“Would you mind waiting in the car for me?” Davies said to Bethan. “Won’t be long.”
When they were alone, Davies gazed steadily at Penny. He’d been wondering what to say to her and in the end, decided to keep it simple.
“Haven’t really told anyone yet, but I’m seriously thinking of retiring. I’m owed a few days leave—well, a lot, actually—so I’m heading over to Sherebury to talk things over with Alan Nesbitt and if I still feel like this when I get back, I’ll put things in motion. It won’t happen right away, of course, but I thought you should know.”
Penny made a noncommittal murmur.
“At one time I’d hoped that you and I…” His voice trailed off.
“I’m sorry, Gareth, I guess I’m just not the marrying kind. Some women aren’t. It’s just not right for me, not anymore. Once, maybe, but my life is in a different place, now.”
“I know that and I appreciate how honest you’ve been. Not pretending to feel something you don’t.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you and I’m sorry if I did,” said Penny.
He wanted to embrace her, but she stood just a little too far away and there was a hint of stiffness in the way she held herself that prevented him from touching her.
“Right, well, I’ll be off,” he said. “I’m guessing you don’t want to come to Sherebury with me.”
Penny shook her head, smiled, and he was gone.
She closed the door behind him, gathered up her sketching materials, and set off. She was troubled and she’d always found walking the perfect salve for an uneasy spirit. But it wasn’t the exchange with Gareth that bothered her. Jimmy had said something to her last Christmas that she couldn’t put out of her mind.
“Don’t forget about us, Penny. We’re still here.”
She thought about the nursing home and its residents—once vibrant, contributing members of the community who had raised children, baked pies, walked dogs, sung in choirs, read bedtime stories to their grandchildren … done all the daily tasks, that woven together form the tapestry of a life.
And now most of them had been forgotten by families who lived too far away or couldn’t make time to visit. Or perhaps there was just no one left.
She sped up and instead of heading into the countryside for a sketching session, she headed to the Spa and walked down the hall to Victoria’s office.
“Hello,” she said. “Who’s in this morning?”
“Just me and Eirlys. We don’t really have anyone on reception. Eirlys is running back and forth.”
“Does she have a client with her at the moment?”
“I don’t know. What’s this about?”
“Come with me.”
They walked down the hall to the manicure room where Eirlys was tidying up between clients. She looked surprised to see Penny.
“Oh, Penny. I didn’t think you were in this morning. Do you want me to take over on reception?”
Penny shook her head. “No. I want to talk to the both of you. I need your help.”
“What is it?” asked Victoria. “You seem wound up. Is something the matter?”
Penny shook her head.
“It’s about the nursing home. We need to do something for the residents. They’re bored and lonely. I’ve been thinking what we can do to make things better. I think we should start offering manicures to the ladies at a low price and me, personally, I plan to visit Jimmy at least once a week.”
Eirlys and Victoria smiled and immediately caught her enthusiasm.
“I could do a little harp recital, just a few songs, say one afternoon a month,” said Victoria.
“They’d love that!” said Penny. They looked at Eirlys.
“What if I helped them get on Facebook or showed them how to Skype so they could talk to their families?” Eirlys said. “Not everybody, of course, but the ones who want to.”
“Perfect!” said Victoria and Penny at the same time.
“Look, let’s form a little committee, and see what else we can come up with,” said Penny. “Maybe we can speak to the local florist and see if she could help. I’d love to get rid of those dusty old fake flowers in the lounge.”
“And maybe we could work with the owners to get the place painted and freshened up. It really needs to be brought out of the 1980s,” said Victoria.
“I think it’s a great idea to do something for them. After all, we’ll be old one day ourselves.” said Eirlys. “I’ll see if I can think of something that would get some of the young people in town involved.” She gave Penny a broad smile and returned to her work.
“We might organize a little roster of guest speakers,” said Victoria, as they made their way down the hall to the front door.
“Mrs. Lloyd could discuss how to write a memoir!”
“Whatever happened with that?”
“I don’t know,” said Penny. “She hasn’t mentioned it lately, so perhaps it just kind of quietly went away.”
“You know, if she wrote it, I’d read it,” Victoria said.
“So would I.”
“So would everyone in town.”
They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
* * *
Enthused about the new project to do more at the nursing home, Penny finally set off for her afternoon of sketching. The snow had almost melted away, leaving only patches on the hillsides, but enough to add a bit of visual interest.
But there was one last thing to do before she left the town behind her and began her countryside ramble.
“Hello, Jimmy,” she said. “Just popped in to see how you are this morning.”
He smiled up at her. “Let’s sit over here for a few minutes, Jimmy. I’m off to do some sketching and I want to get out before the light changes, but I want to tell you that things are hopefully going to get a little better around here.”
She explained the plans she and Victoria were hatching for the nursing home and then discussed the events of the night before.
“I was that worried about you, love,” he said. “If anything had happened to you, I would…” He turned his head away. Penny gave him a moment to regain his composure and then touched his arm.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you as often as I should have,” she said. “But I promise I’ll do better. And you be sure to let me know if there’s anything I can bring you.”
“I will.”
“See you soon.” And she meant it.
* * *
A few hours later, tired, hungry, but happy, she opened the door just as the phone rang. She set her gloves down and picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Emyr Gruffydd here. Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the concert last night and tell you what a brilliant job you did organizing it.”
“Oh! Thank you!”
“Well, there’s more to it than that. In fact, I’m calling to ask for your help, really. I’ve just been contacted by the BBC and they’re hoping to bring Antiques Roadshow to Llanelen and they want to hold the event at the Hall.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“The thing is, you see, I’m going to need help organizing it. There’ll have to be a marquee, and heaven knows what else. So I was wondering if you would consider taking it on.”
Penny thought for a moment.
“Why not, eh? What could possibly go wrong?” She laughed. “And at least I’ll be able to start this project with a clean slate.”