Crisis averted, Brian left Waitrose after being reassured Clara could manage on her own and she walked Margaret home. Clara remembered where Margaret lived from when her husband passed away a few years ago and she had gone to pay her respects.
‘I don’t remember putting them in my pocket,’ said Margaret all the way back.
‘Honestly, it’s fine. It was a genuine mistake. We all know you’re no thief. It’s one of those things. Try not to worry.’
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Sometimes I remember things and sometimes I don’t.’
‘Oh, I know that feeling myself,’ said Clara, trying to make light of the situation as they arrived at Margaret’s front door.
‘You’re ever so kind. I’ve got a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Do you think you could come with me?’
Clara thought of all the jobs she had to do tomorrow, but also remembered how Margaret’s son lived in Australia. How would she feel if she felt increasingly lost in a bewildering world and had nobody to help?
‘I most definitely will. Do you remember what time the appointment is?’
‘Yes. It’s 5.45. I remember that precisely. I just can’t remember putting the nuts in my pocket.’
Clara thought of Tom. She was sure he would understand.
‘Don’t you worry, I’ll pick you up at 5.30p.m.’
‘Thank you, Clara. What would we all do without you?’
‘Ah, you’d be absolutely grand.’
‘You’ve a heart of gold, you know that?’
‘Oh, it’s nothing. It’s my duty.’
As Clara walked away and dialled Tom, she considered how much she would love to be out with him tomorrow night, but she simply couldn’t let those who depended on her down. Surely, they could make it another time, she thought. He was bound to understand.
* * *
However, when Clara broke the news to Tom, his insecurities resurfaced and he wondered whether she was making excuses. He understood that Margaret needed her, but he felt that he needed her too. He needed her more than she would ever know, yet he began to think that the beautiful reverend he couldn’t get enough of was too busy for him, or possibly uninterested in him. After all, if she knew him as well as he knew himself, she would run a mile, despite what Pat said.
Tom put the phone down, and began questioning everything. The doubts in his head told him he should walk away now, even though that was the last thing in the world he wanted to do. Oh, how he wished he didn’t always make things so complicated.
ChapterNine
Clara duly returned Margaret home from the doctor’s, and wondered if it was too late to call Tom to see if he was free for a drink or dinner. They might have missed the movie, but at least they could still see each other. She wanted to call him but he also sounded so put out when she’d cancelled. She could understand that it was annoying when someone abandoned plans at the last minute, but it was the nature of her job and life. You never knew when an emergency might arise.
The heatwave they were experiencing made the evening feel hot and sticky and Clara tried to persuade herself that it might have been for the best that they didn’t waste such a lovely evening in the confines of a stuffy cinema. Instead, she could now enjoy a glass of red wine in her garden, admiring her blossoming hydrangea while she pondered on all that had been happening. She found it hard to fathom how her life could have suddenly become so shaken up with the arrival of Tom. Pouring herself a larger glass of wine than normal, she plonked down her drink on her little bistro table quietly, in the hope that Julie wouldn’t poke her head over the fence. As much as she was a people pleaser, she didn’t feel in the mood for much pleasing tonight and might even say something she would regret if Julie made another of her petty complaints.
Staring into the glass as though it had all the answers, Clara contemplated the past few weeks. Her life had never been complicated; it had always been slow and steady. Some might say it could be deemed boring, but Clara was quite happy to plod through life with her wonderful parish and fabulous friends. There wasn’t anything else she felt she particularly needed, such as a promotion or a boyfriend. However, now that they had been presented to her, they had stirred something. Could she truly have it all? After all, it was what she told the young students as she tried to motivate them with her talks about reaching for the stars and going for your dreams. Now she was starting to believe it could apply to her too and as she took a sip of the Beaujolais, she felt that she could indeed have it all, despite a long-distance relationship being a potential problem.
With a yearning in her heart, she picked up the phone to Tom to apologise once again for letting him down. What was to stop her asking him out on a date and planning it? So far, Tom had done all the asking. It was time for the tables to turn.
Clara hurried inside with her glass of wine and her mobile in her hand. Making sure Julie, and anybody else, was out of earshot, she dialled Tom’s number.
‘Hey, what you doing?’ she asked.
‘Not much. I was about to put a repeat ofSongs of Praiseon. I’d have preferred the movie.’ Tom tried his best to hide the disappointment in his voice and realised it made him sound grouchy so tried to make a joke. ‘But I tell you what... Ask me why you’re like a set of dentures?’
She wondered if there might be an insult coming her way, whether he was disgruntled about her cancelling. ‘Oh, I don’t know.’
‘Because I can’t smile without you.’
Clara let out that honking laugh she was famous for and was relieved that he wasn’t holding a grudge. ‘Tom, that’s absolutely terrible!’
