Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
JESS
Jess felt sick to her stomach when she read the letter that had just arrived by recorded delivery.
No one ever sent her mail this way, and she felt an unexplained feeling of dread in her stomach.
She briefly wondered if it was something official from a solicitor, informing her that Maisie’s dad could no longer afford child maintenance.
She hoped not. Things were just about ticking over as they were.
As she ripped the envelope open and read the words inside, she felt her heart sink.
She had barely had time to digest the words when there was a knock at her front door.
‘Have you had one of these?’ asked Mark, waving the official-looking envelope. He was quickly joined by Declan.
‘I have. I assume Alice will have received one too,’ he said with a sigh.
Normally post was deposited into the communal box downstairs, although any important mail was posted directly to the tenants through their front door.
‘Can you believe this?’ said Declan, shaking his head. ‘The building is up for sale.’
‘And we have been given two months’ notice to get out once a sale has been agreed,’ said Mark, feeling suddenly stressed.
‘It isn’t long, is it?’ said Jess, fear gripping her. Especially as her mum no longer had her house. She thought of her and Maisie staying in some temporary accommodation somewhere, although hopefully it would not come to that. ‘I simply don’t know where Maisie and I will go.’
‘I know what you mean,’ said Declan.
‘But I imagine you could move back in with your mum,’ said Jess.
‘Maybe in an emergency.’ He shrugged. ‘But I can’t see that happening. It’s Alice I am really worried about, though.’ He sighed. ‘She is too old and frail to be making another house move so soon. We need to speak to her.’
‘It isn’t uncommon for landlords to sell a property, especially one of this quality,’ Alice told her friends calmly as she poured them tea from a china pot. ‘They make very desirable purchases, especially one that has been divided up into apartments.’
‘But don’t we have rights as tenants?’ asked Mark anxiously.
He cursed his foolishness in not buying an apartment when he and Diane had downsized. Instead, they chose to rent and spend the proceeds of the house travelling the world. And then he bought a bloody boat. Maybe he could live on it, short-term at least, but he feared for his friends.
‘Unfortunately, as we don’t have fixed-term contracts, but rather periodic ones, I am rather afraid the owner can do as he likes,’ Alice told them.
‘But I will have a solicitor friend of mine look over the contract. At least the two months’ notice will only start after the agreed sale, which should give us longer here.
Especially as the housing market is a little uncertain at the moment. ’
‘Let’s hope it doesn’t sell for ages, then,’ said Jess hopefully. She thought of Maisie’s bedroom and how beautiful it looked and tried to quell a feeling of rising panic. The rent was reasonable too. Even if they were allowed to stay, the new owners could double the rent.
‘Let’s not worry for now,’ said Declan, his calmness belying the uncertainty he felt inside. ‘It hasn’t actually gone on the market yet. I’m sure everything will work out fine.’ He smiled. ‘And it might simply be that we get a new landlord.’
‘Yes, let’s not panic for now,’ said Mark, sounding far more assured than he felt.
‘You’re right,’ said Jess, managing a smile. ‘And as my mum likes to say, something always turns up in the end.’
She would spend every spare minute she had looking for a place for her and Maisie. There was no way they were going to be homeless. She would fight for her daughter as she always had.