enquiry regarding the possibility of staying in Crow’s Nest Cottage.
The cottage has already been booked for the two weeks you specified. Apologies for any disappointment this may cause.
Given everything else I had to worry about, I felt far more disappointed than I probably should have and even though I knew it was pointless I sent a reply anyway.
Hi Sam. Thank you for letting me know. Is it available any time during June or July?
*
I had hoped to find myself back on top form the following morning, but what I discovered when I opened my eyes was that the world had shifted on its axis and my head was spinning.
‘Don’t you think you should call the doctor?’ asked Lucy, when I eventually managed to find a position that stopped the dizziness long enough for me to dial her home number.
‘No,’ I said firmly. ‘It’s just a bit of vertigo. I’ve had it before.’
‘I can drive you to the surgery,’ she carried on regardless. ‘It’s no bother.’
‘Honestly, Lucy, there’s no need.’
‘But you had a migraine yesterday,’ she pointed out, as if I needed reminding. ‘I really think you should get checked out.’
‘I promise you, it’s not a problem,’ I said soothingly. ‘It’s an inconvenience more than anything,’ I added, thinking of the rotten timing, ‘and purely stress-related. It’ll pass the second we’re back to business as normal.’
‘Well, if you’re sure—’
‘I am,’ I interrupted, ‘but there is one thing you could do for me, Luce.’
‘Name it.’
‘Come and pick me up and drive me in.’
‘What?’
‘Drive me into work,’ I pleaded. ‘I can’t get behind the wheel. I wouldn’t be safe, but if you could get me to my desk and I sit relatively still I’ll be fine to carry on. I need to carry on.’
There followed a sentence containing more than a few words that I would never have had down as being in mild-mannered Lucy’s vocabulary.
‘So that’s a definite no then?’ I sighed, when she eventually ran out of steam.
Neither Chris or Sonya were up for it either so I spent a miserable morning trying not to move or worry too much about what was happening in my absence. I couldn’t help thinking that Chris was going to be in his element. As second in command he would no doubt be savouring the chance to make an impression.
Early afternoon I heard a key turn in the lock.
‘It’s only me,’ Joan called out. ‘Stay where you are.’
‘What are you doing here, Joan?’ I asked, from my propped-up position on the sofa. ‘Not that it isn’t lovely to see you.’
‘Chris phoned and told your dad you were sick,’ she explained as she bustled in carrying a basket. ‘I know you’re like your father and you don’t do ill, so I wanted to check you were being sensible. I nabbed your dad’s key. I hope that’s okay?’
‘Of course,’ I said, remembering not to nod just in time. ‘But I’m annoyed with Chris for dobbing me in.’
I’d had no intention of telling Dad I wasn’t well. I knew he was working from home, so my absence from the office for a few hours could have gone completely unnoticed, had it not been for my deputy’s meddling.
‘I don’t think he rang to cause trouble,’ said Joan, who always strove to see the best in everyone. ‘Apparently, he had some query about an urgent contract that needs signing off and didn’t want to disturb you. Ring any bells?’
‘Oh yes,’ I groaned. ‘A whole belfry full.’
Chris was behaving exactly as I suspected he would. He was using my loss of balance to his advantage and had grabbed the opportunity to write himself into Dad’s good books. As the person who had taken him on and trained him up, I supposed I should have been proud of his ambition. Had I been in his position, I would have done exactly the same thing.
‘I thought I’d bring you some lunch,’ Joan kindly carried on. ‘Are you well enough to eat it?’
‘I’ll try,’ I said, knowing it would be pointless to say no.
Still reeling from the second bout of vertigo I’d had in the last three months I really didn’t fancy the chicken soup she had taken the trouble to make; however, after the first few sips my stomach began to unclench and it was gone in minutes.
‘Thank you,’ I said gratefully, as she cleared up after me. ‘That was delicious.’
‘I thought it would be just the thing,’ she smiled, ‘and that it would be easier in a cup.’