‘Just thinking…’ She stared out of the front window. Children were playing noisily in the street. No garden for them to release energy, just a busy street and back yard.
‘What?’ Gary looked puzzled. She had his full attention now.
‘How would you like to go back?’
‘You mean to the Cotswolds?’ He remembered the lush, green hills and quaint villages they’d visited on their mini tour. His old Fiesta had just about managed the trip down there and together they had explored the charming tearooms, the black-and-white Tudor building trails, the historic halls and old-world village pubs. Both he and Tracy had loved it, being a far cry from the built-up sights of Preston, with its tall old factory chimneys and smoky, grey skies. They had adored the cosy rented cottage, which had proved to be an ideal base in one of the central small villages. Each evening, after a fun-packed day visiting the surrounding area, they’d browse the internet using local information to decide where to go next. Tracy had been enchanted by the beautiful stone cottages with trailing roses and wisteria growing up the walls. Gary had enjoyed the camaraderie in the local pubs, where they had always been made welcome. One landlord, when told it was their honeymoon, gave them a bottle of champagne and toasted them a long and happy marriage, blessed with healthy children. That was another consideration – children. Did he really want his kids playing out on the roadside like round here? Or would he sooner see himself kicking a football with them in a large, secluded garden, safe from traffic and smog? In his mind’s eye, he could see Trace at the gates of a small, country school, not waiting with the many mums outside the railings of their nearby primary. After a few moments’ thought they looked at each other.
‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Tracy asked.
‘Yeah, let’s go for it.’
‘But what about our parents? We’d be far away from them.’
‘It’s not that far, Trace, and besides, we’d get somewhere big enough to have them stay. Plus, we’ll get a decent car, so we can always come back whenever we want.’ Tracy nodded in agreement: yes, that all made sense.
‘OK, let’s do a search.’ Gary typed ‘properties, sale, Cotswolds’ into the laptop and a display of houses filled the screen. He whistled at some of them, not just the grand scale of the properties, but the prices, too. Then a name leaped out at him. It was where they had rented the honeymoon cottage.
‘Look, Trace!’ She quickly leant forward to see the screen.
‘Treweham! That’s where we stayed!’ She clapped her hands in delight.
‘The Gate House, set on the edge of the Treweham Hall estate and surrounded by beautiful parkland…’
They were completely in awe of what they had discovered and truly thought fate was playing a hand. Often on their honeymoon they had joked about living is such an idyllic place. Now it looked like their dreams may come true.
