Chapter 13
13
The next day I set my alarm for seven, thinking it would be less embarrassing if I was up and dressed before Seamus arrived. It was once again pure delight to hear those seagull noises first thing, and once I’d opened the French doors onto the decking, they were an even louder accompaniment to the sound of the sheer voiles fluttering in the gentle breeze. A sure sign you were at the seaside.
I knew it was still only my first few days here, and that maybe at some point I might take it for granted, but it really did fill my heart with joy when I sat on the rickety old wooden bench that Aunty June had left behind, with a blanket over my knees appreciating the view across the dunes and down to the turquoise sea, which was shimmering in the early-morning sunlight.
By the time there was a knock at the door at 8a.m., I was on my second coffee and was just about to give up on Seamus turning up.
‘I thought I’d leave it a bit later today because you’d clearly only just woken up yesterday. Theo and I are probably a bit much first thing in the morning for people who are not used to us.’
This morning Seamus was wearing shorts again and a sweatshirt, with a black beanie hat, and his greying sideburns were just visible beneath them. He must have seen me looking as he removed his hat and said his mum had always told him off if he wore a hat indoors. We both laughed.
‘You’ll just have to excuse my bed hair, I’m afraid.’
Gosh, my tummy did another of those little flips at that comment. I must be ready for breakfast!
Standing back, I felt that inviting him in was the most natural thing in the world, and Theo bounded across the hall floor, and sat in the same spot he’d sat in the previous day where he stretched and lay down in a little pool of sunshine.
‘He’s so cheeky. I’m sorry. Are you sure you don’t mind him being here with me? He’s proper stinky this morning too. Just rolled in a dead fish he found on the beach.’
‘Ew, that explains that revolting smell then. At least it’s him. I thought it might be you.’
I grinned and walked towards Seamus, needing to pass by to get to the kitchen but not before watching him as he held his hand to his heart.
‘Oh, she has such an ability to wound with her words.’
‘You’re a big boy. I’m sure you can take it.’
He raised an eyebrow and as his eyes locked onto mine, I could feel the heat start to rise around my neck and into my face. Why did this man make me have such thoughts? Thoughts that I didn’t think I’d experienced ever before, come to think of it. Maybe Michael was right and I was having a mid-life crisis.
‘Tea or coffee?’ My question came out more of a high-pitched squeak than my normal voice for some reason. I took a few, what I hoped were, inconspicuous deep breaths before I noticed that he’d spied a plate of pain aux raisins, which made his eyes light up. I offered him the plate.
‘Thanks so much. I’m always starving after a run on the beach first thing. And coffee, please.’
‘So admirable. I can’t do much till I’ve had two hot drinks and come round. And I’m losing hours to just sitting looking at my view, to be honest.’
I handed him a mug and grabbed mine along with the plate and nodded towards the lounge.
‘Shall we?’
The view from the lounge was just as beautiful and we both stood and stared out to sea. I had felt like this since the very first time I visited Sandpiper Shore. That view had captured my heart.
‘It’s stunning up here in this little corner of the village,’ he said. ‘It’s like two completely different towns and you are definitely in the better end. That’s why the properties are so sought after. I’m still super envious that you managed to grab one.’
‘Do you think it’ll make a difference to people here? You hear stories about how the locals are awful to out-of-towners.’
‘You should be fine. If Mrs Cooper wanted you to be here, then I’m sure that’s an endorsement in itself.’
‘Bless her.’ I wish I’d made more of an effort to keep in touch. I know she didn’t want us to, but I should have done it anyway. Been there for her in her final years.
‘She was a good ’un. Big pals with my dad actually. I did wonder at one point if it was a little more than that, but he’s always saying he can’t be bothered to be in a relationship again. My mum did give him a hard time while she was alive, to be honest. I think she’s put him off for life.’ He looked upwards. ‘Sorry, Mum.’ He stared out to sea again. ‘So shall we make a start?’
He got a notebook out of a small man bag that I hadn’t noticed he’d got slung across his body.
‘Mmmm, yes, please.’ I spoke, spraying a little bit of pain au raisin out of my mouth. Seamus either didn’t notice, or pretended he didn’t notice, thank goodness.
‘So, tell me about the builders that came yesterday then. What did they say?’
As I relayed to him what the man had said, referring back to my phone where I’d made a record in the notes section, Seamus’s face made several weird movements and his eyebrows lifted and lowered as many times.
‘So, I agree with some of the things he said and disagree with some others,’ he said, his hand in his hair. He then proceeded to go through his list and every time he moved on to something new I could almost hear the money registering in the till. New wiring throughout, walls needing replastering, repairs to rotten floorboards, roof tiles that needed replacing, a new flat roof where the water was coming through were just a few of the things that he mentioned for starters.
I was starting to feel quite panicky.
‘Why was this not picked up on any of the surveys that were done on the house?’
‘Well, they probably were, but they’re all inside things really, rather than structural. Most of the stuff that surveys pick up are on the building rather than the cosmetics. And most houses these days over a certain age need rewiring.’
‘It all sounds really expensive, Seamus. I’m normally someone who has a glass half full but my glass is feeling quite empty right now, I don’t mind admitting.’
‘It ain’t gonna be cheap, Jo Jenkins. I can help with quite a lot and give you mates’ rates but there’s a lot of stuff that you’ll need professionals in to do. I do know a lot of people in the trade and could maybe call in some favours but it’s a huge place and there’s a lot to be done. I reckon Mrs Cooper would have had a whole lot of problems ahead if she’d still been here. It would have become a giant millstone around her neck.’
A feeling of nausea swept through me and I could feel the blood drain from my face. I ran my fingers through my hair. Had I really been so stupid as to think that I could just move into a cottage that looked really pretty years ago and expect life to just fall into place? Most things that sound or look too good to be true normally are. If Michael knew how daft I’d been, thinking I could pull this off, he’d be laughing his head off. The girls would be right too. They thought I’d been ridiculous deciding to go ahead with this move. I’d have to admit to them all that they were right and I was stupid. My heart felt heavier by the moment.
‘Of course, she was much older than you, and you have more options. There is one I’m thinking of but I’m not sure whether you’ll like it.’
I could hear Seamus talking, and looked back at him, trying to concentrate again.
‘Sorry, can you repeat that, please?’
‘Make the other buildings into luxury apartments and rent them out. It would mean a lot of work out there too.’ He pointed to the garden. ‘I know a cracking electrician that could do the rewiring work for you.’ He winked but I was still trying to comprehend what he’d said. ‘Something to ponder maybe. I’ll leave you this breakdown of estimated costs. Obviously it’s very rough but I reckon based on the work we did at Dad’s and the similar things that need doing here, it’s not too far off the mark.’
He passed across a piece of paper with figures and scribbling on it, but I couldn’t focus on it. My eyes were starting to get blurry and I could feel a headache coming on. Bearing in mind that I didn’t have a job or a fat lot of money in savings any more, I’d probably be ninety years old before I could afford to have the necessities done, let alone do most of the things on my wish list.
‘You OK, Jo Jenkins?’
‘Huh. Tickety-flipping-boo!’
‘Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I’d hate to make it something that it isn’t though. I really do think you need to go into this with your eyes open. I’d hate to tell you it was one price and then you get stung with another fifty grand at the end that you weren’t expecting.’
Seamus chewed the inside of his cheek. I could see that he was worrying about whether he’d done the right thing or not.
‘Not your fault, Seamus. I should never have thought that I could pull this off. I’ve just realised how very stupid I am. Maybe I should go straight to the estate agents and put the house on the market. There’s no way in the world I can get my hands on more money. I’ve sold everything I have just to get this far. When my husband’s business closed down, I was left with hardly anything and what I did have has gone towards my daughter’s wedding.’
‘I thought you said he had a house in Spain.’ He looked puzzled.
‘He does and he very cleverly put it in his partner’s name before anyone else got their hands on it. It was untouchable. He consequently didn’t have any money to pay for Lucy’s wedding so that has all fallen to me too. And, my goodness, I didn’t know that I’d brought my daughter up to have such highfalutin ideas.’ I felt my whole body go limp with dejection as I flung myself into the armchair.
‘He’s despicable, Jo. Look, there’s always a way. We just need to find it for you.’
I smiled but it didn’t even reach my cheeks, let alone my eyes. I stood, the need to be alone totally overwhelming.
Seamus luckily took the hint and started to put his things together.
‘Have a think about things and if you want to talk through it all again, here’s my number. Come on, Theo, time to go, pal.’
He put his business card down on the table while Theo stretched into the sun and looked at his master as if to say, ‘Must we?’
‘Come on, pal. Let’s leave lovely Jo Jenkins to get on with her day.’
After I closed the door behind them, I leant up against the wall and slid to my feet. The tears that I had been hanging on to began to fall and I bashed my forehead with the heel of my hand, whispering, ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid.’ I was such an idiot.