Helena didn’t rush to push her new-found happiness in her friend Amy’s face. Of course she would tell her, but Amy had been away and the time to share this news wasn’t now. Especially as the man Amy had had her eye on last month had not been interested in her. The perfect time would be when they were holed up in their favourite, regular Airbnb after the first day of World of Wool. She’d wait until they’d sunk half a bottle of wine and then tell all.
On Friday evening they drove down together in Helena’s old Volvo that could pack everything in, as always exclaiming over the beauty of the countryside, debating and arguing the best way to get to a little corner of Wales that had no obvious route and getting excited when they finally arrived at the Airbnb.
Setting up the next morning was always fun as, unlike at Springtime, they shared a stall. When they first arrived at their allocated spot, they always felt they’d never make their stall look attractive, and yet somehow they always managed it. It was Helena’s job to go on the first coffee and bacon butty run, finding the stall by following her nose. And she always came back with bits of news about who was there already, and who was expected, along with their breakfast. This time was no different and the show promised to be busier than ever.
‘Well, that was an amazing day, wasn’t it?’ said Amy as at last they unlocked the door to their little home for the night. ‘Best ever, I reckon.’
‘I think it was!’ Helena walked straight into the kitchen and found glasses. ‘Do we need a corkscrew?’ she asked. ‘There’s one just here.’
‘You know I always buy wine with proper corks, or we’ll lose the cork oaks,’ said Amy, but without emphasis. They were dog-tired but happy.
When they both had wine and the ready meal was heating up in the microwave, Helena set to lighting the fire. It was one of their rituals and today they needed it more than in some years. Although it was late spring according to the calendar, the nip in the air said different.
‘I never know if we do this show to display our work or catch up with our mates, or both,’ said Helena, snapping twigs and piling them up carefully.
‘Definitely both,’ said Amy. ‘It’s so great being in our own tribe, surrounded by like-minded people who get us.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Helena. ‘It’s relaxing not having to pretend we’re something that we’re not. I loved doing posh Springtime, and we both made lots of money, but I felt a bit out of my depth. I’m an artisan, not an artist. The guys there today were all the same.’
‘Even if some of them look a bit as if they spun and knitted themselves?’ Amy was being provocative on purpose. ‘You’ve always been a bit more tolerant of the complete yoghurt knitters than I have.’
In spite of Amy’s occasional snippy remarks, she had a heart of gold. Helena often thought the snippiness was partly to disguise her kindness.
When she was confident her fire wouldn’t go out, Helena flopped back on to the sofa and picked up her wine glass. ‘So,’ she said, ‘what was the best thing you saw today?’
‘I’ll tell you what the worst thing was – that blanket that looked if it was literally made out of what was picked up from the cow-shed floor,’ said Amy. ‘But I did love that alpaca stuff. Such fine wool. I must get hold of some and give it a go. And did you see Elaine? Isn’t she looking great these days? She’s definitely better fatter.’
They chatted on about the various people and projects they had seen, what was new and what was boringly the same.
‘I must say I was relieved that my wall hangings went down so well,’ said Helena, having stirred the beef and dumplings and put it on for a few more minutes. ‘I was quite nervous about them, I must say. My work is usually far more ordered than that.’
‘They worked very well artistically, and I loved the great chunky bits of fleece in them.’ Amy frowned. ‘Where did you get the idea from?’
‘Can’t I ever have invented anything? Do I always have to have got the idea from somewhere else?’
‘I’m sure your brain is a simmering mass of inspiration but I’m sure you said something about cake that I didn’t understand.’
Amy got up to find bowls into which she put the stew. She carved two huge slices from a loaf they’d bought at the show and put thick slabs of Welsh butter on them. She brought it all over and set it down on the coffee table. Helena opened another bottle of wine. It was going to be that sort of night.
‘Yes, it was a cake my mother made for her boyfriend. I admit it.’
‘What? Gilly’s got a boyfriend! Oh – the silver fox my mum saw her with at the opera? That’s great!’
‘No, not him! He wasn’t such a great catch, it turned out.’ Helena went on to explain what was wrong with him until Amy was convinced.
‘So, tell me about this other boyfriend?’
‘Well, he’s her accountant so they’ve known each other for years but have only got to know each other properly just recently. The cake was for a surprise party his aunt gave him. It was a bird’s-eye view of what you see when gliding, apparently. Mum suspended a glider over it. I saw the pictures as well as the cake. And then I got the idea of doing a cross section of the earth.’
‘Well, they looked amazing. And you produced quite a lot of other work considering you’d cleaned yourself out for Springtime.’
‘That was because Jago was so amazing at looking after me so all I had to do was work.’ She paused. ‘I couldn’t have managed without him.’
‘I know you’ve been pretending you’re a couple – don’t think you can pull the wool over my eyes – excuse the pun – but are you really a couple now?’ Amy sounded wistful.
‘Yes.’
Amy nodded slowly. ‘And you’re sure about this? Obviously you’ve had boyfriends but you always said they were just a bit of fun, and it was only very recently you said you didn’t have time for men.’
‘It’s amazing what you find time for when you fall in love.’
There was a long silence. ‘So Jago is the real deal? The one, etc., etc.?’
‘Yup.’ To lighten the mood a little she added, ‘And in case, like Mum, you were wondering, he is definitely not gay.’
‘Gilly thought he was gay? Oh, that’s adorable! Why?’
‘Because he borrowed a hot-water bottle for me. She told me she thought hot-water bottles were camp.’
‘That’s so sweet! And so like Gilly.’
‘I know.’ They sat in silence for a little while, sipping their wine. ‘So, Ames, how was your holiday?’
Amy had been on a yoga retreat, her unspoken agenda to find a man with a perfect and very supple body. ‘Lovely, inspiring, a real break but man-wise a total failure. There was this lovely guy on the course but there were more lovely women and he picked one of them.’
‘Oh, Amy, I am sorry.’
‘So, your perfect, hot-water-bottle borrowing hot-sex machine—’
‘I never said that!’
‘—hasn’t got a non-gay best friend, has he?’
Helena laughed, relieved to hear her friend wasn’t too cast down by her failure to snag a yoga expert.
‘Well, now you come to mention it, his best mate from forever, who I still haven’t met, is newly single. You might be just the person to make him happy again.’
‘I might be! Now tell me all about him.’
Helena realised she’d made an error. She knew very little about James apart from his name and that he and Jago went way back. She also knew he liked football and lager, neither of which was going to make him sound attractive to Amy.
‘To be honest, I don’t know anything – hardly anything – except he’s a mate of Jago’s.’
‘Men do sometimes have very peculiar friends and if they’re not peculiar they can be quite ugly.’
‘They can.’
‘So we look him up on Facebook,’ said Amy. ‘Where’s my laptop?’
There were an awful lot of people with the same name as Jago’s friend so Amy suggested they looked up Jago – in fact she had done it almost before Helena had realised her intention.
Helena wasn’t really happy with what Amy was doing – it felt like prying. She and Jago had no secrets between them and somehow looking him up on Facebook without asking felt wrong. But she knew an open objection, or a protest that she didn’t want to, would just encourage Amy in her investigations so she yawned instead.
‘I don’t know about you, Amy, but I’m done in. Can we do all this detective work tomorrow? Or maybe when we’re back home? We’ve got another very long day tomorrow and then we have to drive home.’
‘Oh,’ said Amy, looking disappointed. ‘I expect you’re right.’
‘And tomorrow is another day – you might meet the man of your dreams IRL – In Real Life,’ Helena added with emphasis, just in case Amy was too tired to understand the initials.
‘Yeah, right. I could meet a sheep farmer who knits his own hot-water-bottle covers out of old birds’ nests – how sexy is that?’
‘I think that could be perfectly sexy. But right now I need a shower and bed.’
She also wanted time alone so she could think about Jago uninterrupted.
The following day was similar to the first. There was lots of meeting up with old friends as well as new people coming along, asking tentative questions. Amy and Helena decided to arrange a few more workshops as so many people seemed keen to learn from them. They also wanted to know how to create the wall hangings Helena had made principally because they were relatively quick to make compared to the gossamer-fine silk scarves she had produced for Springtime, which looked so beautiful and took so long.
As they’d sold everything except the wall hangings that had attracted so much attention, they decided to pack up early. Helena was longing to get back to Jago although she didn’t confess this to Amy. It didn’t seem fair when Amy had no one.
Helena had always felt perfectly contented without a man in her life. She hadn’t felt incomplete, or in need of validation, or lonely, but now she had found love (she’d stopped pretending it was anything other than love) she felt this incredible happiness. And while she appeared to be the same, a normal, hardworking woman, in her head she thought of nothing but Jago. She hadn’t believed such love was possible – at least for her.
And because she was so happy she wanted Amy to be as happy, and so she resolved to introduce her to Jago’s friend James as soon as she could. It was unlikely they would be as perfect for each other as she and Jago, but they might go on a few enjoyable dates. It could be fun for all for them.
Jago must have come out of the house the moment he heard Helena’s car arrive in the yard. It was nine o’clock at night – Helena had taken Amy home on the way back from the show – and she was exhausted. But her heart lifted the moment she saw Jago’s frame coming towards the car. She opened her window and he leaned into it as if he wanted to pull out through it into his arms.
His kiss, his smell, the feeling of his cheek rough against hers made her weak with longing.
‘Let me get out!’ she protested, frustrated by the limitations of their situation.
She almost fell into his arms and he held her so tight she couldn’t breathe – she didn’t want to breathe – she just wanted to stay in his arms forever and ever.
But eventually she pulled free. ‘Maybe we should get into the house?’
‘Of course,’ he said apologetically, ‘it’s just I’ve missed you so much. Are you hungry?’
The kitchen was warm and full of savoury smells and Helena realised how happy it made her just to be in it. ‘I know this isn’t the most top-end finished kitchen in the world,’ she said, ‘but it’s welcoming and spacious and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.’
‘Oh, that’s a shame,’ said Jago, taking something out of the oven. ‘I was hoping there were other rooms in this house that you like.’
She smiled at him, hoping she didn’t look quite as soppy as she felt. ‘I like lots of rooms.’
‘Just as well. Now you sit there. I’m about to feed you and give you wine.’
‘Amy and I drank a bit too much last night,’ said Helena, taking the large glass he offered her. She took a sip. ‘But it wasn’t anything like as nice as this.’
‘This is a special bottle – to celebrate your return.’
‘Jago! I was only away two nights.’
‘I know. But I missed you. Now, how hungry are you?’
‘Very.’
As they ate they discussed the show. ‘So it was a success? Worth all the work?’ said Jago, dipping bread into the gravy of the chicken tagine.
‘Absolutely. Loads of old friends came to see us and enough new ones to make doing a few more workshops definitely worthwhile.’
‘How did the wall hangings go down?’
‘Brilliantly! Everyone loved them! And lots of people want workshops to learn how to make them. Which will work well as they are comparatively quick.’ She put down her fork. ‘They didn’t actually sell, of course, but hey!’
Jago laughed. ‘Tell me when you’ve nearly finished – I have a surprise for you.’
‘A nice one?’
‘I think so.’
‘Well, I don’t think I can eat much more. I’m too tired.’
‘Pudding? Sticky toffee? Bought the best brand.’
‘Not now and I was brought up to believe that sugar at bedtime made me hyperactive.’
Jago laughed again. ‘Maybe I should force-feed you some …’
‘I’m sure that’s not required,’ said Helena primly, looking up at him, no longer caring if he could tell exactly how much in love with him she was.
He went over to the kitchen timer. ‘I’ve set it for ten minutes. When it rings you’re to come upstairs. Tell me when you’re on the landing.’
‘Supposing I fall asleep while I’m waiting?’
‘The timer will wake you and if it doesn’t I’ll come down and pour cold water on you! There’s a crossword there I haven’t been able to finish. Do that to keep yourself awake.’
Helena felt she might have nodded off for a few moments but as Jago had predicted, the timer woke her. She got up to turn it off and then, as instructed, went up the stairs.
‘I’m here!’
Jago appeared. ‘Now shut your eyes, I’m going to guide you.’
He put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Now, about three paces forward – now to the left …’
She went where she was directed and was suddenly hit by warm, moist air smelling of lavender.
‘You can open your eyes now!’
She was in the bathroom, but where before there’d just been a shower in the corner and not much else, now there was a bath full of hot, scented water and around the bath and on every surface were candles. There was no other light.
‘Oh my God! This is so beautiful!’ she said.
‘It took me all weekend to put the bath in but I was determined to do it for you.’
‘But I thought you had a big job you had to finish.’
‘I have and I will finish it soon, but this took priority. Do you like it?’
‘I absolutely love it, but I feel guilty that you took time away from your work to do this for me.’
‘As they say in the adverts, you’re worth it.’
She put her arms round his neck and pulled down his head so she could kiss him. ‘Thank you so, so much. You are so kind!’
‘Let me add to my kindness and help you get your clothes off so you can get in,’ said Jago.
‘Only if I can help you with yours.’
Eventually they had to get out of the bath as the water was cold but Jago had found somewhere to heat a huge bath sheet that he wrapped round her. Then he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. He lowered her to the bed and she had time to notice that there were clean sheets, dried in the open air, before he joined her. She felt she had never been so happy before in her life and certainly never had she been so in love.
It wasn’t until they were having breakfast the next morning – early as Jago had to go to work – that Helena remembered to ask him about James. ‘Amy is desperate to meet your newly single friend. Do you think he’d be up for that?’ She didn’t add that being so happy herself made her want to spread the joy.
He finished his mouthful, looking at her thoughtfully. ‘Actually, my single friend is longing to meet you, too. He wants to check you out, make sure you’re good enough for me. And Amy’s a nice, jolly girl; I’m sure they’d get on well.’
‘A jolly girl? You think Amy is a jolly girl?’
‘Anything wrong with that?’
‘Not really, it’s just not very – I don’t know – it’s not how women like to be thought of.’
Jago shrugged. ‘Nothing wrong with jolly,’ he said. ‘Currently I’m too besotted by another woman to be able to see her best friend as sexy or beautiful or any of those things. She is pretty though, I’ll give her that.’
‘Big of you! Do you want the marmalade?’
‘Please.’
‘So, what shall we do? Have them both to dinner?’ She chewed her lip at the thought. It would be rather high pressure.
He shook his head. ‘Let’s keep it low-key. James will want to get a good look at you – he’s quite protective of his old mucker – and I think it would be better if we went to a nice wine bar that does food so we can stay on and eat if we want to, but all go home early if it’s a disaster.’
‘That sounds great. No cooking or tidying involved.’
He gave her a heart-stopping grin. ‘I think in American films in the fifties they called it “double-dating”.’
Helena giggled. ‘And me and Amy can go to the powder room to compare notes halfway through and say, “I don’t fancy yours much.”’
‘Perfect! I’ll ask James. But if he says yes, can I leave it to you to set up, find somewhere nice? I’ve got so much on.’
‘Of course! I’d like to do that.’
‘You are a wonderful woman. Do you know that?’ Then he gave her a toast-and-marmalade kiss and went to work.
A little later, Helena decided to go and see her mother. Gilly would want to hear about World of Wool anyway, and because she was Helena’s mother, she’d have to put up with hearing how wonderful Jago was. But she was going to call first and make sure it was convenient.
‘Mum? Only me. Can I come over?’
‘Of course you can, darling. But why are you asking first?’
‘You know why, Mum. I didn’t want to disturb you if you had a friend with you.’
‘I’m quite alone at the moment.’
It occurred to Helena that her mother sounded particularly upbeat and cheerful. Was it possible that she was in love too? Were she and her mother about to compare notes on their beloveds? The thought gave her mixed feelings. She was delighted, of course, but really, you didn’t want to think about your mother – any parent really – having a sex life. It was weird.
Helena had never thought she’d feel about anyone as she felt about Jago. She didn’t believe in that kind of love. But here she was, on cloud nine, mentally skipping about in the sky. For her mother to be in the same condition was just a bit mind-blowing.
