran upstairs and changed out of her leggings and sweatshirt into jeans and a Fair Isle jumper. She was going shopping.
It was ages since she’d bought anything for the house and once she started looking, there was so much she wanted to buy but she settled on beginning with tarting up the lounge and buying some new bedding. Everything was so bulky; she’d bought four cushions, a throw and some candles and was struggling with several huge bags. They weren’t heavy and she had enjoyed indulging herself for once but at the same time, as she walked down Worcester high street, she felt like an idiot for not thinking it through.
‘Lois!’
She stopped and turned around to see Oliver jogging towards her. She was so pleased to see him that she surprised herself, and not just because he might help her with her bags.
‘You look like you need a hand,’ he said, taking a couple of bags out of her hands.
‘Thanks, that was good timing. I was just thinking that I should have paced myself.’
‘Got time for a drink?’ he asked with a glint in his eye.
Having been alone for almost two days, Lois couldn’t think of anything she would rather do.
‘Definitely. Lead the way.’
Oliver took them to The Old Rectifying House next to the river. It was fairly quiet for a Sunday afternoon, clearly they’d hit a lull between lunch and dinner. They found a table and made a pile of Lois’s shopping before pulling their coats off and sitting down. Oliver went to the bar and came back with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
‘A glass would have been plenty,’ said Lois, even though she didn’t really mind. The prospect of sitting with him long enough to share the bottle was quite nice.
‘Well, you know. Once you’ve bought two glasses it’s almost as cheap to buy a bottle.’ He poured them half a glass each, then raised his glass. ‘To the perfect Sunday afternoon.’
‘To Sunday afternoon,’ Lois said and clinked her glass against his.
‘Are you redecorating or something?’ Oliver asked, nodding towards Lois’s bags, where the cushions were trying to make a break for it.
‘I just wanted to put my mark on the house again. Freshen things up now that Alex has left.’
‘Good for you. Is it strange being by yourself?’
‘Not really, I’ve kind of got used to it. I’m quite enjoying the feeling of having my own space.’ That wasn’t true. Until she’d had the genius idea to come shopping, she’d been going stir-crazy.
‘I know what you mean. You can have everything just how you like it and do what you want when you want. There’s a lot to be said for that,’ he said wistfully.
Lois wanted to ask him if he’d lived with anyone before, but it seemed a bit nosey. ‘What were you doing in town today?’ she asked instead.
‘I needed to get some bits and pieces,’ he said vaguely and with no shopping that Lois had noticed. ‘Jack usually works at the coffee house on a Sunday, so I try to get out of Croftwood at least. Have a change of scenery.’
There were more scenic places he could have gone but she knew what he meant. Working and living in the same place must be a bit claustrophobic.
‘I know what you mean. I’ve quite enjoyed having a tiny commute for a change.’
