Page 94 of Love Letters on Hazel Lane

‘’Spose. I could have a special section in my Filofax.’

Kate looked back at the article. ‘“Kill the bully with kindness”. Hmmm. Not sure about that one. Could you bring yourself to be kind to Leona?’

‘She’d throw it back in my face.’

‘How about this one? “Practise self-love”. That sounds like a good idea, Jo.’

‘It sounds a bit new age.’

‘It isn’t new age. I’m no expert but perhaps you have low self-esteem. You don’t think enough of yourself and they pick up on that somehow. You said it yourself; in a pack of animals, there’ll be one that the other animals see as weak and that animal gets set upon. But that can change. We need to work on how you see yourself. Follow the suggestions in the magazine.’ She paused and glanced down again at the article. ‘Spend more time in nature. Regular exercise. Hot, soothing baths. Eat nutritious food. I could give you some info on ayurveda.’

‘Er, not sure about that one. And I’m not sure how having a hot bath will stop Leona pinching my ideas or laughing about me behind my back.’

‘On its own, it won’t, Jo. But like that ad says, you have to start believing that “you’re worth it”. Do nice things for you. Take good care of yourself. Buy yourself a gift every now and again. They needn’t be big things. Some handwash that smells amazing. A bunch of lilies from the supermarket. Warm gloves – you’ll be glad of those. It gets cold here in the winter. Don’t eat ready meals because you don’t think it’s worth cooking a meal for one. Cook yourself something delicious.’

It was true, Jo thought. She did eat a lot of ready meals; how had Kate guessed that? And that evening when she’d cooked a meal after her first exchange of messages with Razz, she had enjoyed it. The cooking as well as the eating. Although, she had admittedly cheated a bit and used a cook-in sauce.

‘And you honestly think that could change things?’

‘I think it’s worth a try. And I’m going to help you, Jo. You’re not in this alone. We’ll go shopping together for lovely things. We’ll go for walks in the countryside – it says to take regular exercise and enjoy nature so that’d be killing two birds with one stone. What do you reckon?’

Kate’s face was full of enthusiasm, Jo noticed. ‘Are you trying to practise your life-coaching skills on me? Testing out your potential new career?’

‘Yes and yes. But I also want to help you because I like you. So, are you up for it? Ready to give it your best shot?’

‘Yes and yes,’ said Jo. ‘I’ve never been more ready.’

36

Of all the things that Kate had her doing, Jo enjoyed the hot baths most. It was rather lovely, she thought, luxuriating in soapy bubbles – she’d bought herself a lavender-scented bubble bath – with Radio 2 in the background or sometimes an audio book.

She wasn’t faring too well with the nutritious food. Kate had insisted on working out what Jo’s type was and had given her an ayurvedic eating plan but Jo loved cakes far too much to stick to it. She had ditched the ready meals though, and was cooking herself hearty dishes of stew and dumplings and chilli con carne. It was the sort of food you’d normally crave in winter, not early summer, but it was comfort food and Jo loved it.

She had to admit she felt better, and although there was no noticeable difference in the way anyone was treating her at work, Jo did think people were kinder to her in the outside world. One day, a man offered her his seat on the crowded 8.37 to Manchester; for one horrific moment, Jo wondered if her belly was so bloated from all the kidney beans in the chilli that she looked pregnant, but looking at herself in the ladies’ loos later that morning, she decided that she didn’t; he was simply being nice. And when she reached the check-out in Sainsbury’s Local at the exact same moment as a young woman with dreadlocks and a nose-ring, Jo was surprised when the other customer insisted that she went first.

‘You look more confident,’ Kate proclaimed as they set off on one of their walks. They were going three times a week now; either through the woods and up onto the moors or along the canal to Essendale.

Jo stepped around some particularly aggressive-looking Canada geese. The bullies of the avian world, she thought. They were always stealing the bread off the mallards.

‘We could go and have a cuppa in the (Not So) Little Board Game Café?’ she said. ‘See your best friend, Emily.’

‘My other best friend,’ said Kate and squeezed Jo’s hand.

Jo felt her eyes welling up. She knew Kate and Emily had known each other since their schooldays, like her and Gemma. That would always be a special bond. So it was a big deal that Kate was now putting her on a par with her old friend. A really big deal.

*

Jo could hear Leona sighing all morning. She shuffled papers about on her desk. She frowned at her computer screen. She summoned Hannah over and the two of them frowned at the screen some more.

Jo heard Hannah say, ‘Sorry, Leona. I haven’t a clue. You could ask…’

Hannah glanced over to her and Jo pretended she wasn’t listening in.

Jo wasn’t surprised she was struggling. Leona had only been at Pop! Productions for a few months before she’d been promoted and then she’d had to take over suddenly too; Caroline’s morning sickness was apparently so bad that she’d left much earlier than expected and had decided not to return until after her baby was born, so there’d been no proper handover period. And Caroline did have her own unique way of filing things and keeping budgets. It had taken Jo a while to get used to them.

Kill the bully with kindness, Gemma’s article had said.

Jo sidled over to Leona’s desk, not quite believing that she was doing this. Assisting the woman who’d made her life miserable? And nicked her big idea? She must be mad.