‘What are you going to be selling?’
‘Christmas stuff. It kind of made sense as I’ve taken the place just for the three-month run up to it.’
‘I like that.’ Oliver nodded. ‘And what would you like on the sign?’
‘Oh, now, that’s put me on the spot.’ Sabrina looked to the sky, her brain whirring for Christmas puns. She took a sip of her coffee. ‘Hmm. I hadn’t even thought about a name. Jilly Dickens’s Christmas Emporium?’
Oliver shook his head. ‘That’s too much. Umm. How about, Jilly’s Christmas Crackers?’
‘Just Jilly’s Crackers would fit with me at the moment.’ They both laughed. Sabrina then gasped. ‘I’ve got it! How about Tinsel Town?’ As soon as she said it, Sabrina knew it was The One. It felt good to have a nod to her old self– even if it had to be a secret.
‘We couldn’t be any further removed from Hollywood in Hartmouth, but I love it.’ Oliver nodded. ‘And you definitely have the sparkle to carry it off.’
‘Thanks Oliver.’ Sabrina became animated, excited anew at her project now that it had a name. ‘OK. That’s brilliant. When do you think you might be able to do it? And just black print on white vinyl and maybe add a few images, like some holly and a cracker, maybe? And some tinsel, if that’s easy to do? Oh, god, is Tinsel Town in the Hollywood sense one word or two? One, I think, but I want it as two anyway– it will look better.’
‘You’ve clearly thought this through very carefully,’ Oliver said sarcastically. ‘But I promise, we’ll do a good job and we can get it to you in a couple of days, I’m sure. Is eighty pounds alright for materials and everything? Here’s my card, just text me through the dimensions.’
‘Perfect. I’m glad I came in now!’
‘Me too,’ Oliver added. ‘Always good to see a new face down here. You must meet Glanna. You two have a very similar look, actually.’
‘I look forward to it.’
‘Will you be selling Christmas trees?’
‘Ooh are you my first customer? Do you want me to reserve one for you?’
‘Acutally, it was to say that most people down here get theirs from the forestry place at Penrigan Head so it might not be worth your while.’
Sabrina initially felt deflated, but then perked back up. ‘Actually thinking on it, they are big things to manoeuvre on my own and I don’t want to be left with any, so that’s a great pointer. Thanks, Oliver. I may just get some smaller ones in pots. So much to think about! Right, I’d better go– I’ve got a market stall to stock.’
Sabrina smiled as she pushed open the door to her temporary unit and locked it behind her. Her plan was to just get cracking today with no interruption. Other than Lowen, of course. She checked her Whatsapp, but the bastard hadn’t even read her message yet.
She finished up her coffee and looked for a bin. There was one in the kitchen, so that was good. She figured the fewer things like that she had to buy, the better. There was also a fridge and a microwave, so she could sort her own coffee and bring lunch if she needed to. Although, working in the market, there would never be a shortage of goodies on offer.
She plugged in her laptop and set it up on the counter. It was a joy to have such fast WIFI for a change. She was just going into her email when a new gossip piece flashed up with the headline, “The Best is Yet to Come”. There was a picture of Dominic and the French stick coming out of the lobby of their Bloomsbury apartment. Despite the initial burst of dismay that coursed through her, she was pleased to see that neither of them looked that happy– but the article claimed otherwise.Dominic Best has chucked fiancée Sabrina Swift, most well known for her gritty soap role as Polly Malone, out of his two million pound Bloomsbury penthouse to make way for his new French girlfriend, Francois Bardot, 21, and their baby to be. A source told us that Swift, 38, has not been seen since their break up, which happened just after her and Best’s aborted wedding at Soho Farmhouse. Swift also turned down an extremely high offer to perform on Prancing on Ice. Which brings further speculation as to where her acting future lies and begs the question: where, exactly, is she? Her agent Caroline Smart, declined to comment.
‘Pregnant!’ Sabrina rasped aloud, not quite believing what she had just read. She stared at the picture. Of course there was no bump yet, the French Stick was far too skinny to be showing. Somehow, though, she knew the vultures weren’t lying this time.
Making sure the front door was locked, she went through to the back kitchen. She couldn’t believe that Dominic hadn’t had the balls or heart to tell her. He had said he needed to tell her something when he had come to the cottage but in all the kerfuffle of condomgate, maybe he felt she didn’t deserve to know. Just the thought of the pair of them in what used to be her home with a kid on the way made her feel sick. But Dominic with a baby? The woman at twenty-one was barely out of nappies herself. The whole lot of it would drive him crazy. The deluded man was reaping what he had literally sown. But whatever was going on, it certainly seemed like Mademoiselle Bardot was a lot smarter than he had bargained for.
Sabrina dialled Dee’s number. ‘Have you seen the news?’
‘Yes. I wasn’t sure whether to message you straight away. I hoped you see it before I was the bearer of it. How are you feeling?’
‘Like shit.’ Sabrina sighed deeply.
‘Oh, Rini. I’m so sorry.’
‘Do you think she was up the duff when she came to the wedding?’ Sabrina flicked on the kettle.
‘We won’t know that until you speak to Dom, but does that really matter, mate?’
‘I guess not, but it does make more sense as to why someone would travel all the way from Paris to interrupt a wedding.’
‘Are you going to call him?’
‘No, what’s the point.’ Sabrina sniffed. ‘If he couldn’t have the decency to tell me before it hit the press, then he can fuck off. At least it confirms one thing?’
