‘Right.’ Jack looked uncomfortable. ‘The toughest bit was getting up the flooring in here.’ Jack was rummaging in a drawer as he spoke and he pulled out some photographs. ‘They’d used some sort of super-strong adhesive and every tile shattered and every bit of adhesive had to be chipped off the floor. It took me days.’
Beth wasn’t listening, she was thinking. She didn’t like asking for help but this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. ‘Do you fancy getting a bit more involved?’
Jack looked startled at the proposition. Beth held his gaze. He rubbed his chin and looked from a smiling Beth to Leo, who was helping himself to another bowl of muesli. Jack fiddled with the photographs in his hands.
‘Thanks … and everything but I’m not …’
‘Oh, I’d pay you,’ said Beth, ‘I wouldn’t expect you to do it for free. It’s not a favour I’m asking; it would be a business arrangement.’
Jack’s frown deepened. ‘You’re a lovely, um, woman, but you know I’m not ready for a relationship … or business arrangement … of any kind right now or anytime soon.’
Beth looked momentarily confused until she realized how what she’d said may have sounded. ‘Oh, God, no!’ She got a fit of nervous giggles. ‘I meant more involved in Willow Cottage. Not with me!’
‘Oh, I see.’ Jack looked thankful.
‘Sorry. That sounded okay in my head.’ Beth giggled as her nerves took over. Leo rolled his eyes and carried on eating.
‘No. My mistake,’ said Jack, trying to look anywhere but at Beth.
‘To be clear. I’d pay you to help at Willow Cottage. Nothing else.’ Her cheeks were burning and she hated to think what colour they had turned. At least the heat might help to dry off her hair, which was hanging loosely around her shoulders.
‘Right, of course. Sure, I’d be happy to help.’ Jack gulped down the rest of his water.
Beth wasn’t sure if Jack meant it but, if it was embarrassment at his mistake that had made him agree, she was okay with that as Jack clearly knew what he was doing when it came to renovation.
‘What are they?’ asked Beth, pointing at the photos, desperate to change the subject. Jack looked down too and jolted his head as if he was just noticing them for the first time.
‘They’re before and after pictures of this place.’ He stepped closer and leaning over Beth’s shoulder he placed the photographs on the table in pairs. Beth could smell his aftershave and the closeness of him made her pulse quicken. What on earth was going on? Perhaps being naked under the bathrobe was setting off some sort of primal alarm. She tried to concentrate on the pictures in front of her. She reached out a hand to pick up the after photo of the living room as Jack reached across and her hand connected with his forearm. Some sort of zing made them both spring apart. Beth looked up and then realized how close her face was to Jack’s. There was a moment where they both froze.
‘I like your wood …’ started Beth, realizing her mouth had gone dry. She pointed to the driftwood shelf in the picture. ‘It’s really lovely.’
‘I can give you one if you’d like?’
Beth’s eyebrows shot up and Jack’s face registered the overtone of the otherwise innocent conversation. Their eyes widened at the same time.
‘Anyway, I had better get back …’ Jack was looking awkward as he moved quickly towards the front door.
‘Oh, and us too.’ Beth stood up, clutching the robe around her, and beckoned Leo to his feet. He stood up, holding his towel with one hand and still spooning food into his mouth with the other as he inched round the table. ‘We need to get the tent dried out.’
Jack opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.
‘It’s a long story,’ said Beth, as she squeezed passed him. ‘Thanks for the use of the shower and for breakfast. We really appreciate it.’ She took the spoon from Leo and dropped it in the sink as they passed. ‘We’ll wash these and drop them back sometime,’ she said, indicating the bathrobe and towel as she slipped out of the front door and let out a sigh of relief. It was still early so hopefully not too many people would see them make the dash back to the cottage but anything was better than being trapped in an innuendo nightmare with Jack.
A couple of hours later Denis called for Leo and the two disappeared to play in the pub garden as the green was fully occupied with lots of people rushing about with boxes, cakes, plants and large vegetables. Thankfully, Kyle the builder had heeded her plea and arrived early and imparted the glorious news that he thought the ceilings might be covered by her insurance. A few lengthy calls later and it was agreed that she could get quotes for the water damage and an assessor would visit the following week.
Beth felt surprisingly good walking Kyle through her priorities and from his previous visit he was able to confirm what he could and couldn’t do for the money she was prepared to pay. Kyle did some makeshift repairs to the roof so it was temporarily watertight, and promised to drop the quote round for the insurance work in the next couple of days.
Beth went out into the back garden to check on the progress of the tent, sleeping bags and bedrolls that were drying out nicely on the improvised washing line which was one of the bushes. She thought she heard a noise like someone knocking on a door and, suspecting that Leo was back, went back into the house and opened the front door.
‘Surprise!’ said an overenthusiastic Carly as she threw her arms round Beth and squeezed her.
Beth stood rooted to the spot. Her mind went a complete blank for a moment, perhaps she was in shock. Eventually Beth hugged her back. ‘Wow, um, this is a surprise. Where’s Fergus?’ she asked, looking behind Carly.
‘Huge disaster. Treehouse was exactly that. It was a hut in a tree in a field and there was no proposal so … bloody hell, this is a shithole!’ she said, suddenly noticing the hallway she’d walked into. She glanced into the living room. ‘What the hell happened?’ Carly swung round and it was as if she went into slow motion giving Beth time to observe every detail; she was immaculate from her sleek dark glossy hair, to her perfectly pedicured toes. She was wearing a petite summery dress and casual jacket and looked like an advert for summer. Beth on the other hand had dried-by-itself hair with roots that were well past the ‘need touching up stage’, was wearing a now rather tatty Ted Baker blouse, thanks to its encounter with the cottage’s overgrown shrubbery, and a pair of cheap flip flops. She wiggled her unpainted toes self-consciously.
Beth didn’t like the feeling that came over her. It was a mixture of embarrassment and jealousy and it wasn’t pleasant to admit to. The contrast between her and Carly was now a chasm whereas only a few weeks ago they had been like two perfectly fashioned peas in an organic designer pod. Beth found she was grinding her teeth again, so she stopped.
‘Let’s go to the pub and I’ll explain,’ said Beth, putting an arm around Carly and steering her out of the front door. Carly put on her sunglasses and didn’t argue. As they walked towards the pub, Beth sniffed the air. ‘Can you smell poo?’
Two large glasses of wine later, both women were feeling a whole lot better having offloaded all of their woes to the other. Beth was feeling more settled in Carly’s company and now felt bad for having had her earlier pang of jealousy. It was lovely to see Carly even if it was unexpected. And at least now Carly had seen Willow Cottage in all its awfulness she would appreciate its transformation when it was eventually renovated.
‘I’ve missed this so much, Beth. I’ve missed you.’ Carly looked teary as she reached out a hand.
‘I’ve missed you too.’ Beth gave Carly another hug. She’d missed having someone to talk to that knew her inside and out. ‘Right, you get yourself another glass of wine and I’ll take Leo and Denis to investigate this Summer Fete. That should buy us some more