The Guest Who Stayed

Chapter 7 - Late 1920

The loss of Flora cast a shadow across the days that followed. Without her infectious laughter and her incessant questions, meetings in Dan's parlour became less enjoyable. Alice seemed to be taking a greater interest in Jed's future and would frequently goad him about his lack of ambition.

"You can't always just be Dan's assistant, you know," said Alice as they sat alone by the fire in Dan's parlour one evening. "What about starting your own business and being your own boss? People know you well enough round these parts now and you've got a reputation for working hard."

"Are you asking me to go against Dan?" said Jed indignantly. "After all he's done for me, taking me in when I arrived here from the farm and giving me work. He's become like a father to me, like my own father should have been. He talks to me, hears me out when I got something troubling me, tells me about his life and how it's led him to see things in a certain way. You can't put a price on that sort of friendship so there's no way I'm walking out on him. Besides, he's beginning to need me more now. He can't do nearly as much as he did when I first arrived, so we make a good pair. He's got the know how and I've got the muscle."

"I'm not saying you should be disloyal, just that you got to look after yourself because there's nobody else going to do it for you. It's because Dan needs you that you got to make sure he pays what you're worth. Don't forget he's your boss and you've got rights, you know."

"Don't go fillin' your head up with all that modern political talk. This ain't Russia. I'm not planning to start a revolution."

"You may scoff, Jed, but you've got to be sharp these days. It's no good just carrying on doing things the way we always have - just being the victim. You've got to ask questions, stand up for yourself, recognise what you're worth. Times are changing. You just got to look around to see that; women have the vote now, more cars on the roads, fancy clothes in the shops, people building themselves modern houses to live in with bathrooms and all that."

"But that's only a few people, Alice. For the likes of us life don't change very much."

"That's the point, Jed, it is only for the few but you got to make sure you're one of them. There's opportunities out there for those who's prepared to take them."

There was a pause whilst Jed digested Alice's words. Staring into the spitting embers, both of them had a sense that they were ill equipped to break free from the servitude that life had assigned to them.

"I'm not sure I've got the strength to do what you're saying, Alice. I never thought of myself as being different. All I really wanted to do was fit in."

"Let me help you then, Jed, you know, be your friend. I can see you've got talents and sometimes it takes a woman to bring them out in a man. Let me be a special friend."

"How do you mean?"

"You and me want the same things, Jed, to improve ourselves and make a better life. Sometimes it's easier if two of you do it together. That's all I mean, being close and helping one another out."

The next morning Jed went with Dan to repair a damaged barn on an outlying farm. Jed sawed vigorously, cutting new planks to size whilst Dan removed the rotten wood. After two hours of working in silence, Dan suggested they stop for a break. He produced a flask of tea which they took turns to drink from as they rested on a fallen trunk.

"Alice and me was talking last night, Dan, when you was down the pub. She's got me thinking a bit about my future and what I needs to be doing to get on."

"She was talking to you about that was she?" replied Dan with a laugh. "In that case she's got her sights on you and there's no mistake."

"Oh, I don't think she meant it like that. We're like brother and sister, me and Alice."