The woman had almost bitten her hand off, Nina had hastily set herself up a shed-load of insurance and the following week had got stuck in. The rest, as they say, is history. Nina now had a small but thriving business and a waiting list as long as her arm. By way of social media, a few of her old clients in London had heard she was again up and running, and she now employed a local part-time to help her out with the actual day-to-day decluttering and invoicing and she was enjoying the challenge of the business side of things. Compared to her old, boring job, oh how things had changed.
After sending a couple of questionnaires to clients, scheduling a job, and doing a quote, she flicked over to her social media account. On a whim on the first day of the job for Jill’s friend, Nina had propped up her phone in the, quite frankly, revolting kitchen, pressed the time-lapse button, and got on with it. That evening, astonished herself at the transformation to the kitchen in the day, she’d slapped on a few hashtags and posted the kitchen declutter video and had been more than surprised when it had received a fair few views.
From there, her social media presence had slowly trickled along. Nina had gathered that people at the other end of the country and the other side of the planet enjoyed watching decluttering and cleaning videos. Who even knew? She had been dropped, by way of a house in Lovely Bay, into a whole new world. One where she was thoroughly enjoying herself and earning money to boot. Can’t be bad.
Her phone vibrated. Robby’s name went across the screen. She swiped to answer.
‘Hi, how are you?’ Robby asked.
‘Fine. Yep, good. How are you?’
‘Good. Where are you?’
‘Just about to change trains for the express service.’
‘Are you feeling okay about everything?’ Robby asked, referring to the fact that Nina was about to close on the investment property she’d had with Andrew. He knew how delicate the situation was. They’d discussed it a lot.
Nina leant back in her seat, feeling the train rumbling underneath her. ‘Yeah, I think so. It’s a bit odd, really. As we’ve said, finalising the sale feels like closing a chapter, you know?’
‘I can imagine. It must be bittersweet. You’ve been quite quiet the last few days, too. I don’t really know what to say to make it any better.’
‘You don’t have to. It’s fine. Itisbittersweet,’ Nina admitted, watching the countryside blur past her window. ‘But it’s also a step forward and not back. I’m ready for more new beginnings in Lovely Bay, and to get that, I need to do this. Simple when you think about it like that.’
‘That’s the spirit,’ Robby encouraged. ‘And how’s the train journey?’
‘So far so good. A little delay at the last station; I’m not sure why because they didn’t say anything over the tannoy, but nothing too bad. I should be there soon.’
‘The joys of public transport, eh?’
‘Works for me. I’d much rather be sitting here working than sitting in traffic on the motorway.’
‘Good point. I’m doing just that. It drives me up the wall. The sooner the government sorts out the public transport system in this country, the easier it will be for everyone.’
Robby was meeting Nina in London after being up and out early on a job on the other side of the county. ‘Oh, no, are you going to be late?’
‘No, no. I factored in sitting in a queue of cars. I’ll be there, don't you worry about that.’
‘I bet you did.’
Robby inhaled a whoosh of air. ‘Look, I’ve been mulling this over a lot this morning. I wanted to say that what you’re doing is quite a big deal. Selling a property, especially one tied to so many memories, isn’t easy.’
Nina sighed, feeling a mix of emotions. ‘I know. I feel like it’s time, though. Time to let go and move on, even though I hate it when people say that. Lovely Bay has been so good to me. I feel like I belong now and you know, you and me. It’s a good thing. It has to be done.’
‘Lovely Bay wouldn’t be the same without you. I wouldn’t be…’
Nina smiled. ‘Aww, too sweet.’
Robby changed the subject. ‘So what work were you doing?’
‘A couple of quotes and questionnaires. I can’t keep up with it fast enough.’
‘Can’t complain, eh?’
‘Nope, it’s keeping me busy.’
‘You’ve really found your niche, haven’t you?’
‘I think so. It’s strangely satisfying to help people organise their lives. It feels like I’m making a real difference sometimes. People get themselves into so much stuff and clutter and can’t fathom a way out. Yeah, I have to say I love it. For now, that is.’
