14
Dixie hugged herself for both warmth and a little comfort. A blood-curdling screech behind her made her shriek and start running. Terror gripped her tighter than her own fingers digging into her sides. Only a madman would make a sound like that. She gasped for air. Both terror and running were impacting her breathing. She was going to die. But as a barn owl swooped silently past her she realized her mistake. Dixie stopped and bent over as she tried to catch her breath. A fit of the giggles didn’t help but it was a release. Leaning back against a tree, Dixie waited until the laughter had subsided. She was a silly goose. What was she afraid of? There was nobody here. Probably no one around for miles. It was just her and the woodland animals. That was a nice thought. It sort of made her feel like a modern-day Snow White.
She carried on strolling through the wood, her eyes still struggling to see, even though they had adjusted a little. It made her more aware of things, like the sound of her trainers on the woodland floor, although the soundof a crunch wasn’t a pleasant one. It wasn’t an emergency but she did want to see what she’d trodden on so she whipped out her phone to have a quick look. Lifting her foot revealed a snail with a crushed shell. ‘Whoops, I’m awfully sorry,’ she said. She wondered if the snail would grow another one or if he’d now become a slug.
She waved her phone around for a couple of seconds and saw the plate-sized mushrooms on the side of the tree that she’d spotted before. This was definitely the right direction. The boost she got from this was like a natural high. Perhaps she wasn’t completely useless. She hadn’t thrown in the towel, she had sorted things out on her own and that made her incredibly proud of herself. A few more steps and she stumbled over a couple of logs, dodged the stump and there was Elsie. Dixie greeted her like an old friend. She was still congratulating herself when she heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. There was no breeze. Fear gripped her insides as she frantically unlocked the van, jumped inside and slammed the door shut. Her heart was racing as she peeped out of the window to see a fox trot by and disappear around the back of the van. Perhaps she wasn’t quite Snow White yet.
Dixie awoke to the most beautiful birdsong and she felt privileged to hear it. Although a little more of a lie-in might have been nice. She’d survived the night and that was cause for celebration. Thanks to her power bank she now had a full phone charge but she was going to use it sparingly. While she was buoyed by her overnightadventure, she now had a decision to make. What should she do? The logical thing was to admit defeat and get the van towed, but the elusive alternative she had been hoping for began to seem possible. She could simply stay where she was. Elsie had almost everything she needed. A quick search on her newly charged-up phone showed her that she was less than three miles from a service station that had all manner of facilities, including free charging and the promise of a shower– it was a revelation.
Dixie brushed her long hair and applied the merest hint of make-up before doing a quick vlog about her decision to stay and explore the area. She had wandered off-piste a little when she began telling her followers that she would be foraging for food but she could probably argue that a trip on her scooter to the services shop was very similar. She unfolded her scooter and locked up Elsie. She was about to set off when she noticed something had been tucked under the windscreen wiper. Dixie automatically looked around. There was nothing and nobody for miles. Goodness, those leaflet advertisers went to great lengths to get your business. She pulled the piece of paper from under the wiper to find it was in fact a handwritten note:
This vehicle is parked illegally. Please remove it immediately.
There was an illegible scrawl underneath.
‘Goodness me. How rude,’ said Dixie, still looking around. She wondered when someone had put the notethere. Perhaps it had been when she was asleep, which felt a bit creepy. Or perhaps someone had walked past when she had been out on her extended woodland trip last night. The paper was lined and torn on one side as if it had been ripped out of a notebook. Perhaps it was a joke. A dog-walker, perhaps, who thought it might be funny to leave a note like that. Because who else could it be?
*
Nora had had a full-on Monday at work and fancied a climbing session to de-stress. But first she was doing some searching for the next ex on her list– Liam. She’d not been able to find him on social media but he did have a LinkedIn profile that was quite impressive. Since they had dated he had got his accountancy exams and was now working for a big tech company. It was a promising start. She dropped him a casual message along with her contact details. All she could do now was wait and see if he replied.
There was no sign of Jay in the car park and he wasn’t about when Nora came out of the changing rooms, even though he’d confirmed the night before that he’d meet her there. She’d put her phone in a locker, otherwise she would have messaged him. As she pondered whether to put her climbing shoes on or go and fire off a quick text to Jay, a large hand was waved in front of her eyes.
‘Are you mesmerized by me?’ asked Trent, flexing a biceps.
‘No, but it’s reminded me to defrost some chicken legs for dinner.’
There was a moment where Trent looked stern but when Nora smiled he began to laugh. ‘You’re funny. I like that you tease me. Banter is the same as flirting.’
‘No, no it’s not,’ said Nora, going to get a harness.
Trent joined her and leaned in a little too close. ‘Have you thought about my offer?’
‘What offer was this?’ she asked. ‘Is there two for one on the cheap sausages at Aldi again?’ She gave him a cheesy grin. She hoped he’d eventually get the message.
Trent pointed at her. ‘Another joke. That’s funny. But we could be—’
‘Hiya,’ said a flustered Jay, joining them. ‘Sorry I’m late. I wasn’t sure if I could come because I don’t know how long I can leave Bruce.’
‘Is he your boyfriend?’ asked Trent, followed by a squeaky laugh that in no way matched his sturdy physique.
‘It’s his dog,’ said Nora. ‘He’s a rescue. Before Jay, nobody wanted him. A bit like you, Trent.’
But Trent was distracted by a woman walking by in cropped Lycra.
‘Do you think he’ll be OK?’ asked Jay, biting at a hangnail.
‘Yeah, Trent has thicker skin than a stegosaurus.’
Jay gave her a long-suffering look. ‘I meant Bruce.’
‘Yeah I know. I’m sure Bruce will be fine too,’ said Nora, tying her rope.
‘But right now he could be eating his way through my furniture.’ Jay seemed agitated.
‘I didn’t notice that he’d damaged anything at yours. Has he been chewing stuff he shouldn’t?’
‘No, but he’s not really been left on his own before.’ Jay leaned in as if about to confide something. ‘But there are times when I have gone to another room and I walk back in and he sits up quickly and has a really guilty look about him.’
