‘Alice.’ Becky screwed up her nose. ‘He’s not being supportive if you’ve tricked him into it.’

‘I know.’ She shook her head, morose. ‘Where do you draw the line, though? If I was going through a bad patch, I wouldn’t want him to just bail on me because I needed some time to sort myself out. That’s not how relationships work.’

‘If you were going through a bad patch, would he even notice?’ I couldn’t help asking.

‘He bought me a box of chocolates when our cat died.’ She sniffed. ‘But then he did eat all the white ones and he knows they’re my favourites.’

She burst out laughing at the memory, the kind of laugh that is on the brink of a sob. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not going to keep giving him endless chances. But I need a plan before I decide whether this is a phase, or if it’s just him. However crappy things have got, it’s still better than going back to sharing a bedroom with Nan.’

‘You could come here,’ I said. ‘Only £200 a night, breakfast included.’

‘Make it two a night and I’ll pack my bags.’

I nearly accepted her offer, only we had guests booked in and a business to run and I was still a bit scared of Alice so wasn’t quite ready to share a house with her.

‘You could stay with me?’ Becky said.

Alice frowned. ‘That would mean a really long commute.’

‘Unless you borrowed Luke’s boat? He keeps it at the Old Boat House dock anyway.’

She looked at Becky, a long, open stare, and although I couldn’t ever really understand what it meant, how significant the invitation was to cross this metaphorical bridge between their communities, I knew that this was how it started. Two individuals, prepared to lay the past behind and take a step forward.

‘I’ll think about it. But, well, thanks. That means a lot.’

Ain’t that the truth.

31

‘A community orchard?’ I asked Daniel an hour later, lying on the sofa with a hot chocolate, my feet in his lap. ‘When did you decide that?’

‘About two minutes before I said it,’ he smiled. ‘While I’ve been doing research for the orchard, the idea kept cropping up. There are plenty of places where it seems to work.’ He shrugged. ‘I think Dad would have liked the idea.’

‘Charlie would have loved it.’

He rested his mug on my knee. ‘What do you think? Will you mind having the whole community hanging about just over the garden fence? Helping themselves to our apples?’

I pursed my lips. ‘I have one major problem with it.’

‘Oh?’

‘What about my arbour?’ I poked him in the stomach with my foot, causing his drink to wobble precariously.

‘I will personally see your arbour relocated to the garden. Around the side of the house where the retreat guests won’t spot it, either.’

‘Hmm…’

‘There’s a corner where the hedge is low enough to see over if you’re sitting down, with a view right across the valley.’