part0009

Natalie walked past the old tailor’s, soon to be ice-cream, shop. Inside, a woman with dyed red hair was talking to a builder. The woman’s appearance rang a bell, but the builder definitely wasn’t anyone Nat knew, judging from the dirty white van parked illegally on the pavement outside. Should she say something? She couldn’t see Ellie and the van wasn’t blocking her shop’s door, so she decided to leave it. Pick your battles. She might have one with Dad in a bit. She clutched the Double Decker Easter egg she’d bought him, hoping it might bring a smile to his face. Lately, Keith Hill had been a hard man to please.

She strolled across the village square, waving at Jodie and Craig who were moving more stuff to their new place. She’d seen them ferrying all manner of items along the street yesterday. She had no idea why they weren’t using a car; perhaps this was them getting their workout in? If that was their aim, they were doing a great job.

At 2pm, Sunday traffic was picking up, as it always did when the sun shone. Visitor numbers always ticked up at Easter, the lure of four days spent in the Cotswolds a big draw. She walked down the street to the river, which was thronged with tourists snapping photos on its tiny footbridges. The light was gorgeous on this March afternoon and when it caught the sand-coloured Cotswolds stone of the bridges and the surrounding buildings, the village lit up with flecks of straw and gold. Natalie couldn’t ever get tired of this view. She pitied those who’d never see it.

Natalie was Cotswolds born and bred. She’d grown up in Gatbury, which was two villages away, but many of her friends lived in Upper Chewford. Even her ex still lived here. When she’d opened the distillery shop with her aunt and moved into the flat above it, the locals had welcomed her. She might not be a Chewie by birth, but she was in her heart. Had Ellie Knap walked along this river and marvelled at how the sunlight hit the Cotswolds stone? Natalie would lay bets she hadn’t. Ellie Knap gave off the air of someone who didn’t have time to do that.

The trouble was, she’d met the likes of Ellie Knap before. She’d probably had a big City job, got fed up, and thought she’d come here for an easy life. Was she even planning to stick around here? Was her lease only six months? Natalie wouldn’t be surprised. History had a way of repeating.

Like the boutique owner, Mimi, who’d jacked it in after three months, burning Natalie’s heart in the process. The hairdresser, Sean, who’d run after six months. The tea-room owner, Steve, who’d got a job back in London within a year after realising he couldn’t make all that much money serving coffee and teacakes to tourists. The Cotswolds dream turned into a stark nightmare for many when they realised that behind it all was hard work, and not the instant, easy rewards they were hoping for.

She loved all the shopkeepers around her, and she was a member of the local business association. With that hat on, she had to be civil and welcoming to Ellie, even if she wanted to slap an instant fine on her forehead for bad parking and even worse cycling.

Natalie smiled as she thought about doing that. She had to give Ellie the benefit of the doubt. Who knew, she might be the one Londoner who loved it here, and didn’t complain about how slowly everyone walked.

The sign at the front said Appletree Cottage, even though there was no apple tree in sight. Natalie’s dad had bought the place when he and Natalie’s mum got divorced eight years ago. It had been a time in Natalie’s life when everything had blown up. Her parents had got divorced; she’d got divorced. It hadn’t been a stellar few months in the annals of the Hill family.

Still, Natalie loved Dad’s cottage. Mum was happy now, too, far away from the “claustrophobic Cotswolds”, as she’d called them. It wasn’t for everyone, Natalie got that. Mum was happy to visit, but she’d escaped and now lived by the sea in Hove with her new husband, Dave. Natalie didn’t see her as often as she’d like, but they spoke on the phone most weeks.

Natalie accepted his embrace, his thick black and white stubble scratching her face. He’d had a haircut and was dressed immaculately as always, in crisp black jeans, a white shirt and lemon jumper. She followed him through to the massive open-plan living space at the back of the house. The bifold doors onto the garden stood partly open.

Dad had renovated after watching one too many home improvement shows, and Natalie loved the resulting abundance of natural light. She was happy in her flat, but she missed having outside space, especially in the summer. She had spent many an evening lying on this sofa, staring up at the stars through the massive skylight and pondering the meaning of life. She was yet to nail it down.

Natalie tried not to dwell on the dishes piled high in the sink. “Yolanda’s good. We had a lovely dinner this week, but we missed you.”

He turned, still not meeting her eye. “I’ll try.” He grabbed some mugs from the cupboard above the toaster. “Tea? Coffee?”

“Tea, please.” Natalie got the milk from the fridge, before setting it on the counter. After Natalie divorced, she’d lived here with Dad, both of them shell-shocked. Dad had lost his wife; Natalie, her husband. The one she’d thought she’d grow old with. She and Dad had spent the first few weeks drinking gin or tea. Either one was a British institution.

“Did Yolanda tell you about the summer festival I’m organising? I’ve got big plans; it’s going to be a real show. I’d love you to be involved.”

He turned as he stirred the tea, as if he was assessing her. His broad shoulders looked slightly stooped, defeated. Was he still keeping up his running? She’d lay bets he wasn’t, if the state of his sink was anything to go by. After a few moments, he nodded. “Summer should be fine. Count me in. Anything to help my daughter. So long as I’m not dressing up as a bottle of gin or a slice of lemon.”

Natalie wished she could believe him when he said anything for her. The last year or so, he’d been different. More detached. Like a screw had come loose in their relationship. Plus, he’d never let the housework get on top of him before. Dad was all about order. Something was up, but she knew he needed time to tell her. Just like she did in her life. It was the way the Hills operated.

She bit her top lip to stop herself saying too much, and then reached down, lifting up the Easter egg. “Happy Easter, by the way. I brought your favourite.” She put the chocolate egg on the counter.

Natalie melted into it. He was still there. She just had to let him work through whatever he was going through. After a few moments, he let her go, and they walked to his soft grey sofas, facing out to the immaculate garden. On closer inspection, the house was still pretty clean. Maybe he really was just buried in work and a little under the weather. Maybe she was reading too much into it.

“Did you hear about the Blind Date thing?” Even as she said it, her heart sank. It was going to be a disaster, she just knew it.

Dad nodded, pushing his wire-framed glasses up his nose. “I did.” He paused. “Is it something you want to do, or something Yolanda’s pushed you into? She was very excited.”

Nat shrugged like it was nothing. “A bit of both. It won’t be the first time I’ve been embarrassed in The Golden Fleece, or the last.”

He shook his head. “Forget I said anything. I’m sure you’ll be great. But I don’t think I can make it. Too much work.”

The verbal slap still stung, even though she was 38. She still needed his approval. “I didn’t even tell you what day it was.”

She sipped her tea and stared for a moment, too. “You’ve had a haircut.” His short, grey cut was neatly clipped. “Looks good.”

Dad swept a hand up the back of his head. “Thanks.” He paused. “Jen did it.” Her dad said the last part as if he was tip-toeing around the words, trying not to say them out loud in case he upset her.

Dad sighed, and put his tea on the wooden coffee table in front of him. “I don’t want you to hear this from anyone else, so I’m just going to go ahead and say it.”

She took a deep breath and held it, then slowly exhaled. Jen was pregnant. Her ex-husband’s new wife was going to have a baby. Which meant Ethan was going to have a baby. She didn’t want to feel so winded, but she did. She remembered talking about baby names with Ethan after they got married, what they might call their offspring. Orton for a boy, Jessie for a girl. Only, it had never happened. Instead, she’d realised she was gay and now Ethan was having a baby with someone else.

“That’s good news.” The words were thorny in her throat. It was good news. She didn’t want to have a baby with Ethan, so she was happy for him. Ethan and Jen were married. Marriage. Babies. It was generally what happened with straight couples.

But Ethan’s life was really moving on. In the intervening eight years since she left him, he’d met someone else, married her, bought a house, and now they were starting a family. Whereas, in the intervening years since for Natalie, she’d moved into her aunt’s flat, taken over her business and had her heart broken twice. She was pleased for Ethan. It was just that his great strides stung a little.

Ethan was showing her and the world that he could do life just fine without her and cope with any curveballs that came his way. Natalie could do that, too. So could her dad. However, even though neither one of them would say it out loud, it would be nice to navigate life with a special someone by their side, too.

Natalie stuck out her bottom lip at Fi when she opened the door. Her cousin didn’t say a word, just stood aside and waved her through the door. They’d grown up together, both only children, cousins brought up like sisters. Fi lived in Upper Chewford, too, and her home was Natalie’s second home, and vice versa. Natalie strode through to her kitchen, flopping down at the table.

Rocky jumped up and tried to hump her leg. Natalie shook him off with a laugh. Dogs were good for your blood pressure, weren’t they? Rocky was bringing a smile to her face, and she was grateful.

Fi popped the caps, then sat down opposite Nat at the table. She put her chin in her palms, elbows on the table, one eyebrow raised. “Spill.”

Fi gave a bark of laughter. “I think we can both safely say when it comes to our parents, there’s no such thing as being overly sensitive. As Julie Andrews so nearly put it, the Hills are alive with the sound of madness.”

Natalie smiled at that. “I don’t know what we did to deserve them.” She took a slug of her beer before studying the label. “This is good. Another of your acquisitions?”

She nodded. “It’s good, isn’t it? I might even buy some when this is finished.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “What’s Keith done this time?”

She shrugged. “Just… distant. Like he has been for ages. But then he hugs me like he’s never going to see me again, and it unnerves me. And he’s still hung up about the gay thing, even though that hasn’t changed in years. Do you think he’s depressed? Thinking about doing something stupid?” She shuddered as she said it. It wasn’t anything she could imagine. Dad had always been a pillar of strength for her. He was a financial director, for god’s sake. Weren’t they meant to be black and white, analytical?

Fi cocked her head. “Maybe he is a bit down. It would explain him working from home so much more these days. I see him a bit more than you, so I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Natalie gave her a tight smile. “Thanks. I’m sure it’s nothing, but he might need our help. He told me about Jen and Ethan having a baby today, and he looked at me as if I might break.” She swept a hand through her short hair. “I’m fine. I don’t want a baby with Ethan, so his wife might as well. But the look on Dad’s face? I couldn’t pin it down. It’s like he wanted a baby with Ethan.”

“Like I’d miss it. The whole village will be there to witness this. Fi shook her head. “One other thing that’s perplexed me. I don’t know how Eugenie managed to get Harry to agree, seeing as she’s still pretty cut up about Josie leaving. You think it’s Eugenie’s warped plan to get Josie back here? I have wondered.”