Page 75 of The Village of Lost and Found

A sudden large crunch of stick from Keith made them both laugh and broke the tension in the moment.

‘For the record, you’re not the only mess around here,’ said Tom. ‘Especially after Mum died. I mean, I miss her terribly. And the cottage, well, it’s a mess, to be honest. It needs clearing out.’ He hung his head. ‘I’ve not been able to face it. It’s too overwhelming.’

Lucy had a sudden urge to hug him, to try to help him through his grief. He looked so terribly sad. But instead she reached across to squeeze his hand. ‘Well, it’s Sunday tomorrow,’ she told him. ‘You could always take the day off.’

He shook his head. ‘Too much to do at work.’

He looked down at her hand on his for a moment before she finally let go.

‘Did you see those posts of Molly’s on Twitter?’ he said, obviously wanting to change the subject.

So Lucy let him and they spent the rest of the evening on less personal topics. They even ordered a couple of beef burgers and chips, which were just about edible.

Later on, as they left the pub, Keith charged straight into the river whilst they both took a moment to look up at the darkening sky, where the first stars were beginning to appear. Further down the river, a new moon was peeping through the trees as it began to rise above the horizon.

‘I missed these skies in London,’ said Lucy with a soft sigh. ‘I do love it here.’

Tom turned to face her. ‘You do?’

‘It feels like home,’ she said, simply.

‘Yes, it does,’ he replied, nodding.

Then Keith stood up to walk over and shake his damp fur all over them.

‘Ewww!’ cried Lucy, glancing down at her shorts. ‘No treats for you before bedtime.’

Tom laughed. ‘You’re kidding. I’ve never seen such a spoilt dog.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ She reached down to put Keith onto his lead that she had bought him that afternoon in the shop. ‘Well, goodnight.’

‘Goodnight,’ he told her with a soft smile.

Lucy and Keith walked across the narrow pedestrian bridge until they reached the other side of the river. She turned around and saw that Tom was still watching them in the semi-darkness. So she tentatively gave him a small wave before she disappeared around the corner.

Later that night, as she lay in bed with Keith settled on the rug next to her, she thought back to their conversation. For some reason, she could never be anything but honest with Tom. Maybe because they had shared so much about themselves already. And she knew that she was happy. And that she hadn’t truly felt that way until the past few weeks. Even Keith snoring next to her made her feel a little lighter. Happier. Wanted, she realised.

She wondered if a dog would help Tom feel happier as well. But she guessed that if the cottage was that much of a mess then perhaps he had bigger things to concentrate on. She knew that he wouldn’t be able to face all that on his own.

Lying there in the darkness, a plan began to form in her mind and she set her alarm early, smiling to herself as she turned over to go to sleep.

41

Tom returned from his early-morning jog on Sunday, enjoying the sunshine of another warm summer’s day. He had been mulling over work on his run but was shaken out of his jogger’s dreamlike stance as he headed across the pedestrian bridge. There on the bench on the riverbank outside his cottage was Lucy and Keith the dog.

‘Good morning,’ she said, smiling at him.

‘Morning,’ he said, coming to a halt and trying to catch his breath. ‘What are you doing on this side of the river?’

‘Thought you might want to share in this,’ she told him, standing up to hold out a takeaway coffee and bag of pastries from the shop. ‘Sorry it’s not very healthy.’

‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘How was Keith on his first night in the apartment?’

She groaned. ‘He cried for at least a half-hour when I left him in the lounge to go to bed last night.’

Tom smiled as he bent down to stroke Keith’s head. ‘Were you lonely?’

Keith thumped his tail on the grass in response.