Amelia Grey's Fireside Dream (22 page)

‘OK if I come up and see how much there is?’

We went upstairs together, and I was conscious of Callum’s closeness to me. He didn’t seem to notice, keeping step so our bodies were almost touching. He smelled of fresh air, of the outdoors. He put the ladder in place and I passed him a torch, then he climbed up to the attic while I stayed on the landing below, peering up through the trapdoor.

It was quiet for a moment, and I could see the beam of light moving under the roof. ‘There’s quite a lot, isn’t there?’ he called. ‘Can I pass down a few boxes to you? Most of these are small enough to take in the truck today.’

‘Sure, that’s fine.’

I took the boxes from him and stacked them carefully on the landing. Once or twice my hand brushed his, and it sent an unexpected tingle through me.

‘Christ!’ Callum said, starting to laugh. I made my way back to the foot of the ladder and looked up.

‘What is it?’

He looked down through the hatch. ‘Did you know you’ve got squirrels nesting up here?’

‘Oh.’ I laughed, remembering the noise that had scared me half out of my wits last night. ‘That’s what it was. Are there many of them?’

‘I don’t know – only saw one, but there are a few droppings up here. You don’t really want them hanging around, I’m guessing?’

‘I’m not that keen, no. I might let Dexter loose.’

‘Worth a go. I have a friend who got humane traps and put out crackers with Nutella on them – that did the trick. Anyway, the rocking horse, chest and a couple of other things I’ll have to come back for, I’m afraid.’

‘That’s fine,’ I said. I thought of the tin – it was too late to discreetly add it to the pile now, but I could put it with the other things when Callum came back for them. ‘Whenever suits.’

‘Dad and Uncle Ewan are going to be really happy to hear about this, though,’ Callum said, walking back down the
ladder, facing me. He closed the hatch cover and reached the landing with a small jump. ‘Anything that can trigger memories for my grandma really helps. The photo album will give them something to look through and talk about together. A lot of her long-term memory is still there, and the smallest reminder can get her talking.’

‘Well, I’m glad I ventured up, in that case.’

‘You’re a brave woman. There are massive spiders up there, you know. As well as the squirrels.’

‘I think it was too dark to see them. But I’m OK with spiders, anyway.’ I wasn’t going to tell him how spiders compared with what I’d prepared myself to see up there.

‘Right,’ Callum said. ‘I’ll load this lot up and get the rest soon.’ He walked over to the stairs, away from me.

‘Callum.’ I took a deep breath as he turned to face me. There was a doubt that had been nagging at me for days now. ‘This is probably going to sound weird, but how do you know my mother?’

‘Rosie? I’m not sure I should be the one to explain. Maybe this is something she should tell you herself.’

I stood there on the landing, frozen to the spot. I felt something – Disapproval? Envy?— that I couldn’t pin down.

‘If there’s something to know, I’d rather hear it from you.’

‘OK.’ Callum shrugged nonchalantly. ‘It’s all quite new. But your mum’s a lovely woman.’

A lovely woman?

‘My dad’s been single a while now. It’s been over ten years since Mum died, and Rosie’s the first person he’s gone out with since then. It took a bit of getting used to, but she’s changed Dad so much. They seem to bring out the best in each other.’

The truth hit me, and I felt instantly idiotic. ‘My mum …’ I said, relieved, ‘and your dad.’

‘That’s right. David, my dad. One of us should have explained when she came round the other day, but I felt it was her call. Maybe she wanted to tell you on your own.’

‘Your dad,’ I repeated, as it sank in properly.

‘She could do a whole lot worse, I promise you,’ Callum said. ‘We’ve had our ups and downs, but he’s a thoroughly decent bloke.’

‘You don’t think it’s weird, at their age?’

‘No. I think Rosie’s a star,’ Callum said. ‘They’re a great match.’

Somehow, when Callum put it that way, it didn’t seem like as big a deal any more.

*

That afternoon I painted the walls in the upstairs landing, a warm cream that set off the oak beams and flooring. It was already starting to look brighter.

As I painted, Dexter kept me company, bathing in a patch
of autumn sunlight by the window. I climbed up on to the ladder and rollered the top part of the wall, reaching up high. I lost my grip on the roller and it dropped just next to Dexter, startling him.

‘Oh crap. Sorry, Dex,’ I said. He was on his feet, back arched, then dashed over the paint lid, treading a trail of paint-covered paw prints across the landing. ‘Dex – stop!’ I called out fruitlessly, coming down the metal ladder in a hurry. His footprints led into our bedroom. When I opened the door I saw he was cowering on top of the wardrobe.

‘Come down, Dex,’ I coaxed. I had to clean those paws or he’d cover the whole house in paint.

With a flying leap, he came towards me, sending the Bluebird tin from the attic crashing to the floor. It hit the floorboards with a smack, the contents spilling out.

Dexter looked at me, trying to work out what he’d done wrong. I bundled him up in my arms and cleaned his paws off in the bathroom with some white spirit, which he complained about with loud meows, then wiped the paint from our newly stained floorboards.

Back in the bedroom, I picked the tin up, relieved there was only a tiny dent on it from the fall.

On the floor lay a pink bonnet. I bent to pick it up. The crocheted fabric was soft, and it looked as if it had barely been worn. Scattered beside it were photos, face down,
and on the back of one a name was written: Sarah. I turned it over to see the face of a small baby with a bow in her hair.

On the Mood Board

W
ooden cabinets to match the beams, floorboards stripped and varnished, free-standing tub, Victorian-style bath/shower mixers, large gilt-framed mirror
.

Thursday, 10 October

In the morning I drove into town, bought some new fabric for throws, and then went into the antique shop. The bell rang out as I entered.

‘Morning,’ the woman behind the counter greeted me. ‘Anything in particular you’re looking for, love?’

‘Just browsing this morning,’ I replied.

It felt good to be out of the house. Jack had got back at around seven thirty the night before, so tired from his
all-nighter working that he’d fallen into bed after a quick dinner, with barely a word. There was nothing wrong with him working hard, of course – but given the way things had been I couldn’t help but wonder if it had been an excuse to get some space.

I ran my hand over an antique wooden towel rail and checked the price. It was reasonable. In the corner I glimpsed a dark wood bathroom cabinet and a gilt mirror that would look perfect alongside it in the bathroom.

‘Could you pack a few things up for me?’ I asked the shopkeeper. ‘The rail, the cabinet and the mirror?’

‘Of course,’ she said. ‘Nice choices. That mirror in particular is a real find. Why don’t you have a browse downstairs while I get this lot ready for you?’

Downstairs in the shop were shelves of bric-a-bric and treasures. To my right was a row of glass medicine bottles in shades of green and blue. I picked out a dozen of them in different sizes. They would look nice on the bathroom windowsill, with flowers inside.

*

Back at the cottage, I checked in on Callum, who was sanding the floorboards in the living room. ‘Everything OK in here?’

‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Making progress.’

‘Can I get you a cuppa?’

‘Go on then.’

He switched the sander back on, and I turned and walked towards the kitchen. I boiled the kettle and filled the cups, added milk and sugar and carried one through to Callum. He took it gratefully. ‘What are you working on this afternoon?’

‘The bathroom,’ I said. ‘I bought some bits and pieces in town this morning. Here, let me show you.’ I went out into the hall and picked up the things I’d collected.

‘Really nice,’ he said. ‘It’s going to look good. So you’re not tempted to do anything more drastic?’

‘Oh yes.’ I smiled. ‘I’ll be doing that too. That whole grisly primrose yellow suite is going – sorry to your grandma, but there’s just no way I’ll ever get used to that. I’m going to look for a new bath this afternoon. I’ve got my heart set on one of those free-standing ones – you know, with the little claw feet?’

‘Those are brilliant,’ Callum said, sitting up straighter. ‘I’ve seen them in a few cottages round here. There’s a great bathroom shop in Canterbury – let me find you the site … They work with a lot of properties of this period and know what suits them.’ He got out his iPhone and searched for it.

‘Here you go,’ he said, passing it to me.

I flicked across a couple of screens – porcelain basins and antique taps. They were gorgeous. I noted down the URL.
‘Thanks. I think you might have found exactly what we’re looking for.’

I went into the kitchen and got out my laptop, returning to the bathroom shop site. I scrolled through the free-standing tubs until I found one that was just right. I saw the price tag and bit my lip. It was far more than Jack and I had budgeted for.

A bath was an essential though, wasn’t it?

I hesitated for a moment, then picked up my phone to make the order.

*

‘Are you hungry?’ I asked Jack. ‘I was going to make a chicken pie.’

‘Yes, sounds good,’ he replied. ‘Sorry I was such a zombie last night; I really needed to catch up on sleep.’

‘Don’t worry, it’s fine. I know you needed to meet that deadline, and it’s not often you’re out at work that late.’

‘It was a rare situation. So what did you get up to today?’

‘This and that,’ I said, thinking guiltily about what I’d done that morning without running it past Jack first. ‘I bought a few things for the bathroom.’

‘You did? What, towel rails and stuff?’

‘Not quite. You remember that gorgeous free-standing bath at Arcadia Cottage – the claw-foot one that we both really liked? And the porcelain sink with Victorian-style taps?’

Jack looked at me, surprised. ‘You haven’t …?’

‘What? I found a really good shop in Canterbury selling some similar stuff. We got a discount for buying a few things at once. We need a bathroom, Jack.’

‘I know that – but still. I thought we were going to choose all the bigger things together. How much did it all cost?’

‘Not
that
much. Like I said, there was a discount. It worked out at just over a thousand pounds.’

‘A thousand? I would really have liked to have a say in that. Don’t you think we might have looked at the house spreadsheet first, to see how we’re getting on?’

Jack had a point. It had been a little while since I’d opened it.

‘I suppose so,’ I said. ‘I haven’t actually looked at it for a while.’ There was no point cutting corners on a bathroom – it was an important part of the house.

‘Shall we sit down and have a look at it now?’ Jack said. I could tell he was trying to stay calm.

‘OK,’ I said. ‘But you agreed I could make certain decisions on my own, if you were busy with work. And you were.’

‘I was thinking more about cushions and place mats than entire bathroom suites.’

Jack opened his laptop and clicked to open the Excel spreadsheet that held all our financial details in it, and then opened up our joint account online banking page.

The figure that had looked like more than enough when we started out had dwindled considerably.

‘Right,’ He said, running his eyes over the columns. ‘Given that we still have the living and dining rooms, spare bedroom, study and the wood restoration to organize, this doesn’t look great, does it?’

‘We’ve got options,’ I said. I thought of the large white bath, the basin that would create a lovely country ambience. I didn’t want to cancel the orders. ‘There are things we can do.’

‘And you know where we need to start, don’t you?’

*

‘Amelia!’ My dad came over bright and clear on the phone first thing the next morning.

‘Hello, Dad.’

‘Hi, sweetheart. How are you doing over there?’

‘Good, thanks.’

‘And the cottage?’

‘It’s coming along. We’ve almost finished the bedroom and kitchen now, and have tamed a jungle in the back garden.’

‘You’ve never shied away from a bit of hard graft, have you?’

‘I suppose not,’ I said. ‘Anyway, how are you? How’s everything going?’

‘Life is good, can’t complain. Picked up a couple of jobs
this past fortnight doing the wiring for a new development of flats in the centre of town.’

‘That’s great.’ That meant he would have some money coming in, surely. I readied myself to ask him about repaying our loan.

‘Amelia, I’m really glad you called actually. Caitlin and I were hoping you might be able to help us out with something. Bit of a favour.’

Not money again, I prayed inwardly. Please don’t ask that, Dad.

I steeled myself. ‘Sure. What is it you need help with?

‘It’s Mirabel.’

‘Mirabel?’

‘She’s not listening to us, Amelia, and we’re desperate for a break. Could she come and stay with you for a week or so?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said, glancing at the plaster dust that covered every surface, the unfinished walls of our hall. ‘We’re still doing the cottage up – we’re not really ready for people to come and stay yet.’

‘Mira’s only a kid. She’ll be fine on the sofa.’

‘Couldn’t it wait a month or two?’

‘I’m not sure. I’m worried about her, and Caitlin is too. She did well in her GCSEs, well enough to stay on at college, but she says she doesn’t want to – she’s missed the start of term now. She’s a free spirit, like me, and I know she’ll find
her way in the end, but your stepmother’s panicking about it. Mirabel’s out every night with this guy Jesse, drinking and God knows what else. We thought a change of scene might help. She hasn’t stopped talking about the last time she came to stay with you.’