To reclaim some dignity, I go back to my best clipped office tones. ‘Ifthere’s a sale, George will handle it, I’m sure you’ll be the first to know.’
He shakes his head. ‘We’ve already discussed how sharing George is.’ He just gives yet another sigh and carries on. ‘As I said before, the building needs work. We’ve got extensive roof repairs scheduled for autumn.’
I’m not sure why he’s tellingmethis now. ‘Great, I’ll cross my fingers it stays fine for you. Let’s hope you don’t get too much of that rain I was talking about earlier.’ I take another swig of beer. My excuse to myself for accepting lunch was to get information, and this far, apart from an offer to buy the flat which floored me, I’ve got approximately zilch. ‘Remind me who’s in the other flats?’
Charlie’s reply is fast and businesslike. ‘Two are let to short-term tenants, and two are let out through Airbnb to holiday makers.’
I’m frowning, tapping the bottle on my teeth, still not getting it. ‘All good. So, your point is?’
‘There’s not a lot left in your peppercorn rent pot after the balcony repairs. And the cost of the roof will be shared between all the flat owners.’ He’s drumming his fingers on the chair arm now. ‘So if you did plan to stay, I’m simply flagging up that you’ll need to find ten grand before the autumn.’
I gasp so hard I almost swallow the bottle as well as my next gulp of beer. ‘Ten grand?’ My bank account’s never seen that many noughts. As far as my finances go, I earn enough to get by, put a little aside, then I travel. Then I stop and work again. It’s called living in the moment, and this far, give or take a bit of juggling, it’s always worked out fine.
Charlie nods. ‘It’s not a huge amount, but you might need to dip into your capital.’ He’s talking like I’m loaded, and staring like I’m not keeping up. Which, to be fair, is right. ‘Capital, meaning your savings?’
The second he starts talking English again the penny drops. ‘Ah, those.’ Right now, I’ve probably got a couple of hundred to tide me over for when I move on from Paris. ‘Of course.’ It’s strangely levelling. One minute I’m struggling because I’ve got so many choices of what to do with the flat and I don’t know how to handle it. The next I’m fighting to keep it away from Charlie. Then I’m back to way worse – there is no choice, because the only option I can afford is to let it go. Except now I feel like I’ve had something huge taken away from me. Which I know is a ridiculous way to feel, when only a couple of days ago I wasn’t even going to bother to visit the place.
Charlie’s face gets the closest to a smile I’ve seen today. ‘My point is, you’ll have plenty of savings if a sale goes through. Subject to tax liability, obviously.’ Yet another downside to entertaining a ‘decorative developer’ in your living room. If he carries on like this, we’ll be onto mortgages in no time.
I’m about to put my hands over my ears when there’s a clatter out on the landing.
‘Clemmie, we’re early … we brought bubbly …’ As the door pushes open, there’s a hollow boom, and a cork shoots past my nose.
6
In Laura’s flat at Seaspray Cottage
Cotton wool and feisty talk
Friday
As Charlie dashes off along the balcony, insistent on going for ‘proper’ champagne glasses, it only takes one half-raised eyebrow from Nell before Diesel’s slinking down from the sofa and turning circles on a rug. Sophie settles Milla and Maisie into his place, then flops down beside them herself
I’m counting on my fingers as I snaffle one of Milla’s banana chips. ‘Aren’t you two short here, Soph?’
‘Nate’s taken Marco and Matilde.’ She sneaks a look at her phone. ‘Let’s see, they’ve got Water Polo, then they’re going on to Spanish for Smalls and taster Tinies’ Yoga.’ Seeing these two have barely hit nursery, her ‘what the heck’ expression is probably entirely justified. ‘So how’s it going here?’
Nell’s staring at me in awe. ‘Swimmingly, I’d say.Youdidn’t mess about, Clemmie.’
I pull a face. ‘It’s not what it looks like.’ Claiming ‘the dog ate my sandwich’ is too close to those lame excuses for lost homework. I try another tack. ‘Charlie happens to live next door, he dropped round with lunch and an offer to buy the flat.’
‘How lucky is that?’ Nell asks.
Sophie’s less impressed. ‘What the eff does he think he’s playing at?’ She looks like she’s about to explode.
I give a shrug. ‘You can ask him yourself, he’s here with his flutes as we speak.’ As I take the slender glasses from him and put them on the table I’m telling it like it is. ‘There can’t be many neighbours in St Aidan who will wheel in lunchandbe happy to share their crystal, then try to buy your home before you’ve even had chance to move in.’ We might as well bring this into the open.
Sophie flashes him a disgusted glance then fixes him with one of those stares of hers that bore right through you. ‘So, are you going to explain yourself, Charlie?’
His gaze flicks over all of us. ‘Now might not be the best time. I’ll leave you to drink your fizz in peace. Things to do, places to be, and all that.’
‘I bet you bloody have.’ Sophie growls as he trundles the trolley towards the door and calls Diesel.
Plum peeps into the kitchen, then comes over to pour. ‘The flat’s as much of a gem as Sophie told us. Small, yet perfectly formed.’
Nell narrows her eyes as she passes round the fizz. ‘As said by the woman who has an entire chandlery to rattle around in. It couldn’t be more cosy, but five of us just arrived and you can barely tell we’re here.’ A grin spreads across her face between sips. ‘It would be fab for more intimate singles’ evenings.’ Since she’s taken charge of the club, Nell sees every venue, public or private, in terms of its party potential.
Plum sniffs. ‘Probably why Mr Hobnob Holdings can’t wait to get his hands on it. No doubt he’d want to rip the guts out of the place.’
