A couple of days later, Saffy presented us with some sketches she’d drawn on her iPad showing the most incredible vision for the shop décor.
‘I agree with Ava about not wasting money on expensive shop fittings,’ she said. ‘You’ll be stocking a mishmash of creative styles so I think the fittings should reflect that. I’m thinking distressed pine dressers, apothecary drawers, coat stands and racks for scarves and bags, wrought-iron bedsteads with Yvonne’s quilts draped over them…’
We all loved her suggestions and were in awe of how talented she was. She hadn’t just thought about furniture – she’d thought about the stock we could display on each item. Her illustrations were so detailed that I felt as though I could step into them and start serving a customer. I offered a couple of items of furniture from my house which would fit with Saffy’s vision. My move symbolised a completely fresh start and I wanted new furniture – items I hadn’t chosen with Cliff – in order to accomplish that so it made sense to donate what I could to the shop. We agreed a budget for sourcing the rest of the furniture and fittings and Paulette and Saffy took on the responsibility for that.
Over the next couple of weeks, we cleaned then painted, choosing a warm cream for three of the walls and a vibrant peacock green for the back of the shop where the counter and till would go. I loved how bold that feature wall was. There were usually only a couple of us at a time working a few hours each day, which worked really well for me as it meant I could spend the rest of my time clearing out my unwanted furniture and packing for my move.
As I was getting out of my car at home following an afternoon of painting, Christian pulled into Mallard Close and waved. I’d barely seen him recently, only managing a brief conversation during which I’d let him know that we were keen to stock his carvings and wood-turned products in Created With Love.
I waited for him to get out of his car. ‘Have you got time for a coffee?’ I called across the road.
‘I’m parched, so yes.’
‘I take it you’re painting,’ he said, indicating a large splodge of dried emulsion on my arm as I handed him his drink shortly after.
I gave him an update on what we’d done so far and Saffy’s vision for the inside.
‘If you’d like my help for any repairs, making shelves or attaching any fittings to the wall, just say. I’m not needed at Emma and Killian’s place at the moment as they’ve got the electricians in and I’m itching to get my power tools out again.’
His eyes sparkled as he spoke and I wondered for a moment whether it was an innuendo, but told myself that Christian wasn’t that tacky.
‘That would be fantastic, if you’re sure you don’t mind. None of us are particularly proficient at anything other than hammering in nails and, even then, I think there’s room for improvement.’
The following week, Christian’s skills were invaluable. He helped in the shop but also generously offered his workshop for stripping down and painting or varnishing the furniture Saffy and Paulette had found. He showed so much enthusiasm for what we were doing that we all agreed to invite him in as an investor if he was interested. He loved the idea and looked both surprised and flattered to be asked so, at the end of week three of our refurbishment, Christian became part of The Fabric Five, except there were now six of us, so Paulette renamed us The Crafty Crew.
Getting Created With Love ready for opening had gone so well that we contacted Ava and agreed on four rather than five weeks to prepare, opening a little earlier than planned. The main tourist season in the Lake District started with schools breaking up for the Easter holidays and we figured that opening on the Monday of the week before would give us the opportunity to iron out any teething problems while the area was a little quieter.
For me personally, life was feeling pretty incredible. I adored having such good friends and being part of something special with them. I’d heard people speak about loving their jobs or being passionate about their careers and, while I’d been happy enough as Cliff’s assistant, it hadn’t been a dream role. But now I had an actual job which filled me with excitement. I couldn’t wait to get to the shop each day and my heart leapt every time I walked through the door and saw the improvement from the day before.
My house sale was progressing well and my solicitor couldn’t see any reason why it wouldn’t complete early on in the Easter holidays. The only fly in the ointment was that I still hadn’t seen anywhere I wanted to buy. Mallard Close had been a practical choice – a head decision – but I wanted my next purchase to be chosen by my heart. I wanted to walk into the property and fall instantly in love, to have that special feeling that it was a home rather than a house. Milly or Paulette had accompanied me on a handful of viewings in and around Keswick but nothing had made my heart sing. I’d wondered if I was being too fussy but they’d assured me I wasn’t and that the intangible feeling you got about the right property was just as important as size and location. Even if I had found somewhere, it was far too late to try and coordinate the sale and purchase. I’d promised my buyers a quick sale and I was sticking to that.
As kind as the offers of a spare room from my friends had been, Paulette had Saffy, Milly had her work, Laughlin had Lancelot and Veronica had so much going on with trying to fix her family that it wasn’t really convenient to stay with any of them. I decided to rent the flat above the shop instead. Hopefully I’d have found somewhere permanent by the time our initial three-month contract ended.
Ava said I was welcome to paint the flat so long as I didn’t go for anything garish. Garish wasn’t me so there was no danger of that. Christian had already offered to help me paint as soon as the shop was ready, which I really appreciated. Having two of us would make the task so much quicker.
Mervyn at Celestial Sounds had been in touch to tell me my piano had arrived and reiterated that it was no problem to store it for me until I was settled in my new home. In the meantime, I purchased a second-hand keyboard on a collapsible stand. It wasn’t the same as playing the piano but it meant I could work my restless fingers and switch off from thoughts about Created With Love, which were in danger of occupying every waking hour.
Everything I’d entered in my journal was coming together. I hadn’t had much time tosee more of the local area with my new friends, but that was because of the shop. I was confident I’d be able to work on that entry once we were open and had settled into a routine. I’d stopped all thestopentries, although I still felt some guilt about cutting Marianne out of my life. In quiet moments, an image floated into my mind of my sister surrounded by all that junk and my conscience pricked at me.
On the Thursday before we opened for business, I’d spent the morning putting out stock with Veronica and Paulette. Laughlin joined us in the afternoon, accompanied by Lancelot. Lancelot was usually exceptionally well-behaved but the buzz of excitement and the flurry of activity must have been too much for him because he kept helping himself to the stock and running up to the flat with his stolen property.
‘I’d better take him home,’ Laughlin said, ‘before we have nothing left to sell.’
‘Why don’t I take him for a walk?’ I suggested. ‘I could do with some fresh air and it should tire him out.’
While Laughlin attached Lancelot’s lead to his collar, I pulled on a thick purple coatigan. Spring would officially arrive tomorrow and, although the daffodils were in full bloom and the sky was blue, there was still a wintry nip in the air.
I walked Lancelot through the village towards the marina, smiling at the speed at which his little legs moved and the way he clasped Spud, his red panda, between his teeth the whole time. We walked past Willowdale Hall and as far as the jetty before turning round and retracing our steps. At first, my thoughts were focused on the shop – how fabulous it was looking with stock out and what we still had to unpack – but, as I headed back towards the village, they turned to Marianne. It was no good. I was going to have to ring her and there was no time like the present and I knew exactly where to go to make that call.
Between the marina and one of the lakeside houses, there was a narrow track which looked insignificant from the path but which Paulette had taken me down, describing the end of the track asone of Willowdale’s best kept secrets.The track led to a grassy area which gently sloped down to the lakeside and delivered the most stunning views across the marina, the lake and the fells beyond. It was so tranquil there so I’d visited several times since, usually taking a picnic blanket with me so I could either sit and think or empty my mind, depending on what was needed. I didn’t have my blanket with me today but it had been a dry week so I lowered myself onto the grass while Lancelot sniffed the clusters of vibrant yellow and pale lemon daffodils and took my phone out of my pocket. I’d call Marianne under the guise of letting her know that I was moving house.
‘Why are you telling me this?’ she asked, her voice slow and croaky after I’d updated her.
‘I thought you should know.’
‘And now I do. Was there anything else?’
I had planned to tell her about Created With Love but what was the point? It had been a bad idea to call her after all.
