introduced to them en masse anyway.
‘Don’t look so worried,’ she told me, waiting until I caught her up. ‘Everyone’s really lovely.’
The Grow-Well was amazing. There were productive, packed raised beds, a tidy bothy, a few hens in a large run, fruit trees trained around the walls, a small glasshouse and an area set aside for socialising which included a long table, vast barbecue and brick-built pizza oven. It all looked far better than I had been expecting and a stark contrast to certain other parts of the garden.
‘This is incredible,’ I said in awe, once Chloe had acquainted me with the clever composting system.
‘Thank you,’ glowed Graham, as he caught my words, ‘and I’ve been meaning to come and find you to say that if you ever need an extra pair of hands in the rest of the garden, you know where I am.’
‘There’s every possibility that I might take you up on that offer,’ I told him.
‘Do,’ he insisted. ‘Luke doesn’t want anyone to feel obliged to lend a hand but I’m more than willing.’
‘Duly noted.’ I nodded. ‘I’m certain extra help will come in very handy the nearer we get to opening the garden.’
‘Let me introduce you and Nell to everyone properly,’ he then offered, making my heart race.
Nell was practically welded to my side. She had coped better than I had expected with the changes so far though and I hoped this extra new experience wouldn’t be a step too far for her.
‘Thanks, Graham,’ I said, as I took in the many unfamiliar faces. I hoped it wouldn’t be too much for me too.
Lisa, John’s wife, was present along with their brood of three and Heather, who lived in the first house in the square, and who also had three children, was with her. We had just started to chat when Kate arrived, back from the school run with the girls, and we were soon joined by more of the men.
Ryan, at about nineteen, was the youngest of the guys and he lived with his sister, Poppy, in the house on the right of mine. That, I remembered, was the one that Kate owned.
‘We were working the day you moved in,’ Poppy smiled. ‘Otherwise we would have come and joined the welcoming committee.’
‘That’s all right,’ I swallowed, thankful that they hadn’t been around to further swell the numbers.
‘I daresay you had a houseful even without us, didn’t you?’ Ryan grinned.
‘Something like that,’ I smiled back.
Next there was Jacob, a teacher and also Poppy’s partner. He lived in the house on Poppy’s other side and finally Neil. He and his husband, Mark the baker, lived in the last house as you left the square which was next to Lisa and John.
‘Right,’ I blinked, struggling to fit the names and places to all the faces.
We were missing Heather’s husband Glen, as well as John and Mark and Harold of course, who was still considered as much a part of the team as he had been when he lived there. Which was only proper given that he had been born and raised in the square and had more connection to the place than the rest of us put together.
‘So,’ said Carole, ‘have you got the measure of who lives where now, Freya?’
‘Not really,’ I said, biting my lip.
‘Heather and Glen in the first house,’ she said, holding up her hands as if she was driving around the square’s one-way system. ‘Then me and Graham, Jacob in the third, Poppy and Ryan next, then you, then Lisa and John and finally Mark and Neil.’
‘I see,’ I nodded. ‘That’s kind of what I thought.’
Lisa started to laugh. ‘Simple, right?’
I shook my head and pulled a confused face. By that point, it wasn’t a difficult expression to muster.
‘Don’t worry,’ Lisa giggled, ‘you’ll soon get the measure of it. We won’t make you learn the kid’s names today.’
‘I already know Abigail and Jasmine.’
‘Just six more to go then,’ she nudged.
I knew she meant well, but it really was a lot to take in and, as welcoming as everyone was, I did still feel very much the new girl and rather a meek country mouse, now I was faced with my tightknit town cousins.
‘Where’s Nell?’ I said, suddenly realising that I couldn’t feel her warm body pressed to my leg. ‘She was here a minute ago.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Chloe soothingly, ‘she’s with Doctor Dolittle over there.’
My eyes darted to where she was pointing and I realised that Ryan and Nell had separated from the group