Follow My Lead Episode 10
Follow My Lead
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She rolled out her mat on Danielle’s tiny patch of grass, and they began, each doing their own sequence of moves.
Used to a firm wooden floor under her mat, Lydia found the springy turf challenging.
At one point, a standing balance went awry and she staggered to regain her footing.
“OK there?” Cyrus asked.
“Fine, thanks.”
He had been moving smoothly and silently so far, with the only sound his rhythmic breathing, and she hadn’t wanted to disturb him.
Now, she seized the opportunity.
“No music?” she asked. “We always have music at my class.”
As he swept his arms in a graceful arc, he somehow managed to embrace the whole environment in the gesture.
“We have music,” he said, smiling. “Birdsong, the bees, the breeze in the trees.
“We’re surrounded by the music of nature.”
It was true, now that she focused on it. How had she not noticed it before?
She glanced at him every so often, noting how lithe he was, how unhurried, and the peace in his face.
Her class wasn’t like this; everyone was more intent on being seen in the right gear and checking each other out.
The tutor always insisted yoga wasn’t a competitive activity, but try telling that to some of her classmates.
She cast a glance at her own outfit with its trendy label, contrasting it with his loose jogging bottoms and frayed old concert T-shirt.
Suddenly she wished she had stuck with Danielle’s unpretentious clothes.
The time passed, and by mutual agreement their practice drew to an end.
“Thank you, Cyrus. I enjoyed that more than I can say,” she told him as she rolled up her mat.
“I’m out here most mornings. Join any time.”
“Thanks, I think I will. The peace, the birdsong – there was a real sense of being at one with nature.
“I’ve never experienced that before.
“Ouch!” She felt a sharp jab as she slipped her shoes on.
She took the shoe off again and a wasp flew off in a tizz.
She couldn’t help giggling.
“So much for being at one with nature! Now, is it vinegar or bicarbonate of soda for a wasp sting?”
“Neither. That’s a myth.” He smiled. “Better to wash it with soap and water and keep it clean. And don’t scratch!”
Indoors, she showered again, the water barely lukewarm this time, and then decided to make herself useful.
The least she could do was run the vacuum around.
She opened the hall cupboard, and there, neatly stacked on end in a box, were half a dozen rolls of wallpaper.
She didn’t give them much thought as she tugged out the vacuum cleaner and whizzed it round the house.
However, when she went out to empty it in the bin afterwards, her eye fell on a stack of empty paint tins piled neatly beside it.
A penny dropped.
“Weird air freshener, indeed,” she muttered.
She could guess exactly what had happened.
As she bundled the vacuum back into the cupboard, she tapped one of the rolls speculatively.
She had never wallpapered in her life, but how hard could it be?
Firstly, she’d look for a video online.
Connecting her laptop to her phone, she tried to search through a series of screens as they stuttered and froze.
Just then, a tractor trundled by in the lane outside, towing a clattering trailer piled with something horribly pungent.
She pulled the window closed, but she was too late. The room reeked.
She looked back at her laptop screen, the image still frozen, and sighed.
“Lydia, my dear,” she muttered to herself, “I’m not sure you’re suited to this rural life.”