Chapter 8
NANCY
‘Well, it looks like you’ve got two lodgers now,’ Pam said as Phyllis left.
‘I didn’t know what to say. I felt so sorry for her,’ Nancy said, looking worried. ‘But whatever room she wants I’m going to have to clear out.’
‘Which would be the easiest room for you to empty?’ Pam asked.
Nancy thought about it. Clifford had used one room as an office and the other room was her craft room. It only held a fold-up table and some boxes of craft material. ‘I guess the craft room. I could move my stuff into the little box room for now. It’s where we store things we don’t use much.’
‘Then tell Phyllis that the craft room is the only one you have spare,’ Pam advised. ‘She’ll take it because she needs to move quickly and it makes it easier for you.’
Nancy nodded. ‘Good idea.’
Well, she seemed to have got herself a couple of tenants without even advertising.
Hopefully Phyllis would agree to keeping things informal, as Jackie had done.
She didn’t want to do anything official.
Apart from all the legal stuff she had to comply with, what if Clifford came back?
He might be regretting his rash actions now and missing her and their home.
And if he did, did she even want him back after everything he’d done?
* * *
Nancy dashed home from work and went straight up to the craft room, wanting to clear it a bit before Phyllis arrived. She’d just folded down the table and put away a couple of boxes when the doorbell rang. Damn, that must be Phyllis and she hadn’t had time to finish tidying the room yet.
‘Coming!’ she called as she hurried down the stairs and opened the front door.
‘Hello, do—’ Then she stopped mid-sentence as she saw Val standing on the doorstep.
‘Val, what are you doing here?’ she asked, shutting the door behind her and following her sister who was already halfway along the hall, heading for the kitchen.
‘I thought I’d pop in for a cuppa before I went home. I wanted to see how you were doing.’ She put the kettle on then frowned. ‘You look a bit flustered.’
‘I’ve got someone coming about a room…’
‘I thought that was last night. Pam’s mum?’
‘Someone else. She came into the shop and she’s got to find somewhere to live quickly and—’
‘A complete stranger then!’ Val groaned. ‘Nancy, you can’t rent out another room. Apart from the fact that you haven’t got the necessary paperwork, you don’t really know these people. You’ve had enough trauma with Clifford leaving; you need time to adjust.’
‘I also need money for the mortgage and bills, and this is only temporary; they’re just guests.’
Val folded her arms. ‘Paying guests, I presume. Which means there are rules you should be following,’ she said sternly. ‘And there will be tax to be paid.’
Suddenly the bell rang again. That must definitely be Phyllis this time.
‘I think that’s your new lodger,’ Val said.
‘Probably. Now you can stay if you want to but you must promise to keep quiet and leave the talking to me. And to remember that the decision is mine. Right?’
Val’s lips set into a thin line of disapproval.
‘Val?’
Val nodded. ‘Okay, but think about it carefully; don’t decide now. Tell her you’ll let her know later.’
Nancy ignored her and went to answer the door.
She opened it to see Phyllis standing on the doorstep, her long silver hair tumbling over her shoulders and dressed in a long purple skirt, a white flouncy top with an antique-looking pendant watch dangling over it and a black crocheted shawl draped around her shoulders.
She pulled the shawl closer around her and swivelled around to check her surroundings before turning back to Nancy.
‘This is a lovely area. Very peaceful.’ She paused a little longer, as if taking everything in, before stepping inside.
Val came out of the lounge. ‘Hello, I’m Val—’
‘Nancy’s sister,’ Phyllis finished for her. ‘I can see the resemblance,’ she added obviously noting the surprised look on both Nancy and Val’s faces.
She looked around the hall and nodded approvingly. ‘Your house has a good aura. I’ll be happy here,’ she announced.
Nancy was pleased to hear that if a bit taken aback. She hadn’t actually offered Phyllis the room yet, although she seemed nice enough and it would be good to have two of the rooms let. ‘Er, would you like to have a look at the room first?’
‘I would, although I’m grateful for any room you have spare. I have to find somewhere to live by the weekend or I’ll be homeless.’
‘Do you work nearby?’ Val asked as she followed them up the stairs. Nancy was actually glad her sister had mentioned that. She was trying to find a way to bring into the conversation that being in employment was a condition of tenancy.
‘I work at Mystic Quartz, a holistic gift shop in the town centre, so this is very handy for work.’
‘This is the available room,’ Nancy said, opening the door to the craft room. ‘I used it for my crafts. As you can see, I’m in the process of clearing it out.’
Phyllis walked out and looked out of the window. ‘What a stunning rainbow of colours!’ She turned around, her eyes sparkling. ‘You can’t beat waking up to the sight of nature first thing in the morning.’
‘I agree,’ Nancy said. She’d wanted this room, overlooking the garden but Clifford had insisted they slept in the main bedroom, with the ensuite, overlooking the drive.
Which made sense, of course. So she’d claimed this room as her craft room, and Clifford had taken the spare room over the front of the house as his office.
‘I have an ensuite, so you’ll be sharing the main bathroom with Jackie, Pam’s mum. She’s moving in this weekend too.’
‘Perfect. And as the room will be empty I can bring my own furniture. I do like my personal things around me.’
‘Oh, and I’m afraid it’s no pets. Allergies and things,’ Nancy said quickly. ‘I hope that isn’t a problem?’
‘Not at all,’ Phyllis assured her.
Thank goodness for that, Nancy thought in relief. ‘Let me show you the bathroom and the downstairs rooms. Then we can have a cuppa and talk about a few house rules and the rent.’ She paused. ‘There aren’t that many, don’t worry.’
‘You need a few rules, dear, otherwise chaos will reign,’ Phyllis told her as they all made their way downstairs.
Half an hour later it was all sorted out. Phyllis was moving in on Sunday, just like Jackie. It was going to be a busy weekend.
‘Thank you so much. It’s a relief to know that I have somewhere to live,’ Phyllis said as she left.
‘I do think you’ve rushed into this,’ Val said disapprovingly. ‘You haven’t even done a check on either of the women yet. And what if they don’t get on? Or you don’t get on with one of them?’
‘They both seem very nice. I’m sure we can muddle along for a few weeks,’ Nancy told her. ‘I’m just relieved that two rooms are taken. And they’re both paying a month in advance. That’s my mortgage payments sorted for a bit. I can’t believe that it’s been so easy.’
‘Letting out the rooms is the easy part, living with the lodgers might be more of a problem,’ Val warned her.
Nancy ignored her. She had a good feeling about this. It was as if it was meant to be.