Divorced and then I found my knight at a bus stop!
Two years ago my world turned upside down. My father died and, after twenty years of marriage, I went through a divorce.
I moved back into my dads cottage in the Cotswolds after being made redundant. At forty I felt the odds were stacked against me no decent job on the horizon and hardly any chance of a new relationship.
Misfortune kept knocking. The thatch roof, laid by a local handyperson, began to drip. I didnt have the strength to haul timber. The tradesmen who replaced the windows never finished the job properly, and cold drafts slipped through the gaps. To keep warm I gathered pine needles and used the pile of old books as kindling for the stove. Then the power went out, and I was forced to turn the heating off.
The landlord of the pub opposite started slipping me generous offers, and I wasnt sure whether to laugh or weep. I thought things couldnt get any worse, yet suddenly everything began to improve.
One chilly morning at the village bus stop a lorry pulled up and a man stepped out. His hair was tousled, his overalls were splattered with sawdust he was a roofer. He asked if I needed a hand. I admitted I did, but I had nothing to pay him with. He told me, When you can afford it, well settle up.
He fixed the roof, the leaky tap, the water meter, the garden fence, the steps and the cracked windows.
One night, in the depth of a bitter frost, I came home to a glowing hearth and a steaming mug of herbal tea waiting on the mantel. It felt like a miracle for my chilled throat and frozen feet.
I knew then who my hero was and I kept wondering how to thank him. He is capable yet modest, so I wont name him the village is tiny and everyone knows him already.
My cottage and garden now bear the marks of a steady, masculine touch. With my knight by my side I feel warm, happy, and terrified at the thought of ever losing him.
