After the divorce, I found my knightinshiningoveralls at a countrylane bus stop! It felt oddly perfect
Two years ago my world flipped upside down. My father, Edward, passed away, and after twenty years of marriage I was alone, the papers signed and the house empty. I moved back into my dads cottage in the Cotswolds because the factory had let me go. Approaching my fortieth birthday, I thought the chances of a fresh job or a new love had vanished like mist over the moors.
Misfortune prowled beside me. The thatched roof, patched by a local handyman, leaked whenever the wind whispered. I lacked the strength to haul timber. The contractors who replaced the shutters left gaps, and cold drafts slipped through like unwelcome spirits. To stay warm I gathered pine cones and burned the countless old books that lined the shelves, their pages curling into smoky ghosts. Then the electricity flickered out, and I was forced to turn off the heating altogether.
The landlord of the corner pub, on the opposite side of the lane, began sliding me offers as hot as his stew. I wondered whether to laugh or weep I believed things could not get any bleaker, yet suddenly everything brightened.
My prince arrived on a rattling bus at the tiny village halt. His hair was a tangled mess, his clothes were workwear stained with plaster, and hed spent his days mending roofs. He asked if I needed a hand. I admitted I did, but I had nothing to pay him. He smiled and said, When you have a few quid, well settle up. He repaired the roof, fixed the leaky tap, swapped the water meter, tightened the garden fence, rebuilt the steps, and replaced the cracked windows.
One night, in the sharpest frost, I woke to find a glowing fire pit in the living room and, beside it, a steaming cup of herbal tea. It seemed a miracle, the warmth soothing my frozen throat and chilled toes. I knew then who my hero was and how to thank him, though his modesty urged me to keep his name unspokenour little village of Willowbrook knows him well, and pride would sour his gentle spirit.
Now the house and garden have been transformed; the work bears the unmistakable touch of a strong, steady hand. With my knightinoveralls beside me, warmth fills the rooms and my heart, and I am blissful, though the thought of losing him sends a shiver through my dreamfilled mind.
