A Change for the Better? (16 page)

In much less time than the twenty minutes it should have taken, Ben pulled up outside Tolpuddle House. It was quite possible Ben had gained enough points to lose his licence on the drive there if he had been unlucky enough to encounter a policeman at every set of traffic lights he’d jumped or speed limits he broke. Running up the path Ben
knocked impatiently on the door, completely forgetting the
doorbell
at the side. Just as he was about to hammer again the door opened and Katie, with her hair pinned high in a ponytail looked out enquiringly. On spying Ben she broke into a smile.

“Oh Ben, at last, we were starting to get a bit worried about you. You’re usually here by eight for Lucy, it’s already eight thirty. Well come in” Katie held back the door as Ben entered.

“What do you mean you were getting worried about me?” he asked.

“Just that, Lucy’s been here hours now. I thought maybe you’d forgotten about her – what with your big project.” Katie smiled to indicate she was teasing as she realised Ben’s face was growing darker, like a thundercloud was immediately
overhead
.

“Are you telling me Lucy’s here?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“Erm, yes – and you’re here to pick her up” Katie said slowly, a little uncertain as to why Ben was acting so strangely. She didn’t have long to find out.

“LUCY” Ben bellowed “get yourself down here – NOW!”

In a few seconds a very pale faced Lucy appeared in the doorway of Katie’s flat.

“Ben, I was just ……..” she started.

“I know what you just - I have been half way round the country looking for you, at Saffron’s, and Mum’s. Do you have any idea how worried I was?” Ben was shaking, both with rage and relief in equal measure.

“I just wanted to get out of your way and Katie said I could come round whenever I wanted I just thought
..”

“Stop Lucy, I don’t want to hear it – Okay. Just get in the van we’re going.”

Katie, who had just realised why Ben had been acting so strangely, and that she had been somewhat duped by Lucy herself, felt she should still try to defend Lucy a little.

“Look, I’m sure she didn’t mean to scare you, she just thought she was getting out of your way. Don’t be too hard on her.” Katie looked pleadingly at Ben. By now the relief that Ben felt was turning into a white hot anger that he had been put through the ordeal of the last few hours. The red mist setting around his flashing blue eyes was clouding his view and he wasn’t fully in control of what he was saying.

“I’ll deal with my sister how I see fit, thank you” Ben said, in clipped
tones, “You
want to concentrate on behaving as a responsible adult, not some over aged student trying to hang out with kids. When a child turns up on your doorstep in the future I suggest the first thing you do is to contact their guardian – not set them up with milk and cookies.” With that Ben turned on his heel and exited Tolpuddle House slamming the door so hard it echoed through the stonework. Katie’s stood open mouthed in disbelief. Her response dying on her lips as she drew breath to make it.

The following morning started as dull and grey as the previous. As Katie struggled to awake, she wandered through the kitchen fixing
herself
a strong black coffee, she thought the damp, overcast weather was creating that damp overcast feeling in her, but as she gradually unfogged the sleep from her head she started to recall why she had such a knot in her stomach and a quiet rage in her head. Ben ‘bloody’ Wilson! How dare he go off at her about his sister? He wanted to look at himself before he started throwing accusations about. What was he doing that a fourteen year old girl could leave the flat and travel easily ten miles and then not even to miss her for the best part of three hours! Then he had the cheek to suggest that she was irresponsible. Katie was back to full level fuming by now. Her brown eyes flashing with flecks of amber as she wrestled with the injustice of it, and what was worse, she never got the chance to answer him back! He had slammed the door and left by the time she had drawn breath. Katie wasn’t sure that this hadn’t got her madder than the unfair insults thrown at her. Katie liked the opportunity to have her say (something she’d inherited from Mo) and she felt the weight of unfinished business in her mind as she ran through the many and varied – and creative ripostes she could have fired back at Ben.

After a hearty breakfast of porridge with a huge dollop of honey, followed by a bracing shower Katie was still twitching with unspent energy created by her unfinished argument.

“Well, Katie Collins” Katie said bracingly to her reflection in the bathroom mirror, “there is no point fuming impotently here – you may as well put all this excess energy to good use.” With that she put on her oldest clothes and grabbed an old pair of gloves and headed out to the front garden.

Ever since Katie had been back at Tolpuddle House the overgrown state of the garden had been tearing at her, calling her to uncover the beauty she remembered from her days there as a child. She may as well use this new found energy to see if she could restore some part of it.

An hour later and Katie had started to make some real progress in the garden. Having cut away and cleared the overgrown clematis that had been overhanging the fence and obscuring a quarter of the bay window, Katie was now uncovering the path and a small patio area that had been hidden under many years of neglect. Katie let out a little cry of delight as she uncovered the stone bird bath she had loved as a child. It was shaped like a large sea shell and had a small frog sat on a lily pad
on one side. She had loved this as a little girl and spent much time cleaning it and filling it with water. With renewed energy from her happy find Katie set too, digging up the weeds that were choking the beautiful plants in the beds around the patio. At least she hoped it was the weeds she was digging up, she smiled grimly, she was not exactly a knowledgeable gardener or even an enthusiastic amateur. In fact she had generally gravelled, flagged or decked any green areas she had previously owned and the fact that her penthouse in London only had a balcony had been a source of great relief to her. But, Katie reasoned, as she continued pulling and cutting, anything had to be better than the wilderness the garden had become. Coming across a particularly stubborn root formation Katie let fly with the spade, attacking it from angles.

“And exactly whose head are you imagining that to be” Katie swung round and smiled at Cliona’s laughing face, “Could it be Marcus?” she teased.

“Actually, no” Katie answered, a little surprised herself, “it was mainly Ben Wilson – and the jobs not finished yet” she continued ominously aiming a few more swishes at the root.

“Ok, ok” Cliona cut in, “it’s most definitely time for a break. Come on, kettle on and you can tell me what on earth Ben has done to get you into such a rage. Ooh and you can try these throws out in the living room too.” She added suddenly remembering why she had come round in the first place.

Shortly afterwards Katie and Cliona were ensconced in the kitchen, tucked up in the big sofas munching chocolate biscuits, sipping steaming hot coffee. Katie had also told Cliona the full story about Ben’s behaviour the previous day. Cliona, however, could only see the funny side of it at present.

“Oh God, Lucy – she’s a right a handful, always has been. I can’t believe Ben fell for it again.” She giggled as she wiped her eyes.

“You mean she’s done this before?” Katie asked, interested in spite of her indignation.

“Oh yes” Cliona replied emphatically, “She was always disappearing off a couple of years ago. I think it was when the mother’s latest beau came on the scene. Lucy kept being sent to stay with Ben – just to get her out of the way really and she just kept disappearing, turning up at
home or at a friends. But, to be fair, she’s been okay recently. I wonder what made her do it this
time?
” Cliona pondered.

“She probably wanted to get away from that bad tempered bloke. I wouldn’t want to hang around with him glaring at me all evening.” Katie grumbled.

“Come on, be fair Katie” Cliona remonstrated with her friend, “I know he was out of order, but he was worried sick. His fourteen year old sister was missing and he didn’t have a clue what had happened. He was probably ringing the police in his head and assuming all sorts of terrible possibilities that he would feel responsible for.”

“I suppose” Katie allowed grudgingly “but he could have let me get a word in edgeways!” she added.

“Ah, so that’s the problem is it?” Cliona said knowingly, “He disappeared before you got to answer him back. Nevermind, you can give him a piece of your mind next time you see him” she teased.

“I most certainly will not.” Katie replied indignantly “I won’t speak to him until I’ve had a full and proper apology.” Katie stuck out her chin
in a determined fashion that Cliona was starting to recognise, it
meant she
had dug her heels in.

“Okay, Okay,” Cliona held her hands up in mock surrender, “I’m not getting in the middle of someone else’s fight. You can sort it out with Ben – or not as the case may be.” Cliona shot Katie a sly look before changing the subject. She thought it was extremely interesting that they had both had such a strong reaction to the same situation, but she knew better than to voice this comment at the moment. Instead, keeping her thoughts strictly to herself, with a post script to share them with Declan later, Cliona dragged Katie into the living room to try out the throws.

Katie had to admit the throws worked really well in the living room as she surveyed the finished room at six o’clock that evening. When she had first seen the assortment of brightly coloured fabrics Cliona had brought she thought they would be a bit much in the Victorian room, but actually the splashes of colour against the magnolia walls picked out the more muted colours of Lucy’s border and added a warmth to the room that had already been much increased by the new radiators. Ben had certainly got those right she had to admit, even if he had got everything since wrong. The room was laid out with chairs, flipcharts
and crockery, delivered as promised, by her new village friends and the food was all ready in the kitchen to be brought through at seven thirty when the meeting had been in session for an hour. Katie took one last look at the room and wandered back into the kitchen, deciding how to fill the next hour. As it turned out she needn’t have worried, the next hour flew past as she opened the door and greeted committee members and calmed Hermione down, who was doing a fine impression of a headless chicken under pressure. Once most of the committee had arrived Katie slipped back into the kitchen and put a huge pot of water to boil on the range and filled the kettle, flicking the switch on and taking a good sized slurp of Chardonnay at the same time. Lastly she put a bottle of water and a jug of orange juice on a tray and returned the wine to the fridge, she had suggested having some wine to Hermione but she had nearly fainted at the idea.

“No, no, oh absolutely not, this is a working meeting. We want focus and ideas. It’s not a social occasion” she had said, horrified. Personally Katie thought the ideas might be somewhat more interesting if they did pass round the Pinot Grigio and Merlot, but it wasn’t to be.

Slipping into the back of the living room from the second door further down the
hallway, which
Katie had managed to unblock from clutter on
both sides, Katie placed the drinks on the table which she had previously covered in one of Mo’s beautiful cream lace cloths. Then, carefully, she brought through the food she had spent the afternoon preparing. They had settled on a selection of sandwiches, cakes and biscuits but Katie had added a large tureen of hot tomato and basil soup when the temperature had plummeted during the afternoon. She was still a bit worried about the room being cold and she hoped a big mug of soup would go some way to maintaining an acceptable body temperature for all the committee members. Lastly she had made a chocolate cake and a lemon cake, both light and fluffy, cut into pieces just large enough to feel indulgent without seeming greedy. Katie slipped back out again giving Cliona a wink as Hermione started to open the meeting and Cliona rolled her eyes back. There were many items on the agenda and Cliona knew only too well Hermione’s tendency to go off at a tangent until they had all forgotten where they had started. Katie was booked to replenish drinks in an hour and a half, and Cliona was planning to have Hermy through at least ¾ of the agenda by then. Sighing as she thought enviously of Katie heading back to her big old sofa and Emmerdale, Cliona turned her attentions back to the meeting.