I didn’t manage to either set foot in the garden, or do a scrap of work during my first two days living in Norwich. Having ferried my things from the van to the house, Luke and Kate then insisted, with the others backing them up, that I should take time to settle in, find my feet and take stock of the changes happening in mine and Nell’s lives.
Although keen to forge ahead, I had to admit I was both physically and mentally exhausted by the end of the day. Having unpacked my things in the house, lined up the cuttings in the back porch which was tacked onto the kitchen, and then spent ages handing out the sweets to the trick or treaters, when I climbed into bed I swiftly fell into a lavender-scented long and dreamless sleep. I had no idea whether or not the water pipes made any of the noises Harold had suggested, because I was well and truly out for the count.
Waking late, I followed everyone’s advice and set Sunday aside for pottering about, and much of Monday was commandeered by Kate as ‘orientation day’. By the end of it, we had sorted out utilities and other bills and then walked for what felt like miles.
By teatime I was registered with the nearest doctor’s surgery, Nell was acquainted with the vets and I knew where Blossom’s the bakers and Greengage’s the grocers were located as well as the pub, fittingly for Norwich, called The Dragon, and a couple of other interesting-looking shops, including a second-hand bookshop and a vintage emporium.
‘I’m sorry we haven’t had time to explore further,’ Kate said as we arrived puffing and rosy-cheeked back in the square, ‘but at least now you’ve got the gist of what’s closest.’
‘I have,’ I told her, ‘and very lovely it all looks too. It’s going to be a novelty being able to walk to the shops for milk and freshly baked bread. At Broad-Meadows I had to drive everywhere.’
‘So, you’re happy?’ she asked.
‘Ever so,’ I honestly told her.
I was still happy the next morning when my alarm went off, but I was a bit jittery too. I hadn’t felt first-day nerves when I started work for Eloise, but I had them by the time I slipped my feet into my wellies and crossed the square to Prosperous Place. It felt like there was so much more at stake here, what with the Winter Garden to plan and plant, but that was exciting as well as scary.
‘You got in all right then?’ called a voice from an upstairs window as I walked around the side of the house.
I looked up and found Luke leaning out of it.
‘You scared me half to death,’ I called back, my hand on my chest.
‘Sorry,’ he grinned.
‘Yes,’ I told him. ‘I disarmed the alarm and reset it when I closed the gate.’
‘Great,’ he said, ‘then you shouldn’t have any problems opening up the sheds and office. I’ll come out and find you later.’
‘There’s no rush,’ I insisted. ‘I’m looking forward to having a proper look around on my own for a bit, if that’s all right?’
He gave me a thumbs up and disappeared back inside, and Nell and I carried on.
The sheds Luke referred to weren’t sheds in the wooden garden storage sense, but a sturdily built brick collection of what had possibly once been stables or garages. Two were set aside for the garden. The largest stored the bulkiest equipment – an ancient ride-on mower, chainsaw, hedge cutter and the like – while the smaller one was reserved for a comprehensive selection of hand tools, buckets, pots, labels, etc with the end being given over to what Luke called the office. Basically, an old table, a couple of chairs, a grubby kettle, a pile of invoices and a stack of gardening magazines.
I spent the first couple of hours inspecting everything, checking service dates on the machinery and generally acquainting myself with what I had to work with. Everything looked to be in good order, aside from the ride-on, but the hand tools, which were wonderfully old, could have done with a good scrub and sharpen as well as a coating of linseed oil to protect the wooden handles. I noted that down as a wet-weather task. There were always things to do when managing a garden, even during inclement weather.
By the time I had finished going through everything, Nell was getting restless.
‘Come on then,’ I said, pulling my coat back on, ‘let’s go and see what the garden has to offer, shall we?’
In much the same way as I had worked through the tools and equipment, I made notes on every aspect of the garden, prioritising those areas which needed the most work and marking out, on a rough hand-drawn design, points of interest which we could highlight when the garden was open in the winter. There was already a lot that we could utilise and some obvious spots where we could further and easily enhance what was already planted.
The only thing missing was a functioning greenhouse. The original ones were little more than shells, their wooden frames rotting and empty. Broad-Meadows had heated space in abundance and I knew I was going to have to broach the lack of it here with Luke at some point. A garden of this size really needed a glasshouse, even if only a small one.
‘Here you are,’ said Luke, when he later caught up with me in the fern garden. ‘We thought you’d come to the house for your tea-break, but there was no sign of you.’
‘Crikey,’ I said, straightening up from the crouched position I’d been in, trying to read a faded plant label, ‘is it that time already?’
‘Not tea-break time,’ Luke laughed. ‘You missed that completely. It’s almost twelve now.’
‘Is it really?’ I gasped, amazed that the morning had run away with me and I hadn’t realised.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘and Chloe, our trusty volunteer, is going to be here any minute. She’s looking forward to meeting you.’
I was looking forward to meeting her too. I hoped she was, at the very least, willing and able because I had plenty lined up for her to do. My list-making was supposed to make me feel more organised and help settle my nerves, but it was getting so long, I was starting to wonder if just the two of us would be able to tick even half the things off in the time we had to get the garden ready to open.
Chloe turned out to be about my age, with a healthy can-do attitude and closely cropped auburn hair. She arrived by bicycle, with a bag from Blossom’s tucked in the basket and a warm and welcoming smile lighting up her striking amber-coloured eyes.
‘Oh, look at your gorgeous hair!’ was the first thing she said to me as I pulled my heavy plait over my shoulder for reassurance. ‘Kate told me it was long, but I thought she was exaggerating. Sorry,’ she then apologised, shaking her head as she climbed off the bike and thrust the bag from Blossom’s into Luke’s arms. ‘Rolls for lunch,’ she told him before turning back to me. ‘Let me introduce myself properly, I’m Chloe.’
She was shorter than she had looked when she was sat on the bike, but no less full of enthusiasm. She was exactly what the garden, and I, needed. I was surprised Luke hadn’t been making better use of her, what I could already tell was, boundless energy.
‘And I’m Freya,’ I smiled back.
‘Of course, you are,’ she grinned, ‘with your pretty blue eyes and Rapunzel tresses you couldn’t possibly be anyone else. And this is lovely Nell.’
Nell was doing her best to stay hidden behind my legs. I reached behind me and patted her head.
‘It is,’ I told Chloe. ‘I’m afraid she’s a bit shy.’
Chloe nodded. ‘I can sympathise,’ she said, looking at the little she could see of Nell’s head, ‘I’m a bit that way myself.’
Luke rolled his eyes and led us into the house while I tried to work out if she was being serious and braced myself for the first of many unusual working lunches.
As the three of us (Kate was away for the day), ate our way through the soft filled rolls, and then some delicious cakes, I, at Luke’s request, talked them through the notes I had made so far.
For the most part, he and Chloe sat and listened, encouragingly nodding along, with the occasional ‘I told you we should have been doing that,’ thrown in from the eager volunteer.
‘So, Chloe,’ I said, once I had finally finished and the clock on the wall was telling me we had talked way beyond the thirty minutes I usually allotted myself for lunch, ‘can you remind me how many days a week you’re here?’
‘Just two,’ she said. ‘All day Tuesday and Thursday. I missed this morning because I had an appointment, but as a rule I’m here from eight until four.’
There was plenty we would be able to get done in that time and I felt my shoulders relax a little.
‘And if push came to shove,’ she went on, ‘I’d be happy to give up the occasional weekend.’
‘That’s very kind of you,’ I said, thinking that I would definitely be taking her up on the offer ahead of the Winter Garden opening and wondering if any of the Grow-Well team could spare a few hours too.
I knew that Luke had said he didn’t like to ask them, but if it did get tight for time, I was sure they would help, Graham especially. I was feeling much better now we had talked the tasks through. I might not have had the formal qualifications Jackson would have preferred, but I did have the skills and experience. I could do this. I would do it, and what was more, I would do it well.
‘And is there anything you really enjoy doing in the garden and anything you absolutely hate?’ I asked Chloe.
She shook her head. ‘I’m happy doing anything,’ she told me. ‘I come here for the exercise and the fresh air. This place has worked wonders for my mental health, so I’m happy to undertake whatever task you assign me.’
Just as I thought, Chloe really did have a great can-do attitude.
‘I work as a teaching assistant at the local primary school the other three days of the week,’ she elaborated, ‘so you might even be able to talk me into some extra hours during the holidays.’
I noticed she was wearing a wedding band.
‘And I can see you’re married,’ I said with a nod to her left hand. ‘Do you have any kids of your own?’
Luke started gathering the dishes together and I felt my face go red. The older I got, the more often I had found myself being asked the same thing. Given how much I resented the sympathetic looks I received when I said no, I didn’t have any children, I felt awful for letting my mouth run away with me and asking the same thing of Chloe, especially when I noticed the look on her face.
‘No,’ she said, with a suddenly less than convincing smile, ‘no kids, and no husband actually. He died before we got around to it.’
I didn’t know what to say but I wished Nell would start digging a hole in the floor for me to crawl into. That was the last time I was going to let my mouth overtake my brain.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I whispered.
She was far too young to be a widow.
‘You’ve not been living in Norwich all that long, have you, Chloe?’ said Luke, kindly coming to my rescue.
‘No,’ she said, ‘what is it now? About eighteen months, I reckon. I moved here six months after Ade died. Completely against the advice of my mother, of course,’ She tutted, sounding more like herself again. ‘She wanted me to stay put. Same house, same town, same life, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to do it. Once Ade had gone, I realised I had nothing of the same life left and so I decided to build myself a new one.’
‘That was very brave,’ I told her.
‘My mother prefers to call it stupid,’ she told me, thankfully sounding far happier again. ‘She said I was making a mistake and that I’d regret it.’
‘And have you?’
‘Not yet,’ she beamed.
‘I can sympathise,’ I said, ‘on the opinionated parent front, I mean. My mum and dad have never been backwards in coming forwards when it comes to expressing their views about my life choices too.’
Mum had been completely thrown when I told her I had a new job in Norfolk and that I wouldn’t be taking up her and Dad’s offer of a fresh start with an old flame in New Zealand. She had wanted details, but I told her the same as Peter; I’d fill them in properly as soon as I was settled.
‘That’s something we have in common then,’ Chloe laughed. ‘Not all that long ago we would have had long hair in common too, but I cut mine off. I didn’t do it myself,’ she hastily added. ‘I paid someone to cut it and I loved it straightaway but my mother thought I was having a breakdown. My Britney phase, she called it, and was all for staging an intervention.’
Chloe’s mum sounded even more of a handful than mine.
‘Anyway,’ said Chloe, shaking her head, ‘sorry. I didn’t mean to overshare.’
‘You haven’t,’ Luke and I said together.
‘I think you two are going to get along very well,’ he carried on.
‘So do I,’ Chloe and I then piped up in unison, and we all laughed.
Once Luke had loaded the dishwasher, we walked around the garden together and I assigned the pair a number of jobs to be getting on with straightaway. I also offered a list of prospective plants, bulbs and shrubs for Luke to consider buying, which he eagerly embraced. Given how mild the weather still was, should anything I’d suggested take his fancy, there was still time to get it planted.
‘And these three silver birch trees,’ I pointed out as we wove our way back towards the office, ‘they’d look even better if they had a wash and brush up.’
‘What?’ frowned Luke, looking up into the branches.
‘Are you being serious?’ Chloe laughed.
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘look at the bark. It’s such a beautiful colour and it would look even better if it was clean. The National Trust and RHS gardens are all doing it now,’ I added. ‘Google it tonight and you’ll see what I mean. If you fancy it, you could even illuminate them in different coloured lights once they’ve been cleaned up a bit.’
Luke nodded and I got the feeling that I would find him out early the next morning with the power washer.
‘Warm water and a nice soft brush will do the trick,’ I told him, just in case he was really considering giving them a blast.
With our schedule of work for the next couple of weeks agreed, Luke headed off to collect Abigail from Carole and then Jasmine from school, leaving me with Chloe.
‘I’m sorry I asked if you had any children, Chloe,’ I said to her, because it had been bugging me all afternoon. ‘I hate it when people ask me and I’m sorry if I upset you. I don’t know why I did it.’
‘It’s the ring,’ she said, holding up her hand. ‘It was a logical assumption.’
‘Even so,’ I apologised, ‘I am sorry.’
‘I keep telling myself it’s time to take it off,’ she said, staring down at it. ‘Because it’s not as if I haven’t come to terms with it all. It’s not as if I’m stuck in the past or anything, I’m living a completely different life here and a happy one at that, but I just can’t bring myself to take it off.’
‘Then there’s absolutely no reason why you should,’ I said firmly.
‘You know what,’ she said, linking her arm through mine, ‘Luke was right, you and I are going to get along, Freya.’
I felt the same way too. My own new life was going to be very different to the one I was used to, but it was going to be fun working with other people for a change, and I was about to say as much, but was distracted by a sudden blast of music in the courtyard.
‘What on earth’s that?’ I frowned.
I hadn’t thought I’d seen a radio in the office, so I was certain I hadn’t left one playing but the sound definitely wasn’t coming from the house. It was too far away, even if the volume had been cranked right up.
‘It’s coming from over there,’ I said, setting off at a pace with Nell still shadowing me as she had been all afternoon. ‘You don’t think someone’s broken in, do you?’
‘What, and alerted everyone within a ten-mile radius by blasting them with music?’ laughed Chloe, rushing to catch me up.
She had a point.
‘It’ll be the artist guy in the studio,’ she told me.
‘What studio?’ I frowned, coming to a stop.
I couldn’t remember seeing an artist’s studio.
‘It’s in the space next to the machinery store, and it’s not what you’d generally think of when describing an artist’s studio. It’s much more rough and ready.’
I was intrigued. ‘Let’s go and have a look,’ I said, setting off again.
‘Best not,’ said Chloe, catching my sleeve.
‘Why not?’
‘I’ve been warned that he’s not all that keen on being disturbed,’ she told me, making me feel even more curious. ‘You’ll meet him soon enough because he’s moving in too.’
‘Is he?’
‘Yes, he’s converted the space above into a little flat. It’s a bit basic, but from what I’ve heard he was desperate. Luke thinks he’s an absolute find.’
She had to raise her voice as the sound of a grinder rent the air making Nell whimper.
‘What sort of an artist is he?’ I asked, pulling Nell close.
‘Some sort of sculptor I think,’ Chloe frowned, ‘I’m not all that sure, to tell you the truth. I’ve never seen any of his stuff.’
We had reached the door now and could see the glass panels were lit up in a shower of sparks.
‘Looks exciting though, doesn’t it?’ Chloe grinned, wide-eyed.
‘Noisy,’ I said back, covering Nell’s ears.
If this guy was making the sculptures that Luke had suggested he wanted to display in the garden, then I would have bet good money that they weren’t going to be common garden gnomes.
I knew I should have felt relieved about that, but listening to the combined racket of music and grinding metal, I didn’t feel soothed at all.