“I haven’t done anything about firewood, Jean-Paul, but the barn near the house is full of logs. Take as many as you need, there’s a cart you can fill and pull down here. If you wait until Monday, Hector will help you.”
“I can do it myself. Don’t worry.”
“It’s going to pour,” said Toddy, thinking of her horses out in the field.
“I suggest you stay in the house tonight and move into the cottage tomorrow. You don’t have so much as a bottle of milk in the fridge, so you’d better eat with me. You can take my car into town on Monday and buy everything you need. Fred the milkman comes during the week with dairy products and the papers, Ned the breadman comes three days a week to deliver bread and buns. I have an account with both. Please feel free to order whatever you require.”
At the sight of the cottage Jean-Paul’s face widened into a broad smile. “It is adorable,” he said, striding towards it. “I will be happy here, for sure.”
Toddy nudged Ava. “Won’t be going home then,” she hissed with a chuckle.
“Or to live with you,” Ava replied. “Bad luck!”
They joined him as the first drops of rain began to fall. Ava fished in her trouser pocket for the key. “It’s rather old and rusty, but it works.” The door opened with a whine and they walked inside. The children remained outside, watching the rain create patterns on the water.
Inside it was warmer. The air was perfumed with wood polish, wax and pine-scented floor cleaner. Upstairs the windows were still open. A draft hurtled down the stairs. They took off their boots. Ava ran upstairs to shut out the rain, Jean-Paul and Toddy went into the sitting room. Bernie lay outside against the door, watching the children.
As Ava closed the window, she caught sight of the children on the bridge. Archie and the twins were ragging around, while Poppy and Angus were pointing at something in the water. Suddenly the sky opened, throwing out buckets of rain. They squealed like startled mice and scampered off in the direction of the hollow tree. Then, in the midst of the rain, the clouds parted and the sun unexpectedly shone through, setting the sky alight with the most beautiful rainbow. The sunshine flooded her spirit with joy and she was at once gripped with the need to share it. She ran downstairs.
“Hurry, outside!” she yelled, her voice quivering with excitement.
Toddy and Jean-Paul appeared in the hall. “What’s going on?” Toddy demanded, her thoughts turning immediately to her children. She had a vision of them drowning in the river.
“A rainbow!” Ava replied, opening the door. “You’ve got to see it.” She struggled into her boots and dashed outside. Bernie leapt to his feet, catching her sense of exhilaration.
Ava could feel the rain dripping down her neck but she didn’t mind. It was worth it. She had never seen a rainbow so clear that she could pick out every color, even the elusive pink which sits between green and turquoise and is usually so blurred as to be hidden altogether.
She looked at Jean-Paul, and caught him looking at her. She smiled, masking the unease she felt beneath the intensity of his stare.
Ava folded her arms and for once she shivered in her shirtsleeves.
“Wow! That’s impressive!” Toddy exclaimed, wrapping her coat tightly about her. “Can we go back inside now?”
“You go. Take Jean-Paul with you. I want to stay out until it goes,” Ava replied.
Toddy hurried back to the cottage and Jean-Paul was left no option but to follow.
Ava walked over to the bridge where she stood in the rain, now falling in a light drizzle. She was glad to be alone. She wished Toddy would go home and Jean-Paul would disappear. The sooner he moved into the cottage the better. She wasn’t good at being around people all the time. She was beginning to feel trapped, unable to breathe. There on the bridge, alone with the elements, she felt better. She could hear the gentle trickle of the stream and the wind rustling through the trees, but no voices. It was quiet.
Finally, the rainbow faded. The clouds closed to hide the sun, like curtains on a magnificent stage. Ava was once again faced with having to perform. Toddy and Jean-Paul emerged and she turned to smile at them. “I think a cup of tea would warm us all up, don’t you, Ava?” said Toddy stridently, setting off towards the house.
“I wonder where the children ran off to?”
“They’ll be soaking wet, I should imagine,” said Toddy. “We should put them all in a hot bath!”
“I bet they hid in the hollow tree. They’re probably as dry as little moles.” She was right. They saw the grown-ups approaching and peeped out excitedly.