‘Thanks, I appreciate it, and thanks again for the sandwich.’
‘Anytime.’
Abe heads back to his boat and I wash the brushes and tidy everything up. I’m happy with the progress I’ve made. Not bad for my first day on the job. I am so enthralled by my progress that I decide to get the power drill out and fix the kitchen cupboard door. Looking at the results of my paint job, I convince myself I am capable of anything. I unravel the lead and plug the drill into the wall. But as soon as I place the drill onto the latch that needs fixing, my hand slips off and I look in horror at the perfectly round hole I have made in the kitchen cabinet. Any bigger and I’d be able to poke my finger though it. How on earth do they make it look so easy on those home makeover shows? I might have known things were going too smoothly and quit before I do any further damage. I’ll have to add it to the list of jobs for the carpenter.
I would have thought by bedtime that I would be so exhausted I’d have collapsed into a deep sleep. Unfortunately, though, with the groaning of the pipes, the creaking of the wood and someone shouting something random outside, I find it hard to nod off. When I eventually do, I have a dream that Abe is standing right over me. But unlike what happened today, he doesn’t have a sandwich in his hand but a bunch of tulips. He hands them to me and then kisses me on the lips. He then moves down to kiss my neck, unbuttons my shirt and slips his hand down as he removes it from me.
Oh my god. I wake up with a start. He is only a kind neighbour. Why on earth am I having weird dreams about the Dutchman who lives next door? I am never going to be able to look him in the eye again, let alone poor Beatrix!
Chapter Eleven
It’s a strange feeling when you dream of someone and then can’t get them out of your head. I don’t think I will be able to speak to Abe ever again without going bright scarlet. It’s not like he knows about my dream, but I still feel so terribly guilt-ridden. His poor partner Beatrix, what would she think if she knew I was having strange dreams about her man?
To take my mind off the dream, I keep myself busy for the rest of the morning until the carpenter arrives as promised. He introduces himself as Erik and has helpfully brought the sander and floor polisher with him that I hired from the store. Even though he is here for the floor, he looks at the kitchen cabinet I managed to destroy as he passes.
‘You have woodworm?’ he says, pointing.
‘Oh, no. That was me. I, umm, drilled.’
‘No, you have woodworm,’ he says, taking a closer inspection.
‘Look at this.’ Erik points to a tiny two-millimetre hole in a cabinet that I didn’t go anywhere near with a power tool. My stomach lurches. Woodworm on a boat? The survey didn’t mention that.
‘I’ll have to treat it. This isn’t good.’
‘Oh, no. How much will that cost?’ I say, trying to avoid sounding panicked.
‘I’ll have to check it for you back at the store, but you don’t have much choice unless you want things to get worse.’
He then proceeds to inform me that I will have to change the cabinets, which I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do, but I can see that he is right. He says I can order new ones, which he should be able to fit in a few weeks’ time. I am just about to browse the hardware store’s selection of kitchen units online when there is a knock on the door.
‘Hey! Sorry to bother you. We’re just going to the Sunday market. We wondered if you wanted to check it out?’ says Abe, standing at the door with Beatrix. I try to forget the dream as I see Beatrix smiling at me.
‘That’s so kind of you but I have the carpenter here and it’s a bit stressful.’
‘Ah, is it Erik?’
‘Oh, yeah. I think that’s his name.’
‘Then he’ll be fine. You can trust him here on his own if you want to join us. He works on all the boats around here.’
‘Oh, I don’t know. I shouldn’t really leave him. We have some drama with woodworm.’ Although as I say that the drilling noise becomes unbearable in such a small space and I realise I would quite like to get out of here for a bit.
‘Oh, no. Sorry to hear that, but Erik will see it right. He’s great at all this kind of stuff. You’re in capable hands.’
‘That makes me feel better.’
‘Yes, don’t worry, and forgive me, I don’t think you and Beatrix have met properly, have you?’
‘No, we haven’t. I’ve seen you around and in the coffee shop. It’s great to meet you, Beatrix.’ I smile but still can’t look her in the eye.
‘You too, it’s good to have someone new living here. It was dark and so empty before,’ she says with a genuine smile.
‘Thanks, it’s going to take time to get it into shape, but I hope I’ll make the neighbourhood proud by the end.’
‘Yup, I’m sure you will. It just needs a new breath of life and maybe some woodworm treatment here and there,’ says Abe with a smile.
‘Anyhow, we wondered if you wanted to join us at the flea market. It’s a Sunday market, so it will be another week before you can check it out. But, if you really don’t want to leave Erik here alone, I understand,’ says Abe, as I notice him looking at some masking tape that Erik must have used somewhere that has now attached itself to my trousers. Why did I not feel that latching onto me? I quickly pull it off and with the racket that Erik is continuing to make, decide that perhaps I should go along after all.
