‘Nope. The usual.’
Enya understood only too well the debilitating pattern of insomnia that meant she often went to bed dreading a disturbed night ahead.
‘I slept soundly from ten until three, then my cogs started turning. I’m thinking about the shop, excited for our plans!’ Jenny danced her slippered feet on the wooden floor.
‘Me too.’ She beamed.
‘Shall we redo the sign, put your name next to mine?’
It was a lovely, generous suggestion that thrilled her. ‘Oh, Jen, as wonderful as that sounds, let’s give it six months before we do that, just in case I’m pants and you have to fire me!’ There was a subtle truth to her words, a lack of confidence that meant she tended to err towards the negative.
‘You won’t be pants, you’ll be ace, and I can’t fire you if you’re my partner, can I?’
‘I’m not sure, actually.’ Enya sipped her tea. She was indeed excited for the venture that would see her become part of Jenny’s business. An excitement tinged with the inevitable nerves; she didn’t do too well with change, who did? But losing her job of over two decades was a big deal.
She loved her job at the solicitors’, working for the genteel Messrs Greengate and Greengate. Mr Richard Greengate and Mr Robert Greengate whom callers, on occasion, referred to as ‘MrRGreengate’, with great emphasis, as if this might be defining enough. To say it made for much confusion was an understatement.
The building on the pretty, curved High Street, where she spent four days a week between the hours of nine and five, was from a bygone era, and one where sunlight highlighted the rich soup of historical dust. Six decades of particles swirling right there in the room that made her wonder if she ever breathed in the tears her mother had shed when listening to the will of her father being read, or inhaled the fear and shame of her great-uncle Maurice as he dealt with the paperwork pertaining to his bankruptcy. Or maybe she had sniffed Jonathan’s laughter, as she’d cradled their newborn and he’d jovially taken care of business.
‘So, Mr Greengate, this is our son, Aiden Jonathan, who needs to be added as sole beneficiary and also we think it worth making a note about his guardianship, should the worst ever happen.’Jonathan had shot her a look then, with a wink. It was what he had done, protected her, soothed her worries, smoothed her path, letting herknow it was just a precaution. Nothing to worry about.‘He would be placed into the care of Mrs Angela Rudd...’
It felt like weeks ago, minutes, this another reminder that the whirlpool of life seemed to spin quickly, and it was all she could do on some days to keep her head above water.
It was a jolt to think this would be her last few months in their employ, as they had decided to retire, shut up shop and spend time with their respective Mrs Greengates. The ending of her job of over twenty-five years, another change of routine that would require adjustment, another severing of rope that kept her pleasantly anchored to all that was familiar.
Her old life.
A life she missed. Not that she wasn’t looking forward to joining Jenny at the florist’s and being surrounded by that glorious scent each and every day, learning all about the business and honing her creative skills. Her best friend had thrown her a lifeline, and she had grabbed it with both hands. It occupied a lot of her thoughts as she chased ideas, imagining how glorious it would be at Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s and all the days in between.
Jenny swallowed her biscuit and continued. ‘Then I started worrying about how Holly will cope over the next three weeks, you know how she frets when Aiden is away for work.’
‘It ain’t easy!’ Enya sighed, glancing up at the ceiling towards her bedroom, trying to remember what it had been like when she and Jonathan were of a similar age.
They’d been desperately in love, that much she knew, but the feeling like she might crumble if he were not within reach? She couldn’t quite remember, preferring to think of herself as capable and grounded.
‘Well?’ Jenny raised her voice.
‘Well, what?’ Enya stared at her.
‘You were miles away! I just asked you if you think I can fit this half an Easter egg in my mouth and eat it in one.’
Laughing now at her friend, Enya shook her head. ‘Without a doubt. For someone so tiny, you have a very big mouth.’
‘None taken.’ Jenny took a deep breath, like an athlete preparing to perform, before cramming in the half an Easter egg.
She stifled a yawn as she watched Jenny’s antics.
‘Ta da!’ Jenny opened her mouth to show that the egg had indeed disappeared.
‘Magic!’ Enya smiled, wishing she believed in such a thing, knowing that if it were possible, she’d wish to turn the clock back to a time when her life had felt full, and she had thought loneliness and anxiety were what happened to other people...
Chapter Two
Enya felt a little out of sorts, a residue no doubt of the disturbed night just spent. Not that she hadn’t enjoyed Jenny’s company and the unexpected laughter that had filled the kitchen. It was her best friend’s superpower, the ability to make everything feel just a little bit better.
‘Whereareyou?’
She now leaned against the kitchen sink and spoke firmly down the phone while rubbing her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache. It was too hot and too early on this sweaty June day to feel this harried. Only thirty minutes out of the shower and already she wished she could pop back upstairs for another one. She pushed out her bottom lip and blew upwards, an act that was habit, and yet curiously did very little to cool her down, bar maybe lower the temperature of her rather downy top lip, another gift bestowed upon her by the menopause gods.
