Look Back at Me (Fleckney Fields Series, Book 1)

Home Visit

A fortnight later...

Fenton knocked at her office door - she recognised his confident loud rattle - and she invited him in. He stuck his head in, just as always.

"Lunch?" he asked grumpily.

"I've already had it," Viola said. "My previous appointment was short."

The Welshman nodded and studied her.

"Mrs. Owens won't be pleased," he said.

"Oh right, she'll have nothing to gossip about," Viola said with a laugh. "After our previous lunch, Mrs. Tomlin in the florist shop asked me if I was 'enjoying my new accommodation,'" she said, widening her eyes dramatically.

"Bloody grapevine," he grumbled and retreated in the hallway again.

Viola chuckled and went back to her paperwork.

"Oh and Viola," Fenton said, sticking his head in. She looked up at him. "Sorry," he muttered. "Would you check on Elisa Short, please? She didn't ring us back."

"I will, Alan," Viola answered. "Her bloodwork is back, and I think I should offer her a home visit. I have no appointments for the afternoon, and she has the little'uns. I wouldn't want her to drag them to the surgery."

"That's very kind of you," Fenton said.

***

Viola hissed in irritation. The slush that she'd just scooped with her ankle boot felt disgusting. The terraced cottages where her patient lived had some sort of roadworks happening in front of them, and she'd had to plod through a significant patch of mud and rubble to get to the entrance, and now back to her car. She walked carefully on the temporary pathway, put across the muck, when her phone rang in her handbag. She stopped and pushed her hand into her oxblood Mulberry.

"Afternoon, Viola," Rhys' voice came from behind her, and she startled.

"Hi. Sorry, phone!" she said hurriedly, turning to him and finally fished out her Android and picked up the call. "Yes, Alan?"

She listened to Fenton inform her that the plumber would be able to come to fix 'their' shower no sooner than the next morning, while Rhys just stood on the other end of the plank she was balancing on, his eyes intent on her face.

"Right, yes, thank you for letting me know," Viola said, and mouthed 'Sorry' to Rhys again.

He nodded.

"I will find somewhere else to shower then, Alan," Viola said, somewhat distracted by Rhys' presence and the repulsive feeling of cold water slowly soaking the foot of her stocking.

Fenton muttered some of his usual incomprehensible grumbling, and they said their goodbyes. Viola stuffed the mobile back in her back, and lifted her eyes at Rhys.

"OK, let's try this again," she said, and he smirked. "Hi."

"Hello," he said. "Visiting Elisa?"

Viola gave him a surprised look.

"That would be confidential," she said and looked him over. He had a large bag from Mr. Tote's grocery shop in his hand. "Are you visiting Elisa Short?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm her landlord," he answered. "These are mine." He pointed behind him with his thumb.

"These– You mean, you own the cottages," she said.

He nodded.

"Her husband used to work for me, he was planning to buy their cottage out after we finished renovating them. And then he had his accident," he said. "He was a good man."