Chapter 5

Nina had visited Fernborough a number of times, but she couldn't say that she knew the place. Yes, there had been ambling along the High Street, but not much of it had been absorbed. The pub near to Joy and Martin and the supermarket were on her radar, but everything else would have to be discovered.

If Nina was left in the middle of town, she was not sure that she could find her way back to Meadow Lane. Rory's parents' house would be hard to find, too. It hadn't seemed important to learn the geography of a place in which she would never live. Now, it was a bit embarrassing to admit how little had been absorbed.

There had been, maybe, ten visits to the town during the 3 years her and Rory had been together. Even if she never planned to live in Fernborough, why had she failed to take in its environs? It was different to the city and, therefore, held no attraction for her. It was the place that Rory's parents lived and she was lukewarm about them.

It was her problem. Rory's parents were lovely, but not what she had been used to. Mostly being the passenger in the car, Nina didn't take notice of the roads and the layout of things. No longer in the city, adjustments had to be made. Sulk or get on with it. Her home and life were changing. Her attitude had to change, too. Get on with it.

"How far are we from town?" Nina asked.

"About 2 miles. We could walk in on a nice day. We'll take the car today though. Don't want to be lugging shopping back with us."

"If we park somewhere central, we could have a wander around and then I will know where everything is."

"You've been to Fernborough loads of times."

"I know, but I just walked where you took me. I didn't have to worry about finding my way around, because you knew it so well."

"Okay. We'll go on a tour of the highlights of Fernborough. Shouldn't take long."

As they wandered through town, Nina took note of various landmarks and began to get a better feel for it. There were some nice shops amongst the usual larger chains. A deli, an, artisan, bakers, a butcher's, small, expensive, clothes shops, and a couple of decent restaurants, too.

There were also far fewer people on the streets than in the city and they nodded and acknowledged each other. Not so much traffic, even on the main roads. It was as if someone had turned everything down a notch. It was different, but not unpleasant, Nina decided. Heading towards the supermarket, Rory had been stopped twice by old friends. The conversations were along similar lines.

"Heard you were moving back. Good to see you."

"This is my wife Nina."

"Pleased to meet you Nina. Yes, I saw your mum in the butchers last week. She said that you were coming back and that you had bought the Phillips' old place. Must be doing alright for yourself."

By the time they reached the shop, Nina had been studied and appraised by a number of passers-by. As all of them had nodded approvingly, she didn't mind too much. The food shopping took longer than anticipated because more people stopped to chat with Rory. Although they were all introduced, the names were already jumbled in her head.

"The older gentleman. The one with the stick. What was his name?"

"Peter."

"And the man in the overalls. The painter."

"That's Dean. I went to school with him. He's married with 3 kids. You won't remember them all, so don't worry."

"Will you be calling Grant and Maria. At least I've met them a couple of times. It would be nice to see them again."

"They know we're back, I called him before we left. They're a bit more civilised than some of the other inhabitants of Fernborough. They will give us a day or two before they drop by. I will call them though, let them know we have landed."

Grant had been Rory's best friend at school. They had kept in touch over the years and when visiting Fernborough, they met up. Nina got on well with Maria and hoped that a real friendship would develop.

The first day in the new home had gone, reasonably, well. Nina relaxed with a glass of wine that evening.

"I know I was a bit resistant to moving. Don't look at me like that. Okay, very resistant. I did it because I love you and it made sense. I want you to know that I already feel better about it and think that I will be happy here. Any "I told you so" comment will completely sour the mood, so kindly refrain."

"As it is true confession time, I admit that I have, kind of, dragged you here. I wouldn't have done that though, if I thought that it was the wrong thing for us. Once you get used to the sloooow pace of life, you'll love it."

"Keep me topped up with this rather nice wine and I certainly will."