Chapter 34
Jenni stood waiting outside The Old Station Gallery, nervously checking her watch.
Tables and chairs under large black umbrellas were set on the wide pavement outside the large red doors – a reminder of the building’s heritage.
The doors were opened wide and the bar inside was already busy, background music spilling out onto the street.
Festoon lights, their amber filaments glowing, were strung from hooks, even though the evening wasn’t yet dark, and the LED tealights placed on each table flickered.
It looked delightful – pity she wasn’t in a state to appreciate it.
They’d agreed to meet at seven-thirty, and Jenni had spent most of the day composing an apologetic DM cancelling, deleting it, then writing it again.
When a message confirming that he was looking forward to seeing her later came through, the alert made her jump. She’d replied with a thumbs up emoji and then had to go and have a little lie down. Thank goodness she’d been working from home today.
Lying on the bed, she’d shut her eyes and indulged in some deep breathing, before being jolted out of her mediative state by the arrival of Oscar, who was in a very affectionate mood.
‘Oh, Oscar, I don’t know what’s wrong with me!’ she’d said, stroking the cat as he’d purred loudly, headbutting her gently.
Pulling back the covers, she’d crawled under the duvet, making space for Oscar to curl up on the pillow next to her.
Listening to him rumble gently, she’d run a hand over his little head, giving him an extra tickle beneath his ear.
Blissed out, he’d rolled over, tummy on display, with his back legs in the air.
‘Okay, I get the message, belly rubs, is it?’ said Jenni laughing. Oscar had given a little mew in reply, before curling up with his back to her and settling down for a sleep.
Straightening the pillow to make him more comfortable, she’d found a piece of paper tied with pink ribbon attached to his collar.
She’d unfolded the note carefully, smoothing out the creases so she could read the tiny writing more easily. It really was quite exciting to get messages delivered via the cat.
Dear 38,
I’ve found a bunch of stuff in Fred’s house. I’m worried he’s a hoarder, a burglar or perhaps a serial killer, and these are his trophies. Let me know if they’re yours and I can return them to you?
Best wishes,
66
There was a lot to untangle here and she was already feeling stressed enough without worrying about her cat being a thief. Turning the scrap of paper over and grabbing a pencil, she’d written:
What house and who the hell is Fred? And why do you think any of his stolen goods belong to me?
Taking the opportunity to reattach the note to Oscar’s collar while he was sleeping, she’d quickly tied the Barbie pink ribbon into a bow and then, with a rising wave of panic, decided she’d better get ready for her non-date with Ben before she changed her mind again and called the whole thing off.
Now, waiting outside the gallery, she decided to give it another five minutes and if he’d not arrived by then, she’d slope off, and never leave the house again.
But then she saw him heading towards her, long strides crossing the width of pavement between them, in turned-up jeans and an open-necked, checked flannel shirt over a faded black T-shirt, a frown of apology on his face.
‘Hello, I’m so sorry I’m late, I saw my sister and niece this afternoon and Evie gave me a makeover. It look me ages to get the glitter off.’
He decided not to add that Evie had said that he needed to look good for “his date”, and that Penny had arched a knowing eyebrow at his denials that it was no such thing.
Jenni wasn’t quite sure how to reply.
‘Um, well, you do still have some eyeshadow.’ She pointed to his left eye where there was a very obvious smear of blue streaking towards his hairline.
Ben tutted, pulled a tissue from his pocket and began wiping his eye.
‘I told her not to use the face paint, it’s a bugger to get off.’ He continued to scrub away at his temple. ‘How’s that? Better?’ He turned his face so Jenni could look.
Jenni took a moment to study the line of his nose, the stubble on his chin, his lips – rosy from the lipstick, which, she assumed, was left over from the makeover – that she suddenly wanted to kiss, before realising he was waiting for an answer.
‘Um. Yes, all gone now, all, erm… good.’
‘Great,’ Ben smiled, grinning at her in a way that did nothing to cool her rising temperature.
‘Fortunately, Penny stepped in before Evie could get at my hair. I had a green streak for months last time.’
‘You’re a good man to commit to such an extensive beauty regime.’
‘Oh, you have no idea! You should see my fingernails. I’ve got different coloured polish on each one at the moment – I didn’t have time to take it off.’ He held out his hands to show Jenni, who let out a bark of laughter.
Ben lowered his hands with a grin. ‘Come on, l need a beer. Shall we get a drink?’ he asked, the anxiety he had felt before arriving slipping away.
‘Yes, I’d like that,’ Jenni said, smiling, the knots of tension she’d felt in her shoulders all day easing.
And she realised, as she felt the light pressure of his palm in the small of her back as they walked towards the warm glow of the bar, that she wasn’t lying.
The evening turned out to be much more fun than she expected.
After a drink they’d headed upstairs to the gallery to look around the exhibition, and while Jenni browsed in the gift shop afterwards, Ben chatted to Larry, the owner.
Jenni had just finished paying for two postcards when Ben tugged on her arm.
‘I’ve got us backstage access. Come on!’
Larry led them downstairs to a door in the far corner of the bar. Unlocking it, he pushed it wide to allow Ben and Jenni into a narrow stairwell.
‘We could only afford to do the bar and the exhibition space, so the rest of the building is still pretty much how we found it,’ he explained.
‘We’ve made it safe, so it’s fine to take a look if you’re interested.
The bar’s where the engines used to be parked up, but if you go upstairs you can see where the dorms were, and if you go right up the top, it opens up onto the roof.
They used to fire-watch up there during the war. ’
Larry clicked the latch on the door so it didn’t lock behind them. ‘I’ve got to get back to the bar, but take your time and come and find me when you’re done.’
‘Okay, thanks, mate, will do.’ Ben was already heading excitedly up the rusty wrought-iron stairs.
‘This is amazing,’ Jenni said, following him up the steep steps.
They stopped at the next floor up, but the large room showed no evidence of its earlier life, apart from a couple of signs urging caution, and another saying Fire Station – the old-fashioned font and rusty edges the only things giving away their age.
‘This is amazing,’ said Jenni again, walking around the high-ceilinged room, leaving dusty footprints on the lino-covered floor. ‘I’d love a place like this to work in; all this space to spread out.’
She was imagining where she’d put her vats of dye, and where she’d have a proper packing area, instead of folding things on her bed.
She’d string a line between the two high windows so that the clothes could dry above her as she worked.
She was just mapping out if there’d be room for a screen-printing table, and perhaps a corner for her sewing machine, when Ben called her over.
‘It’s strange to imagine it as it must have been, back in the old days,’ he said, trying to picture what it would have been like without any of the mod cons he was used to now.
He could almost hear the alarms, the roar of the engines, the banter between the teams.
He turned to look for Jenni. ‘Shall we go up to the next floor?’
She nodded, and as Ben held open the door for her to step through, she felt his warmth as she brushed past him. Aware of him behind her, they climbed the stairs until they reached a door on the top landing that seemed to be locked.
‘Here, let me try.’ Ben reached over, gave the door a shove and Jenni gasped as it opened to reveal what felt like all of London spread out in front of them: the Walkie Talkie, the Shard, the Gherkin, the smaller dome of St Paul’s.
‘Wow, this is incredible,’ breathed Jenni in awe, taking in the lights of the familiar skyline.
‘Definitely wow,’ agreed Ben, stepping forwards and placing his hand on the railings in front of them. ‘However long you’ve lived here, that view never gets old, does it?’
Jenni shook her head. ‘It feels so peaceful. All the noise and drama down there, but up here it’s so calm.’
‘It makes you feel small; like none of it matters,’ said Ben quietly.
Jenni glanced at him. There was something in his voice that made her wonder what “it” was for him.
She hesitated before replying. ‘But also that there’s lots of good things, too; that we can still be surprised and see something in a different way, like this view.’
Ben didn’t answer, but a feeling of contentment washed over him as they stood together in silence. Although, it was an effort to ignore the urge to move his hand closer to Jenni’s as she grasped the rail next to him.
Jenni leant forward slightly to glance over the side. Instantly regretting it, she lurched back with a stumble. ‘Urgh, we’re much higher up than I realised.’
Ben grabbed her arm to steady her.
‘Don’t worry, you’re okay. Take a breath and focus on the horizon.’
Jenni did as instructed, distracted by the feeling of his hand on her upper arm, his grip firm, but gentle.
‘Sorry. I don’t know what happened, I suddenly felt dizzy and disorientated, like I could have just fallen. Do you ever get that feeling?’
‘You need a really good head for heights to do my job,’ Ben said, chuckling. ‘We have to practise climbing a lot of ladders, so you get used to it. Although, the first time I did it, my knees just went to jelly halfway up, and Taz, my mate, had to come and get me. Not my finest hour.’
‘Well, I don’t think I’ll be retraining as a firefighter anytime soon. I find taking the stairs to the first floor of my office enough of a challenge.’
Ben laughed. ‘Your work comes with its own occupational hazards, though. I’ve never broken a leg in the line of duty.’
‘Yes, well, that’s not technically part of the job description,’ said Jenni ruefully.
‘Okay now?’ asked Ben, realising he still held her arm and letting go.
Jenni nodded, feeling the cool air on her skin now the warmth of his hand had gone. Ben’s easy chat had distracted her from the rush of vertigo, and she felt fine now.
‘I’ve never had that before, I suddenly felt like I might just fall over the edge. Glad we weren’t up there.’ She pointed at the Shard, towering over London like the illuminated spire of an enormous cathedral.
They stood together for another moment until, reluctantly, Ben said, ‘We’d better go back down. One for the road?’
Jenni took out her phone to check the time – Oscar would be expecting dinner about now but he could manage for a bit longer, he had plenty of biscuits to keep him going. ‘Yes, sounds good,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’m not expected home for a while yet, so another drink sounds an excellent idea.’
Ben, holding open the door, let Jenni pass him and then carefully closed it behind them before heading down the stairs after her. He realised the feeling of happiness he’d been enjoying just moments before had lessened.
Who was waiting for her at home?