Page 11 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

‘It’s lovely,’ said Katy, although she wondered how busy a spa could be in such a quiet village.

‘You should have seen the state of the place when I first saw it,’ said Harriet, with a grimace. ‘It was the old Post Room and I don’t think anyone had been in here for years, such was the level of cleaning that I needed to do. I’m afraid most of the old boxes that were in here ended up in the main station.’

Katy nodded, thinking back to the packed rooms she had seen a few days earlier.

‘Bob was so generous giving me this place rent-free,’ carried on Harriet. ‘He’s such a lovely man, but it could certainly do with some TLC over there in the main part of the station.’

‘I’ll see what I can do,’ said Katy.

‘If you ever need a treatment, I’ll give you the first one on the house,’ said Harriet, with a smile. ‘As you’re our new neighbour.’

‘Only for a week,’ Katy told her quickly.

To her surprise, Harriet laughed. ‘Yes and I was only supposed to come back here for a few weeks and yet here I am, many months later, with a boyfriend and dog as well!’

Paddington wagged his tail in response as she bent down to stroke his silky fur.

‘Well, I’d better get going,’ said Katy quickly, suddenly feeling uncomfortable at the friendly conversation. ‘I don’t want to hold you up.’

‘There’s always time for a chat. Anyway, it’s my day off today, so I don’t mind,’ Harriet told her, with a warm smile. ‘Much needed as well. It’s been so hectic since we opened up in the summer. Look, if you have time whilst you’re here, I’ll introduce you to Libby and Flora as well. They’re my best friends who live in the village as well. We’re all around the same age.’

‘I’m probably going to be pretty busy,’ replied Katy, immediately getting her defence shields up. She had no plans to hang around in Cranfield any longer than was necessary.

‘You might need a break from all the chaos,’ said Harriet, laughing. ‘If you do, then we do a mean gin cocktail if you’re interested.’

‘Thanks,’ said Katy, before turning as if to leave.

‘The front door to the apartment is at the far end of the building. You can’t miss it. And good luck!’ called out Harriet. ‘I think you may need it!’

Katy said her goodbye and headed back down the alleyway to the front of the station to retrieve her suitcases. She thought back to Harriet’s friendliness and for a moment was tempted by her offer of the gin cocktail and more easy conversation. Then she remembered how much trouble she had got into the last time she had had any alcohol and quickly dismissed the thought from her mind.

The sooner she started tidying up the station, then the quicker she would be able to leave Cranfield and return to her normal life, she reminded herself.

6

After collecting her suitcases, Katy headed around to the side of the station and pressed the doorbell next to the front door.

After waiting for a while and unsure as to whether it worked, she knocked on the door as well. Eventually it was opened and she came face to face with Ryan once more.

‘Oh, hey,’ he said, not exactly looking thrilled to see her. ‘It’s you.’

‘It’s me,’ she told him, with a firm nod before picking up a small wheeled suitcase in each hand. She might have taken the temporary position for the next week because Bob had been so upset, but his son appeared to be made of far sterner stuff.

‘Let me,’ he said, reaching out to take one of the suitcases from her.

But, unused to receiving any forms of help, Katy shook her head. ‘I can manage, thanks,’ she told him, holding on to the handles with a firm grip.

She followed Ryan up the narrow staircase before finding herself coming out at the end of a short corridor which he led her down into a wide open space that was the main living room.

Thankfully, it wasn’t quite as messy as the downstairs area, but it was still far too cluttered for her taste.

Despite the muddle, Katy was surprised to find it feeling so light and airy, until she realised it was because there were windows on both sides of the room. Also the ceiling reached into a high apex beyond the oak beams as she worked out that they were in the loft space above the main part of the station. There were a couple of battered sofas facing each other on either side of a large fireplace with a coffee table in between. In the far corner was a square dining table with four chairs, on top of which was piled a vast array of bits and pieces. Beside the table were yet more magazines, books and other assorted boxes that took up almost a quarter of the room. There also appeared to be a couple of crates of yet more oily covered parts for the train engine, she presumed. At the other end of the room, she could see a kitchen through an open door.

‘It’s not much, but it’s home,’ said Ryan, appearing almost a little embarrassed as he glanced around. ‘Anyway, it’s mostly habitable now that I’ve spent the past twenty-four hours clearing a path from the sofas to the kitchen.’

Katy walked over to the open door and peered in. She was thankful to see that the kitchen was spotless, not that she would be using it very much.

Ryan followed her over. ‘It took me a week to clear and make the kitchen hygienic when I returned home a month ago,’ he said. ‘I’ve also cleaned the bathroom this morning in case you were wondering.’