Chapter 2 #2
She had started with one flower bed, transforming it into a riot of colour and fragrances, then another, and another.
It was as if she couldn’t get enough colour and was making up for the dullness of the house.
She’d put a vibrant floral arch over the pathway to the pond, adding other features as the years went by.
It looked beautiful now with twisted pathways through the flower beds and hedges and a couple of ornate fountains.
In fact, the garden meant more to her than the house.
She could make another home, but it had taken years to build up this garden. She didn’t want to move.
Damn it, she was going to stay here, for now anyway. She’d find a way to keep up the mortgage payments somehow for the next year until the total amount had to be repaid. Then she’d consider what to do.
How could she afford the mortgage and bills on her part-time wage though?
She was pondering it over when Val messaged from work.
How are you? Do you want to meet for lunch?
Nancy was tempted but she didn’t want to take over Val’s lunchtime by talking over her own problems. She needed to sort this herself.
She replied via a voice note. ‘I had a letter from our solicitor. Clifford has filed for a divorce. I also got a letter from the mortgage company and you wouldn’t believe how much we owe.’ She mentioned the amount and had barely pressed ‘send’ when her phone rang.
‘If I ever come across that slimeball again I’ll throttle him,’ Val fumed.
‘I thought you were at work?’
‘I am. I’ve snuck to the loo to phone you. Are you okay? I can’t believe all this. Come and meet me for lunch and we’ll talk it over.’
‘I’m okay and thank you for your support. I do appreciate it, but I need to sort some things out so I’m going to pass on lunch.’
‘Then come over for dinner tomorrow. Promise?’
Nancy hesitated. She liked Dennis but she wasn’t ready to offload in front of him.
Besides, Val and Dennis only had Sundays together.
They were at work the rest of the week and as it was nice weather they usually went for a drive out and had lunch.
She didn’t want to infringe on their off-work time together.
‘I’m fine honestly. You and Dennis have a day out. I’ll see you in the week.’
‘In that case I’ll pop round for an hour this evening.’ Val’s voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. ‘I’ve got to go now, bye.’
Nancy tapped her chin with her phone. She and Val had always been close, and it was good of her to want to support her like this, but she had to find a way through this mess herself. Although she had no idea how she was going to.
She was due to retire in a couple of years, and had been looking forward to being mortgage-free and them finally having time to potter about and relax.
As Val has said, she was one who always wanted to travel.
Clifford hated going on planes and preferred to holiday in the UK.
Now he had the gall to leave her so he could travel the world.
And with a big mortgage to pay off in less than a year’s time.
Like Val, she could wring his neck for leaving her in this mess.
If ever she was to set eyes on him again, she wouldn’t be responsible for her actions.
She went over to the sideboard and picked up the photo of them both that had been taken on their thirtieth wedding anniversary.
They’d gone out for a meal to celebrate.
Clifford looked so respectable, with his dark-rimmed glasses, thinning hair and slight smile on his face, dressed in a smart grey jacket, pale blue shirt and navy trousers, his arm around her waist. She was leaning her head on his shoulder, her honey-brown hair had been recently coloured and styled into soft waves, her tortoiseshell glasses replaced by contacts, and the royal blue dress she was wearing clung in the right places. They looked happy. The perfect couple.
‘How could you do this to me, Clifford?’ She wanted to rage, shout, smash the photo against the wall but it was all pointless and would only give her a mess to clean up.
‘You are not going to get away with swanning off around the world with our savings and leave me to sell up, with only enough left to buy a box on wheels. No way.’ She opened the drawer and put the photo inside, then closed it up again. She couldn’t bear to look at his face.
There must be a way she could bring in some extra money without working all the hours under the sun.
Because even that wouldn’t cover it! And she had to sort it quick.
The mortgage went from their now-empty joint account and was due in three weeks.
She couldn’t cover the cost and all the household bills on her part-time wages.
She picked up her phone and Googled:
Ways to make money
Within seconds, a list of suggestions came up – from taking surveys, selling photography, pet sitting… she skipped quickly past the next couple! …renting out the spare room. She paused. She did have three spare rooms.
She mulled it over. Could she bear to share her home with strangers? There had only ever been her and Clifford, and they respected each other’s space and privacy. They both liked a peaceful, tidy, well-ordered home. They had been so well suited. Or so she’d thought.
She could vet any prospective lodgers carefully and maybe she could start off with a short-term rental, perhaps three months, to make sure they all got along okay.
And she could stipulate that all the lodgers were retired.
That way there would be no late nights, wild parties or other shenanigans.
But then they’d be hanging about the house all day and she didn’t want that.
Over sixty and working would be better, she decided.
They’d want to relax in front of the TV when they came home and, at that age, they’d surely want to avoid arguments and be polite to each other.
She certainly did! She was warming to the idea now.
It would be company for her too. She would be lost living here all alone in this big house.
* * *
‘I’m not sure it’s a good idea, Nancy,’ Val said as they shared a bottle of wine that evening and Nancy told her that she was considering renting out her rooms. ‘Do you really want to share your house with total strangers?’
‘They might be good company,’ Nancy said. ‘I don’t know what else to do to earn money. I can’t afford the mortgage payments and bills on my wage.’
‘Why not just sell up and get yourself a nice little flat?’ Val suggested. ‘You’ll soon make it a home and it would be all yours. No memories of Clifford. Wouldn’t you prefer a fresh start?’
‘No, I wouldn’t. It’s difficult enough to get used to Clifford being gone without having to get used to a new home too.
And what about my lovely garden? I’ll be lucky to have a window box in a flat.
’ She took a moment to compose herself. She was not going to cry over Clifford.
She refused to. Anger had kept the tears at bay all day but the thought of having to leave her beloved home and garden made her eyes well up again.
And a small part of her, which she absolutely refused to acknowledge, was hoping that Clifford would see sense, come back and apologise, begging her to forgive him.
‘I thought that if I just rented out to lodgers – a similar age to me – they wouldn’t be any bother. They’d be at work all day and happy to spend their evenings watching the TV, surely? There’ll be no wild parties or anything.’
Val frowned. ‘I’m pretty sure that you have to inform your mortgage company, and insurance company, if you rent out rooms. And renting out three rooms could be considered an HMO. Plus you have to sort out rent contracts, smoke alarms and lots of other stuff. And buy beds and wardrobes.’
Val was right. Only one of the spare rooms was furnished as a guest bedroom; the others were used as a study and a craft room. And she’d forgotten about all the legal stuff. Nancy groaned. This wasn’t as simple as she thought.
‘Plus, what if you don’t get on with one of the guests? Or the guests don’t get on with each other? That will be a tricky situation.’
Val had defeated her with her logic. ‘You’re right. I’ll think of something else.’
‘I really think the best solution is to sell up and move to something smaller. After all you don’t need a house this size, do you?’ Val topped up their wine. ‘Unless you’re hoping that Clifford might come back with his tail between his legs.’ She cocked her head to one side. ‘You are, aren’t you?’
Nancy felt her cheeks flush. ‘He might do. We’ve been married a long time,’ she said defensively. ‘I think he might just be having some sort of old-age crisis and will regret it in a week or two.’
Val swigged back her wine. ‘Maybe he will – if he hasn’t run off into the sunset with someone else—’
‘I wish you’d stop saying that!’ Nancy retorted. She didn’t even want to think of that scenario.
Val looked contrite. ‘I’m sorry, love, my mouth gets a bit carried away. But would you seriously want him back after this?’
Nancy bit her lip. It was awful what Clifford had done, but she missed him. And it was so unlike him. He could be having a wobble. Maybe in a few weeks once he’d got whatever this was out of his system, he would start to miss her, too, and their life together, and want to come back.
And if he did – although she would never admit this to Val because she would tell her that she needed her head examined and book her an appointment to have that done – then yes, she probably would have him back.
Although she would tell him in no uncertain terms what she thought of him and set some ground rules.
Even if Clifford did come back, they would still have to sell the house when the mortgage was up next year because they didn’t have the funds to pay it off, she reminded herself. There was no happy ending to this.