‘Is there a reason you pin them up, other than offering sound advice?’ she pressed.
‘I… Why would you—?’ He stopped, aware he was fooling no one as they exchanged looks around him. ‘How did you know they were me?’
Tori’s mouth curved. ‘You said something that echoed one of the sentiments. But really it was the note left in the first book you brought me.Wish others well. I checked, and the handwriting matches.’
‘Ah, I see.’ He straightened his shoulders. ‘Well, it’s no big mystery. They’re Rose’s rules for living. The mantras she lived by. Forty years wasn’t nearly enough time together, but she taught me a lot.’
‘Oh,’ Ariel sighed softly. ‘That’s so romantic.’
‘I suppose it is,’ he mused. ‘I just thought her wisdom should be shared.’ And that it might help them be better neighbours, and friends, rallying to support each other with the rebuild… and their broken hearts.
They were all so misty-eyed Albie changed the subject, forcing an impish tone. ‘Now I’ve bared my soul, who’s up for helping me clear out the downstairs of my cottage? Don’t forget about the allotments too.’
He tittered as they groaned collectively, but he knew time had a funny way of getting away from people. Before they realised it, six months would’ve slipped by without anyone lifting a finger.He knew how quickly it could pass. Like a chugging train you were racing along the platform to catch, only for the last carriage to charge past in a rush of air.
It had been more than eighteen years since Rose had died. Some days it felt like a lifetime, but if he kept his promise, he’d see her again soon.
Albie stretched his aching back. He was probably a bit old for this lark. Although his doctor had recommended physical activity, it mustn’t be too strenuous. So, it was fortunate he had company.
Kirsten and Harley (with Rosie sitting on the floor with a pile of colouring-in books), Theo and, somewhat surprisingly, Tori, had been working alongside him for hours. A group of people, becoming friends. The suffocating loneliness of the past few years was ebbing away, and he could breathe again. For as long as his heart held out.
Breaking down furniture and piling it into the nearest skip, they’d heaved anything salvageable into the lean-to in the back garden. Working in harmony with the radio on, they ripped up Saxony carpet and stripped wallpaper more easily than should have been possible, but wincing whenever chunks of plaster crumbled away.
After stopping for bottled water, Kirsten’s bright chatter and Harley’s sardonic replies filled the space, and Tori’s shoulders finally relaxed. Theo shocked them all by breaking into a rich baritone as Keane came over the radio, singing a lilting melody about fallen trees and simple things, and how this could be theend of everything, but they needed somewhere to begin. It felt apt.
As twilight fell, the others drifted away until only Albie and Tori remained. When her mobile rang, she continued sweeping curled remnants of wallpaper into a pile with a stiff broom.
‘Aren’t you going to answer that?’
‘Nope.’ Crouching, she shoved the rubbish into a bin liner. ‘They’ll leave a voicemail if it’s important.’
When the phone fell silent, she stood up. ‘Thanks for this. It was good for me to work with the others, and the manual labour was kind of therapeutic.’
‘You’re welcome. Thankyoufor helping.’
Her phone rang again, and wrenching it from her pocket, she glowered at the screen.
Ambling over, he peered at it. ‘Everything all right? Ex-boyfriend?’ He held his hand out, noticing her blanch at the wordex. ‘I’ll see them off.’
‘No. It’s n-not,’ she stuttered as it rang insistently, ‘something bad happened, and the police?—’
‘Police? Are you in trouble? You can be surly, but I can’t imagine you committing a crime?—’
‘It wasn’t me. It’s just—’ She sucked in a shaky breath. ‘They want me to go to court.’
‘Oh, Tori,’ he murmured as her brown eyes filled with tears. It made his heart ache seeing her so distraught. ‘What happened?’
‘He…’ Face crumpling, she whispered, ‘He took everything from me. Everything that meant anything, and I can’t get it back.’ Tears were falling in rapid succession, running off her chin.
‘You poor thing. Come here. You need a hug.’ Ignoring the tension in her body, he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close. Patting her back in comfort, he crooned under hisbreath. Let the lovely girl draw comfort from his weary old bones, while he was still here. ‘That’s it, let it out. I’m sorry for whatever you went through. It’s over now. Shhhh. There, there.’ Holding Tori, trying to contain the pain wracking her body, he absorbed her tears.
She cried for a long while until the sobs subsided and the shudders faded away. Breathing athank youinto his shoulder, she eased back self-consciously. ‘I obviously needed that.’
‘Everyone needs a hug sometimes. And I’m here for you, any time.’
‘Thanks,’ she repeated. ‘I feel better. It’s been ages since someone held me, and I miss my family. Dad gives the best hugs.’
‘Well, apologies if I don’t compare,’ he said gravely, understanding the need for levity after the intensity of her emotions.
