The Last Train Home

Chapter Fifty-Two

Alec and I didn't see each other all that much over the next week.

It wasn't like it was planned to be that way, but there were several contributing factors that led to me spending more time on the farm and with Jonathan and Barbara. First, the sheep managed to escape their pen so Jonathan and I spent an hour trying to round them up before spending the rest of the day making sure the fence was secure. We weren't sure how they had even broken out since there was little to no damage to the fence, but they did and we couldn't risk it happening again.

After that, Barbara finally decided it was time to have the girl's day she had promised several months before. None of us were really sure what a girl's day would entail in the middle of the country, but Eva and Enid were more than willing to participate despite the short time frame. We spent the day in the village and Barbara even took us to a small cafe that was still operational despite all the rationing. They even had small cakes. I didn't know how Barbara managed to pay for it, and I didn't ask.

I didn't tell Barbara and Jonathan about what Alec and I had discussed because it just felt like an awkward conversation I didn't want to have just yet. We hadn't really had the chance to talk about it ourselves so it would have been out of place to suddenly start talking to Jonathan and Barbara about it. They would find out when I was ready to tell them and only after Alec and I had the chance to talk about it in detail. I had no idea if we were still considered friends or more than friends.

"Sybil!" Barbara asked, knocking on my bedroom door as I ran a brush through my hair.

"Yes?"

She poked her head around the door. "I need to run some errands in the village, would you like to join me?"

"Why not? I think Alec is still dealing with the escaped chickens."

"How many chickens got out?"

"Most of them. Mabel doesn't like locking them in and she doesn't always close the door to the coop properly. Alec said yesterday that three of them were still missing."

"I wouldn't want to be the one chasing chickens." Barbara laughed. "Get your shoes and a small jacket, it's cold out there. I'll meet you downstairs when you're ready."

"Alright."

She smiled and then left the room, closing the door behind her. I ran the brush through my hair again and reached under my bed in search of my normal shoes. My boots and wellingtons were always kept by the front door because Barbara didn't want me traipsing mud through the house, but my buckled shoes were kept in my room. I rarely wore them apart from for church and most of the time they were kicked under my bed as the week went on. Since I wore my boots on our girl's day out, the shoes had disappeared.

I flattered myself out on the floor and reached under my bed in search of my shoes, which could have been anywhere. During my search, I grabbed hold of a discarded chocolate bar wrapper from my birthday and just flung it across my room as well as a loose sock that didn't have a pair. Eventually, I wrapped my fingers around the back of one of my shoes and dragged it out from under the bed before finding the second one.

After finding my jacket, I put both the jacket and my shoes on before leaving my room. Barbara stood at the bottom of the stairs, jacket and shoes on, hair pinned up and a wicker basket hanging off her arm.

"How come it took you so long to get your shoes? I've been waiting almost ten minutes."

"Was it really that long?" I grinned sheepishly. "I couldn't find my shoes."

"I'm not surprised given the state of that room. Tomorrow, I want you to clean it before you even think of heading into the paddock."

"Yes, Barbara."