As she ate her meal while her cousins and aunt and uncle chattered on either side of her, Courtney felt gratitude fill her to overflowing.
At last, at long last, her life might just be moving in the right direction.
5
Early on Monday morning,Courtney hugged Rosie goodbye on the doorstep of her house just as her Uncle Colin and Aunt Lorraine arrived on Foxglove Street to pick her up for the drive to Southampton.
“Thank you for letting me stay here and for being so welcoming,” Courtney said to her cousin. “This has been the best weekend I’ve had in a very long time.”
“Don’t be a stranger,” Rosie smiled. “You’re welcome anytime. I’m working a rota of seven days in a row now, but when I’ve next got a day off, maybe I could come over to Southampton and we could get together for a coffee?”
“I’d love that.”
After a final hug goodbye, Courtney headed towards her uncle’s car. In her hand, she clutched a plastic bag containing the change of clothing Rosie had kindly washed for her. Yesterday, once Rosie’s parents and sister had departed following dinner, Rosie had surprised Courtney by giving her some brand new clothing items she’d picked up at work that day—a pair of leggings, a maternity top, and some fresh underwear—which she’d bought with her staff discount while working on the theory that her father would delay driving Courtney homefor another night following his long day out and about enjoying himself.
As Courtney’s weekend stay in Hamblehurst had been unplanned, and she’d arrived on Friday with nothing to tide her over for a weekend away as a guest in someone else’s home, she was grateful for her cousin’s generosity.
Rosie had refused to accept money for the purchases, but Courtney left cash on her kitchen table anyway to cover the clothing items, along with a note thanking her cousin for being so sweet, which she hoped she’d find once Courtney was gone.
It felt good to wear the lovely brand new clothes as she got into the back seat of her uncle’s car. With her baby bump growing by the day, the oversized top Rosie had picked out would likely last all the way until Courtney’s delivery date.
After exchanging greetings with her aunt and uncle, they set off. Courtney admired the pretty front gardens that lined Foxglove Street as they drove past, then admired the high street and its array of lovely shops before they turned west. She felt a punch of sadness to be leaving the sweet town of Hamblehurst behind. Her time here with her new family meant the world to her and marked, she hoped, a new chapter in her life.
If she had any regrets, it was that she hadn’t taken the time to explore the picturesque town more during her stay. Although she’d seen some of Hamblehurst on Friday afternoon while walking from the café where she’d met her Uncle Colin to Rosie’s house on Foxglove Street, she hadn’t ventured outside otherwise, because she’d spent most of her time at Rosie’s house, half-unconscious with exhaustion and napping the hours away.
Which was a pity, because she would’ve liked to meander around the town and explore its lovely sights. Perhaps another time, she thought to herself. Perhaps the next time she caught the bus over here to visit her aunt and uncle and her cousins,she’d suggest they all go for a nice walk around the pretty town where they lived.
Assuming she wasn’t so pregnant by that point that she’d be shambling rather than walking.
Or perhaps the next time she came here, she’d be pushing her new baby in a pram? That idea sent a bump of excitement bubbling through her heart.
Within minutes, they reached the edge of Hamblehurst and joined the road that led west to Southampton. Colin focused on driving while Lorraine made easy conversation with Courtney and pointed out this and that feature of the countryside as they motored along. All too soon, they were approaching Southampton, the city gobbling them up into rush-hour traffic and busyness as Colin followed Courtney’s directions to the home furnishings shop where she worked.
The shop, Ashford Furniture and Furnishings, was located in a small retail park on one of the main arterial routes around the city and nestled in a bustling suburban area. A family-owned business, it had been trading for over thirty years and sold a wide range of products including sofas and chairs, dining and coffee tables, sideboards and shelving, lamps and lighting, curtains and cushions, decorative items, and more besides.
A much-loved business in and around Southampton, Courtney was thrilled when she landed a job there two years ago, working in the office dealing with administration and paperwork. The extra shifts she’d worked recently on the shop floor to top up her pay packet had shown her a different side to the business, and although her skills were in the organisational side of things rather than sales, she was willing to learn whatever she needed to learn in order to earn money.
As Colin turned the car into the small car park in front of the shop, Courtney’s eyes widened at the sight of a dozen people gathered outside the doors. Although Ashford Furnitureand Furnishings was popular with local shoppers, it rarely had a queue waiting for the shop to open, and certainly not on a Monday morning, which was typically the quietest time for the business in terms of footfall.
Courtney wondered if there was a sale starting this week that she hadn’t heard about and which had drawn bargain-hunters. But as Colin parked the car, Courtney realised she recognised the people standing outside the shop doors.
They were all her fellow employees. What were they doing standing around outside the shop, instead of going inside to start the day? Checking her watch, she saw it was just a few minutes before nine o’clock, which meant the store owner, Lee Ashford, would certainly be inside by now to unlock the staff entrance so his employees could arrive and be ready for the doors opening at nine.
So why were her colleagues outside the shop instead of inside it?
And why were there so many of them? Courtney counted at least a dozen staff lingering outside the doors, far more than would ever usually be scheduled to work on a quiet Monday morning.
“Right love,” Colin said. “We hope you have a good day at work and we’ll give you a ring tonight to let you know how it goes at that flat we’re off to look at for you and… what’s the matter, Courtney?”
Turning around in the driver’s seat, Colin at last noticed the confused look on Courtney’s face.
“I’m not sure,” she said, her gaze still on her colleagues gathered outside the locked doors of the furniture shop. None of them looked particularly happy. In fact, they looked downright…alarmed. “Would you mind waiting for a minute or two, Uncle Colin, before you drive off?”
“Of course, love.”
Courtney climbed out from the back seat and met her colleagues on the paved walkway that ran the length of the block of retail units. The closer she got, the more she realised from the expressions on their faces and the anxious tone of their chatter that something was very, very wrong.
“Morning, Mary,” Courtney said when she reached the assistant manager, a woman in her sixties who was usually a picture of calm composure, but this morning looked fit to burst. “Why’s everyone standing around outside? Is there a problem inside the shop?”
