How Laura Lewis Met Richard Brown

Chapter Seventeen

Laura woke long before the alarm. The weak January sun had yet to make its appearance. This was Laura’s favourite time of the day.

She swept the duvet back with a flourish, forced herself out of bed before she could change her mind, and, shoving her feet into her slippers, padded over to the bedroom door. She grabbed her dressing gown from the hook and wrapped it tightly around her waist.

Time for tea

Laura filled the kettle and set it on the Aga.

Laura had the day off so she made a plan in her head. First tea, then she’d strip the bed, put a wash on, do a quick hoover, and then she’d have a shower. She would immerse herself in these everyday chores. Switch off from worrying about Gertie and the feelings of guilt building in her gut because she had yet to phone her mum. She just couldn’t do it. Laura had told Maureen that she’d phone when she was settled, when she felt stronger. The sound of Maureen’s voice would send her spiralling back to the woman who had been Mark’s wife. The woman who had let him down in the most horrendous way. Maureen and Lottie were part of that past and Laura could not go back there. She had to rebuild her life. She had to feel strong again. To be happy in her own skin. She had started on this journey. She felt she was doing well, but there was still a long way to go.

The kettle was steaming so she filled up the teapot and switched on her phone to check the news headlines. Thirty minutes, then she’d make a start.

* * *

The village bus had one passenger on the back row when Laura stepped on board. She made her way to a seat in the middle and sat down, bag on her knee. She removed her pink bobble hat and loosened her scarf.

The morning had been spent cleaning and tidying, and she’d finished every task on her list by eleven. Then she’d decided to get dressed and to take the bus into town.

She needed to register with the GP and then find an NHS dentist — two things she’d been putting off. Laura had never liked going to the dentist. She always got a telling-off about not brushing her teeth properly. As for the GP, well, in usual circumstance she wouldn’t think twice about registering, but they would want to see her. Do the usual checks and inevitably they’d probe into her mental health. Ask about Mark. They would know what had happened. It would be in her notes. She needed to prepare for this.

Laura was glad that she’d spoken to Gertie. It was as if a weight had been lifted. But Gertie’s words also troubled her. The fact that the old woman had suggested she see a counsellor. Was that such a good idea? Wasn’t it best to leave the past buried? What good could there be in telling a stranger that her estranged husband had killed himself because she refused to speak to him. To forgive him. They wouldn’t understand her guilt. Just as Gertie hadn’t been able to understand it. No, she would think about counselling at a later date.

Now wasn’t the right time.

The bus made its way slowly along the village lanes. Nobody else got on. Laura delved into her bag and found the jelly babies. She popped a red one into her mouth and savoured the tangy strawberry taste. At this rate she was heading for type-two diabetes. She would buy some peanuts or crackers to keep in her bag. Before she knew it, she’d be forty and fat. She needed to take better care of herself.

Laura felt her phone vibrate through the fabric of the bag. Her fingers were still cold, despite the warmth from the blowers on the bus, and she fumbled with the inside pocket of her bag, retrieving the phone. She read the message on the lock screen.

It was from Lottie.

She had half expected it to be from Richard and she felt a confusing pang of disappointment.

Pushing this thought aside, she smiled as she read her sister’s words.

Just checking in. Hope you’re okay? Just text back so we know you’re alive. If you need to talk, I’m always here.

Laura felt a sudden stab of affection for her younger sister. Mark’s death had brought them closer together, but ultimately, Laura had pushed her away. She just hoped that, with time, they would be able to have their old relationship back. That they could return to how things were before the tragedy that had rocked her world.

Laura replied with a quick: All good, on the bus. Don’t worry.

She switched the phone off.

Her thoughts drifted back to Gertie. Laura couldn’t help worrying about her. The GP had wanted to run tests, but Gertie had refused. So, all they could do was monitor her. Make sure she was comfortable. During handover, Hazel had explained what had gone on and that Richard had been informed.

Laura wanted to phone him but knew she had no reason to. There was nothing to update him with and the only reason he’d given her his number was to be kept up to date about his grandmother. She had no reason to phone him. But her fingers itched to do so.

The bus ground to a halt in the bus station.

Laura stood and made her way down the aisle.

She would go to the library first. Take back her books and look for some more. Cerrie had found the book about dementia very interesting. Laura would try to find some more about nursing older people.

She stepped off the bus and disappeared into the moving crowd.

* * *

Richard leaned back in his chair, put his feet up on the stool and turned on the TV to watch the news headlines.

He hadn’t stopped all day.

A day of teaching, followed by meetings and then a trip to Tracey’s to pick up a very tired Henry. He had only just finished marking his Year Six maths homework, and although his eyes were scratchy with tiredness, his brain wouldn’t switch off just yet. He needed to unwind with his cup of tea, a few digestive biscuits and the news. Then he could think about sleep.

He sipped his tea, watching the screen as an image of a young woman filled the screen. Only just turned twenty, she had been missing for nearly a week. Richard felt terrible for her poor parents.

He muted the sound and thought of his own little boy, safe and asleep in his bed upstairs.

Sometimes Richard didn’t want his little boy to grow up. It was a cruel and dangerous world out there. He pushed himself further back in the armchair, adjusted his head on the cushion and closed his eyes. An image of Laura popped into his mind. How she had looked at him in the café.

She had looked so sad.

He had fought the urge to ask her what was wrong. To ask if he could help? It wasn’t his place to ask such questions.

He thought about the way she had reluctantly agreed to let him sit with her. He had felt awkward, stupid. A grown man who didn’t know the right words. He’d muttered under his breath the entire walk back to school, cursing his inability to talk to anyone like a normal human being.

He had no idea what she actually thought of him.

He had seen the way she agreed to have his mobile number. Like she didn’t really want it. But she obviously cared about Gertie enough to keep him up to date.

Richard told himself that was all that mattered.

It shouldn’t really matter what she thought about him.

She was a woman caring for his grandmother.

That was all.

The trouble was that she was incredibly intriguing. In the few fleeting times that he had spoken with her, he’d had a sense that he wasn’t talking to the real Laura. It was almost as if there was a protective shell around her. He could sense it in the way she spoke, and the things that she didn’t say.

He’d given Laura his number so that she could keep him informed about Gertie. But, on a deeper level, he also knew there was another reason.

Richard hadn’t seen Laura at the home yesterday. She hadn’t been working on Gertie’s floor. He’d spoken to his grandmother about her appointment with the GP. She’d tried to brush it off with a wave of her hand, but in the end, he’d got the truth out of her. That she didn’t want any tests or intervention. So, they’d agreed to monitor her condition. Although Richard hadn’t been happy with this decision, he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

He’d spoken to Gertie tonight on the phone. Only for five minutes, but it was reassuring to hear her voice. Luckily, Linda had been on shift and had used her mobile. Strictly, this wasn’t allowed, but he wasn’t going to say anything. He’d also heard the mischievous edge to Gertie’s voice as she spoke, knowing that it was forbidden.

Richard picked up his now cooling tea and drained the cup. He rubbed his eyes.

He’d head up to bed soon. The living room had grown cold now that the fire had died down. He kicked the footstool to one side and pushed himself up from the chair.

He took his cup and plate into the kitchen and dumped them into the sink. Leaning against the draining board, he looked out into the shadows of the garden.

He chuckled at the memory of how Gertie had perked up when asking him about Laura. About how their lunch date had gone.

Richard hadn’t told her that he’d had lunch with Laura in the café, so at first he’d wondered how his grandmother knew. But, of course, she had extracted this information from Laura. Gertie had proudly told him that Laura had told her all about it when she’d gone up to see her before heading home.

Richard wished Laura had kept this to herself as he knew Gertie would read too much into the situation. After all, she had called it a date.

‘Ask her out,’ Gertie had told him. ‘She doesn’t know anyone here in Buttermarsh.’

But Richard had remained quiet at the suggestion. He had no intention of asking Laura out. She wasn’t even a friend. He barely knew her.

But there was something about her. She was hiding something. He just didn’t know what it was.