Chapter Four

For the second time in twenty-four hours, Eleri woke up in a strange place.

Still, waking up in such a soft, welcoming bed beat waking up on a plane any day.

She stretched, looking around the lovely room. It was still fairly light, how long had she slept? She’d had bizarre dreams about the bobbing-head Elvis that Barney had showed her, intermingled with castles and rolling fog and deep green, grassy hills and mountains.

Eleri rubbed a hand over her face. She still felt tired. But even more than that, she felt hungry. She needed to venture outside for food.

She moved to get out of bed, and her muscles moaned at her. “Back to bed as soon as I’ve eaten,” she promised herself. Bronwyn would likely think she was really antisocial, but Eleri knew she’d perk up after some more sleep.

She rummaged in her bag and put on fresh jeans and a long-sleeved, dark blue casual top. She liked to think it brought out the blue of her eyes.

Padding downstairs, she heard Cadfael barking, and Bronwyn’s voice saying, “I won’t give in this time. Don’t make those eyes at me.”

Eleri paused outside the lounge. She knocked on the doorjamb.

Bronwyn turned from where she sat on the dark brown leather couch, wearing sweatpants and a light pink hooded top. She smiled. “You don’t need to knock. Come in. Are you feeling better?”

“A bit, thanks.” Eleri looked around the room. The walls were beige, the floor wooden and well polished. Cadfael sat on a large brown rug before the fireplace. The couch was opposite a widescreen TV. Some sort of game show appeared to be playing.

Bronwyn glanced at the TV and held up a copy of Jane Eyre. “I’m not really watching it.”

“You’re a fan of the Brontes?”

“I am now.” Bronwyn patted the couch. “I’m doing a part-time course in Literature – hoping to teach it one day.”

“Wow, really?” Eleri made herself comfy on the couch. Cadfael wandered over and sniffed her bare feet. Apparently satisfied, he rested his chin on Eleri’s thigh and looked at her with big brown eyes. Eleri scratched behind his ears.

“Yes. Term ends soon and I have an essay due on Jane Eyre. I’m dreading it,” she admitted. Then she put the book down. “Are you hungry?”

Eleri rubbed her stomach. “Very.”

“Let’s get you some food.” Bronwyn tossed back her red hair as she stood. “I must admit to not having got much food in… I concentrated on getting the place clean. I’ve got some cawl in the freezer though.”

Eleri followed her cousin into the kitchen. “What’s cawl?”

“Welsh stew. Beef, veg, thick gravy type stuff.” She reached into a chest freezer and took out a tupperware pot. “I’ll stick this in the oven for you now. Want some bread to tide you over while it’s cooking?”

Eleri’s stomach grumbled.

Bronwyn laughed. “There’s your answer. I’ll slice some bread for you now. Brown or white?”

“Brown. It’s healthier,” Eleri replied automatically.

Bronwyn opened a breadbin and took out what looked to be a homemade loaf of bread, and carved off two thick slices. She plated them. “Go, sit on the sofa. Keep Cadfael company. I’ll see to your dinner.”

“I don’t mind doing it, really.”

“No, you’re the guest. You go in.” She made a shooing motion.

Eleri stood still for a minute before Bronwyn shooed her again. She padded back into the lounge. Cadfael sat up when he saw that she had food on a plate. He turned those large eyes on her.

“Sorry. Too hungry to share.”

She glanced at the clock It was eight in the evening – she’d slept almost seven hours. Suddenly she felt quite awake. She wasn’t sure if the knowledge of the time she’d slept or the bread had perked her up, but she felt much better.

Bronwyn entered the room and plopped down on the couch. She picked up her book and then sighing, put it down again. “That’s enough for tonight. I never asked, Eleri, how was your journey?”

“Much better than it could have been – because of Barney.”

Bronwyn smiled an indulgent smile. “He’s great, isn’t he? I’ve been friends with him a good while, since he’s known Gareth probably.”

At the mention of the handsome gardener’s name, Eleri asked, “How long has Gareth worked for you?”

Bronwyn changed channels to MTV. The Hoosiers were signing about catching criminals. “He actually worked for my Dad at first – this is his house and grounds as you probably know.” She shifted. “I sometimes feel too alone in this house. I often invite Barney or my girlfriends over just so I’m not rattling around too long.”

“I’m sure you’ll be longing to have the space back with me under your feet for a few weeks,” Eleri teased.

“Nah, don’t be silly. I’ll just go check on your food. Here.” Bronwyn handed Eleri the remote. “Watch whatever you like. There’s really only Saturday night crap on anyway. DVDs are in that cabinet-” she gestured behind her “if you fancy sticking one on. Feel free to borrow some to watch in your room if you like.”

“Thanks,” Eleri said to her cousin’s retreating back.

She looked at the collection of DVDs. Bronwyn had some good ones: Layer Cake, Kingdom of Heaven, Run Fatboy Run, Death at a Funeral, 28 Days Later, Bridget Jones’ Diary, The Actors, Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, The Usual Suspects, Just Like Heaven, Legally Blonde and Serenity, as well as box sets of the TV shows Bones, Firefly, Alias and Gavin and Stacey, which Eleri had not heard of. She assumed it was a UK-centric thing.

An amazing smell began to make itself known to Eleri. When she turned around she saw Bronwyn holding a tray laden with more bread, butter and a bowl full of steaming liquid.

“You didn’t have to bring it in,” Eleri said, feeling awkward. “I would have eaten in the kitchen.”

“The tray was partly a selfish thing,” Bronwyn admitted. “Now you have to keep me company. Enjoy.”

Eleri sat on the couch and accepted the tray. “This smells amazing. Did you make it yourself?”

“I did.” Bronwyn struggled not to preen and lost. “I found the recipe on the internet.”

Eleri immediately perked up. “Do you have the net here?”

“No, I’ve not right now. Someone special you want to get in touch with?”

“My boyfriend,” Eleri said absently. She was so used to having email and internet at her fingertips; it was going to be odd living without them. No, scratch that, it was going to be damned hard living without them. “Is there an internet café here?”

“In Llanishen? No. You’d do better to get Gareth or Barney to run you down to the city centre. There’re taxis and buses, but the taxi is pretty expensive all the way to town, and the buses by here don’t run that often straight through, you’d need to make a change halfway.”

Eleri frowned. It looked as if she was going to have a relaxing holiday whether she wanted it or not.

She spooned up some cawl, blew on it, and tasted. “This is delicious!”

“Thank you.”

The cousins sat in companionable silence for a few minutes as Eleri ate. Then she said, “Had I known you had food this good in Wales, I’d have come sooner!” She joked. Then, “I am sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

“Ah, that’s all right,” Bronwyn replied easily. “I’m sorry to hear about your job. Sounds like you were very good at it.”

“Yeah.” Eleri spooned up the last mouthful of cawl. “I really was.”

They did not speak for another few minutes. “I might put on a film,” Eleri said. “I’ll wash up these plates and stuff first, though.”

“Nah, just pop them in the kitchen and we’ll do it tomorrow. Saturday night is no time for washing dishes. Would be good to stick a film on though,” she said.

When Eleri returned to the lounge, Cadfael was curled up on the sofa with Bronwyn. Eleri stood by the DVD cabinet, bent over, trying to choose.

“So,” Bronwyn said, and the word sounded very much like an opening.

Eleri turned. “So?”

“Is it rude of me to ask how well you and Barney got on during your flight and after?”

Eleri dithered between Run Fatboy Run and The Usual Suspects. Kevin Spacey won out in the end. She slid the DVD case from the cabinet and turned to face her cousin. “I’m almost sad to tell you that I didn’t find him hot in the slightest. He is absolutely adorable though.”

“Isn’t he? He’s always so polite. He even likes cake. I sometimes wonder if he’s actually straight.” Bronwyn held out her hand for the DVD. “Oooh. Good choice. I love Kevin Spacey.”

“I know, right?” Eleri settled in.

As the film progressed, Eleri realised that it had been a long time since she had allowed herself to become absorbed by a film, or watch a film in one sitting and totally concentrate on it.

Something else always seemed to invade. She knew now what that something else was: work.

No need to worry about that anymore, she thought grimly. She’d cut herself loose from everything back in Frisco, for now, anyway.

Cadfael nudged her knee and Eleri jerked in surprise.

“You seem tense,” Bronwyn commented.

Eleri moved her shoulders. “I’d like to be relaxed, I just…. I don’t know, I can’t seem to forget about… stuff.”

“That probably happens when you are used to a high pressure job,” Bronwyn sympathised. “Want some chocolate? Always helps me.”

Eleri thought about her rigorous gym sessions. “I don’t know… I’m only going to have to work it off later. Is there a gym nearby?”

Bronwyn shook her head and paused the DVD. “Same as internet cafes, you’ll need to go to town. But there are plenty of public country walks you can take if you want exercise. I’m sure one bit of chocolate wouldn’t do you any harm.”

“Maybe.” Eleri worried her lip with her teeth. No internet, no gym – what was she going to do? Maybe she’d have to find a library and borrow many, many books. “What sort of things are open in Cardiff centre tomorrow?”

Bronwyn shrugged. “Most stuff. Not the library or any offices, but you can go shopping and use internet cafes. Do you want me to ask Barney to give you a lift?”

“Yeah, but……. He’ll be so jetlagged. Maybe I’ll wait until Monday. There’s no rush.”

But there is a rush, Eleri thought desperately, I need email and a gym. I need to be busy! What am I going to do with all this time?

She was worried that she’d drive herself a little bit mad.

“Nonsense, I’ll ask Gareth. He hasn’t much to do of a Sunday, I’m sure it will give him a thrill to have a pretty girl in his car.” Bronwyn pressed play on the DVD remote. “Oh! This is my favourite part.”

Bronwyn settled back into the cushions and beckoned for Cadfael. No more was said about tomorrow. It appeared that Gareth would be taking Eleri into town whether she wanted him to or not.

v-v-v-v

Hello everyone.

Thanks for the messages of support you sent me after my “Lady is sad” post on Life is Better in Paperback. I didn’t make the post to get them, but it was damned nice all the same! You all had the same advice for me, and you were all right. Not winning is not the end of the world, merely a snag.

I had my Ben and Jerry’s and am ready to go again.

FYI regarding this story: Welsh Expressions:

“You’re all right, thanks” no thanks

“By here” over here/over there

“Where to are you?” where are you?

“Cwtch” welsh for cuddle/hug

“I’ll be there now, in a minute” straight away