Suddenly Single - Carol Wyer

Snow fell gently; fat wet flakes that at first looked as if they might melt, but soon formed into small white pyramids against the bare branches of the hawthorn hedges that lined the twisting lane. Under other circumstances it would have been a charming scenario and Chloe Piper would have enjoyed observing each deposit of snow grow larger with the hope that soon everywhere would be covered with nature’s pure white tablecloth.

Faith scowled as white flurries hurtled towards the windscreen. She turned on the windscreen wipers to clear her vision. ‘Perfect, just perfect. They didn’t forecast snow today.’

‘I quite like it,’ replied Chloe, ‘especially at this time of the year. It’s magical. However, if it doesn't stop soon, we’ll have trouble reaching the house. There’s a whopper of a slope before you reach the reservoir. Could be slippery.’

‘It's certainly rural here,’ said Faith, guiding the Audi expertly around sharp bends; the engine growling deeply as if to warn other road users to steer clear. They passed a run-down farmhouse, its windows dark and uninviting, and then a field where woolly sheep huddled together to stay warm, each black face looking expectantly at the sound of the car approaching. In a paddock further on, two chestnut horses clad in warm horse blankets stared as the car rounded the bend, steam emitting from their soft velvet noses.

‘Not far to go now,’ said Chloe, spotting the sign for the reservoir.

‘You are quite convinced about this, aren't you?’ Faith had already asked the same question several times during this trip. Chloe was certain. She had never been more certain in her life.

‘I mean not many newly single thirty-five-year-olds choose to live on windswept hillsides in the middle of nowhere rather than in a town or city,’ commented Faith. ‘I really don’t know how anyone could survive without coffee shops and bars. Well, anyone other than you,’ she added with a warm smile.

Not many people understood her decision. She dragged herself away from thoughts of what had led to it and watched the flakes descending, marvelling at how each one was individual, made up of unique ice crystals. Like people, she reflected. People were all different too. They were individuals with different needs, hopes and desires. They were composed of a multitude of different facets, opinions and expectations, and as such, should be allowed to behave uniquely.

‘I needed to leave all that village life behind. I couldn’t stay hidden there, not after what happened. You know what it’s like in that place. You lived next door to me for three years. Everyone pokes their noses into everyone else’s business. And if they don't know it, they make it up. It was bearable when I could lay low at home but now… I need to be left alone – completely.’

‘Yes, but where will you get the inspiration for your next book? It can be pretty difficult when your new nearest neighbours appear to have four legs and black and white markings. You can’t really follow Spank Me Harder, Vicar with Bluebell and Betsy Frolic in the Meadow.

Chloe giggled before saying, ‘I suppose it was only a matter of time before some of the village folk found out I was actually C J Knight, author of that rather naughty, revealing book. William warned me somebody would work out the book had been written by a villager. He wasn’t too happy at the prospect because he didn’t want to be associated with the book in any way.’

Her brow creased at the memory of William.

‘They only speculated it was you. They had no way of knowing for certain and I assume your identity is still fairly secure.’

‘I’d prefer to remain anonymous.’

‘I know, hun. Considering William spent three years complaining you were wasting your time writing it, you’d have thought he’d have been blown away by the book’s success.’

‘Declared it a flash in the pan.’

Faith tutted. ‘He has no idea.’

Chloe kept her own counsel. Part of her was beginning to think William had been right. She smiled at her friend.

Chloe and Faith had been thrown together by fate – a cruel fate. Faith’s husband, Adrian, a supposedly fit thirty-seven-year-old, suffered sudden cardiac arrest in the back garden and Faith’s screams had alerted Chloe, who’d been working in her own garden. She clambered over the fence that separated the two houses and whilst Faith had phoned for an ambulance, Chloe had tried in vain to resuscitate the man. They’d become unlikely friends – Chloe the introvert and Faith the go-getter.

‘William wasn’t fair to you. I was glad when you outed him for the rat he was. You could do so much better than him.’

‘It’s unlikely I’ll find anyone willing to live with somebody like me.’

‘You haven’t got a horrible, infectious disease, Chloe. Your condition’s debilitating but you were getting on top of it.’

Chloe chewed at her bottom lip. She didn’t like discussing the anxiety she suffered in social situations. She’d been trying a new therapy to help her face social situations but William’s revelation he was having an affair and his subsequent departure had been a major setback and she’d withdrawn from the programme.

‘Anyway, he’s completely wrong about your novel. Wait until those royalties come through in March, you’ll be able to pay off a huge chunk of the mortgage on this new place and settle all your credit card bills. That’ll show him.’

‘I have you to thank really for all this, for securing that contract with Upfront Publishing. Without you, I’d have probably been one of many self-published writers scrabbling to make a name for myself, and William would have been crowing about being right. It doesn’t matter though, does it? I don’t need to prove anything to him. He’s already turned his back on me and on what I achieve. He has his new girlfriend – Lilly – now and as far as he’s concerned, I don’t exist anymore.’

‘He’s a bastard – a stupid bastard.’

‘At least I can follow my dream without criticism and arguments about why I haven’t done the washing, or tantrums because I’ve forgotten to cook dinner because I was carried away with an idea. It’ll be nice not to have that tension any more. It’ll be a new chapter in my personal book of life.’

She kept her tone light but guessed Faith would know she was bluffing. Chloe’s fragile self-confidence had shattered following the discovery of her husband’s infidelity.

‘As long as this isn’t another step in your quest to distance yourself from everyone, then it’s okay by me.’

‘I’m trying, Faith. I managed to come here alone, meet the vendor, and two of the men who work on the development, and look around the house without bolting.’

Faith patted her knee gently. ‘I know and I’m proud of you for doing it, and for tackling all of this head on. It’s been a major challenge, but surely it shows you what you’re capable of. You don’t need William.’

‘I know.’ Her voice lost its strength. She’d managed to buy a house and visit a lawyer and face up to strangers, but Faith could have no idea of how physically sick she’d been before each of those seemingly normal activities. Or how she’d been awake for nights afterwards, anxious about the impression she’d made. Social anxiety disorder might not be a killer disease but it certainly ruined lives.