Chapter 18
18
Lunch was hurried but nice. Seamus had brought some lovely bread rolls filled with turkey and salad, and we both blushed when he said, ‘Nice baps,’ and, without thinking, I said, ‘Thank you.’ He wouldn’t let me pay him back; insisted on treating me for looking after Theo. It had honestly been my pleasure, he was not a scrap of trouble.
I told him briefly about my morning: meeting Dame Tessa, and her knowledge about the local habitat. Seamus told me her full name was Tessa Wylie and I thought I might have a little google about her later. Although I doubted very much that there would be anything to find. The medal thing might just be gossip. Seamus also told me that his dad was a member of the same local conservation society and that they met in the village hall once a month. He suggested either chatting to his dad or going along to the meeting. I could probably do both – for some reason I wanted to make a good impression to Tessa.
When Seamus left, I went to the notepad that was hanging up on the side of the fridge and wrote down ‘first Thursday of month’ so that I wouldn’t forget. If I could pluck up the courage to drag myself there on my own, that would keep me busy for another evening. When I’d arrived here in Sandpiper Shore, I’d wondered what I might fill my time with, but it seemed that there was plenty to keep me occupied. I also wrote down ‘library’ as I’d spotted one in the town but it was closed when I drove past. They might have some books on coastal habitats and hopefully if I did some research first I wouldn’t be such an ignoramus when I turned up.
I gathered up my jewellery roll, which contained most of the jewellery that Michael had ever given me, and placing it at the bottom of my handbag, I headed out to the jewellers in town. I wondered whether I’d miss the car after it was collected tomorrow but actually, when it came to it, didn’t think I would. Everything I needed was within walking distance and if I wanted to go further afield, there was a small pretty train station that would take me straight to St Ives. Worst case, if I missed it that much, I could buy myself a little old banger to get me from A to B. In fact, that thought made me smile. I could imagine how horrified Michael would be if he knew I was driving around in something without a Range Rover or Jaguar badge on the front. Maybe I should do that just to wind him up, I thought.
‘Hi. I’m Jo Jenkins. I made an appointment with you yesterday,’ I said as I walked into the shop.
‘Of course, hope you don’t mind having a seat, Jo. My brother-in-law just called to say he’s running about fifteen minutes late. Could I make you a drink while you’re waiting?’ She was beautifully spoken and she exuded glamour from every pore. Her clothes looked expensive and classy and she had an air of calm confidence about her. I can’t imagine she’d have any issues with her self-esteem. She also seemed genuinely nice too. A lovely presence to be in.
‘That’s very kind of you… erm…’ I couldn’t remember if she’d told me her name when I met her the first time. If she had, it wasn’t coming to me now anyway.
‘Did I tell you my name? I’m Emma, by the way. Not sure if I told you that. Bloody brain fog makes me forget most things these days.’
‘Join the club. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d love a coffee.’
‘No trouble at all. I was only offering because it was an excuse for me to have one as well. Bloody electric is off in my house again and I’ve been rushed off my feet this morning and haven’t had chance to make one yet. For the third day in a row, the young girl who helps out here has called in sick, so I’m just trying to get through everything we need to do before the auction next week.’
‘You do auctions too?’
Emma nodded. ‘You name it, we sell it. Furniture, jewellery, household items, in fact anything that people want us to sell on their behalf. We do house clearances too, which is really interesting.’
‘Gosh, I bet. If you sell furniture, you should see some of the stuff that has been left in the house that I’ve just moved into. God knows how the owner got it in, because it’s huge. It’s beautiful, but not really to my taste. There’s also a load of old tat that I’ve found in the loft too.’
‘You know what they say. One man’s tat is another man’s treasure. Nothing you want to keep?’
‘To be honest, I’ve got enough stuff of my own, although it is a big place.’ When I explained where the house was, Emma said that she actually knew it and had been round to give June a quote not that long ago. This made me feel quite guilty that I was considering giving some of her stuff away.
‘If you want me to pop round when I’m over that way, I’d be happy to. I’m the furniture expert and Joseph is our jewellery connoisseur. I could go through the list that I drew up for her and see if there’s anything that you’re interested in getting rid of.’
‘That would be amazing. Thank you.’
‘A pleasure. We’re here to help.’
At that moment, a four-wheel-drive navy-blue BMW pulled up at the front of the shop and Emma smiled at me. ‘Here’s Joseph now. I’m sure he’ll take care of you. Word of warning though. Don’t tell him I told you this, but don’t accept his first offer for anything.’
When I came out of the shop an hour later nearly ￡35,000 better off, I felt like a weight had been lifted. At first, Joseph had said they’d be happy to take the jewellery to auction on my behalf and see what the best bids were. The other alternative, which I much preferred, was that they bought it from me upfront. Using Emma’s advice and the one useful thing that Michael had taught me – amazing negotiation skills – we agreed on one price for the lot. I was pretty sure Michael would be horrified to know that I’d sold the jewellery he’d bought me, but there was nothing he’d given me that hadn’t been tainted by the fact that he’d lied and cheated. I wondered how many other times he’d done it that I didn’t know about and whether that jewellery was his attempt to lessen his guilt. I’d never know, of course, but it was a much better idea to put the money to good use – and he’d probably never find out anyway.
There was also the furniture I could get rid of, and I wanted that to happen as soon as possible; I needed as much cash as I could get my hands on. With the money from the jewellery, the money from selling the Range Rover and anything else I could get, maybe project renovation could commence.
An alert on my phone told me that a text had pinged in.
Hope the meeting went well.
See you in the morning?
Maybe you can tell me how you suddenly got your hands on that cash! Or maybe I don’t want to know! LOL
How quickly Seamus and I had fallen into a little morning routine. I liked it. It gave me a reason to get up. Something to look forward to. There were days after Michael had moved out that I didn’t get dressed at all. If it wasn’t for Mum coming round and finding me in my pyjamas, not showered for five days and greasy hair that needed a ‘bloody good scrub’, I’m not sure how long I would have stayed that way.
I quickly fired off a text.
If you’re lucky you might get something extra special
The three little dots appeared and then disappeared.
I put my phone down and went to throw open the French doors. Having them closed made me feel cooped up and I wanted the fresh air in my lungs, even if I was pottering in the house.
Now that’s not a text I get every day.
#FeelingLucky
I peered at the message. I really should wear my specs more often. There was a winky face at the end and then, when I reread my own text to Seamus, I laughed to myself. Here was me flirting without intending to. Maybe this new life was bringing about a whole new me after all.
Hope it doesn’t disappoint you that I meant that I’d cook you a bacon sandwich.
If you pop me a runny egg on the top, you might just be my most favourite person in the world ever
Whilst I could have happily sat texting with Seamus back and forth for much longer, I had a very long list of things to do. But now, due to our flirty banter, I would be doing it with a smile on my face.