Chapter 4
The room that Rick was displaying seemed like total salvation to Vee. She stood in the doorway as Rick ran through the amenities that could be provided if she gave the right answer.
‘Okay, so I usually start work early when I have a job on, so you’d have the kitchen and bathroom to yourself as soon as I leave. I’m out most of the day as a rule and I cook in the evenings when I feel like it. Either that or I have a takeaway or go to the pub,’ he added, with a burst of honesty.
‘It’s a lovely room. Have you always lived here on your own?’ Vee asked, intrigued as to why this man had a whole house to himself.
‘Yes, I bought it as a doer-upper after my wife… I mean my ex-wife left. I’ve tried to make it into a proper home. My boys used to come and stay sometimes, that’s why there are two single beds. Stacey moved to Munich with her new man. Since then… well, circumstances have changed.’
Vee frowned. ‘But what if your sons want to come and visit and I’m in their room? How’s that going to work out?’
‘They won’t. At least, not anytime soon. My wife… ex… has given them a kind of life that’s crammed with interesting activities. Seems like something’s going on every day after school and weekends too these days.’
‘That’s a shame.’
‘Tell me about it.’ He closed his mouth like a trap.
Vee waited until the silence became uncomfortable. Rick had walked over to the window and was fiddling with the blind. His back was to her, and it looked forbidding. ‘That’s not fair,’ she said. ‘Do they want to come?’
‘Are you always this nosy?’
The sharp retort made Vee blink. She cursed herself for the habit of speaking without engaging her brain. Her mother had told her time and time again to curb her tactless remarks. Would she never learn?
‘I asked for that,’ she said. ‘You’re right.
It’s none of my business.’ She felt herself withdrawing into the shell she’d built over the years whenever life got challenging, or when her mother was being particularly frosty, which to be honest was quite often, latterly.
There was no need for him to snap like that even if it had been a question too far, though.
Rick turned to face Vee. ‘I’m sorry, the kids’ visits are a bit of a sore point with me at the moment. I don’t suppose you meant to pry,’ he said, but the comment didn’t sound very sincere.
‘No, I didn’t but I guess it was a rude thing to ask.
’ And if I didn’t need a refuge so badly, I’d walk out right now and tell you to stuff your kind offer, Vee thought to herself.
She bit back any further response and waited to see what he’d do next.
In the meantime, she took a mental inventory of the room, as her host opened the blind and sunlight poured in, stripes of brilliance beaming through the slats.
The weather was improving even if Rick’s mood wasn’t.
It was a large space, with a single bed on each side.
Both had brightly coloured duvet covers but most of the room was decorated in neutral shades of cream with just one feature wall painted a deep peacock blue.
The floorboards were sanded and oiled. They glowed with care, golden and smooth.
The rug between the beds looked as if it would be soft and comfortable to bare feet and the fitted wooden wardrobes echoed the colour of the floor.
The only other furniture was an old chest of drawers that had been painted white.
It was a very peaceful place. Vee longed to have it for her own, even if only for a little while.
The contrast to what waited for her at Dragonfly Cottage was daunting.
‘So, do you want the room? Maybe it’s not quite what you’re looking for.’ Rick’s words cut into Vee’s troubled thoughts, and she forced a smile. It was important to keep this touchy individual on her side.
‘Yes, please, very much. And… I wondered…’
He eyed her, clearly still firmly on his guard. ‘You wondered what?’
‘You’ve said you can probably help me with getting the cottage straight but there’s so much work to be done and I don’t know where to start. Some I can tackle myself and I need to do that because money’s going to be tight, but I can afford to pay for the harder jobs.’
‘I’d have to charge you the going rate.’
This was beyond the pale and Vee drew herself up to her full height, returning his glare measure for measure.
The man was insufferable. ‘Of course I’m not asking for favours.
I’d pay whatever you usually charge. On second thoughts, forget it.
I’ll find somewhere else to stay and put a card on the board at the shop to attract someone who actually wants the work. ’
It was a stand-off. They faced each other across the room.
Vee’s spirits were at an all-time low. How had she got herself into this cleft stick?
Okay, she’d asked an intrusive question but there was no need for Rick to react like that and now look where it had got her.
She should learn to keep her mouth shut.
Rick folded his arms. ‘You’re a fiery one, aren’t you?’ he said, in what sounded like a very patronising tone. Vee didn’t reply. ‘Anyway, the room’s yours if you want it,’ he continued. ‘And I can fit you in for the work on the cottage straight away, as it happens, so you’re in luck.’
Am I really? thought Vee, but she took a deep breath and nodded. This was no time to make a stand. Desperate times called for desperate measures. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I’ll walk round to Fiddler’s Row and fetch what I need for now. Will you be in when I get back?’
‘It’s okay, I can drive you,’ he said, his voice gruff. ‘You’ll struggle to carry everything.’
‘I’ll manage. See you later.’
Vee turned to leave, already regretting the spiky heels on her boots which had made her feel cool and powerful this morning but which she’d now happily swap for her old trainers. There were already blisters forming on both feet and the walk would definitely rub her toes raw.
‘Look, I know we’ve got off to a bad start but that’s no reason to cut your nose off to spite your face,’ Rick said. ‘Come on, we can go round and get your stuff, and I’ll take a look at what needs doing at the same time. Let’s go.’
Vee considered her other option. It wasn’t tempting.
‘Fine,’ she said, and led the way down the stairs.
‘Thank you,’ she added, trying to sound magnanimous but only succeeding in verging on surly.
She sighed. This landlord/tenant relationship looked as if it was going to be a rocky road, and now she’d gone and asked him to work for her too.
Rick had seemed friendly to begin with in the shop.
What had happened to make him so prickly?
It surely couldn’t have just been her thoughtless question.
She decided to make a big effort to start again with him. There was a lot at stake here.
‘It’s really weird being back in Willowbrook after so long,’ she said, as they drove back towards Fiddler’s Row. ‘Everything looks the same, and yet…’
‘And yet, you’re so different,’ he said, under his breath.
‘What did you say?’ Vee asked, not sure if she’d heard him right.
‘Oh, just that you must find it so different after all these years. It’s been a long time, you said. Anyway, here we are. Let’s get on with the job in hand and then I’ll give a quote. I can start work tomorrow if you like.’
Vee turned to look at Rick, but he was already climbing down from the van. She did the same and followed him to the front door, flinching all over again as she drew closer to the peeling paint and the broken dragonfly.
‘Hmm, you’re not wrong when you say there’s a lot to do here,’ Rick said, entering the narrow hallway and standing still to look around.
The smell of damp, the curling, filthy carpet and the dangling strips of wallpaper were a dismal greeting.
It all seemed worse than ever now Vee had been somewhere so much better, and her heart sank.
‘Do you think you can make it liveable?’
Rick considered the question. ‘I can make anywhere liveable,’ he said eventually. ‘The question is, do you really want to live here?’
‘What do you mean by that?’ Vee stared at him, instantly on edge. He blushed.
‘Nothing… nothing at all. I guess I just wondered if it was going to be difficult coming back to a place where you’d lived a good few years ago. I expect you’ve got lots of happy memories though.’
Vee didn’t respond. The question was way too complicated for a simple answer. Instead, she made her way further into the house that had been less of a safe refuge and more of a prison towards the end. It was time to move on, but it wasn’t going to be easy.