It Started With A Tweet(69)

I’m silent for a minute as I consider what he’s saying.

‘I think deep down you know that you need space, as otherwise you’d get on a train back to London. You’re a grown woman and Rosie’s pretty small; I doubt she’d be able to do anything to stop you if you really wanted to leave. In my humble opinion, you’re going along with her and doing this detox, following her rules, because you want a break. So take it.’

‘I .?.?.’ I can’t help thinking he’s right. I’m not imprisoned here; I could walk to the village and get a train. Maybe I’m hiding behind the digital detox because I don’t want to face up to the mess my life’s in.

‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I always thought I’d have fun in my early twenties, living in London, going out drinking with my friends – working hard, playing harder, that’s what you’re supposed to do, right? I just assumed that I’d get the big promotions, meet someone and get married, afford to buy my house and have kids. Only, now I’m thirty-one, I have nowhere to live, no job, no boyfriend and no idea if I even want to stay working in marketing. The men I meet are only ever after one thing, and I’m worried I’m never going to find anyone that’ll commit to me.’

I can feel tears welling up behind my eyes.

‘Instead of focusing on what you haven’t got, why don’t you focus on what you do have? Your friendships, your relationship with your sister. You’ve got a roof over your head and you’ve got a project to work on. And look where you are,’ he says waving his arm around.

I stop and take in the view. Under today’s blue sky the grass is greener than ever. It’s truly beautiful here.

I start walking again, and mull over what he said and what I should be grateful about. It seems funny that he mentioned my relationship with Rosie, as for years I’ve said how different we are and how we don’t get on, but we’ve lived in the most primitive conditions for the last week and we’ve got on surprisingly well.

‘You’re very wise,’ I say, finally.

‘I have my moments,’ he says. ‘I’ll tell you what, for someone getting space and wanting to find yourself, you couldn’t have picked a better place. Now that you’re safely kitted out, head out for a walk now and then, and I promise you, without hunting for a mobile signal, it’ll give you time to think.’

‘Thanks, Jack.’

We climb back over the stile and come to the end of the path.

‘Did you want to come back to the farm for a coffee?’ I say, not quite wanting the morning to end.

‘Actually, I’ve got a conference call for work, so rain check?’

‘OK, thanks for coming to get me today. I think that was just what I needed.’

‘Anytime,’ he says, waving as he goes.

I walk back through into our courtyard, glancing over at the well, and for the first time since Rosie put my phone down there I don’t have the urge to try and recover it. For the first time in a long time, I feel as if it’s where it’s meant to be for me to really think about where my life is heading.





Chapter Twenty-One

Time since last Internet usage: 1 week, 4 days, 20 hours, 2 minutes and 19 seconds.

‘And the grand total is –’ says Rosie, as she taps the final figures into her old school calculator. She puts her hand over the screen. ‘I can’t look.’

‘Come on, Rosie, be brave,’ I say as I place the final teacup on the draining board and dry my hands. Those builders can certainly drink some amount of tea in a day; I feel as if I’ve been washing up all morning.

I go over and sit next to my sister, getting ready to help her reveal the project spending.

‘OK,’ she says, moving her hand and showing me the amount on the calculator.

‘Oh,’ we both say.

‘That’s more than I thought,’ I say, wincing slightly.

‘Actually it’s only seven hundred pounds over budget so far,’ she says, slightly optimistic sounding.

‘And that’s a good thing?’

‘Well, not a great thing, but considering that the plumber talked us into putting en suites into all the bedrooms and I hadn’t originally budgeted for them, that’s not too bad. Of course, he’s only put the plumbing in for it, so I’ve still got to buy the suites for them, but with the discount at the plumbers’ merchants he’s going to organise, hopefully it won’t be too bad. Phew. God, I’m so relieved,’ she says as she starts copying some figures down, and I’m relieved that she’s happy. ‘See, with me doing the figures, and you doing the project management, we’re making a pretty good team.’

‘Yes, we are,’ I say nodding, and realising how right Jack was.

The noise in the house is testament to the good job, as there’s banging and clanging all over the place as the plumber and the carpenters are finishing off their work. Rosie’s given Alexis the day off, and she and I are sorting out the paperwork. I’ve spent the morning making tea and researching the competition.

‘You know, you shouldn’t go back to London, you should go into business with me. We could do more projects like this.’

I look around the falling-down kitchen. ‘Ha, that’s funny.’

‘I’m serious. You’re good at the project management, and I’m good at the finances; we work well together.’