My mobile rings, interrupting my thoughts. The clock on the wall shows it’s not even 8 a.m. Who on earth would call at this time? I look at the screen of my phone. It’s Evelyn. We swapped numbers when she helped me with Stanley’s school. I pick up.

‘Olivia?’ Evelyn is one of those people who sound surprised, and rather annoyed, that you’ve answered the phone, when it’s your number they’ve called.

‘Oh, hi, Evelyn, is everything OK?’

‘It’s about the village hall and the funds raised.’

‘Isn’t it amazing?’

‘Marvellous,’ she replies, before moving swiftly on. ‘As head of the parish council committee, I’m in charge of the restoration works. The council has agreed to support the project, but I’m going to need some help in breathing life back into the place and coordinating a calendar of events. Which is why I’m calling you.’

‘Me?’

The kettle boils and, as I reach for the tea canister, I discover a mouldy old teabag wedged behind it. Ben might be gone, but he’s certainly not forgotten. Despite its revoltingness, I smile as I chuck it in the bin.

‘Yes. I’m ringing to offer you a job.’

A Confession

‘It’s only part-time, and the money is horrible.’

‘So what did you tell her?’

‘That I’d be delighted, of course.’ Pulling into a space in the car park, I switch off the engine and glance across at Valentine in the passenger seat. ‘Evelyn is terrifying. I wouldn’t have dared say anything less.’

It’s a few days later and I’ve given Valentine a lift to the care home, as it was raining. Usually he’d catch the bus, but it’s their wedding anniversary and he’s made Gisele a bird feeder to hang outside her bedroom window so she can watch the birds.

Being a good half an hour’s drive, I’ve spent the journey relaying my conversation with Evelyn. But while it’s true – I am a little bit scared of her – the fact is I am excited by the opportunity to bring something to my community. The old, sensible me would have turned it down, as the salary is awful, there is no pension plan and it doesn’t tick any career box, but the new me is getting much better at embracing uncertainty and I didn’t think twice about accepting her job offer.

Plus these past six months I’ve realized I can survive on a lot less money. Living in London I would think nothing of takeout coffees, weekend brunches and Friday night dinner reservations. I was always booking tickets for stuff I thought I needed to see, shopping on the high street, buying things I didn’t need; every month my credit-card bill was huge.

Now I spend my time walking Harry, talking to Valentine, laughing with Stanley. I wear old clothes, no make-up and spend time at home and in my garden. I’ve been inspired to start trying to grow my own vegetables and have sown rows of kale, spinach, carrots and beetroot. I’ve even got some quite impressive tomato plants that are loving the sunny spot beneath my kitchen window. Which makes me smile, when I remember all those comments about heirloom tomatoes that people made when I said I was moving to the country.