Zoe turned towards the door, yanking it open, but before she could leave, Grizzle came from nowhere, dashed past her and out into the yard.
‘For God’s sake!’ Alex yelled as he gave chase. ‘The gate to the field is open!’
Zoe ran into the yard, and for what it was worth, she joined him in trying to catch Grizzle before he escaped. Dusk was creeping over the land, and he’d be that much harder to find in the dark, not to mention hassling the guests on the camping field and going after their resident rabbits again.
Alex commanded him to stop, and Zoe decided he must have sounded terrifying to Grizzle because even in his overexcited state, he halted immediately and turned to look with a whimper.
‘Yes…’ Alex growled as he marched over. ‘You should be worried because I’ve about had my fill!’
Alex grabbed his collar then led the dog back to the house. Zoe followed and, as Alex took Grizzle back in, she made for her car.
‘I’ll get that stuff,’ she said. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’
Alex didn’t say a thing. He didn’t even thank her, and though Zoe wouldn’t have wanted any thanks, that riled her. She swore under her breath the whole time as she drove down to the village, a wholly unreasonable anger swelling inside her the likes of which was so unfamiliar that if she’d been able to take a step back to look at herself, she’d have been shocked. Barely making any conversation with a surprised Magnus, she got what she needed and was still boiling when she got back to Hilltop.
In the kitchen, she slapped the boxes of medication down onto the table.
‘I’m sorry,’ Alex said, and he truly looked it too as he fed Louisa.
Zoe wanted to accept his apology. She wanted to soften as she watched him. His bad temper had come from a place of love and worry, and she knew that, but she couldn’t calm down. It was like her pressure valve had burst. She couldn’t find the words she knew he needed to hear, and as she only had ones that would make things worse, she bit them back.
‘I’m going to see Georgia,’ she said as calmly as she could. ‘I won’t be long.’
Without waiting to see what his response would be, she left the house.
Zoe’s anger had long subsided by the time she pulled up outside Georgia’s house. They hadn’t arranged to meet, but she was sure her friend would be in, and she desperately needed someoneto talk to. Now, instead of wanting to rant about Alex and his unreasonable demands, she feared she’d done irreparable damage to their relationship, all because she hadn’t been able to keep a lid on her emotions.
She knocked at the front door, and Emilia answered. ‘Zoe…we weren’t expecting you…I assume you’ve come to see Georgia, but she hasn’t said anything about?—’
‘I was passing and I thought I’d call on the off chance. I did text her, but she must have forgotten to reply.’
‘She’s had her hands full with William, and Brett’s not very well, so…’
‘Oh. I suppose I ought to come back another time then. What’s wrong with Brett?’
‘He’s got this bug that’s been doing the rounds. I suppose we’ll all go down with it at some point, so it’s probably best if you don’t come in. I wouldn’t want to pass it on to you and yours.’
‘It’s too late for that,’ Zoe said ruefully. ‘I think Louisa and Billie already have it. Sounds like the same thing anyway.’
‘Ah. Then you’ll know it’s hardly fun. I’ll see you tomorrow, all being well.’
‘Yes. See you tomorrow.’
Emilia closed the door, and though Zoe could hardly complain, she was strangely adrift when she retraced her steps down the path and back to her car. If ever there had been a moment when she needed a friend, it was this one, but it seemed she was going to have to work her issues out alone – at least for now. Ottilie was out of action and so was Georgia, and there wasn’t anyone else Zoe felt she knew well enough to confide in.
For a moment, she considered going to see Corrine and Victor at Daffodil Farm. They were the closest thing to parents that she had in Thimblebury and had always been kind to her. But was this the sort of problem she could take to them? Perhaps Corrine to a point would be able to sympathise, but she quicklydecided it wasn’t fair to burden the couple. They were fit and bright, yes, but in their early eighties and didn’t quite see the world in the same way as someone of her age. They were a bit too practical as well. Zoe could well imagine one of them saying the magic phrase: pull yourself up by your bootstraps, or: you have to manage with the hand you’re dealt, or some other such platitude, and the way she was feeling right now, she wasn’t sure if that might make her explode all over again. She needed someone far more neutral, someone who understood her and what she needed.
‘Hi, Zoe…’
She’d been fumbling in her bag for her car keys when she heard someone call her name. She looked up to see Simon and Stacey, hand in hand, passing Emilia’s house.
‘Hi. Out for a stroll?’
‘As the weather is warming up, we thought we’d start taking an after-dinner walk.’ Stacey rolled her eyes and angled her head at Simon with a fondly mocking smile. ‘Mr Fitness here says it will help us digest our food and stop us getting GORD…whatever that is. I suppose it serves me right. I don’t know what I expected when I started dating a doctor, but I should have seen this coming.’
Simon briefly indicated that he’d heard his girlfriend’s teasing, but his attention was on Zoe. ‘How are you doing?’ he asked.
Zoe glanced from him to Stacey, and she could tell that his partner was puzzled by the question. He’d have kept Zoe’s confidentiality, of that there was no doubt, and he would continue to do so, but he would have piqued Stacey’s interest, whether he knew it or not.
