Were there buses in Bluewater Bay? Surely there must be. Yet Tom had said he’d intended to take cabs both ways. And the fact that he couldn’t get one must mean that the service was busy. Or maybe it only consisted of one or two cars. No doubt she would find out in time.
To make the day even better, now that she knew the magic of Tom’s name, she had called a cleaning company after the electrician and plumber had departed.
‘I shouldn’t really do this,’ a very friendly woman had said, ‘but as you’re a friend of Tom’s I’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement. I can have one person with you this afternoon to make a start, and then two, or possibly three people tomorrow and for however long it takes after that. A deep clean like the one you probably need would normally take a team of four a couple of days, but we’re pretty busy right now so that’s the best I can do, I’m afraid. How would that suit you?’
‘That would be fantastic. Thank you.’
Lara couldn’t believe her luck. Especially when the woman added, ‘Obviously, despite the short notice, we’ll give you our discounted rates.’
‘I love you, Tom!’ Lara exclaimed when she finished the call.
How could a man who seemed so grumpy and outspoken be so loved by so many people? He had said he’d been in the construction industry for many years and that they all knew him, but this was something else. She had seen that he had a nice side to him, so perhaps that was the real Tom, and he had only been grumpy today because he didn’t want to go to the doctor, and also, perhaps, because Lara had been a total stranger. Whatever the reason, she owed him big time.
She knew she’d need professionals to carry out all the major work to the cottage but she was used to looking after herself and she still intended to do everything else without help. She had painted and decorated both flats when she had purchasedthem, and this cottage had a smaller footprint, so it shouldn’t take as long. Plus the flats had high ceilings, elegant coving and cornicing, and other ornate period features, whereas the cottage was far less grand.
The gardens – or jungles as they were at the moment – could be tackled in the coming days and weeks if the weather held. And the painting and decorating could be done on the days when the weather was not as pleasant. Once those jobs were completed, she could think about ordering more furniture and soft furnishings.
Her priority was the kitchen. The fridge freezer was arriving this afternoon, together with a microwave, but she would need an oven and a hob. She had discussed these with Bob, the electrician, and he’d advised her about the best places to site them.
The old kitchen cupboards and the worktops would have to go because they were somewhat dated, not to mention, gross. She had searched online a few days before and had found the nearest DIY store and had already selected the units she would buy. She just needed to take measurements and place an order. That could be done as soon as she had chosen her oven and hob. Everything would slot nicely into place if she got the sizes right. Fitting kitchen units was a labour-intensive task, especially for one person, but it was not beyond her scope. If things didn’t go to plan, she could pay for professionals to do the work.
The cleaner, who was an incredibly pretty Polish girl in her twenties, named Ula, arrived at one-thirty and she and Lara set to work on the bedroom Lara had chosen as her own, and then the sitting room, the kitchen, and the bathroom. Ula’s English wasn’t fluent but Lara understood her, and she understood Lara, so they got along well, and Lara was impressed both by Ula’s work-ethic, and the smile she wore throughout the day.
When Lara suggested they stop for tea, Ula said, ‘Thanks. No. I drink water, yes.’
Lara handed Ula a bottle of water, and Ula popped it in her apron pocket, taking sips from it throughout the afternoon but never actually stopping work for more than a second or two.
It was amazing how much they got done before the furniture van arrived at three-thirty. A little later than promised, but the driver had rather a lot to say about the lane. Like Lara, he had struggled to find the access, and then he had needed to negotiate an overhanging branch.
‘I was close to calling it quits,’ he said. ‘Someone needs to do something about that access, and the trees. And I’ll tell you something for nothing, if it had rained, there would’ve been no way I’d have made it here.’
Lara would have to bear that in mind when she ordered all the other things she would need.
The furniture was in place, and Lara’s bed was fitted together and the mattress put on top, all in less than an hour, by the van driver and his colleague. The fridge freezer was left unplugged for now because the men advised that it needed to settle. Lara wasn’t sure that was true these days but she listened to their advice. She could put the chilled items inside and they would still remain cool for some time. She would leave it unplugged for an hour or two and then she would switch it on.
The cottage had a dining room but for now, the table and chairs had been positioned in the sitting room along with the sofa, because Lara and Ula had finished the initial clean of that room but had yet to tackle the dining room. The dining room, and the rest of the rooms in the cottage were on the list for tomorrow.
The kitchen was the room they had spent the most time on today and Lara couldn’t believe the difference. Especiallybecause Roger, the roofer arrived just as she and Ula had started so she had to leave Ula to it for around forty-five minutes.
By the time Lara returned, having been told that the cottage would need an entire new roof, which after Bob, the electrician, and Colin, the plumber’s comments, came as no real surprise, the kitchen was unrecognisable.
Everything would still need replacing but Ula’s magic touch had transferred the gross cupboards into old but now sparklingly clean storage spaces, and the vinyl flooring that felt as if it had been coated with glue, now gleamed. Lara now needn’t hesitate to walk on it barefoot. Not that she would – but she could.
‘I off now,’ the lovely Ula said at five-thirty on the dot. ‘I back tomorrow, yes? With team person, no? Early morning. We did good, yes? I see you then. Happy in your new home. Bye-bye.’
‘Bye-bye,’ Lara repeated, as she waved Ula off.
