Free BUTTERFLIES FLY AWAY by Carol Mullen Page A

Claire was trying to shield
her and not add to her burden.
    “Have things picked up in work for Ryan?”  Her
brother-in-law was a bricklayer and with the whole country, no never mind that,
with the world coming to an economic halt work had dried up.  People were
struggling to keep a hold of the houses they had and the building of new
estates were postponed.
    “It’s patchy, a shift here and shift there. 
But Mike – you know from our wedding” she didn’t but nodded her head “There’s
word of an estate that’s due to begin next week and he’s put Ryan forward for a
job there; just waiting now to hear if he will get the thumbs up or not and to
be honest we could do with a break.  I’m thinking about going back to
work.  Mum’s offered to help with childcare.  I don’t want to but I
might need to look for something if this job doesn’t work out for Ryan”
    A half an hour later they were still chatting, the
tea finished and the neighbours had finally finished their party.
    “Okay sis, time to try and get some sleep, again!
Thanks for listening to my grumbles”
    “Hey, thanks for listening to mine over the last six
months I couldn’t have gotten through it without you Claire”
    “Carrie, I wish I had the right words to say, to
make things better for you, but just know that I care.  We all care for
you”
    They shared a hug and Carrie settled back down on
the sofa to sleep but her mind was whirring and trying to think of solutions to
Claire’s predicament.
     
    Spending time with her sister had given her a sense
of purpose again but still she dreaded the coming months and the remainder of
her year of firsts.  She already had her first birthday without Rob and
just round the corner would have been Rob’s thirty-ninth birthday.  They
had joked that this would be the last of his ‘thirties’ and they would need to
celebrate it in style before he hit the big 40.  His birthday was a few
weeks away and she now planned to take some time off work to visit Auntie
Belle.  Thought it best to get away from Glasgow from family and
well-meaning friends.  A bit of distance from work would do her good
too.  
    Within a couple of days and several phone calls
trying to track her Auntie Belle down she made arrangements to visit. 
Although she could have drove or got a flight she decided to get the train from
Glasgow to Newquay.  A feat in itself as she would be travelling for
almost twelve hours – give or take and a couple of changes in station. 
But she didn’t want to drive that far or fly on her own.
    Auntie Belle was delighted to have her stay and was
convinced it was her persistent phone calls that had prompted the trip. 
Carrie knew her parents were glad that she was going away for a couple of weeks
but not too far away.  When Carrie requested the time off work Fiona
gladly signed her holiday request off.  A bit too easy for Carrie’s liking
but she didn’t argue the point.  It had been a tough six months since Rob
died and she knew she was heading for burn out if she continued the way she
was.   A trip with Belle always seemed to put Carrie back on
track.  Growing up she wanted to be a dancer.  She would dance and
sing putting on her own ‘show’ for the family.  Her family indulged her
and she had dance lessons as a young child.  Dreamed of dancing
professionally in the theatre she auditioned for a place in the dance and music
school for her high school education.  It was a life she embraced and she
displayed all the enthusiasm, professionalism and skills to become a
dancer.  Then life threw her, her first real curve ball.  She had
applied for her university place, prepared for her exams then her life changed. 
Her parents were decorating and the house was in disarray.  Scaffolding
had been erected in the hallway to reach the high ceilings, dust sheets and
various other decorating paraphernalia littered the floor.  Carrie had
forgotten a school book and returned to her bedroom