decorations, the carols, the presents and everything that went with it. By the New Year, physically, mentally and emotionally, she was a mere shadow of her former self and no longer saw any point to living. She had reached the stage where she wanted to close the door on life and had it not been for one of the few friends she still kept contact with she would almost certainly have taken that path.
Rachel knew how close Emma and Kevin had become over their last year together, she knew that Emma and her mum were not getting on and she knew that the money she had saved up towards university had just about gone. She didn’t know she had been pregnant or had a miscarriage but she did recognise that Emma needed a helping hand to rebuild her life and that wasn’t going to come from her mother. At Rachel’s insistence they met for a lunchtime drink in their local pub. When Emma arrived, Rachel gave her the biggest of hugs, then wished her a happy new year even though she knew it wasn’t the most tactful thing to say considering how 1984 had ended. But Rachel, being the eternal optimist, always looked on the bright side and really did hope the New Year would turn out to be much better for her best friend.
From just four years old they had been in the same classes in primary school and Rachel’s parents owned the stables on the edge of the village where Emma started to ride at the age of seven so they had been friends for as long as they could remember. Over the years their friendship developed into something special and though they both had other friends nothing could compare with the bond they had with each other. From early on Rachel was always there to look out for Emma; she would pick her up when she fell in the playground, she would help her find the things she lost like her coat or bag or pencil case and she had the knack of making Emma feel better when she was worried or upset about something. Rachel was the practical one, the organiser and the natural leader but she needed Emma just as much as Emma needed her. They complemented each other completely and everyone who knew them as they were growing up saw them as an inseparable pair.
Then, when Rachel left school they saw a little less of each other and even less when Emma started going out with Kevin but despite that their friendship remained very strong and special.
Unlike Emma, Rachel chose not to take the university route but instead at sixteen decided to work in the family business and help with the running of the stables. It was a demanding job that started early in the morning and often didn’t finish until late in the evening and because they only had room for fifteen horses, they were always full. Demand for stables in the area was huge. Life there was very busy and had become more so after Rachel’s mother had broken a leg and an arm in a fall. She was on the mend but would be out of action in the stables for some time so they needed to take on someone who knew about horses, someone who could help with giving riding lessons and someone who would not shy away from the many tasks that had to be done to keep the stables running smoothly. Rachel decided that Emma fitted the bill perfectly. She would be helping them as well as having something different to focus on which in turn might help her get over the Kevin situation and on top of that she would have some money coming in. The whole idea had the added bonus that she could live in one of the self-contained flats above the stable block, which meant that she and her mother wouldn’t have to live in each other’s pockets anymore. Rachel had already talked it over with her parents and they were more than happy for Emma to join them if she wanted to but before a decision was made they insisted that she should first talk it over with her mother.
For Emma to leave home at just nineteen and in a fragile state of mind would ordinarily have been a very difficult step to take but her best friend
Rachel knew how close Emma and Kevin had become over their last year together, she knew that Emma and her mum were not getting on and she knew that the money she had saved up towards university had just about gone. She didn’t know she had been pregnant or had a miscarriage but she did recognise that Emma needed a helping hand to rebuild her life and that wasn’t going to come from her mother. At Rachel’s insistence they met for a lunchtime drink in their local pub. When Emma arrived, Rachel gave her the biggest of hugs, then wished her a happy new year even though she knew it wasn’t the most tactful thing to say considering how 1984 had ended. But Rachel, being the eternal optimist, always looked on the bright side and really did hope the New Year would turn out to be much better for her best friend.
From just four years old they had been in the same classes in primary school and Rachel’s parents owned the stables on the edge of the village where Emma started to ride at the age of seven so they had been friends for as long as they could remember. Over the years their friendship developed into something special and though they both had other friends nothing could compare with the bond they had with each other. From early on Rachel was always there to look out for Emma; she would pick her up when she fell in the playground, she would help her find the things she lost like her coat or bag or pencil case and she had the knack of making Emma feel better when she was worried or upset about something. Rachel was the practical one, the organiser and the natural leader but she needed Emma just as much as Emma needed her. They complemented each other completely and everyone who knew them as they were growing up saw them as an inseparable pair.
Then, when Rachel left school they saw a little less of each other and even less when Emma started going out with Kevin but despite that their friendship remained very strong and special.
Unlike Emma, Rachel chose not to take the university route but instead at sixteen decided to work in the family business and help with the running of the stables. It was a demanding job that started early in the morning and often didn’t finish until late in the evening and because they only had room for fifteen horses, they were always full. Demand for stables in the area was huge. Life there was very busy and had become more so after Rachel’s mother had broken a leg and an arm in a fall. She was on the mend but would be out of action in the stables for some time so they needed to take on someone who knew about horses, someone who could help with giving riding lessons and someone who would not shy away from the many tasks that had to be done to keep the stables running smoothly. Rachel decided that Emma fitted the bill perfectly. She would be helping them as well as having something different to focus on which in turn might help her get over the Kevin situation and on top of that she would have some money coming in. The whole idea had the added bonus that she could live in one of the self-contained flats above the stable block, which meant that she and her mother wouldn’t have to live in each other’s pockets anymore. Rachel had already talked it over with her parents and they were more than happy for Emma to join them if she wanted to but before a decision was made they insisted that she should first talk it over with her mother.
For Emma to leave home at just nineteen and in a fragile state of mind would ordinarily have been a very difficult step to take but her best friend
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