Viola climbed out of the cab and walked along the pathway leading to the front door. The snow on it was surprisingly thick, and she wondered if neither of the Holyoake men had visited recently. She rang the doorbell and pulled off her gloves. She could hear the chime echo through the cottage, and then the door opened slowly.

"Viola, darling! Oh just look at you!" her former sister-in-law exclaimed and gestured all around Viola. "You're so– so–"

"Old?" Viola offered with a small laugh, and Maisie waved her hands at her.

"Don't be daft!" She opened the door wider and stepped aside. "Come in! Come in! My goodness, how long has it been?"

"Six year at least," Viola said. "I think we last met at Diana's birthday party, right after her wedding."

Viola started taking off her coat.

"How have you been? How's Theo? How are the girls?" she asked.

"Everyone's well," Maisie answered. "Theo is still with the same company, the girls are at school." She took Viola's coat and hung it in the closet. "You're still the same, look at you! And the same lolly stick! And just before, so elegant, goodness me! Except the hair's new of course. I love it, by the way."

Viola tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

"I've been so busy in the hospital it's been easier to just let it grow and put it away in a ponytail," she gave her usual half-true answer.

"It looks amazing!" Maisie said.

Viola threw a glance around.

"I visited Nana a few months ago, but I still can't get used to being here," she said with a soft chuckle. "Before the whole story with my move started, I hadn't been here for almost ten years."

"Not since your divorce?" Maisie asked in shock, and Viola nodded. "Blimey! And when did you last see Rhys?" Maisie exclaimed.

They walked into the drawing room. Viola kept turning her head, trying to take in the familiar surroundings. The furniture, the knick-knacks, the antique rug on the floor - she knew it all! She saw the Christmas tree in the corner, with the familiar miniature village decorating the mantelpiece. It had been almost a decade since that last Christmas she'd spent here, when the woman who lived here was still officially her family.

"Sorry, what was the question?"

"I asked when you last saw Rhys," Maisie answered with a laugh.

"Three years ago, but in passing," Viola answered grudgingly.

"I can't wait to see his face when you meet," Maisie said and rubbed her beautiful plump hands. "You two living in the same village! That's exactly the kind of an awkward situation he can't stand!"

"He was never your favourite, was he?" Viola asked, and Maisie burst into loud laughter.

"I forget your sense of humour," she said. "And no, he's definitely not my favourite brother."

Viola shook her head in amusement. She knew better than anyone how much the Holyoake siblings loved each other - but making fun of Rhys was too easy.

"How's she feeling right now?" Viola asked, and they both looked up at the ceiling.

The principal bedroom was right above them.

"She's not herself," Maisie said. A deep frown furrowed her eyebrows. "As you know, Dr. Fenton has been treating her, but– But he expressed concern," Maisie said slowly. "He said she wasn't listening, didn't take her heart medicine as he prescribed. Normally they get along brilliantly, but she seems to be in a rather low mood these days."

Maisie rubbed her forehead. Viola suddenly remembered the gesture, and the reality of being in the house of her ex-husband's grandmother felt jarring.

"It started as a simple cold, but since last year, as you can imagine, we'd like to be extra careful," Maisie continued. "And she just doesn't seem to be able to shake it off."

"I'll talk to her." Viola gently touched Maisie's shoulder. "And I'll be keeping an eye on her now. She'll still be Dr. Fenton's patient, but I'll be around."

"Oh, you're a blessing, Vi!" Maisie exclaimed.

Vi. It had been years since anyone called her like that. Rhys had started it. It had been a 'Rhys thing' - and then there were no more 'Rhys things' in her life.

"Well, let me wash my hands," Viola said. "And then I'll see what I can do."

***

Maisie knocked at the bedroom door and stuck her head inside.

"Nana, I have a surprise for you," she said. "Would you be alright to have a guest?"

"I'm ill, Maisie, I'm not decrepit." The familiar peeved voice made Viola smile. "Whom have you herded into my house this time?"

Maisie pushed the door open and invited Viola to come in with a wide gesture of her hand.

"She's all yours," Maisie whispered.

Viola chuckled and stepped in.

"Oh!" the old lady exclaimed and pushed her reading glasses lower on her nose to look at Viola. "Isn't this Little Vi?"

"Not so little anymore, Nana," Viola said approaching the bed. "I'm a middle-aged woman these days."

"What nonsense!" Nana Holyoake dismissed. "How old are you now, remind me?"

"I'm 36, Nana."

"See? You're still young."

Nana stretched her hand, and Viola placed her fingers in the old woman's dry palm. Nana pulled rather forcefully, and Viola sat down on the edge of the bed. They looked each other over.

"You look lovely," Nana said with a small pleased smile. "Very stylish. You've always had the most refined taste in clothes. And the new hair is most flattering. You're a week too early. I thought our darling Dr. Fenton is expecting you at the end of the month."

"Maisie rang me up and said you weren't feeling well," Viola answered. "And all my belongings have been moved already. I've wrapped up everything in Bristol anyway."

"I assumed you'd want to spend another week with friends... or perhaps, a man?" Nana asked, giving her a cheeky look.

Viola laughed softly and shook her head.

"No man, Nana. I'm married to my job, remember?" she said.

"Well, you could choose a doctor, just as yourself, and then he wouldn't object to an empty bed at night, and no food in the fridge." Nana gave her a pointed look. "Look at Dr. Fenton. We have the same cleaning lady, and she says he lives on pub food and take-away. Hopefully, now that you're his lodger, he'll start taking better care of himself."

Viola gave out another chuckle. "So, not only you found me a job and a place to stay, you're planning to pair me up with your beloved Dr. Fenton?"

"The whole village loves him," Nana dismissed. "And he's a good man."

Viola laughed again. "I can't say I'm at all interested in romance, especially with a colleague, Nana," she said. "Let's talk about you."

"That's quite a dull subject, isn't it?" Nana answered.

"Not at all," Viola said. "And you know what I'm here for. They won't leave either of us in peace if I don't ask my important doctor questions, and you don't pretend to answer truthfully and then ignore all my instructions."

The old woman jerked her shoulder in irritation.

"They didn't have to get you involved. I'm perfectly fine," she grumbled. "Dr. Fenton treats me very well."

"I've heard you're ignoring him as well," Viola said and gently patted Nana's hand on the cover.

The woman was definitely too pale and looked exhausted.

"Well, if you insist," Nana grumbled.

***

Viola went downstairs, and found Maisie in the drawing room on her phone. She was listening to someone, with a slightly anxious expression on her face. Maisie twirled one of her dark brown curls in her fingers and looked up at Viola.

"Just a moment," Maisie mouthed, and Viola waved her hand signalling her not to worry.

She walked into the kitchen and stopped in front of the wall opposite the window. It was covered in the photos of the Holyoake clan, and Viola's gaze jumped from one familiar face to another. There were John and Frederic, the twin sons of Nana's oldest son, and their brother Oliver. The photo was taken at their sister Di's wedding, more than ten years ago. Di had divorced her husband since then and lived with a wonderful female partner. There was another photo of Oliver in his clerical clothes. Oliver was everyone's favourite, and seemed to be the only one to appear on the wall twice. To the left, Viola saw the photo of Nana's two late sons, taken some time in the 70s. Viola smiled a melancholy smile studying them. She had known them in their sixties. She'd married Rhys two years before the death of his parents. She lifted her eyes and looked at a photo of Rhys' mother and her sister-in-law, the wife of his Uncle.

"Reminiscing?" Maisie asked behind her, and Viola turned around and smiled at the woman.

"I forgot all these photos were here."

"You're there too, did you see?" Maisie said and walked to the counter. She picked up the kettle and started filling it with water. "She took Di' husband off after their divorce, but she kept your photo. See?"

Maisie pointed at a large frame, and Viola saw her own, much younger face looking back at her. She had just turned twenty one then. In the picture, Rhys stood near her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, a wide smile on his face. Her face was half turned away from the camera, her eyes fixed on him, a small shy smile on her lips. Oddly, she remembered that day well. He'd been showing her around the village and the nearby town of Fleckney Woulds, and then his brother Sam had taken their picture near a florist's shop.

"I can't believe it's been that long," Viola said and shook her head.

She remembered being that girl - and at the same time it felt like looking at a film poster.

"Viola, could I ask you for a favour?" Maisie started gingerly, and Viola gave her an encouraging smile. "I know you were supposed to officially move to Fleckney Fields in a week, but could you stay with Nana for a few days? Please?"

"When?" Viola asked, immediately starting to rearrange her plans in her mind.

"Now?" Maisie gave her a small guilty grimace. "I was supposed to go home three days ago. But she's still not well, and I'm worried to leave her alone. She won't allow a nurse in her home, you know what she's like, but if you were to, say, stay with her for a couple of days..." Maisie trailed away with a sheepish glance at Viola.

Viola laughed quietly. "If she doesn't mind, I'd love to stay. I'll have to go to Bristol a couple of times for some last minute chores, but other than that, I'm all set."

"Oh you are a blessing!" Maisie exclaimed. "And you aren't starting in the surgery for a week either, right?"

Viola nodded. "They're still finishing the renovations in my office in the surgery." She chuckled. "It's James Whitlaw who's doing them, can you imagine?"

"Seriously?" Maisie shook her head. "You just wait till Rhys finds out. Considering the history between the three of you? I wouldn't be too surprised if there was another punch-up."

"Why would there be?" Viola asked with a disbelieving laugh. "I haven't seen either of them in years, and I have nothing to do with either."

"Look at you!" Maisie exclaimed. "Did it only take ten years for you to forget what Rhys is like?"

Viola shrugged. That old story with James Whitlaw - just as the rest of her life with Rhys - had been in another lifetime.

"I'll go talk to Nana about this plan," Maisie said. "But I'm sure she'd be delighted."

Viola nodded. She had already started mentally packing for her stay in the Chickadee Flight Cottage.