a pay packet now, don’t forget,’ she reminds me. ‘I’m not a penniless student any more.’
‘I don’t need you to
buy
me anything, Lettie.’
‘No, come on. You tell me.’ My sister has taken on a businesslike air now. ‘Something nice. Something lovely. Something to really cheer you up. What’ll it be?’
‘Nothing, really. Nothing at all.’ But I know Scarlett, she’ll never take no for an answer. She’ll have her way if it kills her so I’ll have to think of something. ‘Um…bath oil?’ I offer, but she shakes her head dismissively.
‘No, no, no! Think big! Think
bold
. I’m thinking adventure days out here. I’ll buy you and Rich a balloon ride, how about that? Or a day racing cars at Silverstone?’
‘That…really isn’t the kind of thing I’d appreciate, honestly.’
My sister sighs exaggeratedly. ‘What about scuba diving then?’
‘I don’t swim,’ I remind her. If there’s one thing she can’t have forgotten it’s
that
, surely?
‘You haven’t learned yet?’ She looks shocked. ‘I really thought you would have learned to swim, Hol. After…you know…’ She bends to pick up Ruffles’ towel and examines it thoughtfully. ‘I think you should. I’ll book you in for a course of lessons, OK? I’ll find a really sympathetic instructor and…’
‘NO!’ I tell her bluntly. ‘Thanks for the offer, but absolutely not.’
‘Why not, for Pete’s sake? I just…I worry about you sometimes, Hol, you know.’
‘Whatever for?’
‘I get the feeling,’ she says carefully, ‘that maybe you just don’t get out enough, you don’t get to taste enough of life. There’s more to the world than just Florence Cottage and your work with the Bridge Trust and your cosy life with Rich and his family and all your little hobbies like – like your
knitting.’
‘What’s wrong with knitting?’ I give her an injured look.
‘Nothing, Hol! But don’t you ever worry you might be becoming old before your time because you never try any new stuff?’
‘No. And you can stop worrying too, please, because I’m perfectly content.’
She only raises her eyebrows in reply, as much to say ‘oh, no, you aren’t’.
‘I am, you know. I don’t need any adventures. I just want ordinary things. I’d hate to go up in a balloon. Or go sky diving.’ I look at her. ‘And I am never, ever going to go in the water, so you can forget all about that.’
This isn’t what I want to talk to her about right now, though. Why won’t she
listen?
‘You don’t look happy.’ She observes me critically now. ‘You don’t seem very content, that’s all. I’m just suggesting that maybe you need to get out of your rut a little. Do something different that you never thought in your wildest dreams you would do. What have you got to lose?’
‘Huh! A limb, maybe?’ I stand up huffily. ‘And I’m not ready to let go of one of those just yet.’
‘Nor your fear of…of anything that might be in the remotest bit risky or exciting?’ She throws Ruffles’ towel back at me and I catch it before it hits my face.
‘I don’t have wild dreams,’ I say quietly. ‘Just ordinary ones.’
And even those don’t look like they have the remotest chance of coming true.
Hollie
‘What time are they all arriving this evening, did Rich say?’
‘About six,’ I call back to my sister. ‘Chrissie and Bill are getting a lift down with Jay and Sarah, so they should be here in good time for dinner.’
With
their celebratory news
, I remember with a pang. ‘At least the preliminary tests on Rich’s dad came out OK.’
‘‘Course they did! People worry far too much about stuff, that’s what I think.’ I hear her say now, ‘All I’m worried about now is what I’m going to get you for your Christmas pressie.’ Scarlett’s standing by the grate stoking the fire I lit earlier. It’s Christmas Eve and
now
she’s worrying about getting presents? I can hear the crunch of the poker against the
‘I don’t need you to
buy
me anything, Lettie.’
‘No, come on. You tell me.’ My sister has taken on a businesslike air now. ‘Something nice. Something lovely. Something to really cheer you up. What’ll it be?’
‘Nothing, really. Nothing at all.’ But I know Scarlett, she’ll never take no for an answer. She’ll have her way if it kills her so I’ll have to think of something. ‘Um…bath oil?’ I offer, but she shakes her head dismissively.
‘No, no, no! Think big! Think
bold
. I’m thinking adventure days out here. I’ll buy you and Rich a balloon ride, how about that? Or a day racing cars at Silverstone?’
‘That…really isn’t the kind of thing I’d appreciate, honestly.’
My sister sighs exaggeratedly. ‘What about scuba diving then?’
‘I don’t swim,’ I remind her. If there’s one thing she can’t have forgotten it’s
that
, surely?
‘You haven’t learned yet?’ She looks shocked. ‘I really thought you would have learned to swim, Hol. After…you know…’ She bends to pick up Ruffles’ towel and examines it thoughtfully. ‘I think you should. I’ll book you in for a course of lessons, OK? I’ll find a really sympathetic instructor and…’
‘NO!’ I tell her bluntly. ‘Thanks for the offer, but absolutely not.’
‘Why not, for Pete’s sake? I just…I worry about you sometimes, Hol, you know.’
‘Whatever for?’
‘I get the feeling,’ she says carefully, ‘that maybe you just don’t get out enough, you don’t get to taste enough of life. There’s more to the world than just Florence Cottage and your work with the Bridge Trust and your cosy life with Rich and his family and all your little hobbies like – like your
knitting.’
‘What’s wrong with knitting?’ I give her an injured look.
‘Nothing, Hol! But don’t you ever worry you might be becoming old before your time because you never try any new stuff?’
‘No. And you can stop worrying too, please, because I’m perfectly content.’
She only raises her eyebrows in reply, as much to say ‘oh, no, you aren’t’.
‘I am, you know. I don’t need any adventures. I just want ordinary things. I’d hate to go up in a balloon. Or go sky diving.’ I look at her. ‘And I am never, ever going to go in the water, so you can forget all about that.’
This isn’t what I want to talk to her about right now, though. Why won’t she
listen?
‘You don’t look happy.’ She observes me critically now. ‘You don’t seem very content, that’s all. I’m just suggesting that maybe you need to get out of your rut a little. Do something different that you never thought in your wildest dreams you would do. What have you got to lose?’
‘Huh! A limb, maybe?’ I stand up huffily. ‘And I’m not ready to let go of one of those just yet.’
‘Nor your fear of…of anything that might be in the remotest bit risky or exciting?’ She throws Ruffles’ towel back at me and I catch it before it hits my face.
‘I don’t have wild dreams,’ I say quietly. ‘Just ordinary ones.’
And even those don’t look like they have the remotest chance of coming true.
Hollie
‘What time are they all arriving this evening, did Rich say?’
‘About six,’ I call back to my sister. ‘Chrissie and Bill are getting a lift down with Jay and Sarah, so they should be here in good time for dinner.’
With
their celebratory news
, I remember with a pang. ‘At least the preliminary tests on Rich’s dad came out OK.’
‘‘Course they did! People worry far too much about stuff, that’s what I think.’ I hear her say now, ‘All I’m worried about now is what I’m going to get you for your Christmas pressie.’ Scarlett’s standing by the grate stoking the fire I lit earlier. It’s Christmas Eve and
now
she’s worrying about getting presents? I can hear the crunch of the poker against the
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