Darla liked her job at the cocktail bar. She’d learned lots about bar work and it was a skill she could utilise if she ever got the chance to travel the world. Her shifts with Cameron were the more fun ones but today he was updating her on Ros, which was making her laugh so much she had to put down the bottle of vodka she’d been about to replace on the optic.
‘I mean it, Darla. Ros makes control freaks look easy-going. I am really struggling to figure her out. I have never come across anyone like her. And before you say anything, I am trying. Really I am,’ said Cameron.
‘I know Ros can be...’ Darla had to search for the right word ‘...a bit difficult sometimes but she’s a good person. And I’m proud to call her my friend. She was there for me when I first came to Southampton and had nobody.’ He didn’t need to know that it had taken a lot of knocks on Ros’s door, multiple failed attempts at small talk and a couple of batches of her famous brownies before Ros had accepted defeat and let Darla into her life. But even Ros had admitted that she was glad she had done.
‘I agree. I think under all the stiffness and armour she’s probably a lovely woman, but I don’t know if I’ll get under all that in twelve weeks or however long we have.’
‘So what could you do?’ asked Darla.
Cameron tilted his head as if thinking the question over. ‘Stick it out, I suppose,’ he said at last.
‘Up to you.’ Darla shrugged.
‘You think I should do more don’t you?’ said Cameron.
‘She is paying you well for doing this. And it’s so far out of her comfort zone she may as well be on another planet. There is no blueprint for what you two are doing and that’s why she’s going overboard with the flip charts. They’re her comfort blanket. And until she feels back in control of the situation she’s going to have you workshopping the shit out of things. So yeah, I think maybe you could help her a bit more, and I think you’d benefit from it too. Ros is a good person to have in your life, so if you’re lucky, after the sad bit is over, you might have made a friend.’
‘Hmm, you could have something there.’ He seemed to be thinking again but then he snapped out of it. ‘Anyway, how are things with you?’ he asked.
‘Well, the good part is that my new house-sitting job is in this gorgeous old house, next to a farm. The not so great bit is that there’s ducks, geese, goats and chickens, all of which I have no idea how to look after and they seem to want to attack me every time I go anywhere near them.’
‘That sounds a lot like me and Ros.’
‘But the only way is up right?’ Darla touched the wooden counter three times so as not to jinx things.
As usual Darla was tired when she pulled up outside The Brambles. Early starts at the cleaning job and late nights at the cocktail bar weren’t the ideal combination but it was all work and slowly the debts were going down. She reminded herself it wouldn’t be like this forever as she let herself in. She definitely felt different now, and knowing she was staying put for the next few months made things feel less manic. She planned to ask the agency if she could change a few things around seeing as poor Horace wouldn’t be coming home and that whoever did own it would want it looking its best if they were planning on selling.
She went through to the kitchen and switched on the kettle. While that was boiling she went to check outside on the hay delivery so that she could feed the goats something they were actually meant to be eating before she turned in for the night.
She opened the back door and almost walked into a wall of hay. ‘What the heck?’
Darla stepped back, got out her phone and put it on torch. There must have been a dozen bales of hay stacked three high in the back garden. She’d not been expecting that. Was Lee having a laugh with her? That was not a small amount of hay – it was more like a year’s supply! Although she had to admit the goats did seem to have big appetites despite their size.
With a yawn she got a bag from the kitchen, tugged enough hay from one of the bales to fill the bag and went to feed the goats. They were excited and began chomping on the hay. One of them also tried to eat the bag but Darla was getting wise to their antics and she managed to snatch it out of reach just in time.
Chapter Thirteen
Ros was surprised by Cameron being proactive in making contact and wanting to arrange for them to meet up Saturday afternoon. She was less impressed when he said the flip chart would not be involved and that he felt it was a third wheel in their relationship. What exactly his plan was had been unclear but he had pitched it as a live learning session to help them communicate better and be more relaxed in each other’s company. She’d immediately done some googling and come across some very unsavoury things. He had clarified, upon request, that they would not need to remove any clothing, which had made her feel a little calmer.
Cameron buzzed the entry bell early on Saturday afternoon and she came down to greet him with Gazza almost tripping her up in his haste to get to Cameron first. It wasn’t as warm as it had been and they both wore jackets to keep off the sea air chill.
‘Hiya,’ said Cameron, hesitating before he kissed her cheek. She had prepared herself for the encounter and didn’t noticeably flinch although it still gave her an odd sensation. ‘Definitely looking less repelled by me,’ he said. ‘I’ll take that as a win.’
‘Where are we going?’ asked Ros. She liked to know what was happening and what to expect. Spontaneity unnerved her.
‘It’s a surprise,’ he said proudly and Ros had to quell the urge to groan. Why did people assume surprises were a good thing? It just meant one person was in control and the other powerless and at sea – something she found unsettling.
‘Could you not share your plans?’ she asked as they walked out of the building.
‘I think you’ll like it. It’s a nice thing. It’s a bit of a walk but we have plenty of time so tell me how you’re getting on with Gazza. Are you two bonding?’
‘It’s hard to bond with someone when they’re pissing on your curtains,’ said Ros and Cameron belly-laughed.
‘I can understand that. He was in a strange place and probably felt the need to mark his territory.’
‘It wasn’thisterritory to mark. And imagine if we all did that every time we stayed in a hotel room.’
‘If we did that they’d have to change the name of Ibis to the Ipiss,’ said Cameron.
