Page 10 of The Second Chance Supper Club

She’d figured the DIY box and new tools would actually save on repair bills in the longer term.

The thought of the renovated garden shed also gave her something to dream about, to look forward to.

There really hadn’t been much of that in her life lately, so she was determined to grasp this new opportunity.

Armed and ready with those practical supplies, she headed through to the back garden to prepare for Stage Two.

She needed to get inside that shed, and give it a damn good clear-out and clean.

Putting her arachnophobia to one side, and kitted out with rubber gloves and a broom, as well as a large bucket of hot soapy water, with a deep breath and a head full of determination, she dived in.

Cobwebs came down, yuck, dust flew, the internal ivy was trimmed and pulled back away from the roof.

The packing boxes came out – she might have to find a new home for them in the spare bedroom for now – and the terracotta pots, no doubt left by elderly Reggie, were taken down to the kitchen for a good wash.

They could be repurposed and replanted, perhaps with something cheery like a miniature rose or some herbs, ready to be placed back in the shed on a little sage-painted shelf that she could see in her mind’s-eye. Then, the scrubbing began in earnest.

Twenty minutes in, and her mobile phone buzzed in her pocket. She frisked it out, with rubber gloves on and bubbles aplenty, only just catching the call.

Her sibling’s cheery voice: ‘ Hey, hi, sis, how are you? And how’s life up north ?’ Susie added, in some kind of odd Yorkshire/Geordie twang.

Cath had to smile. ‘Hi, Suz. Great to hear from you. And yeah … I’m doing well, thanks.’ It was wishful thinking, but she was trying to smooth over the cracks.

They’d been messaging each other most days, but it was lovely to have a chance to chat.

‘You sure ? ’ Susie knew what a rough time her younger sister had been having lately, and clearly wasn’t prepared to be fobbed off.

‘O-kay, so it has felt a bit strange, moving up … being on my own …’ She’d had a removals company do the transfer.

It hadn’t taken long. Her worldly goods and life, loaded on and off a small transit van.

She paused, then continued, ‘But hey, I’m now a week in, the village is lovely …

and I’m already starting to get to know a few people. ’ Cath was determined to sound upbeat.

‘Well, that’s good. Early days yet, I suppose.

It’s bound to feel a bit odd. And is there anything you need?

Or you’d like? I still haven’t gotten around to sending you a new home gift.

’ ‘Aw, thanks, that’s kind. And yeah, I’ll have a think.

’ Something for the ‘Supper Club’ shed came to mind, but she needed to be sure that project was going to actually work out, before she said anything more.

It might all come tumbling down yet, literally.

And what about her new life here, could that yet come tumbling down too? Had she really done the right thing?

‘Well, just let me know. And hey, how are you … really?

You sound tired, honey.’

‘Yeah, I am tired … it’s weird, I have loads of time on my hands now, and yet I still feel so shattered.’

‘You’re bound to. Give yourself a break, sis. This is a big life change – everything you’ve been through, all that emotional trauma, no thanks to shit-face Trevor, as well as the move …’ ‘Do you think I’ve done the right thing … really? Moving here?’ The facade was finally beginning to crack.

‘Honestly? I think you’re brave, but I think you’ve taken on an awful lot at a time when you’re already vulnerable. But I admire you, too. It’s always been somewhere you’ve loved. So, good for you. Maybe, it is just the change you need.’

‘Only time will tell, I suppose.’

‘True. And hey,’ Susie added, ‘if you’d like me to come up and visit soon, I could bring your new home gift in person, just let me know.’

‘Aw, thank you.’ Cath sensed that was Susie’s way of placing a supportive foot in the door, without making her little sis have to admit that perhaps she was a tad lonely.

‘That sounds great, and I’d really love for you to come up soon, but …

’ She needed to be honest here. ‘I really need to give myself chance to settle in … on my own, just for now. It’s the only way I’m going to find my feet. ’

‘Yeah, no worries. And if you change your mind, and you want some company, I’m just a phone call and a couple of hours drive away, okay?

’ The Peak District, where Susie now lived, was actually a three-and-a-half-hour drive, but Cath knew she was trying to make it sound simple to drop everything and go.

She loved her for that, and for all the other things that had made her such a great sister over the years.

Yes, they’d had their fair share of sibling bickering as teenagers, and indeed occasionally as adults, but that was just the way their family was.

They let off steam with each other, because they felt safe to.

This was one of the most rock-solid relationships in her life.

Her sister knew her inside out. She’d been the keeper of her secrets, the shoulder to cry on.

Closer than any of her friends (and she’d had some good ones) had ever been.

‘Okay, thank you. So, how are Beth and Hannah?’ They were Cath’s nieces, Susie’s two girls.

Beth had got married last year and was now living in Sheffield (it was the last official engagement she and Trevor had attended together, and unfortunately hadn’t been the easiest of days for Cath, despite it being a beautiful wedding).

Hannah, who’d definitely inherited the family’s mathematics gene, was now in her second year at uni in Bristol, doing a Maths degree.

‘They’re good, thanks. Beth’s getting on great with her new job in the corporate legal team with Westerleys; most of it’s online with the odd trip to London now and again. And Hannah seems to be enjoying student life. Making the most of the socialising as well as the studying, I think.’

‘Ah yes, she always was the party animal of your two. Bit like her mother, hey.’ Cath smiled.

Susie was far noisier and more confident than Cath, growing up.

‘Well, good on her.’ It was great to think the young ones were enjoying life, as long as they were keeping up with their studies too.

‘Send them both my love when you next speak.’

‘Will do.’

The conversation flowed, with Susie asking about Adam, and then if Cath had heard from Trevor at all, either directly or otherwise.

‘Nope, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s all about the moving on , Suz. ’ Cath sounded braver than she felt at that point.

If she repeated the mantra enough to herself, she hoped that one day soon she’d find it was actually working.