“Let’s just see how your recovery goes before you start deciding what you do and don’t need.”
“I don’t like the idea of stopping you from earning a living.”
“I’m choosing to be here. I want to be here. And as it happens, that nasty fire and roof collapse in Seville not onlymeans I can come here without triggering contract clauses and letting people down, but it also means I can say yes to another opportunity that’s come up.”
Jill’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh, do tell.”
“I’ve agreed to work a three-month contract with a cruise ship company, sailing from Southampton in two weeks’ time.”
Jill’s eyes lit up with delight at this news. “That’s fantastic, Gaby! You always said you wanted to do cruise ship work again sometime.”
Gaby had spent a year working on cruise liners in her early twenties and had loved it, but the lure of so many other opportunities and destinations meant she’d never pursued the chance to work in that part of the travel industry again. The disappearance of the Seville contract gave her the freedom not only to come to Hamblehurst and look after her aunt for a while, but also to say yes to the cruise ship contract that would’ve been an impossibility had she already committed to Seville.
Breaking a contract for serious family reasons was one thing but breaking it in order to take a more attractive job wasn’t something that Gaby was willing to countenance. Her integrity and reliability had taken her far in the industry and forged a reputation with hiring agents that she would never risk.
“The stars aligned in this case and I’m excited to do something different from the work I’ve taken on these last few years. I’ll be working as a senior guest experience manager on board a liner called the Diamond Voyager, sailing from Southampton. We’ll have three separate seven-day cruise holidays around the Mediterranean before crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean for the Christmas season. I’ll be there for two months working on various cruise departures before we sail back to Southampton.”
Jill looked thrilled and launched into questions about the cruise routes and the sort of work she’d be doing and whatlife would be like living and working on board. It was fun to chat about the exciting adventure that lay ahead, and Gaby was touched by her aunt’s enthusiastic interest.
“Well, it sounds like your selfless act in rushing here to look after me has opened up an opportunity that might not have come your way,” Jill said. “That makes me very happy.”
“Me too. And what will make me happier still right now is cooking a nice hot meal for you, Aunt Jill. You need to keep your strength up.”
“I am rather peckish. I heated up some soup at lunch time but after three days of hospital food, I’m in need of a good feed. I did some batch cooking before I went in for surgery, and if you dig around in the freezer you’ll find some casserole things to choose from. That will save you starting anything from scratch when you’ve only just arrived.”
Gaby returned to the kitchen and soon found a spicy chicken casserole in the freezer. While it defrosted in the microwave, she put rice on to cook. Once the casserole was transferred to the oven to warm up properly, she carried her luggage upstairs to the guest room.
The room was bright and airy, just as she remembered it from the summer she’d stayed here when she was seventeen. There had been redecoration in here too since her visit. The soft cream walls were now painted a rich honey colour, and the pale blue carpet had been switched for a lush caramel tone. The botanical-themed bedding looked brand new, and so too did the stack of sage green guest towels. It was typically generous of her aunt to insist on fresh linens for Gaby’s stay.
The vase of pink roses on the white chest of drawers was a welcome addition. The bedside lamps created a cosy vibe. A luxury scented diffuser filled the room with a floral and feminine aroma that added the perfect finishing touch.
Gaby would feel entirely at home here.
That thought caught her by surprise. Moving from place to place several times a year for work meant she no longer thought of anywhere as ‘home’. She rented carefully and affordably wherever she lived, usually opting for small units that provided little more than a basic kitchen and the minimum living and sleeping space required. It was all she ever needed, because she enjoyed working long hours, and when she wasn’t working she was out exploring the city or destination where she’d landed. The accommodations she rented were little more than a base and a place to sleep, and she didn’t spend money on unnecessary furnishings or accessories, not because she couldn’t afford to but because they simply weren’t needed or wanted.
She never thought of any of her rental accommodations as ‘home’. That the word had crept into her mind as she looked around the pretty guest room where she’d stay for the next few weeks was surprising.
Or perhaps it was simply that her Aunt Jill’s excellent taste in home decoration and her ability to create an undeniably cosy interior had Gaby’s thoughts turning to words like ‘home’ to describe how it felt to be here.
Gaby unpacked some of her belongings from the suitcase and rucksack she’d brought upstairs. She kept her possessions to a minimum in order to pursue the life of travel and adventure that she loved, unencumbered by things which had to be packed and moved each time she relocated. The small storage unit she paid for on the outskirts of London was useful for stowing things she didn’t want to take from place to place—unseasonal clothes, bulky items, trinkets and mementoes and personal things that weren’t required wherever she was living and working.
It always felt good to travel light.
Finding herself unexpectedly back in England as winter arrived meant she might have to visit the London storage unit to dig out some warmer clothes. She had considered detouringto the storage facility after flying into London but hadn’t wanted to delay reaching her aunt and seeing for herself that she was okay after surgery. As she took stock of the clothes she’d brought with her, Gaby decided to make the most of what she’d packed and add some new purchases if the temperatures became challenging after spending the last few months in Madrid.
Taking care of her aunt over the coming days was more important than embarking on a prolonged round trip back to London. That particular task could wait for now at least.
Once she’d folded some clothes into the chest of drawers and hung a few items in the wardrobe, she walked to the window. Gaby peeked out through the blinds to where Foxglove Street lay below.
Cars motored up and down the road and people walked up and down the street. The row of terraced houses opposite were a mirror image of those on this side, each one smart and tidy and well-cared for. Lights glowed behind windows and Gaby could see a hint of frost sparkling on the damp pavements beneath the streetlamps.
It looked so very different to the view she’d had when she’d stayed here during that long ago summer. In her memory, those days were a carousel of blue skies and endless sunshine, the front gardens along the street bursting with bright greenery and vibrant colour.
And there was another memory suddenly rushing into her head, too—a memory of the boy she’d loved on those golden summer days.
Peter.
She hadn’t thought of him in years. Even as she’d prepared to travel to Hamblehurst to be with her Aunt Jill, he hadn’t come into her mind at all, not even once. Concern for her aunt had naturally crowded her thoughts, but now that she was here inJill’s home once more, those memories of her teenage summer love story came flooding back.
