Eleanor was still admiring her less inflamed neck when Annie sent her a text late that morning, asking her up to the hall for a coffee.
She put on her favourite casual outfit and some light make-up, feeling ridiculously excited to be seeing Tom again. Not that she was only interested in seeing Tom, of course. She would be seeing Annie and the family as well.
Now that July had begun, summer was in full swing. The sky was blue and the trees were alive with the sound of birds singing as she cycled her way down the long driveway at Willow Tree Hall. Butterflies floated from one wild flower to the next. It was a great day to be outside.
‘Hi,’ she said, as Annie opened up the front door. ‘Isn’t it a lovely day?’
‘Not really,’ said Annie, with a grin. ‘You should see the state of Megan.’
‘She’s not hung-over again, is she?’
‘No, this is worse than that.’
Eleanor followed her into the kitchen where the first of the brand new units were beginning to be unveiled. Gradually the room was coming back to life. But the most interesting feature that morning was Megan whose nose was bright red.
‘Look at me!’ she wailed, staring at her reflection in her phone.
‘It’s only sunburn,’ said Eleanor, trying and failing not to smile as she sat down at the table. ‘What happened?’
‘Kids sports day yesterday. I lathered up the kids with suntan lotion but I was so hung-over after Glastonbury that I totally forgot about me. I look like Ronald McDonald,’ she carried on. ‘What am I going to do? It’s going to peel and then it’s going to look even worse.’
‘What’s all the fuss about?’ said Rose, appearing at the kitchen door. She did a double take at Megan. ‘Darling! No, no! One must use sunscreen, otherwise the wrinkles will be ghastly later on.’
Megan hooked out an ice cube from the cold drink that Annie had just given her and rubbed it across her nose.
They all nearly jumped out of their skin when a bunch of carrots landed on the new work surface. Eleanor looked up to see Bert the gardener standing next to them, looking very unhappy.
‘You’re working early today,’ said Rose, putting a hand on his arm. ‘All work and no play makes a man very dull.’
‘That dog’s dug up my carrots,’ said Bert, in a surly tone.
‘Oh,’ said Annie, looking upset. ‘Sorry.’
‘Nonsense,’ said Rose. ‘He was just saving you from having to do all that digging with your bad back.’
She smiled brilliantly at Bert before he finally shuffled away again.
‘One has to look on the bright side at my age,’ said Rose, reaching out to stroke the frothy fronds growing out the top of one of the carrots. ‘You know, when I was in Marrakesh, there was a beautiful redhead. Somebody’s girlfriend. I can’t remember now. Anyway, she got terribly sunburnt, poor thing. But one of the locals recommended carrot cream. The next day, it had completely disappeared.’
‘What were you doing in Marrakesh?’ asked Annie, looking up from where she was wiping off the dirt from her precious new granite worktop.
Rose broke into a wicked grin. ‘Trying not to get arrested,’ she replied with a wink.
But Eleanor was looking at the carrots and wondering about her eczema. ‘Do you remember when I used to make those creams for my skin?’ she said aloud. ‘Anyway, I made one yesterday and it’s really helped my eczema.’
‘Darling, you should try my Crème de la Mer,’ said Rose.
‘It’s so expensive.’ Annie raised her eyebrows. ‘Besides, I thought Sam said that we’re all supposed to be cutting back these days?’
Rose looked horrified. ‘Sweetheart, this is essential! I can’t go round looking like some old bag lady. How else am I going to take my next lover?’ She looked at Eleanor. ‘Now what’s all this about face creams?’
‘I have bad eczema,’ said Eleanor, showing her the patch on her neck, which was still visible although not as bad. ‘I’ve tried all of the fancy stuff but I end up making my own as it’s the only thing that sorts it out.’
‘Sounds impressive,’ said Rose, nodding her approval.
‘She’s being modest,’ said Annie. ‘Those creams you made me for Christmas all those years ago were beautiful. Why did you stop?’
‘I never had any spare time,’ said Eleanor, truthfully.
Megan touched her sore nose. ‘Well, if Rose is right about carrots, do you mind trying to whip up something with these? I’m desperate here.’
‘And you’ll be able to see in the dark as well,’ said Annie, with a giggle.
‘Darling, with her nose being that red, we’ll all be able to see her in the dark,’ drawled Rose.
‘I’ll give it a go later,’ promised Eleanor. It was the least she could do for her friends. ‘I found one of Dylan’s balls in my handbag,’ she told them. ‘I thought he would want it when Tom comes back later.’
‘I think Tom’s going to be in London for a few days before he comes back here,’ said Annie, checking her phone.
Eleanor tried to ignore how disappointed she was that she wouldn’t see Tom that day. On the other hand, she was still trying to work out how she really felt about him, so perhaps it was for the best after all. And they had recently kissed so at least it put off that embarrassment for the time being.
‘Did Dylan sleep okay last night without me?’ asked Eleanor.
‘He slept in Arthur’s room,’ called out Rose, as she left the kitchen. ‘I think they both liked the company, to be honest.’
Annie was still checking her phone when she suddenly took in a deep breath. ‘Oh my god!’ she said, sitting bolt upright. ‘You’ve been papped.’
‘Who?’ said Megan.
‘Eleanor!’ said Annie, holding out her phone. ‘You and Tom are on Twitter.’
Eleanor took the mobile and stared at the photo. Somebody had taken a photo just as they had accidentally kissed.
‘Wow!’ said Megan, looking over her shoulder. ‘It says that you’re Tommy King’s new girlfriend.’
‘But I’m not,’ said Eleanor frantically. ‘Besides, you can’t even see my face, only my hair.’
‘That’s because Tom was all over you,’ said Megan, making smoochy sounds.
Eleanor lobbed a tea towel at her before she studied the photo once more. ‘You can’t tell it’s me, can you?’
Megan and Annie peered at the photo before shaking their heads.
‘No,’ said Annie.
‘Definitely not,’ added Megan.
Eleanor sighed with relief. That was the last thing she needed. If anyone in London recognised her, then the magazines might get wind of the fact that she used to work for Hot Gossip! and then Tom would know about her old job. And how she had been lying to him about being a financial journalist.
But she was safe. For now.
To create a distraction from her embarrassment, she grabbed the carrots and headed home to make up some cream for Megan.
She cut up the carrots and put them in a saucepan to boil. Once the carrots were cooked and mashed, she added them to the glass bowl as well as the same ingredients she had used for her eczema potion.
Her mum came into the kitchen halfway through the procedure and smiled. ‘Well, this takes me back.’ She sat down heavily at the kitchen table. ‘I don’t remember you doing this since…’ her voice trailed off.
Eleanor glanced over her shoulder as she stood at the oven. ‘We’re allowed to say his name.’
‘I know,’ said her mum, with a small gulp. ‘Since your father left.’
‘I can’t remember that far back.’
It was a lie. Eleanor could remember every part of week after he had walked out on them. The local newspaper arriving through the letterbox. The photos of her dad and that actress that lived up the road. The tears. The many tears.
Most of all, she remembered cooking dinner that night and many evenings afterwards. Taking care of her mum until she was strong enough to take care of herself once more. Running from school to the supermarket and back again each day, trying to keep the household afloat. She hadn’t had much time for dabbling with her lotions and potions from that time onwards. Nor once she had moved to London either, apart from when she needed to whip up a batch for her eczema.
‘So what’s brought you back in time to do this?’ asked her mum.
Eleanor filled up some empty jam jars with the potion. ‘Megan’s burnt her nose.’
‘Oh dear,’ said her mum. ‘The joy of being a redhead. Well, I’m sure it’ll calm down overnight.’
‘It never has done before. Hopefully this will speed it on its way,’ said Eleanor, putting the jars in the fridge.
After dinner, she dropped a jam jar around to Megan, who was grateful for any help.
When Eleanor got home, she scooped out a large dollop of her own cream and smeared it across her neck.
The following morning, Eleanor received an ecstatic early phone call from Megan, telling her that her nose was now a wonderful golden brown colour instead of bright red. The carrot cream had worked its magic. Who’d have thought carrots could have such healing properties, thought Eleanor. She peered at her neck in the mirror. Between the carrot and her own plain cream, the eczema on her neck was almost non-existent. She was surprised because the stress and worry that someone would recognise her from the photo at Glastonbury still nagged at her. But the sense of satisfaction outweighed the worries, for once.