Chapter 2
2
I t was the morning after Cally’s day off and the laptop gift. Cally looked around her little flat, sighed happily, and shook her head at how her life was turning out. Part of her felt as if, at any given moment, her bubble would burst and she would find herself at the hospice waiting and watching her grandma and having the horrible rented house on the estate to go back to. It now felt as if that part of her life wasn’t quite real. As if it belonged to someone else. She looked around at the flat and how nice she’d made it. The chalky white paint on the walls gave a soft, clean backdrop that made the place feel homely and clean and captured the morning light that filtered through the bamboo blinds.
The once dusty, old, brightly-coloured wall stacked with file boxes up to the ceiling was now adorned with a gathering of things Cally had found here and there: a collection of framed prints of the coast she’d found when doing a decluttering job for Nina, a mix of vintage botanical illustrations she’d come across in a charity shop not far from Eloise’s house, a lovely photo of her grandma and her mum, and a couple of her own sketches from back in the day when she’d had the time. She’d spent ages arranging them so they fitted together in an organised jumble above the sofa. Somehow a story of little things she liked in her life.
Everything about the tiny flat was different from the day she’d first viewed it with Birdie when it had been packed to the rafters with junk. The flat's slow renovation had begun on the bottom with the floorboards, which were now stripped back to their original state and showed the natural grains and knots of the wood. Cally loved the way she’d got to know their creaks and sounds, as if they somehow spoke to her and made her feel safe.
She smiled at a large, soft, oriental rug in muted blues and creams, which sat underneath a coffee table she’d inherited from Lovely Manor. The coffee table had been on its way to the tip, but with its pretty turned legs, Cally had rescued it from the joys of the dump. Now it took pride of place, full of her things: a neat stack of books, a little glass vase with fresh flowers, a porcelain tray she’d found in a jumble sale with a huge scented candle Logan had turned up with one day, a small fabric-covered notebook and a little framed picture of her and Eloise taken when they'd been strawberry picking on a farm. Next to the frame, a smooth pebble with a heart shape drawn on it, a memento from one of her first walks along Lovely Bay beach. All of it strangely somehow a symbol of the new chapter in her life.
Sitting just behind the coffee table, Cally's sofa was the centrepiece of the small sitting room. Upholstered in a soft, linen fabric and adorned with a pretty assortment of velvet cushions in shades of blush pink, sea green, and dove grey, she loved settling into it at the end of the day. With a casual, lived-in look that invited one to sink in and relax and a chunky knit soft cream throw casually draped over one arm, it felt as if it had journeyed with her in her new life in the third smallest town in the country.
She stood for a minute and took in just how far she’d come. She loved it all, mostly because now, at the top of the building overlooking Lovely, she felt safe. For a long time, she hadn't felt as if she’d had roots. She’d floated around for ages, untethered and not quite sure who she was in her life or what she was going to do. Now, in Lovely Bay, she felt as if she was home.
She had made the whole place work for her and utilised just about every little bit of space. Wedged in the corner, by the balcony door, her neatly organised work desk with its weathered patina and strong legs spoke of years of use from days gone by. She’d found it on the first floor of the building under a pile of Birdie’s pharmacy files. It was now doing a very good job of making her new laptop feel at home. All of it was a far cry from some of the places she’d logged on to the World Wide Web to get on with her work. Now, her desk and surroundings were easy on the eye: a lamp with a pretty floral shade, a couple of notebooks stacked up and ready to go, a framed photo of her and her grandma, and a pot full of nice pens. Above the desk hung a bulletin board covered in pinned notes, photos, and sketches. A collage of Cally’s thoughts and inspirations, a visual representation of what was going on in her head. Scribbled ideas for places to visit, a map of Lovely Bay with marked locations, and a few photos of her and Eloise.
Cally turned around to see Logan coming out of the bedroom. He ruffled the back of his hair, smiled, and pointed to the bathroom. ‘Morning. I'm going to go and have a shower. How are you? You must have been up early.’
‘Yep, I was. I’ve been setting up my laptop. I'll make you a coffee.’
‘Thanks, love one. Be out in a sec,’ Logan replied as he opened the bathroom door.
Cally heard the shower turn on as she got the coffee ready, put two mugs on the worktop, poured boiling water into a coffee plunger, and went to her desk to continue with her new laptop.
A few minutes later, Logan came out of the bathroom. He nodded in the direction of the laptop. ‘How is it?’
Cally leaned back and beamed. ‘So good. It’s like moving out of the dark ages. It’s so much faster. We’re talking chalk and cheese.’
Logan chuckled and kissed the top of Cally’s head. ‘I reckon it will save you time in the morning. You’ll no longer have to get up earlier to wait for it to warm up and log you on.’
‘Ha, I know.’
Logan gave her shoulder a squeeze. ‘How is it with the apps and stuff? You couldn’t get things on the old one, could you?’
‘No. It’s great. A whole new world of possibilities awaits.’ Cally joked. ‘I have moved on from the dark ages.’
‘Indeed. Thank God.’
‘I still can't believe you did this for me.’
‘You don't have to thank me. It’s just a laptop. I do think this little beauty is going to be a game-changer for you, though. No more fighting with outdated tech or frustrations.’ Logan chuckled. ‘The world is your oyster.’
Cally grinned. ‘I know.’
Logan looked over in the direction of the kitchen. ‘Right, where’s this coffee, then?’
Cally swivelled in her chair, watching as Logan made his way to the kitchen. ‘Coming right up,’ she said, pushing herself to her feet. ‘Just got to pour it.’
Logan leaned against the worktop as Cally pushed down the coffee plunger. ‘So, how's the chatbot thing going anyway?’
Cally nodded as she poured coffee into two mugs. ‘Yeah, same old, same old. It's nice to have something I can do from home, you know? Especially with hours that fit around the chemist.’
‘Busy?’
Cally took a sip of her coffee. ‘It’s getting busier. More than I expected, actually. There are a lot of returns these days and in my opinion not as many problems with sales. I assume that’s because there are less. Sign of the times, I guess.’
Logan nodded. ‘Yeah.’
‘Oh! I almost forgot. Croissants. Fancy one?’
‘Yup. Love one.’
Cally moved to the oven, turning it on to warm up. ‘They'll just take a few minutes to heat through. So, yeah, the chatbot job is not great, but for a home job, the money's not too bad. It all goes in the same pot at the end of the day.’
Logan raised an eyebrow. ‘Not being funny, but it does annoy me how hard you work for that pay.’
Cally nodded as she placed the croissants in the oven. ‘I know, but it’s all going to my savings. It's amazing how quickly it's adding up now that my costs are lower. Between that and my regular wages from the chemist and the work I’m doing for Nina, I'm actually managing to save a decent amount each month.’
‘Great.’
‘I've been thinking about the money my grandma left me.’
Logan's eyebrows rose. ‘The inheritance?’
Cally rolled her eyes. ‘It’s not quite an inheritance! But I've been doing some calculations, and I think I might almost have enough for a deposit on a flat.’
Logan's eyes widened. ‘Really? Time to start looking at places?’
Cally shook her head. ‘Not seriously, not yet. But I've been keeping an eye on the market in Lovely Bay. Just to get an idea, you know?’
‘And?’ Logan prompted. ‘What have you found out?’
Cally sighed. ‘Well, it's not cheap, that's for sure. Lovely's become quite popular in the last few years. But there are still some places that might be within my budget. Small places, mind you, but it would be a start.’
Logan nodded. ‘A start is all you need. Getting on the property ladder is the hardest part. Once you're on, it gets easier.’
‘That's what I've heard,’ Cally agreed. She glanced at the oven. ‘Oh, they’re done.’ She grabbed a couple of plates, removed the now-warm croissants from the oven, and put them on the plates. The buttery croissant smell filled the small kitchen, making her stomach rumble.
‘So, any flats you've been eyeing up? Any particular areas you're interested in?’
Cally handed Logan a plate and they moved back to the sitting room, settling on the sofa. ‘Literally anywhere I can afford. The harbour is nice. It's a bit on the pricey side, but the location is fantastic. Or, I don’t know, anywhere near the river or over where Nancy is.’
Logan nodded, taking a bite of his croissant. ‘Mmm, these are good. Yeah, where Nancy is is great. It would be a good investment, that area's only going to get more popular.’
‘There are some older flats closer to the high street. They'd need a bit of work, but they're more in my price range. And I quite like the idea of doing up a place, making it my own, you know?’
‘Yeah, this place is amazing now with what you’ve done to it.’
‘Thanks.’ Cally remembered when she’d thought she was going to find herself homeless. She’d come a long, long way. She’d been terrified at one point and eaten up with stress. Now, maybe the dream of her own flat wasn't as far-fetched as she'd feared. ‘Having my own flat is actually becoming doable.’
Logan tutted as his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and rolled his eyes as he turned the screen to Cally. ‘Alastair. I know it will be the horses. Really? He’s useless.’ He sighed.
Cally gathered up the plates and took them into the kitchen as Logan spoke to Alastair. Her mind whirled with thoughts about flat hunting and mortgages as she rinsed the plates in the sink. It was all a bit scary at the same time as exciting. It felt weird to be happy and on the cusp of something that wasn’t caring for someone else or sorting out finances for horrible things. A step closer to something that had been a dream for a long time. What she didn’t know was that along the way, she had a few surprises to come.