Rebecca Pugh - Down on Daffodil Lane

‘Thank you,’ said Maria. Harriet’s smile reached her eyes, before she returned to the counter.

Maria took a tentative sip of the rich brew. It was the first decent cup of coffee she’d had in weeks. There was a shiny coffee machine back at the cottage but she hadn’t had the patience to figure out how to work it. What buttons did you press if all you were after was a standard coffee? Thankfully, she’d found a jar of instant in one of the cupboards, settling for that. It wasn’t the best but it was something at least.

When Maria had turned the key in the cottage door and stepped inside, she’d taken a curious wander through the home and found the cupboards and fridge-freezer stocked up. Even the sheets on the bed had been freshly washed and smelt divine. The place itself though – and Geraldine had said as much – was in desperate need of a lick of paint. The walls were dull and the paint peeling, and as soon as Maria had come face to face with them, she’d known a splash of colour was just what the cottage needed.

‘What’s next?’ asked Rob.

‘I told you, Rob. I’m completely clueless. I suppose I’ll take the summer and use it as time to recuperate. I said I’d do up the cottage for Geraldine as a thank you. I need to pull myself back together and get used to life without Mike.’ She shrugged. ‘That’s all I can do really, isn’t it?’ She couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried, think ahead to after the summer had ended. When she did, it felt like looking into a void, empty of people and plans. It was a horrible feeling, one she didn’t quite know what to do with. Perhaps ignore it? That seemed like the best option.

‘You’ll be fine, I know you will.’

‘I hope so.’ She tried to smile at Rob gratefully.

‘And try not to think about him,’ Rob added. ‘He doesn’t deserve even a second of your time.’ He reached across the table to squeeze her hand comfortingly. ‘We’re all here for you. Me, Mum, Rosanna and the girls. You don’t need him. You’re much better off here, away from it all, for the summer at least. Everyone’s still asking about you, about how you’re coping. You’d hate it.’ The corner of his mouth quirked.

‘I would,’ she agreed quietly, nursing the warm mug with both hands. Her fingers curled around it, seeking comfort. That was another thing that had begun to get on her nerves. The sympathy had been overwhelming, especially from her mother’s friends. Pats on the back and sad smiles by the bucket-load. She couldn’t stand it. She’d hoped, foolishly, that people would manage, for the first time ever, to keep their noses out of her business, but they hadn’t. Everyone knew what had happened. She guessed that was partly to do with Ellen and her network of friends, who always seemed to know everything about everyone. There were no secrets in her life, and Maria hated that. At least here, no one had the slightest clue about her.

‘I never liked him anyway, not really. Plus, you deserve better. Move on, forget him.’

Easy for you to say . She knew he meant well but when it wasn’t happening to you, it was easy to hand out advice. It was okay for her brother with his perfect family, job and home, not that she would ever hold that against him. She couldn’t be happier that Rob had such a wonderful life and that she was such a massive part of it, but she didn’t think he had the slightest clue of what she was going through and she’d never wish it upon him.

For Maria, it was as if her whole world had been shredded into a tiny million pieces right before her eyes and there wasn’t a single thing she could do about it. She felt lost, out of place, as if she were floating higher and higher into the sky, like a balloon that had been released by the hand that had once held her so tightly. She needed to anchor herself again, she just didn’t know how and, at the end of it all, she knew one thing was for certain. She needed to move on.

When breakfast was delivered, Maria inhaled the smell of the food deeply and tried to remember the last time she’d felt as ravenous. She wasn’t sure what it was but, all of a sudden, the idea of tucking into the plate of food sat before her, completely inviting, was more than appealing. Perhaps it was the way Rob snatched up his cutlery and tucked in as if he hadn’t eaten for days? Or perhaps it was simply her surroundings and new circumstances, coupled with the fresh air her lungs had taken in that morning? Whatever it was, her stomach untangled itself from the tension it had been victim to and, after the first mouthful of egg and bacon, she was unable to stop herself from shovelling the rest into her mouth at an unbelievable speed. Using the last slice of buttery toast to mop up the puddle of baked bean juice, Maria sat back in her seat and gave her full stomach room to breathe.

‘Now that’s what I call breakfast.’

Rob grinned. ‘Blimey, you wolfed that down, didn’t you?’

Finished and ready to go, Maria and Rob back went back towards the counter. ‘How much do I owe you?’ he asked, rifling through his wallet.

Harriet glanced up from what she was doing. Maria tried to take a closer look, and realised she was writing out a sign for a job vacancy. She returned the lid to the black marker pen she’d been using with a little pop and smiled. She took payment and handed over a receipt.

‘Hey.’ Rob nudged Maria in the side with his elbow and nodded at the sign. ‘That’d be perfect for you, just while you’re here. Keep you busy when you’re not painting back at the cottage.’

Harriet’s eyes sparkled with promise as she looked at Maria hopefully. ‘It’s only a temporary position, mind you. I’ve got everything handled any other time, but when summer arrives, it’s much harder to stay on top of it all. The place gets so busy, you wouldn’t believe it.’

Maria tried to laugh it off and shook her head quickly. ‘No, I don’t think so.’ In her mind, she could clearly hear Mike roaring with laughter. He would think it hilarious if she, Maria, who’d been a ‘kept’ woman since they’d met, now took up the role of a waitress. The sound of his evil cackling rattled around her mind, making her nerves surge back to the surface once more. Swallowing, she tried to shove Mike into a box right at the very back of her mind and added a padlock for good measure. He was gone for good now. History.

‘Why not?’ Rob persisted cheerfully, seeing no problem with the idea. ‘You’d be great, and with you only staying here for the summer it’s perfect. I think you should go for it. Help Harriet here out!’

And I think you should shut up, Robert , Maria thought to herself, with a smile plastered onto her face so that they couldn’t see what she was really thinking. ‘I don’t know,’ she said slowly, as if mulling it over, when she already knew the answer. ‘Maybe.’

‘Oh, it’s all right. Don’t feel like you have to,’ Harriet laughed heartily. ‘But, if you do happen to change your mind, don’t hesitate to pop back.’

Maria smiled, grateful at Harriet for noticing her discomfort. ‘I will do, thank you. I’ll no doubt be back for breakfast anyway,’ she laughed.

‘Goodbye,’ Harriet waved, as Maria and Robert left the café.

*

‘That wasn’t so bad, was it?’ Rob said before downing the last of his coffee and placing the empty cup into the sink with a chink against the others.

They were back at the cottage and Maria was putting away the shopping she’d picked up on the way back to Daffodil Lane. Her stomach felt deliciously full after their breakfast. She was still surprised at how much she’d managed to eat that morning, wondering whether it was the very area itself working its magic on her. It was a completely ridiculous notion but something had certainly changed that morning.