A Kiss in the Snow - Rosie Green Page 0,71

hot and red-faced. ‘Hi, Carrie. I’ve been clearing out the cottage and I’m afraid there’s still a bit of a pong in there.’ She blows upwards and a cobweb detaches itself from her hair and floats away. ‘Well, it stinks to high heaven, actually.’ She takes a quick glance behind her, making sure there’s no-one about to see her. ‘And the thing is, Becca will be here soon and I don’t want her to think I’ve been living in a pigsty all this time, so I wondered…Carrie, could you get me some air freshener from the village store?’

‘What? Air freshener?’ In my dazed state, it takes a while to register what she’s telling me.

Reenie frowns. ‘Carrie, are you all right? Forgive me for saying this, but you look terrible.’

I swallow hard. ‘I…I’ve had a bit of a shock, that’s all. But I’ll be fine.’

‘What on earth’s happened, my love?’

I force a smile. ‘Oh, nothing, really. My – um – house-mate, Ronan, seems to have left and he didn’t tell me he was going.’ I shrug. ‘It’s fine. And of course I’ll get you some air freshener.’ I pause. ‘You could come with me if you like?’

‘Oh, no.’ She looks alarmed.

‘It’s still early. There probably won’t be many people in the store. And Anita’s really looking forward to seeing you.’

‘No, Carrie. I can’t.’ She folds her arms. ‘Not yet.’

‘Okay. Baby steps. You’re absolutely right. There’s plenty of time.’ I smile at her. ‘Right, I’ll just get dressed and I’ll head along to the store. How exciting that you’ll be seeing Becca today!’

She nods, her eyes filling with happy tears. ‘To tell you the truth, Carrie, I can’t wait to hug her.’

At the store, Anita is busy serving Mrs Richards, who enjoys a chat. I know they’ll be a while, so I pick up some air freshener and place the exact money on the counter. While Mrs Richards is choosing a loaf, I murmur to Anita, ‘The air freshener’s for Reenie. She’s been doing some spring cleaning.’

‘Wow. That’s promising.’

I nod. ‘Better get this back to her.’

‘See you later, Carrie,’ she calls, as I leave with a wave.

Reenie pounces on the aerosol can gratefully and, while I’m still there, she walks around the cottage spraying everywhere. ‘Come in and have a look,’ she calls, so I step inside, marvelling at how far Reenie has come. A few days ago, she wouldn’t even open the front door to me, never mind let me just walk on in! Being back in touch with her granddaughter was clearly all the motivation she needed…

‘Gosh, you’ve been busy.’ I walk into the kitchen which has been cleared of all the rubbish and now looks clean and tidy. ‘This is amazing.’

Reenie flushes with pleasure. Walking me back to the door, she flicks at her hair in the hall mirror, anticipating Becca’s arrival. As I’m walking back to Snowdrop Cottage, I catch sight of Becca and I wave.

She hurries over and catches me at the gate, out of breath.

‘I saw you coming out. Is she okay?’ She looks anxious.

I smile. ‘She’s on top form and she can’t wait to see you.’

‘Thanks, Carrie. For everything. After you came over, Mum and I talked about it and she said I could start visiting Grandma Reenie again.’

‘That’s brilliant, Becca. Do you think she’ll come and visit some time?’

Becca’s face falls. ‘She says she won’t. She says too many horrible things were said.’

‘Well, never mind, she might come round. But in the meantime, go and see your grandma.’ Smiling, I nod over at Reenie, who’s waiting on the doorstep.

‘Grandma?’ Becca starts walking up the path. And Reenie comes rushing out to meet her, her slippers getting soaked in the slush underfoot, as if she can’t bear to be parted from her granddaughter for a single second longer than necessary.

Becca flings herself into her grandma’s arms and they hug right there, holding onto each other for a long time, as if they’re never going to let go. Their hug turns into a little jig of happiness and they both start to laugh.

I watch them go into the cottage, chatting away, their arms around each other. And I smile to myself, a big lump in my throat.

I spend the day trying to read but feeling totally unable to concentrate on anything. I know I should just pack up and leave…go back home…but something is stopping me. In the end, I realise I’m lingering here just in case Ronan comes back.

But by nightfall, I know it’s not