Everything We Keep, Di Walker [best pdf reader for ebooks txt] 📗

she replied, keeping her voice as calm as she could, as if it was totally normal for her to be walking somewhere at this time of the morning while carrying a bright orange suitcase.

Sandy Vale seemed like a world away from Greensward; even though, just like in Greensward, people seemed to be always in a hurry to get somewhere else, Agatha thought it was a different kind of hurry, a friendlier kind of hurry. She thought of Mrs Beluga, who had lived across the street from her parents for as long as she could remember, and how she was always watching, always having something to say. Agatha, like her parents, blamed Mrs Beluga whenever the council workers turned up, or even Nell. Someone had to have had called the authorities. ‘It’s that old Mrs Beluga,’ her mother had said, over and over. ‘She has her nose in everyone’s business.’

While she was with Katherine, Agatha had never met anyone who came close to being like Mrs Beluga. Sandy Vale probably didn’t have any Mrs Beluga’s.

Agatha walked on. As more people came out of their well-kept houses, and made their way to their cars, or down their streets to the bus stop, Agatha felt like she could blend in a bit more, even though her orange suitcase had not dulled a signal shade.

As she approached the end of the street, she could see it was taking her towards a main road. A few people had gathered, on the opposite side, at a bus stop. Agatha paused for a moment and then crossed the road. She approached a woman who was standing a bit back from the rest of the small group who were waiting.

‘Excuse me,’ Agatha said, using her hand to push her hair behind her ear. It had occurred to her that she should have brushed her hair at the park.

‘Yes?’ the young woman replied.

‘I need to get to The Vale. Does this bus go there?’

‘No. This goes to the train station. But if you go around the corner, over there,’ she pointed to the end of the street, ‘and wait at that stop, that bus will take you there.’

The woman looked at Agatha and then down at her suitcase. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked in a hushed tone. Agatha stepped back. Both hands gripped the handle of the suitcase.

‘Yeah. I’m fine.’ She didn’t sound convincing and the woman didn’t look convinced. Agatha stepped away and crossed the road again. On the other side she briefly turned back and saw the woman had her phone to her ear. Agatha moved faster. Maybe there were Mrs Beluga’s here too, they just look different.

It didn’t take long for the bus to arrive. She got on, waved her card and found a seat behind the driver. The Vale was one place Agatha knew well. She was sure she could find her way from to Katherine’s house from there. They often went to The Vale, to the supermarket, the bakery, to the department stores, or to window shop, somewhere cool to escape from the summer heat. There was a medical centre was at the very end of the large shopping centre. Katherine had taken her there for a compulsory check-up when she had first moved in with her. Next to it was a café. Just the thought of it made Agatha realise how hungry she really was.

Comfortable that the bus would take her where she wanted to go, Agatha relaxed into the seat. Even though she had slept for a couple of hours, she felt exhausted. She didn’t want to go home. She couldn’t get to Katherine’s. She felt stuck, she was nowhere. She lowered her head onto her folded arms. The bus hummed on, turning this way and that. Agatha closed her eyes and pictured Chief running around the back garden, chasing the water from the hose she held in her hand, snapping at the stream of cool water.

‘We’re at The Vale,’ the bus driver announced. Agatha sat up, looked out the window and saw the familiar shopping centre carpark, with a slow steady stream of cars arriving. She let out a large sigh of relief. ‘Nearly there,’ she said to herself, as she picked up her case and stepped off the bus.

12

The automatic doors of The Vale opened as Agatha approached. Inside, the air conditioning was already preparing itself for the hot day that was on its way. Hardly any of the regular stores were open, only the supermarket, a newsagent and the bakery. The smell of the freshly baked bread made Agatha even more aware of how hungry she was.

She moved to the side of the mall, in front of a discount shoe store that was still closed and unzipped her suitcase. Finding the jeans, at the very bottom, she took out the purse, held onto it tightly and rezipped the case. Gently using ran two fingers over the soft thread making sure each one was just as they were when Katherine had given it to her.

There were a couple of people standing at the bakery counter, placing their order. Agatha hesitated and looked around. She knew the café at the other end of the mall, near the medical centre. She picked up her suitcase and began to walk in that direction. As she passed the bakery, Agatha caught a glimpse of the large clock on its wall. 7.35am. Even though there were several people she could ask for help there was no use calling Katherine now, she would be out on her morning walk with Chief.

Agatha walked on, past the jewellery store with its empty window displays which would later be filled with all sorts of glittering items, towards the centre of The Vale where the she would have to turn to the right. The escalators were already working even though there was hardly another person around. Further along, she saw the neon sign of the medical centre lit up and as she approached, the café soon came into