Free Carrie Goes Off the Map by Phillipa Ashley

toilets.’
    â€˜Were there? He always seemed a bit full of himself to me, though I know Huw liked him,’ said Carrie, still basking in the glow of memories about her university days with Huw.
    â€˜I wouldn’t have kicked him out of bed,’ said Rowena wistfully. ‘But I’m not so sure now. It’s the beard. Nelson tried to grow one, but I had to put a stop to it. They tickle too much.’
    â€˜That’s too much information, Row.’
    â€˜But you are smiling, hon, and that has to be good.’
    Unfortunately, Rowena had just refocused Carrie’s mind on the current situation. ‘Have you heard anything about them ?’ she said.
    Rowena shifted in her seat. ‘Well, Hayley says that Huw’s cousin told her they’ve gone to Mauritius for two weeks. Sounds crap. All those beaches, waving palms, and cocktails. Fancy sharing it with Miss Farty Pants.’
    â€˜Serves him right,’ said Carrie, but inside she felt cut in two. Huw and Fenella were in Mauritius. She hadn’t been able to persuade Huw to leave the farm for more than a week, not even for a honeymoon, and even then he’d only agreed to Paris in case he needed to come back urgently. The fact that he had sacrificed two weeks away from his precious farm for Fenella hurt even more than the lifetime he’d promised her.
    Rowena leaned back in her chair. ‘I wouldn’t mind a fortnight in Mauritius. I’ve got a month or two before my course starts, but it’s the cash that’s the problem. I haven’t got a couple of thousand to spare right now, not with giving up my job.’
    Still trying to recover from the shock of Huw having agreed to a proper holiday, Carrie only caught the tail end of this. ‘You’ve given up your job?’
    Rowena grinned broadly. ‘Yes. I was going to tell you all when we got back from shopping yesterday but I never got the chance, and then it didn’t seem the right time, but yes, I am no longer an employee of Bartlett’s Bank. I’ve had a bit of good luck. Well, bad luck really. Great-Auntie Madge—the one from Penrith—popped her clogs a few months ago and she’s left me some cash. I always loved Auntie Madge. I was the only one of us kids who’d kiss her, even if she did have a moustache and smell of mothballs. She’d been to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, you know…’
    â€˜Wow. Rowena. You mean…’
    â€˜Yup. I’ve signed up at drama school. I’m going to give it a proper go. I don’t care if it all goes pear shaped. Well, aren’t you going to say something?’
    â€˜I’m gobsmacked. That’s wonderful, Rowena. I’m really happy for you, it’s fabulous.’
    â€˜Then why are you crying?’
    â€˜Because I’m a silly bugger. I’m so thrilled for you, Rowena. It’s great news, and…’
    Rowena leaned forward. ‘And? Spit it out, Carrie. We’ve known each other too long to have secrets.’
    â€˜I’m thrilled for you.’
    â€˜You’ve said that, babe. Any more gushing and your dad won’t need the fountain.’
    At one time all they’d talked about was getting a job in the theatre, but all that had evaporated when Carrie had moved onto the farm. It was a full-time job managing the Brigstocke empire, and her acting ambitions had become confined to the village drama society. Rowena had taken a ‘temporary’ job with Bartlett’s and was still there ten years later, a junior manager at the regional office. Their dreams had been put on the back burner and eventually boiled themselves dry. Or so she’d thought.
    Because Rowena, bless her, had finally had the courage to go for her dream. Carrie felt guilty at feeling so… There was no other word for it. So bloody envious! She swallowed hard. They knew each other too well to lie.
    â€˜You know what hurts the most?’ she said,