Chapter Four
To her annoyance, Hattie was a few minutes late to pick up her nephew at the station.
She’d been held up by a solicitor who was being a bit slow doing the conveyancing for a client and Hattie had called on him in person to remonstrate rather than send an email.
It had been effective but, having been just a little bit firm with him, she had felt obliged to look at a lot of pictures of his newborn baby and hear how very, very tired he was.
It had been one of those days, she thought, sweeping into the station car park.
‘Xander!’
She hugged him and felt him stiffen. Her sister wasn’t much of a hugger. She probably greeted her son with a pat on the back. To his credit, Xander managed a small smile in response.
‘I’m really thrilled you’ve come to stay for a while, but I feel it’s only fair that I tell you just how inexperienced I am in dealing with people under twenty.
To be honest, I’m better with people around thirty-five.
But I mean well. And you’ve got to promise to tell me if I’m being really annoying.
’ Hattie looked at him and decided not to ask how he was feeling about his first day at college just yet. ‘The car is this way.’
Despite her feelings about her sister bouncing her into this situation, seeing Xander standing by his rucksack outside the station had wrenched at her heart rather. She was determined to make his stay with her as good as it possibly could be.
They stowed his rucksack in the boot and got in.
‘Although Lennie – your mum – told me you only ate pasta, I went shopping anyway. I thought it would look so unwelcoming if you arrived at my house and there was a packet of penne on the table next to the vitamins I have to give you.’
Another grunt. Hattie realised she was more experienced interpreting the sounds that Luke’s dogs made than those her sister’s son did.
‘You never know, you may find you have a liking for kimchi you previously didn’t know about. I mean, I think it’s fairly disgusting but apparently it’s very good for gut health.’
She looked across to check for cars at the crossing and snatched a quick glance at Xander. Was there a slight lift to the corner of his mouth or had she imagined it?
‘In theory, it’s ten minutes’ walk from my house to the station, but it’s at least twenty going back. The hills, you know. You’ll get used to them.’
When they arrived Hattie opened the back door to the house she’d been living in for the past six months and she knew instantly that something was wrong.
There was a dripping sound. She knew what it was.
It had happened soon after she’d moved in.
Luke had told her then she should tell the owner and ask him to have it fixed.
‘Go on through to the sitting room. Put the telly on if you want. I’ll just see what I can do about this leak.’
She’d have to call Luke, but felt just a little bit guilty for putting upon him even before she’d done it – and a tiny bit more guilty because she hadn’t mentioned the problem to her landlord.
But she paid very little rent for the house, which belonged to a property developer. Hattie was keeping it maintained (after a fashion) and lived-in until it sold. But negotiations had begun and so she’d been given three months’ notice.
It was a nice property. It had three good bedrooms, a cosy sitting room with a wood burner and a kitchen she had made her own. It was one of her better house-sitting spots, she thought, going upstairs with a bucket to catch the drips.
Coming down again, she saw that Xander had opened the double doors on to the garden and was standing on the terrace. She was glad: she so wanted him to feel at home here.
Luke, to Hattie’s huge relief, answered. She usually got his answerphone message. As the builder preferred by people with old houses and people who had pretensions, he was always in demand.
‘Hey, Hattie, what do you need?’ he said.
‘Why do you assume I need something?’
‘Well, don’t you?’
Hattie sighed. ‘Yes, of course. I’m afraid I do. The tank in the attic is leaking again and I’ve got my nephew Xander staying for a while.’ She wasn’t sure why this made the leak seem more important, but it did.
‘I’ll be over.’
‘I’ll give you supper.’
She loved cooking for Luke. He was appreciative but discerning.
He was a good cook himself, but he had the patience to follow a recipe all the way to the end which was something that Hattie never managed.
Her cooking style was like the rest of her, haphazard and unorthodox but successful.
She could always make a delicious meal out of whatever was available.
Her parents and sister found this gift really annoying and Hattie suspected her wild great-granny had shared it.
After hanging up, Hattie explained the situation to Xander, who had come in and seated himself down at the kitchen table. She gave him a Diet Coke (forbidden fruit).
‘So I must feed him. He mostly lives on food you buy at petrol stations and it’s not healthy.
’ She opened the door of the fridge, which was now full of what she thought of as Xander food, although it was possible that Xander wouldn’t eat any of it.
‘I think I’ll do special fried rice. It’s his favourite. ’
‘Is Luke your boyfriend?’ said Xander.
Hearing this question from her nephew’s lips took Hattie aback, but not so much that she couldn’t explain. ‘No. Luke is a very dear friend. People often ask me if he’s my boyfriend because they don’t believe men and women can be friends with each other without anything else doing on.’
She put two onions on her chopping board. ‘It’s a special friendship. I could never risk anything bad happening to it.’
‘What do you mean?’
Hattie wondered if it was the fact that Xander hardly spoke that made him so direct. ‘If anything romantic started and it went wrong it could spoil the friendship irrevocably. I couldn’t risk that.’
Xander nodded. Hattie wondered if he’d used up his daily ration of words.
She’d thought about it, of course she had. When they first met, she’d been struck by how handsome and kind he was – she’d have been mad not to have considered it. But they’d both been with other people and by the time they weren’t, she and Luke had slipped into an easy friendship.
A little while later, Frank and Fearless bounded in through the double doors and bounced on to the sofa to make a big fuss of Xander.
‘Horrible dogs,’ said Luke, following them.
‘Dogs off!’ commanded Hattie, aware she didn’t know if Xander was dog friendly or not.
The dogs immediately jumped off the sofa, but Xander said, ‘No, leave them.’
Hattie saw them get back on to the sofa and settle with their heads on Xander’s lap. He smiled slightly and seemed to relax. And Hattie let out a breath too. Maybe it would be all right.
While Luke was up in the attic, putting some wonder product on the leaking water tank, she carried on cooking. Soon there were large bowls on place settings and she got out a bottle of wine and glasses from habit and then realised no one would be drinking it.
‘Would you like another Diet Coke?’ she asked Xander. ‘I know you’re only supposed to have one a day, but it is your first night.’
‘Water is fine.’
Luke came down and looked at Hattie sternly.
‘That should last a little while, but you must speak to your landlord.’
‘I will mention it, but I can’t make demands. I’m lucky to be here.’
‘You’re protecting his investment. You’d be doing him a favour.’
‘OK then. If you put it like that.’ She smiled.
Luke grunted. He knew as well as she did that while she’d mean to report to Aiden, her landlord, she’d probably forget because of all the other small but time-consuming things she had to do as part of her work.
Luke was one of the few people who realised what hard work being a property finder was.
Most people thought she was a combination of Kirstie and Phil but only did what Kirstie and Phil did on television, showing nothing of the tireless research and many, many hours that had to be put in first.
When Hattie served out the fried rice she put some in all the bowls without consulting Xander. She knew he probably thought she’d forgotten about his ‘pasta only’ diet but in fact she thought he might like something different if no one was making a big deal of it.
And so it proved. There wasn’t much conversation as everyone seemed hungry. Hattie offered seconds and Xander and Luke both had some.
‘What about cheese?’ said Hattie when everyone had finished. ‘I’d have made a pudding if I’d known you were coming, Luke.’
‘Hattie is the only person I know who still makes proper Bird’s Custard,’ Luke said to Xander. ‘She’s a wonderful cook. You’ve struck lucky living with her.’
Hattie laughed. ‘Xander isn’t here for my cooking – thank goodness – but because he can walk into town to college from here.’
‘It’s quite far. Mum used to drive me to school.’
‘I’ll drive you if I can. Or pick you up, but it’s better if you’re independent. You might like to hang out with your friends after college.’
‘I haven’t got any friends,’ said Xander.
‘Frank and Fearless seem to like you,’ said Luke, indicating the dogs who had their heads on Xander’s knees, one each side.
‘I’ve never been around dogs before. Mum doesn’t like them. She says they’re messy.’
‘They are,’ said Luke. ‘If I didn’t have them my house would be immaculate.’
‘If you overlook all the dust and grime you bring back home with you every day,’ said Hattie.
‘I’m a builder. That’s what happens.’
‘What sort of things do you build?’ asked Xander.
‘I restore old houses mostly,’ said Luke. ‘I’m what’s known as a heritage builder because I use all the old techniques.’
‘He’s a posh builder, Xander,’ said Hattie. ‘It means he has brie and cranberry in his sandwiches instead of cheese and pickle.’
Luke laughed. ‘True. Maybe I should add that nugget to my website. It might encourage a better class of client.’
‘You’ve got more work than you can handle as it is,’ said Hattie.
‘Also true.’ Luke got up. ‘Anyway, I must be off. So no cheese for me now, but thank you very much for supper.’
‘It was a pleasure and I always love seeing my best boys.’ She caressed both dogs behind their ears.
‘I think I might be jealous,’ Luke muttered. But before Hattie could read anything into this he had whistled and the two dogs were following him out to the car.
‘Are you sure Luke isn’t your boyfriend?’ asked Xander a couple of minutes later.
‘No!’ Hattie couldn’t emphasise this enough. ‘He’s my friend! Can you pass me those bowls?’
‘Does that really mean he can’t be your boyfriend, ever?’
‘I’m afraid so.’ She finished stacking the bowls in the dishwasher. ‘Glasses?’
‘I still don’t understand why.’ Xander’s expression was all innocence.
They went on clearing away the things in silence. ‘The thing is,’ said Hattie when it was all done. ‘Friends are so special, especially as an adult. It’s just not worth the risk.’