Gathering her things, Red steps out of the door blowing Jazz a kiss as she closes it, turns the key and, with a final wave to her furry friend, gets into her car.
She sighs... another emotionally testing day ahead. ‘Be a grey rock!’
The sun overhead is bright and cheery and, pulling the drive gates closed behind her, she hums to herself to buoy her mood to match it. She guides Molly through the winding dappled lanes, her song of choice on repeat in her head, and turns onto the N12.
Sometime later, song in its fourth rendition, she pulls onto the Alençon bypass and puts her foot down. Molly responds instantly. They and the road become one.
Red reaches to turn on the stereo and the track in question kicks into life. Red raises her voice in accompaniment. She knows this track backwards but it doesn’t hurt to practice the nuances of her own cover version. Somehow it always needs a rethink and a tweak. She doesn’t want to accomplish a simple carbon copy after all.
Molly devours the miles and in due course, as the Pacé roundabout comes into view, Red can feel her mood adjusting itself. It needs pulling back. Such excitement to see her heart's deep desire simply won't do when the feeling is not mutual. She mutters under her breath, 'Be a grey rock', and turns up the volume.
Beyond Pacé, Molly crests the brow of the hill and St Denis comes into view. They slow the pace a little. The road narrows dramatically just ahead and then enters the village. Tamping down to snail-pace, they crawl past the houses and on up the hill. A man leaning on his gate eyes her as she passes. Red smiles and then laughs at his expression. She has not tamped her vocal in the slightest. These rural folk are not used to someone like her.
Once clear of the village, they open up once again and a pleasant breeze from the open fields fills the car. Once more Red’s thoughts turn to her destination and again the excitement tugs at her. ‘Be a grey rock – Be a grey rock’.
A white van comes up behind her and sits close on her tail, hounding her to speed up some more. Red holds firm. She knows there is a camera around the next bend. White van quickly gets bored with his game and overtakes. Red smiles to herself and watches as White van races up to the bend and then hits the brakes hard.
Red chuckles softly.
Past the camera and through double the S bend, next turning is hers. She changes lane, glides into the turn and then takes off up the hill. Two more villages and she is into Lucy territory. Her heart beats faster. ‘Be a grey rock – Be a grey rock!’ …Replay track three.
Finally Red turns into the lane that leads to her destination. She is calm and prepared. Down through the last bends and turn into the tree-lined drive. The front door is open. Be a grey rock – Be a grey rock.
As Red pulls round and parks, Lucy emerges from the house and smiles. Red melts…. Rock? What rock?
