Follow My Lead Episode 01
Follow My Lead
- 1. Follow My Lead Episode 01
- 2. Follow My Lead Episode 02
- 3. Follow My Lead Episode 03
- 4. Follow My Lead Episode 04
Danielle and Lydia lived very different lives, yet fate seemed to have brought them together…
“Morning, Danielle. It looks like being a fine day.”
As they neared each other on the dirt path, the two joggers smiled.
There weren’t many people about at this early hour, but Danielle and Peter encountered each other most mornings.
Their habitual exchange, usually about the weather and how it looked for the day ahead, was as much a part of her daily routine as the run itself.
“It’s looking good,” she agreed. “See you tomorrow, Peter.”
They jogged on, his footsteps fading behind her until she could hear only her own, thudding on the woodland path.
She didn’t know much about him, though he lived not far from her. He was retired and lived with his wife, who was also retired.
Their garden was well tended and he washed his car every Saturday.
Occasionally she saw them out and about with family and grandchildren.
But little though she knew them, they seemed a nice couple.
They always had a smile for her, and a friendly comment.
She emerged from the woodland, and the cluster of houses came into view slightly below her.
The heart of Thornville was a straight thread of road bordered on both sides by cottages, villas and bungalows in styles reflecting the village’s gradual growth over time.
At one end stood the parish church, and at the other was the primary school.
A few more modern developments sprang away from the main street like limbs branching out from a tree.
When she had set out, all had been quiet, but now there was a general stir as cars took to the road and folk went about their day.
Danielle checked the clock on the fitness tracker on her wrist and nodded. Bang on time.
She paused by a tree, feeling a satisfying easing of each muscle as she went through her stretching routine.
Then she turned for home.
A quick shower and breakfast and she’d be ready to start the next part of her day.
She had three charges this morning: Rex, Tallulah and Ronald, whom she had a particular soft spot for.
It was his eyes, she thought, as she drove to his home. Brown and slightly anxious, yet confiding a soft spot for her, too.
He was sitting waiting for her in his kitchen when she let herself in.
“Good morning, my sweet boy,” she said, stroking his head and clipping on his lead.
“Ready for your morning adventure? The others are waiting for you.”
The three dogs greeted each other noisily, but were settling down even as she secured the back doors of the red van.
She had to wiggle one of the handles to get it to latch – something she was having to do more often, she realised. She’d better get that seen to.
Stepping back, her chest swelled with pride at the white lettering across the back doors: Lead On, Dog Walking/Sitting Service.
Her own business. It still gave her a kick.
As she drove carefully along to the woods, Danielle hummed merrily.
It was three years since she’d packed in her city job and her whole city life.
After 10 years there, in a nine-to-five office job she’d grown to despise, she’d decided she’d had it.
Where once she’d thought the city was the be all and end all – growing up in the countryside could do that to a youngster – she’d realised it wasn’t the place for her.
Over the next few months she’d given up her job and sold her tiny flat.
She was able to find a small but comfortable house she could afford in a village that she felt could become home.
A business plan for her exciting venture, a used van and a document folder full of fresh credentials had completed the essential elements of her new life.
Stilettos and smart suits now swapped for wellington boots, jeans and fleeces, here she was.
“Here we are, guys,” she said, pulling into the woodland car park.
The chorus of excited barking as she opened the doors made her laugh with joy.
This life and her old one? There was no comparison.
There was just one cloud on her horizon, and it struck her afresh once she’d walked the dogs and returned them to their respective homes.
Back at her own house, she stepped in the back door and kicked off her mud-spattered wellies.
Usually it was a case of a quick sandwich and coffee before heading out again for the afternoon, but there was a new gap in her diary.
The owner of this afternoon’s boisterous pair of spaniels had let her go when COVID had put paid to his job.
Still, even the darkest cloud had a silver lining, she thought, flicking the switch on the kettle.
Her mantra, inherited from her godmother, was always to try to make a positive from a negative, and she was making positive use of the extra time.
She’d just have a quick cuppa, then she’d get on with her latest redecorating project instead.
She opened the door on the living-room, empty of furniture, the previous owner’s floral wallpaper half stripped off.
The house only had two other rooms, her bedroom and the spare room, and both were crammed with everything from the living-room.
Danielle liked order, and the disarray was driving her nuts.
She rolled up her sleeves, ready to get on.