It was a couple of weeks or so later. Nina had gone from going hell for leather to get the new place cleared out and clean to taking things a bit more slowly. Now the guts of the job had been done, she was left with a shell that still needed a lot of effort to make good but it was a decent enough palette to work from.
Whilst working every day for her small organising business, doing the odd shift in the deli, and packing up the cottage, she hadn’t had much time for much at all. She was sitting in the kitchen of the rental cottage with the back door open, surrounded by boxes, when she heard someone shout from the end of the garden. ‘Come in. The gate’s open,’ she called out the back door.
A minute later, Nancy was standing in the kitchen. She looked around at the cardboard boxes. ‘How are you getting on?’
‘Really well.’
‘Gosh, it’s all go with you right now, isn’t it? You haven’t stopped.’
‘I know.’
‘What are you doing tomorrow?’
Nina frowned. ‘You already asked me that yesterday.’
‘Oh, did I? Sorry. Brain’s not in gear. Just asking.’
Nina squinted. ‘What are you up to?’
‘Nothing. No, no, nothing at all. I was just wondering if you had a day off or not. You said that your job was cancelled and you were going to leave the painting until next week.’
Nina nodded. ‘Yes, but I think I might just crack on. No time like the present. I have loads to do so I might change my mind on the painting.’ She waved around at the room. ‘I’ve got all this to get sorted too.’
‘Right. So you’re still good for Lighthouse Drinks, are you?’
Nina wasn’t sure she was. She’d had a busy week, Robby was away on a job and not sure how long it would take him to get back, and she half-fancied simply sitting at home with her feet up, eating fodder and doing absolutely sweet nothing. Lovely Drinks was an important local event, though, and in the time she'd been in Lovely Bay, she had committed to attending, which had cemented her into the infrastructure of the community. ‘Ahh, look, if you don’t mind, I’m going to play it by ear.’
Nancy seemed to flap a little bit. ‘Right, umm. Err, okay.’
‘You don’t mind, do you?’
Nancy seemed agitated. ‘I, err, actually, I really need some help with the set-up this time.’
‘Oh,’ Nina frowned, ‘I thought you said everything was sorted when I asked you before.’
‘Did I?’ Nancy flapped her hands.
‘Yes, remember? You said you and Birdie had been working on getting everything sorted up in the lighthouse and you were good to go.’
‘Oh, yes, yes, no, I, umm, I didn’t mean that bit.’ Nancy scrambled for words, ‘I meant the drinks, yes. They are what I need help with.’
‘Right, you need some help with the drinks set-up, do you? Okay.’
‘I do, yep, definitely.’ Nancy nodded as if not only trying to convince Nina but herself, too.
Nina narrowed her eyes. ‘I thought you said Birdie was helping and the drinks had already arrived.’
‘She was. She’s not well.’
‘She was fine when I saw her earlier.’
‘It came on quickly.’
‘Okay, yes, then I can help.’
Nancy clapped her hands, ‘Excellent!’
‘Good. So what do you want me to do specifically?’
