Chapter 3
3
As I stood on the slimy algae-covered decking at the side of Aunty June’s cottage, I realised how ridiculously stupid I’d been not to have visited before packing up my worldly possessions and moving here for good. I had never thought that in the five years since we visited last, a place could be so very different. Long gone were the beautiful sparkling clean windows that looked out over the beach. In their place were damaged windowpanes, with condensation that had somehow crept between the double glazing and frames that were literally falling out. The mouldy patch on probably very dangerously damaged floorboards and the wallpaper hanging down, along with the bin that was half full of murky, stinky water, signified that there was a leak somewhere in the flat roof above the dining room window. Those were just a couple of the minor issues that I’d discovered when I got hold of the keys to my ‘dream home’ that morning. Knowing the house as well as I did, I hadn’t felt the need to visit before I signed all the paperwork. The irony that Michael would have been horrified at what I’d done didn’t escape me. There was now an overwhelmingly gigantic list of things that needed doing that were starting to form in my mind and some I reckoned were way bigger than a leak.
The one major thing that I had forgotten was the vastness of the buildings and land. It was way larger than I ever remembered and we’d only really stayed in a few of the rooms, though I did remember there being a lot of paraphernalia. We’d both commented to each other at the time that June seemed to be a bit of a hoarder but since the previous time I’d been there, it would appear that she’d taken it on as an Olympic sport. I’d seriously never seen so much stuff in my life. It needed a hell of a clear-out as well as a lot of doing up. I was finding so many doors leading to more rooms and cupboards that I thought it’d be weeks before I discovered them all. The rooms were all huge, with high ceilings and cornicing around the tops of them, which were also in dire need of attention.
Looking up at the cottage from the decking now, I noticed that the gutters on the outside of the property were sprouting things, they didn’t look like they’d been cleared out for a long time.
Poor Aunty June had clearly been struggling for a while and, after all, she had been a grand old age when she died. How on earth could an old woman keep on top of a house the size of this? The solicitor had said that she’d been very healthy up until those final weeks and didn’t bear any malice towards anyone that she was alone. She was widowed when she was a young woman and never did marry again. She swore that she’d already lost the love of her life and wouldn’t ever meet anyone like her Alfie so she wouldn’t even bother trying to. I berated myself now for not making an effort to keep in touch more. It was so sad to think she died alone. My life had been busy looking after Michael and the girls and I was incredibly sorry to think that I’d neglected her. On paper, I wasn’t really her family anyway. She was Michael’s aunt and his side of the family had never bothered with her.
All I knew in that moment was that I wanted to do her beautiful home justice and bring it back to life. I knew I was up for a challenge in this new life of mine, but certainly hadn’t realised quite how much of a task it was going to be.
A fuzzy little feeling in my stomach, I grabbed a notebook and pen from my handbag, and started to make a list of what needed doing. It was going to be a very long list.
The shrill tone of my phone ringing made me jump and my heart sank when I saw the name on the screen. Trouble was, if I ignored his call, he’d just keep on calling, knowing how annoying he could be and how I’d eventually answer. I may as well answer it the first time and get it over and done with.
‘Michael?’
‘Hello, darling, how are you?’
How my ex-husband had the gall to still call me darling after everything that had happened never ceased to amaze me.
‘OK, thanks, how are you?’ I could have kicked myself as soon as the words left my mouth. I really wished that instinct and politeness, even after everything that had happened, hadn’t taken over because I knew just how much detail he’d go into. I should have just left it at OK, thanks.
‘I’m fabulous, thank you. The sun is shining here in the Costa Del Sol and we’re just sitting around the pool having lunchtime drinkypoos. We’re off out for a meal this afternoon to that lovely place up in the mountains. You know, the one where they do the paella that you raved over. You’d love it here.’
Yeah, I would have done. Because I bloody chose it! My ‘darling’ husband was talking about the house just outside of Marbella that we’d very lovingly chosen and fitted out together. However, instead of me being the co-owner of our gorgeous holiday home in the sun, he had moved there with Claudia, his personal assistant, who had clearly been giving him more than just secretarial support for longer than I cared to know. Not only that, but she’d also been my very best friend in the whole wide world. How insensitive could an ex-husband be?
‘The weather is glorious, the pool is a fabulous temperature and we’re having a lovely time, thank you. Claudia sends her regards.’ Clearly, more insensitive than I originally thought. Tosser. How can you be in love with someone one minute and then hate their guts within a very short space of time? Sometimes life seems so mad when you think about how quickly love turns to hate. And at a time when most women would have turned to their best friend to confide in, I couldn’t do that because the person he’d gone off with was her. So I’d lost two of the most significant people in my life, not just one.
‘What do you want, Michael? I’m busy.’
‘Oh, sorry, darling. I wondered if you could tell me what the password is for the Wi-Fi. I know it was on a little card somewhere by the router, but I can’t bloody find it for the life of me and the world will come to a standstill if I can’t get on the internet, as you know. A smart house is only smart if it has Wi-Fi. We had to sit in the dark last night because I couldn’t operate the lights.’ I tried not to snigger at this.
‘Oh, that’s a shame. I’m so sorry, though, Michael. I don’t know. And if that’s all, I have to go. I’m in the middle of something quite important. Bye.’
I disconnected the call and smiled to myself, safe in the knowledge that in a fit of rage one day I’d changed the Wi-Fi password online so even if they found the card with the code on, it wouldn’t work. I flicked the TV back on, tucking my legs underneath me. It would be ages before they discovered what a calculating cow I could actually be when I wanted to. And how much they deserved it.