As she tried to go to sleep, she found herself fretting about the party, about what Nathalie might think of her. Perhaps she could make sure Raffy played inside all afternoon, or maybe she could suggest a trip out to get them away from the village, perhaps they could go to the beach? She was annoyed at herself for caring so much about what others thought of her. But she was annoyed more with Noah for being so antisocial. She understood that he worked hard and that his weekends were precious, but surely he could make an exception every once in a blue moon for god’s sake?
9
THE APRICOT TREEat the back of the garden was laden with golden, juicy orbs of fruit. There had been a bumper crop this year and the boughs were weighed down with its spoils. Helena had been putting off the monotonous task of collecting them but the fallen fruit was starting to attract wasps so she knew she couldn’t leave it much longer. She filled basket after basket with the perfectly ripe fruit, carrying them into the house and decanting them into an assortment of mismatched containers while she decided what to do with them. Her brain churned with her own recipes for apricot tarts, apricot crumble, baked apricots with honey and thyme, apricot almond cake, apricot Danish pastries and turnovers. She imagined sinking her teeth through the layers of warm flaky pastry, the sweet sharpness of the filling against her tongue, savouring each perfect bite. But these fantasies were of no use to her. After browsing a few recipes, she decided she would make a batch of chutney and a batch of sugar-free jam. Having weighed out the required quantities and filled the fruit bowl she still had a huge basketful left over. Suddenly struck by inspiration, she decided she would take some over to Margery. Perhaps she would appreciate a delivery of fresh fruit. They were absolutely delicious but they needed to be eaten quickly before they began to spoil.
Feeling strangely nervous, Helena locked the back door and set off to the neighbouring house with her basket of apricots. She took care to close the gate behind her so the dogs couldn’t run out onto the road. She had seen Margery out and about a few times since the episode with the escaped dog, but hadn’t managed to engage her ina proper conversation beyond the usual polite chitchat about the weather, the dogs and Raffy.
She knocked at the door, greeted immediately by the sound of twelve paws clattering against the floor and three excited little voices yapping as they raced to greet whoever it may be. But there was no answer.
‘Margery? It’s me, Helena!’ she called.
As she had last time, she heard footsteps approach the door, but no one opened it.
‘Margery? Is that you? I’ve brought you some apricots!’
After a pause Margery opened the door a crack, just as she had done when Helena had appeared with Tammy in her arms.
‘Oh, hello dear,’ she said, looking flustered. ‘What’s that you say?’
‘Apricots… I seem to have them coming out my ears from the tree in our garden. I wondered if you might like some?’
‘Apricots. Gosh. Well, that’s very kind, thank you,’ she stuttered, a foot blocking the dogs’ exit to the front garden. She was shaking her head and muttering to herself in a distracted manner, as if lost in her thoughts.
‘Margery, is everything okay?’ Helena asked. Clearly all was not well, she had never seen Margery look so distressed.
‘Well, not really. The thing is… I’ve had a very unexpected telephone call.’
‘Oh?’
‘My nephew… he’s coming to stay…’
Helena smiled. ‘How lovely!’
‘Well, it is rather… but…’ Margery was shaking her head, her brow furrowed anxiously. Tears glistened in her eyes.
‘Is there something I can help with?’ Helena asked.
‘You see, the thing is, I haven’t seen him for years… he’s been living in Hong Kong all this time. Not since my sister’s funeral. I can’t possibly say no… he’s moving back to England, and he wants to stay with me while he finds a place to buy. I’m his only surviving relative here, you see, and he wants to be nearby…’
‘That all sounds wonderful.’ Helena was struggling to see what the problem was exactly. ‘It’ll be nice to see him, I’m sure?’
Margery was shaking her head again. ‘I’m just not sure what I’ll do with him, where I can put him…’ A sense of panic radiated from her.
‘Have you got a spare room?’ Helena asked, peering past her into the dim light of the hall behind her to try and ascertain exactly why Margery was so upset. ‘Please don’t worry, I’m sure we can fix whatever the problem is…’
At this an internal struggle seemed to resolve itself, a look of resignation settled over her face and Margery sighed softly. She let go of the door, her head hanging in despair. Spying their escape, the three little dogs yapped with excitement and raced out into the garden. As the heavy wooden door creaked on its hinges a shaft of light flooded into the hall, softly illuminating its contents. Helena tried to conceal the shock on her face as she surveyed the scene in front of her. It was much worse than she had initially thought. Towering piles of newspapers, leaflets, junk mail, cardboard boxes, envelopes and carrier bags full to bursting filled the hallway. There was one thin pathway carved out through the junk leading through to the back of the house.
Margery’s cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. ‘I—I am so ashamed… I don’t know how it got like this, but there’s just so much stuff. How can I let him see my home like this? He will think I’ve gone completely mad… Maybe I have?’
‘Don’t worry Margery,’ Helena said, her face softening. ‘I can help you have a bit of a clear out if you like?’
The look of shame on Margery’s face broke Helena’s heart. She looked so helpless. Her small, sunken eyes welled with tears once again. Helena reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. It was unbelievable really. She would definitely have to help her, she couldn’t carry on living like this, it was probably a health risk apart from anything else.
‘Thank you dear,’ Margery managed a tentative smile. ‘I really would be so grateful. I don’t know where to start…’
‘Perhaps you’d better show me the rest of the house?’ Helena asked, curious to find out exactly how bad it was. ‘That way I’ll be able to come up with a plan to see how we can go about fixing this.’
‘Alright,’ Margery said with a small sigh.
