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‘Magnus is a big softie and he thinks he’s a lap dog but Victor did say he wasn’t to go on the furniture. At home, he goes on anything he wants but this is different.’
‘Victor looks content so leave them like it for a while. It’s probably good for him to sleep.’
Flora set the tea and toast down on the table in front of the sofa and took one of the chairs. Leif picked up the plate of toast and offered her a slice. ‘No point wasting it,’ he said.
Flora accepted the toast. ‘Thanks.’
‘I’ll go and get us some tea, shall I?’ Leif asked.
‘That would be lovely.’ Flora smiled then took a bite of the toast that she’d smothered in real butter. It was good and she sat back and polished it off.
The lounge was pretty messy but at least she knew Leif had cleared out all the dirty plates and mugs as well as what had looked like a whisky tumbler. But she’d like to get in here and open the windows then clean every corner. She might work in a high-powered environment by day, recruiting people to big companies for six figure salaries, but when she was home, she found cleaning and tidying relaxing. This bungalow made her feel a bit… antsy… and she knew that she’d feel better if she helped to sort it all out. And, she reminded herself, she didn’t have any family living locally so it would be nice to help someone, especially over the festive season. She’d been thinking about volunteering at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter anyway, so if she could help Victor in some way then she’d be achieving a similar thing because from the looks of it, Victor could do with some support.
Leif soon returned with two mugs of tea. He handed her one and she thanked him then took a sip. Leif sat on the other chair again and cradled his mug in his big hands. There seemed to be some scars on his knuckles and there was a plaster on his ring finger on his left hand. His hands looked like he did manual work and she wondered what he did.
He spotted her looking and smiled. ‘I’m a tree surgeon so I’ve always got plasters on my fingers. I tend to catch them on twigs and branches, or get splinters and sometimes thorns in them. Sometimes I cut them on my tools. I do try to be careful but it’s a busy job and on occasion I tend to rush if a job is taking too long. Customers can be impatient, especially if they want you out of their garden.’
‘I bet it’s an interesting job,’ she said.
‘It’s a good job and I like being self-employed. It’s obviously better in the good weather but I do like being outdoors. I couldn’t bear to work in an office and be stuck inside for eight or nine hours a day or more.’
Flora laughed. ‘I work in an office in London.’
‘What do you do?’
‘I’m in recruitment. I love my job but it’s full on and I do like to get in a daily walk or two. I’ve found that living in Wisteria Hollow has been good for me because I get to soak up the slower pace of life and the wonderful rural surroundings.’
‘I like it here. It’s why I decided to stay. I could always go back to Norway but for now, my business is here, I bought a house in the village and I like England.’
‘It’s a good place to live in many ways,’ she said, nodding gently.
‘Oooh…’ Victor said as he opened his eyes and stretched. He blinked then removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes before putting them back on. ‘I went flat out then.’
‘You did,’ Leif said. ‘With company.’ He pointed at Magnus and Victor’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘Well, well, who’d have thought it? Hello, boy.’ He rubbed Magnus’s head and the dog thumped his tail against the sofa cushions. ‘I don’t know what Mavis would say if she could see you lying on her sofa, but I won’t tell her if you don’t. I just had the best nap.’ He smiled at Leif then at Flora. ‘I think knowing that someone else was in the house relaxed me. I haven’t been sleeping well since… since I lost Mavis… and so hearing you two pottering around and then having Magnus in the lounge with me really helped.’ He moved his legs so he was sitting upright and reached for his mug of tea.
‘Don’t drink that!’ Leif jumped up. ‘It’ll be cold now, so I’ll get you another and some toast.’
‘Thank you.’ Victor nodded. ‘Both of you. I’m very grateful for your help today. I… I really am.’
‘It’s no trouble at all,’ Leif said then he took Victor’s mug out to the kitchen along with the plate.
‘We’ve sorted the kitchen out,’ Flora said softly. ‘And Leif said he’ll get you some essentials from the shop later. So have a think about what you need and let him know.’
Victor worried his bottom lip.
‘What is it?’ she asked, moving to the edge of the chair. ‘Do you feel unwell?’
Victor shook his head. ‘No, lovely girl, not at all. I’m just… confused.’
‘About what?’ she said.
‘About why you’re being so kind.’
‘Oh, Victor!’ She got up and came to the sofa then perched next to Magnus. The dog wagged his tail and turned around so he could rest his chin on her leg. ‘People can be kind. Very kind, in fact.’
‘I know.’ He nodded. ‘But… I haven’t done anything kind in ages so I don’t feel I merit your kindness or Leif’s. I mean, when the dog knocked me over, I was quite rude to him.’
