It Started With A Tweet(64)

‘She wanted to pop to a builders’ merchant on the edge of Penrith to pick up something for the bathroom. I’m sure she won’t be too much longer.’

I faff around trying to make the perfect cup of tea, making sure the colour looks just right – not too weak, not too strong, in the hope that the taste makes up for how scrappy it looks.

Happy that my tea could please the most discerning of critics, I turn round to pop it on the table, just as Rupert jumps up.

‘Everything, OK?’ I ask, as I watch him pick up his car keys and head to the door.

‘I’ve got to go,’ he says.

‘What? But Rosie will be back any minute and she’d love to see you.’

‘I can’t stay,’ he says, before practically sprinting to his car.

I pop the hot tea on the table and go after him, but he’s already pulling out of the drive, albeit very slowly because of the bumps. Maybe I can run and catch up with him and plead with him to stay.

‘Wait, wait!’ I shout as I run down the drive after him.

But even with the milk-float speed of the Audi, I still can’t catch up as he’s had too much of a head start.

I watch the car disappear out towards the main road, and I catch my breath as I try to process what happened. One minute he’s there, all cheery and looking as if he’s going to sweep Rosie off her feet, and the next minute he’s gone tearing off in a hurry.

I’m just about to turn back to the farm when I notice a petite woman with long brown hair walking up the drive, and for a minute I’m taken aback.

‘Hi there,’ shouts the woman, with a friendly wave.

‘Ah, hello.’

‘Sorry if I startled you.’

‘You didn’t, not really; it’s just that you don’t get many people walking up here.’

‘That you don’t, but I own a crappy Fiesta and it doesn’t make the journey well. I park it at the mailboxes and walk down. I’m Jenny. According to Liz and Gerry, you must be either Rosie or Daisy.’

‘Daisy,’ I say, laughing at the village gossips.

‘Ah, pleased to meet you. I’m the village mobile hairdresser, in case you need a trim or anything while you’re here.’

‘Oh, great to know,’ I say smiling.

‘I’m just here to see Jack,’ she says.

‘Oh, right, you’ll need thick scissors to tame that mop,’ I say laughing, before I look down and realise that Jenny doesn’t have anything on her but her car keys in her hand.

‘Yes, um.’ She smiles and gives a quick laugh.

We stand there awkwardly for a second before I see Rosie’s Land Rover coming into view and Jenny sees it as her opportunity to escape.

‘I’ll see you around the village,’ she says. ‘It’s not very big, so I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again.’

She gives me a friendly wave as she bounds off, and I can’t help but feel a little sad that Jack really does have other female options.

‘Hiya. You haven’t got far on your walk,’ says Rosie as she rolls down her window and draws up next to me.

‘Actually, I’ve just walked back out. Did you not see Rupert driving out of the village?’

‘Ru was here?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Well, why didn’t you keep him here? What did he say?’

She’s looking round as if she’s about to tear off after him.

‘He came to talk to you. I thought he was going to sort things out. One minute he was sitting there waiting for me to give him a cup of tea, and the next he was off.’

I walk around the car and get into the passenger seat where Rosie’s sitting, looking confused.

‘He was here to sort it out and then he left? But why?’

‘I’m not sure. He was looking through the leaflets I’d picked up on the table and he took off.’

‘But that doesn’t make sense,’ she says, blinking rapidly as if she’s struggling to process everything.

‘I know. Maybe he remembered that he had an appointment?’

Rosie starts to drive back to the farm in a hurry, and when we arrive she rushes into the kitchen as if to retrace his steps.

She picks up the top leaflet on the pile, one for a luxury country hotel and spa.

‘He was looking at these?’

‘Uh-huh. Hey, maybe he thought taking you somewhere like that would be a better place to sort things out. Maybe he’s decided to plan something bigger.’

‘Maybe,’ says Rosie. I can tell she’s not convinced.

‘If only you could phone him. Why don’t you go to the payphone and give him a try?’

‘I guess. But now he’ll be driving and he never pairs his phone with his car’s bluetooth, no matter how many times I tell him to.’

‘Well, maybe you should wait, then. Give him a call in a couple of hours when he’ll be back at the flat.’

She looks so sad, I just wish I’d been able to keep him here.

‘He came once, that shows that he seems willing to work things out.’

‘I guess so,’ says Rosie.

Alexis walks down the stairs and swoops me up in a big hug.

‘Ah, my lover,’ he says.

‘What the –?’ exclaims Rosie. ‘I only went to the builders’ merchant.’