It was an innocent question but the look of horror that shot from Juliette to Danny clearly showed that something awful had happened.
‘I didn’t mean to put my foot in it,’ Richard backtracked.
Danny raised a hand before covering it with Juliette’s. ‘We lost our daughter last year. She was four years old.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Sarah spoke in unison with Richard.
‘She was here one week and gone the next,’ Juliette said quietly. ‘Meningitis. We’re still coming to terms with it.’
‘Is that why you’ve moved here?’
‘Partly,’ Danny said. ‘A lot of it was to do with wanting a simpler life for now.’
‘I can’t begin to understand what you went through.’ Richard looked sheepish.
‘It’s hard to tell people as it brings back the pain,’ Danny replied. ‘But now you know.’
Juliette was looking at the table the whole time the men were talking. She glanced up at Sarah, her eyes brimming with tears. Sarah felt them well up in her eyes too.
‘Let’s get this show on the road.’ Richard stood up. ‘Time to get the barbie going.’
Sarah watched as Danny gave Juliette a loving look of reassurance and her heart almost broke for them.
A few minutes later, the barbecue was in full swing. Juliette was teasing Richard and Danny as they both wanted to become barbecue man. The maudlin atmosphere had lifted.
After they’d eaten, Richard insisted on showing them around the woods. They walked through the gardens, admiring the mature flowers and rockeries, the tiny bridge to nowhere over the small pond that Richard had created last year.
As the two men walked ahead, Juliette fell into step by Sarah’s side.
‘I’ve had a wonderful time,’ she said, linking arms with her.
The gesture took Sarah by surprise so she went along with it, knowing it would irritate Richard.
‘Yes, it’s been a lovely evening,’ she said, relishing the feel of her so close. It was ages since she’d had a good conversation with a woman. Tonight they had chatted and she’d got to know a few things about the couple that would work well in her favour in the future.
‘How about you and Richard? No children on the horizon for you two?’
‘No, not yet.’
They entered the woods and followed a well-trodden pathway. Sarah enjoyed watching Juliette’s reaction to it. Seeing it through someone else’s eyes was amazing. Sarah had many a nightmare about it.
‘Juliette!’ Danny shouted to them. ‘Come and look at this.’
The men waited while they caught up and came out into a clearing. There was almost a complete dome of branches overhead. It seemed as if they were in an igloo made out of trees. There were a few stumps that could be used as seats, remnants of a fire in the middle of them.
‘Wow, this is amazing.’ Juliette spread out her arms and twirled around. There was hardly any light coming through and she stumbled. Danny came to her rescue and helped her up again.
‘This is our special place, isn’t it, Sarah?’ Richard came towards her and reached for her hand.
She nodded.
‘We often light a fire here and sit with a bottle of wine, don’t we?’
‘We do.’ She found her voice at last.
‘How many acres does the wood cover?’ Danny asked, looking up at the trees.
‘Three. I said I’d clear it but really the garden area is large enough and a wood, well, it’s enchanting. I love to come here to be on my own. I get a lot of my ideas here, being at one with nature.’
