There was a knock at the door, so loud that it made Barbara jump and knock over the bottle of nail varnish she had been using. Before she had time to answer, the door was flung open and a voice called out 'Coo ee, it's only me,' and her new neighbour Audrey burst in bringing with her a tantalizing waft of freshly baked apple pie. She plonked it on the table with a flourish and stood back grinning broadly.
'Et voilà ' she trilled, setting Barbara's nerves on edge.
She tried to hide her annoyance by blowing on her nails. Audrey leant over and picked up Barbara's right hand and inspected the nails one by one.
'OOH, lovely colour, my favourite. I love purple, it's great teamed with pale green, or violet, oh look they're not dry properly, I'll make the coffee, black with one sugar isn't it Barb'.
She turned round and put the kettle on and opened cupboards taking out mugs and setting everything out on a tray.
Barbara watched in amazement, her mouth hanging open, too stunned to speak.
She'd always been a reserved, shy person, and couldn't imagine having the confidence or nerve actually, she thought, to behave like Audrey in someone else's kitchen.
Audrey cut slices of the cake she'd brought round and put them on plates and then arranged everything in front of Barbara. All the time she kept up a constant prattle about what she'd seen on television, the recipe for the apple cake, how hard it had been for her to move, how all her things were in storage, how much she was looking forward to having a housewarming party, how she used to sing in a choir. She hardly paused to breath to gulp down some coffee and then gently touch each nail and then pronounced.
'They are dry, you can drink your coffee now.'
Then she was gone in a flurry of air kisses and slamming the back door.
When her husband James came home Barbara exploded,
'That new neighbour is unbearable. I wish Mrs Browning was still there, you never heard a peep from her, it was so peaceful. Audrey has been in every day this week, sometimes twice a day, no sooner than I am home from work than she bursts in the back door without so much of an excuse me and helps herself to coffee and..'
James held up a hand to stop the torrent,
'Woah, woah, woah, This isn't like you Barbie, what's the poor woman done so awful? She brought a cake, she made you coffee.' he took a bite of the cake then paused, the cake crumbs falling onto his shirt, 'It's delicious, you should ask her for the recipe.'
In spite of herself Barbara laughed,
'You're right, I'm not being very friendly am I ? It's just she's divorced' her voice went very low and James couldn't catch the words, 'and extremely attractive ...'
She watched as James finished off the cake, a smile of satisfaction on his face, he stood up and hugged her,
'Anyway if it bothers you that much then just tell her to ring the front door bell.'
The next day when Barbara got home from work there was a letter from their daughter Kim from Australia, the envelope was bulky and she knew there would be photos and drawings by the grandchildren. She made a coffee and sat down ready to savour the contents of the envelope when there was the loud knocking and Audrey's shrill cry 'It's only me!'
Barbara stood up quickly scraping back the chair, 'Sit down Audrey, I'll make the coffee,'
She turned to put the kettle on and spoke over her shoulder before she could change her mind.
'Audrey, I've been thinking, I'd prefer you to ring the front door bell than use the back door.'
There, she'd said it. She braced herself waiting for some retort from Audrey, some protest about how much friendlier it was to use the backdoor, but there was silence. She turned quickly round and for a moment she thought she saw tears glistening on Audrey's cheeks but when she spoke it was with her usual warmth and enthusiasm.
That evening while they were sitting on the sofa with their coffee and reading Kim's letter and admiring the grandchildren's drawings she told James what she'd done. He was silent for a long time, then stroked her hair and put his hand on hers.
'Look Barbara if that makes you feel better then you've done the right thing, but it's not like you. I know you miss Kim and the boys and so do I but we've got each other and I know you think Audrey's pretty and all that, I haven't lived with you all this time to not know something about you, but a couple like us, well, we've got a lot to give, we could maybe help her, she must be lonely, we could introduce her to the other neighbours, we could take her along to the Bridge club or something, I don't know.'
He stopped and shrugged his shoulders and stood up, he held out his hand.' Off to bed now sleepy head, you'll feel better in the morning.'
Barbara felt humbled, she didn't know what to say, James was a man of few words so for him to make a speech like that must have meant something. She felt horrible, how could she have been so unkind to Audrey. She'd try and undo the damage.
The next day Barbara decided to make a cake for Audrey and invite round and try and put things right. She scrabbled around in her cupboards to find the ingredients for her Chocolate fudge cake, she couldn't find the right cake tins and remembered they must be in the cupboard above the cooker. She grabbed a stool and reached up to open the door and there was a loud cracking noise as the stool gave way and she came tumbling down. Her foot was at an awkward angle and she winced in pain. Just then the front doorbell rang. She tried to get up then cried out in agony as she tried to put weight on her foot. The doorbell rang again. Barbara called out 'Is that you Audrey?'
She heard foot steps running away. She looked around for her phone but she'd left it in her bag in the hall. She tried again to move across the floor, the pain made her cry out, she felt almost faint.
Then she heard a loud knock on the back door and a 'Coo ee it's only me.' She cried with relief as Audrey came in, she gasped when she saw her.
'What's happened Barbara ? Are you alright? '
Barbara whimpered and pointed to her ankle. She watched as Audrey gently touched her leg and moved the ankle back into position,
'Don't worry I've done a First Aid course, I specialized in broken bones, your ankle is just sprained, it will be alright in no time. I'll just pop home and get some Arnica and a bandage, you stay here, don't worry, I'll let myself in the backdoor shall I?'
Their eyes met and they both burst into giggles, Barbara felt almost hysterical with relief.
'I'm so sorry Audrey,'
'Nah' Audrey waved her hand, 'I overdid it, I'm sorry.'
When James came home he was surprised to see Barbara with her leg up on a stool and Audrey bustling about making a casserole.
After the two women had explained what had happened James reached for his phone and said, 'is there enough casserole for four? My mate John is on his own and I just saw him in the pub and maybe he's..'
Audrey laughed, 'There's plenty for four' then she stopped and winked at Barbara,
'That's if it's ok with Barbara of course.'
