‘How lovely,’ Kirsten said, joining him. ‘Let’s go in.’
‘Well, you talked about a community, Albie, and you’ll definitely need a lot of friends to do this shithole up,’ Harley drawled.
Rosie whipped around to stare at him. ‘What’s a shithole?’
‘Harley!’ Kirsten glared.
‘It’s a naughty word.’ Harley winced, taking Rosie’s hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world and then looking down in surprise, like he wasn’t aware of his actions. ‘Um. I shouldn’t have said it, sorry. Don’t repeat it.’ He attempted to pull his hand free.
‘Okay,’ Rosie said in a solemn tone, tightening her grip, ‘but what is it though?’
‘It’s a messy place needing a lot of TLC,’ Kirsten explained. ‘You’ll see in a minute.’
As it turned out, Harley and Kirsten were both right. The downstairs was everything Albie had feared and been unable to face alone. Most windows were broken, wooden frames chipped and falling apart, the floor was cracked, remnants of old wallpaper hung from the damp walls in strips, the ceiling plaster was mottled, and the air was dank and cold. The group regarded each other in stunned silence as they stared at the wreckage.
‘Well, erm…’ Albie started, wanting to say it had potential and wasn’t as bad as it looked. It wouldn’t be true though.
‘Yep, pretty much sums it up,’ Kit said gloomily. ‘Can we go eat cake now?’
Nodding in agreement and turning to exit the cottage, Theo began talking to Harley about repointing and thatching as they filed along the dim hallway.
‘What would I know?’ Harley snapped, with Rosie trailing along behind them. ‘I’m a Site Manager, not a bloody miracle worker.’
Theo paused, before muttering, ‘Right, sorry.’
Rosie piped up, ‘Oooh, bloody is a naughty word too.’
Harley shushed her gently, before grimacing and mumbling at Theo, ‘Sorry. Maintenance isn’t my background. I used to be— do something else.’
The other man shrugged. ‘No worries.’
The small interaction warmed Albie, but emerging from the cottage, his shoulders slumped as the group swarmed down the path and onto the pavement. The gate groaned as he swung it shut, a huge fleck of dried red paint falling to the ground.Rose, my darling, this is going to be much, much harder than I thought.
‘Don’t worry,’ Kirsten interrupted his dour thoughts. ‘There’s lots to do, but there’s expert help from Ethan, and we’re all in this together. Did anyone see the note in the manor entrance this morning?Build a kindness tribe. We’re each other’s tribe now, right?’ Lifting her eyebrows, she gazed at each of them in turn. ‘We’re going to be kind to ourselves, and each other. Like in that American town.’
There was a rumble of agreement, and Albie felt brighter, while avoiding Kirsten’s eye. Not sure he was ready to reveal it was him posting the notes yet.
‘Oh, there’s Gilly,’ Ariel cooed, with a wave. ‘I’m off. Oh, and just to say, I’m happy to be part of thetribe, but I don’t do heavy lifting, so let me know when the plaster’s dry on the first cottage.I’ll work some magic with paint and wallpaper. My strengths lie in making the world a prettier place, not rebuilding it.’ With a final longing glance at Ezra, who she’d handed back to Kit inside the cottage, she glided away and climbed into her partner’s car before they could respond, Harley rolling his eyes at her swift exit.
‘So, cake?’ Kirsten prompted. ‘Kindness tribes are all well and good, but even better accompanied by a healthy dose of sugar.’
Everyone nodded with eagerness. Perhaps this wouldn’t be quite so hard after all. ‘Lead the way,’ Albie gestured.
‘Ethan will be here soon,’ Theo said, as they traipsed up the driveway. ‘We can catch him up with our plans and get his advice over a slice of cake. I don’t think that’d count as a bribe.’
‘Agreed.’ Albie’s smile widened, seeing a tinge of excitement on Theo’s face, and the same flush of pleasure on Kirsten’s, who appeared oblivious to the way Harley was looking at her. It was probably too early to think it, but was the magic of this special place already beginning to show itself?
Down in the village behind them, Friendship Cottage’s crooked sign slowly righted itself, affixing to the wall with a screw that popped out of thin air. A barely there golden sparkle rose from the worn stone path like a carpet, taking decades of mulchy green moss with it, before dumping the mass in a corner of the front garden. And the ivory roses next to the front door unfurled, multiple colours flickering over their petals until they turned a deep, scarlet red.
CHAPTER 10
Tori
Share Something of Value with Someone
Dear Notebook,
Yesterday, woke feeling bit better so settled on window seat withThe Buccaneers. Was in the mood for female friendship and fresh breeze coming in from front lawn was nice on face. Upgraded to slouchy jeans (wearing joggers not helping mental state) and hair in loose curly ponytail, as bun giving headache. Wore fluffy grey jumper which hangs off one shoulder, showing off year-round tan (aka partly Mediterranean skin), but comfy and soft. Later, sitting at kitchen counter with coffee and more lemon cake, forgotthat nighthappened for a moment, and felt nearly normal again. Until memories flooded back. Shook them off, stuffed cake in mouth and closed eyes to savour taste.
