Foxglove Farm

by Christie Barlow

  Rona came back into the room juggling a clean Angus, before passing him to Martha, who made a series of sniffing sounds towards him.

  ‘Yes, he smells acceptable again,’ joked Martha, cradling him in her arms.

  ‘So, what’s changed in this old village since I was last here?’ asked Martha, now rocking a droopy-eyed Angus in his pram.

  ‘Apart from being cut off from civilisation for a while when the bridge collapsed, everything else is just the same old, same old,’ chipped in Rona, who was polishing the glass cabinets for the umpteenth time so far this morning.

  ‘Ooo, I saw your video on Facebook,’ trilled Martha.

  ‘You’re on Facebook?’ Rona exclaimed, who struggled with any type of technology.

  ‘Of course! You have to move with the times. It’s all about social media these days, but I’m still getting to grips with Tinder … I keep swiping the wrong way and having numerous undesirables match with me … I mean, they must know they are punching above their weight.’

  ‘Gran … you are never on Tinder?’ Isla couldn’t hide her disbelief.

  Both Felicity and Polly stifled their laughter, not knowing whether Martha was being serious.

  ‘Tinder … what’s Tinder?’ asked Rona, trying to keep up with the conversation.

  ‘A dating app,’ chorused the girls.

  ‘You’re on a dating app?’ Rona’s expression was now one of dismay.

  ‘How else am I going to meet someone at my age? You should give it a go, Rona.’

  ‘Me?’ Rona’s eyes widened and she brought her hand up to her chest in horror. ‘I can’t think of anything worse,’ she said, looking appalled.

  ‘Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.’ Martha raised her eyebrows and gave Rona a knowing look.

  ‘I’m perfectly happy on my own and that’s the way it’s staying.’

  ‘Not for you then, Mum?’ teased Felicity.

  Rona made a series of huffing and tutting sounds, ‘It most certainly is not.’

  ‘What about you? Have you ever tried dating on line?’ Felicity turned towards Polly, who shook her head.

  ‘But it would be nice to be rescued by someone … in fact anyone,’ she answered, all dreamy-eyed. She was still single after eighteen months.

  ‘And what about your love life?’ asked Martha, looking at Felicity. ‘Who’s the lucky man?’

  ‘Fergus.’

  Martha let out a low whistle, ‘That’s a turn-up for the books after everything that happened, and you running off like that all those years ago.’

  Isla gave her Gran an impromptu shake of her head, knowing a random switch of conversation was very much needed.

  ‘We’ve sorted everything out,’ said Felicity, with a slight feeling of agitation rising inside.

  ‘Didn’t his wife die?’ Martha wasn’t for letting go of the conversation.

  ‘They weren’t married. Lorna passed away, leaving Fergus to bring up their daughter Esme.’

  ‘Right … come on now …’ said Rona, fidgeting from one foot to the other while looking out of the window, ‘those ramblers will be on their way from the B&B, ready for their packed lunches, and you lot are under my feet.’

  ‘Are you kicking us out?’ asked Martha in disbelief.

  ‘I am, unless you want to order anything else?’

  ‘Well, I’ve been kicked out of some places in my time, but never a teashop!’

  ‘First time for everything, Gran.’

  ‘And are we still on for tomorrow night?’ asked Felicity, looking between Isla and Polly. ‘Girly night?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ they both chorused in unison.

  Rona moved towards Martha and kissed her on her cheek, ‘It is good to have you back.’

  ‘And I’ll see you tomorrow night too,’ Martha snagged Felicity’s eye as she walked towards the door. ‘Girly night.’

  Knowing Felicity would just want it to be the girls, Rona thankfully came to the rescue: ‘How about you join me at the pub tomorrow night? I’ll ask Aggie and Meredith will be behind the bar. We can catch up properly.’

  ‘Good plan, and I’ll show you how to use that app.’ Martha winked at Rona who let out a chuckle.

  ‘Behave,’ she said, waving Martha and Isla on their way. ‘I’ve no intention of joining the minefield that is social media. I’m quite happy with the way things are …’

  ‘We’ll see,’ Martha shouted over her shoulder with a wicked twinkle in her eye as the door closed behind them.

  ‘She’s a character and a half,’ added Polly, with a grin.

  ‘There is no doubt that one has lived life to the full and is still doing so, by the sounds of it,’ answered Rona. ‘Isla has definitely got her hands full there.’

  ‘Maybe you should have a think about that dating app. I can always sit here and set you up a profile over a couple of mugs of tea,’ teased Polly, as Rona playfully rolled her eyes.

  Felicity was still chuckling. ‘Martha is right though, Mum, maybe you should put yourself out there, you have so much to offer and deserve to be happy.’

  Shaking her head in despair, Rona coaxed her daughter towards the sink. ‘Don’t be daft, my life is perfect just the way it is, unlike Isla’s, by the state she was in when she arrived today.’ Rona gave Felicity an inquisitive stare, but Felicity brushed it off, not wanting to break her friend’s trust.

  ‘New babies, change of routine, tiredness, I’m crying just thinking about it.’

  ‘It’s an exhausting time for any woman, and you feel like you don’t know if you are coming or going, you’re someone’s mother, wife, daughter, sister, grandmother … you lose all perspective of who you are. Everyone wants a piece of you. I can remember screaming and crying What about me? Thank God for your grandmother’s support, that’s all I can say. Just be there for Isla. She’ll be in need of a good friend. It’s really not that easy.’

  Her mum’s words rang in Flick’s ears. Maybe Isla was feeling the pressure a little? She didn’t have any hands-on support; with Drew running the farm, looking after the children was left solely down to her. Felicity didn’t elaborate on the conversation with Isla, but she was worried about her friend. Isla wasn’t a moaner, she worked hard and saw the good in everyone and every situation and didn’t like any sort of confrontation. Felicity knew she would have felt disloyal talking to her about the argument with Drew, which meant it must have really bothered her.

  Hopefully a night with the girls tomorrow would pep her up a bit, but Felicity knew she was going to keep a closer eye on her.

  Chapter 5

  Through the kitchen window, Isla could see Drew and Fergus loitering in the yard in front of the stable block. Fergus was tapping on his phone with a goofy grin on his face. Isla felt an aww moment, followed by a tiny pang of jealously. Still in the first flourish of love, Felicity and Fergus texted each other at every opportunity. Isla missed that closeness with Drew. Those butterflies-dancing-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach-type moments seemed to have disappeared recently for them. Maybe once you had kids that’s what happened, life just became life that didn’t knock your socks off you anymore.

  Isla scrutinised Drew’s stony face. He didn’t look like his mood had improved as he shovelled the muck into the wheelbarrow. Any second now he’d be taking a tea break and she was surprised he hadn’t already popped his head around the door to ask who the Mini belonged to.

  Martha had taken a stroll to the corner shop to catch up with Hamish, while Isla did her very best to make up the spare room as best she could. It felt like Martha had brought everything except the kitchen sink, and after the umpteenth trip to the car the Mini was finally empty, much to Isla’s relief.

  She switched on the kettle and placed two mugs on the table. Already she was feeling apprehensive about telling Drew that Martha was here to stay … indefinitely.

  The door swung open. ‘No Fergus with you?’ Isla asked, noticing him walking off towards the driveway.

  ‘No, he’s nipped to the t
eashop to see Flick. She’s all he ever talks about just lately, Flick this, Flick that,’ he said, slinging his phone on to the table and pulling out a chair.

  ‘I think it’s lovely that they are so in love, don’t you?’

  Drew looked up and rolled his eyes, ‘Not if you have to listen to him going on about it twenty-four/seven.’

  Isla felt saddened by Drew’s reaction. In the past her friends had been jealous of Drew’s romantic ways, snatching every moment he could with her, texting her from the fields at every opportunity, leaving presents and flowers on the doorstep. He made her feel like she was the only girl in the world. Isla poured him a mug of tea then began to unload the dishwasher, whilst wondering how and why things had changed so quickly between them.

  ‘Where’s Angus?’ asked Drew. ‘And no biscuits?’

  Isla sighed and slid the biscuit barrel over in his direction. ‘Angus is taking a nap and I see your mood hasn’t improved much.’ She turned her back on him and carried on putting the clean dishes away.

  ‘What do you expect? A morning at market with hardly any produce sold.’

  ‘What do you mean, hardly any produce sold?’

  ‘Exactly what I said, and I noticed you did your usual trick of disappearing to the teashop to spend money, no doubt on a cooked breakfast.’ His tone was accusing. ‘When we have more eggs on the farm than we can actually sell, oh and thinking about it, you’re paying to eat our own eggs, as we supply the teashop. It’s ludicrous!’

  Isla began to feel her hackles rise again. After the argument he’d instigated this morning she’d needed to let off steam to her friend. He worked alongside his best mate day in and day out, and unless she left the house she had no-one to speak to.

  ‘You know what Drew, I woke up in a good mood this morning until you decided to throw your toys out of the cot about … Actually, I have no idea what the argument was about.’

  Unlike Isla, she was now spoiling for a fight, she could feel the hot flush rising up her neck and stood there, rooted to the spot with one hand on her hip.

  Drew was staring straight at her before he snapped his ginger biscuit in half with dramatic effect and dunked it into his tea.

  ‘I’m just sick to the back teeth of being the cash cow. I think it’s time you thought about getting a job.’

  There was that word again … job. Isla just didn’t understand where all this animosity was coming from.

  ‘A cash cow?’ Isla was astonished by his choice of words. ‘So, let’s just throw this out there, if I go to work who do you think is going to take Finn to school … look after Angus, wash, iron, cook, run the house? Are you going to do all that? Or are we going to use the money from this job I’m meant to be getting to pay someone else to do the job I’m already doing at home?’ She flung her arms up in the air, prompting Drew to answer, but before he had a chance she continued, ‘And where’s all the money gone from the jar? The emergency money?’

  ‘Having breakfast at Bonnie’s teashop is not an emergency.’ His voice was firm. ‘I’ve hidden it.’

  If Isla had been a cartoon character, she would have had steam bursting from her ears with rage, ‘You’ve done what?’ she shouted angrily. Drew had well and truly overstepped the mark now.

  ‘If you need any cash for an emergency, just ask.’

  Isla shook her head in total disbelief. ‘Are you for real, what do you think this is, the 1950s? This is ridiculous. What the hell has gotten into you?’ Isla’s eyes threatened tears, frustration building inside her. She didn’t really have the faintest clue why they were arguing like this. It was so out of character for Drew. ‘You put that money back in the jar. You couldn’t do the job you do if it wasn’t for me supporting you, looking after the house and our children. I thought this was a partnership … obviously I’m very much mistaken.’ Isla was at boiling point. ‘I don’t get it Drew, why are you hell bent on sending me back to work all of a sudden?’ Trembling with rage inside, Isla wanted to shake him.

  Drew cowardly cast his eyes downwards, he knew he was pushing Isla to the limit, but he couldn’t help himself. ‘And whose is that awful-looking Union Jack Mini parked outside? I thought you had company.’

  Isla swallowed, she’d been dreading this moment with the mood Drew was in, but maybe she was worrying too much. Drew had always seemed to like Martha. Maybe, just maybe her arrival would be a blessing in disguise.

  Feeling apprehensive, she said, ‘This is going to make your day … you’ll never guess who’s back in town?’ Isla painted a smile on her face and crossed her fingers behind her back.

  ‘Huh,’ came Drew’s reply.

  ‘Gran … Gran’s back in Heartcross! Walked into the teashop … no-one could believe it, but she had no clue Bonnie had passed away. Isn’t that sad?’

  ‘No clue about her new great-grandson either,’ Drew huffed.

  Isla didn’t rise to his comment. ‘She looks so well … single again. I’ve cleared some of the stuff from her room, just piled it up in our bedroom for now.’

  Drew bristled, ‘What do you mean, cleared her room?’

  Seeing the black thunderous look on Drew’s face, Isla tried with all her might to sound positive. ‘Gran is staying with us here … obviously,’ she said.

  ‘Another mouth to feed?’

  ‘Considering she looks like a size six, I’m sure she hasn’t got the largest of appetites, and you know what …’ Isla took a breath. ‘If it bothers you that much and we’ve got more eggs than we can sell, we’ll just feed her on eggs. Scrambled, boiled, poached …’

  Drew stood up, ‘I’m going back to work.’

  ‘I’ll just wash your cup then, shall I? Or shall I leave it for the maid? You know what Drew, just don’t bother coming in later unless you’re in a better mood.’

  He growled as he slammed the door behind him and Isla stood there bewildered, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched him once more stomp across the yard. It worried Isla, she’d never seen Drew like this before and was unsure what to do or say to him. Things were bad between them. In all the years they’d been together she could barely remember them ever having a cross word. Of course, they’d had the normal disagreements any married couple had but they’d never ever gone to bed on an argument. And this felt different, was on a different scale altogether and somehow things seemed to be escalating fast. For whatever reason, it felt like Drew couldn’t stand to be anywhere near her, but one thing Isla knew for certain was if he carried on talking to her in this manner, he was in for a rude awakening.

  Chapter 6

  Isla waved Martha off to the pub to meet Rona and walked up Love Heart Lane towards Heartwood Cottage clutching a bottle of wine. The last twenty-four hours in the farmhouse had been tense, but luckily Martha seemed oblivious to the strain between Isla and Drew. Thankfully Drew hadn’t taken whatever frustrations he had out on Martha and was pleasant enough with her, even though he’d disappeared off to bed earlier than normal without kissing Isla on the top of her head like he’d done every night of their married life without fail, leaving her feeling dejected.

  After a hectic teatime Isla was relieved to be escaping from the farmhouse for a couple of hours this evening. As usual Angus had screamed through the whole of the meal and the second Isla had put down her knife and fork had been the time Angus had decided to fall asleep in his bouncy chair.

  Drew had been late returning to the farmhouse, and she’d left him eating his tea from a tray in front of the TV while gently rocking Angus in his chair with his foot and instructing Finn how to build his Lego house.

  Isla spotted Fergus racing along the road jiggling Esme on his back, who let out a rapturous giggle. They were on their way up to the farm to keep Drew company. Isla smiled at them both and waved her hand above her head as they both grinned back.

  Swinging open the garden gate to Heartwood Cottage, Isla could see her friends Allie, Jessica and Polly gathered in the living room already sipping wine. Their laughter filtered out through t
he open window which immediately lifted Isla’s mood. She needed this, a night with her friends, where she could just be herself and not feel like she was walking on eggshells.

  ‘Flick … I’m here,’ shouted Isla, opening the front door and kicking off her shoes in the hallway.

  Felicity appeared with a beam on her face, ‘And you’ve brought wine! You can come again … but you shouldn’t have!’

  Isla laughed, ‘I’d be the talk of the village if I didn’t turn up with supplies!’

  ‘Too right,’ shouted Allie from the living room.

  Isla walked into the living room to a group of smiley girls. There were already at least four bottles of wine on the coffee table alongside bowls of nibbles and leftover pastries from the teashop.

  Felicity welcomed Isla like a long-lost friend, pulling her in for a hug and squeezing her hard before whipping the coat off her back and handing her a glass of wine.

  The mood was jovial, and Isla settled on the settee next to Polly.

  ‘What have I missed?’ asked Isla, grabbing a handful of nuts from the bowl on the table.

  ‘Well I’m unemployable,’ said Polly, exhaling.

  ‘I’ve had a row with Rory,’ claimed Allie.

  ‘And I’ve got a pile of marking to do when I get home,’ Jessica rolled her eyes.

  ‘And it looks like I’ve got a bunch of miserable friends that need cheering up,’ grinned Felicity.

  ‘So, we can conclude we are all living our best lives! And it’s just the same old same old,’ laughed Isla, putting her arguments with Drew to the back of her mind while she enjoyed time with her friends.

  ‘But in other news, mum mentioned Martha was back in the village?’ said Allie, looking towards Isla. ‘Who’s the latest squeeze?’