The Road to Lilyfields by Lottie Bloom

Author:Lottie Bloom [Lottie Bloom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781775538134
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand
Published: 2014-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Late next morning Rosa parked her SUV on the waterfront and spent a few minutes composing herself by staring at the serene blue sea. Then she walked up to Jack’s cottage, stepped nervously through the gate and knocked on the front door. While she waited she noted that his ute was gone, but his old bicycle was still locked on the veranda. Probably gone to see one of his properties, she thought. But she found that strange, as she recalled that he’d said he was taking Boxing Day and the following two or three days off. She turned and went down the path and back through the gate, hoping that he’d come home before she left.

He didn’t.

But she did see Winnie, walking down the middle of the road with her excitable sons in tow and her ebullient dogs chasing the sheep away from the fences. Rosa wondered why the boys weren’t on their new bicycles. Perhaps it was too dangerous on the hill. They exchanged cheery waves and hellos, and when Winnie reached her Rosa asked if she’d seen Jack. They fell into step together as they talked.

‘Oh, he’s gone away for a few days,’ Winnie replied. ‘I thought you’d gone with him.’

‘No, I didn’t even know he was going.’

‘He’s gone to Central Otago. Has a friend there or something. He only left this morning. He came up to say goodbye and check we could do without him for a day or two. Pity you couldn’t go too. It’s lovely there in the summer. I suppose it’s that Michael, eh?’ Winnie asked.

Rosa was getting tired of people’s assumptions about Michael. Everyone seemed to think the same thing. No wonder Jack had run away.

As they strolled down the hill Rosa realised they would soon reach the water and she and Winnie would have to go their separate ways. She stopped. ‘There’s something I want to ask you,’ she said.

Winnie looked at her enquiringly. ‘Yes?’

‘About your sister …’ Rosa began, and then trailed off. She didn’t know quite how to put what she wanted to say.

‘Connie?’

‘No, Prue.’ Rosa waited for the freeze to come down, but Winnie just tilted her head as if waiting to hear what would come next.

‘Where does she live?’ Rosa floundered. It suddenly seemed a very stupid question to be asking right here, right now.

‘Live?’ Winnie repeated.

‘Oh, I don’t want to know her address or anything,’ Rosa rushed on, suddenly aware that the question seemed quite presumptuous.

‘Why do you want to know?’ Winnie asked. Perhaps this was Winnie’s more polite version of the freeze.

‘I just wondered why she didn’t come for Christmas. But it’s not important. Forget I asked.’

‘Look, why don’t you ask Jack?’ Winnie suggested. ‘I really think that would be best. I could tell you what happened, but it’s better if you hear it from him. He can put it in his own way. I’m sure he’d be happier with that.’

Better if I hear it from Jack? Rosa thought, and several alarm bells began clanging. ‘It’ was sounding worse than ever.

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