‘Also, if you’d prefer a bank transfer so you have access to the money immediately, I can do that. I figured the cheque was a bit more symbolic.’
Immy laughed. ‘Yes thank you, that would be great.’ She gave Belinda the bank details for the shop.
‘Right,’ Belinda said, taking her tablet out of her bag and suddenly sounding a lot more formal than she had for the last few minutes. ‘Hit me with your list of things that need to be done and let’s see if we can get these jobs allocated to people as quick as we can.’
Immy let out a heavy breath as she focussed her attention on the room. ‘Well, I’ll need an electrician to come round and check all the electrics in the shop and flat, that was one of the things that Coral flagged up. Shetold me not to use any electricity until an electrician had declared it was safe.’
‘I can sort that out,’ Belinda said, making notes.
‘Everything needs cleaning, the walls, ceiling, even the floor. I know we’ll be putting down a wooden or tiled floor but all this dust will need to be cleared up before we start painting. I’m going to need some access to electricity to vacuum it all up.’
‘We have some power generators that the council use for various building projects and events around the town, but we don’t have many and they are mostly always in use. I actually just put an order in for a few more as we are always short and the ones we have are not that reliable. But they won’t arrive for another few weeks. Let me see if I can get you one, for today at least.’
Immy nodded. ‘That would be great. The walls might need sanding down and in some places, where the damage is particularly bad, it might need replastering too. It’s hard to tell right now because there is so much soot and dirt covering the walls. Then we’ll need to paint them and we might need several coats, especially in the areas that have been replastered. Same with the ceiling: cleaning, sanding down, replastering if it needs it, painting. Then the floor, either wood or tiles so if sweets get squashed into the ground, I can easily wash it away. I’ll need new light fittings. Some shelves. The community room will need to be cleaned, the walls, and the floor. I can handle shopping for new stock, a new coffee machine and till.’ She chewed her lip. ‘I think that’s it for now.’
‘See, once you break it down it doesn’t seem so unsurmountable. Cleaning, painting, new floor, lights and shelves. That isn’t that much.’
‘I don’t suppose it is.’ She chewed her lip. ‘Thank you. For everything,’ Immy said. ‘We wouldn’t be anywhere near as far along as we are without you. I’d still be waiting for a structural engineer to assess the place if I was doing this on my own and if I went through the insurance company, I’d probably be waiting months just for that. And everything else you’ve done so far, raising that money, rallying the troops, you’ve been wonderful.’
‘It’s my pleasure, genuinely. I took this job so I could help the people of the town. Something like this is a challenge I thrive on. Not that I’m relishing in your grief but I love being able to get on board with a project like this. Right, I think the first thing we need to do is start cleaning the walls to see what kind of surface we are left with. Leave it with me.’
‘We can do that. Xander’s brothers have been helping and my sister and Quinn are back from their holiday tomorrow. I know they will help too. We can take care of some of the smaller stuff like cleaning and painting and I’ll leave you to source more appropriate candidates for plastering, electrics and installing the new floor.’
‘OK, I’ll be in touch.’
‘Let me give you my number so you don’t have to contact me via Xander.’
They exchanged details and with a wave Belinda left.
Immy looked around the shop again. Now there was a plan she was feeling better about it already.
Immy was busy vacuuming the shop floor, her little bubble of optimism that she’d felt a short while before having well and truly popped. She’d gone back to the chocolate shop and told Xander what the plan was – clean, sand and replaster if necessary, then paint – only to find that Xander had already done some research into how to wash and paint smoke-damaged walls. Apparently they would need to clean first with a dry cleaning sponge because a wet cloth would simply smear the soot all over the walls rather than lifting it off, then follow up with a degreasing wet cleaning solution. After that they would have to sand and replaster if there was any damage to the walls. But before they could paint they had to use a primer and sealer to stop the stains of the smoke and soot, and the smell of the smoke, seeping through the layer of new paint. The primer might need several coats before they could paint over the top of it in normal paint. That was all several more steps in the redecorating and renovating process than Immy had accounted for. Being ready for the Easter egg hunt seemed less and less likely now.
She was glad Xander had done the research so each stage could be done properly – she’d have just come over here and used a bucket of soap and water – but it had rather put a dampener on her plans.
The very first stage was to vacuum up as much dust as she could from the walls and floors so it didn’t collect on the walls again as soon as she’d cleaned it off. A vanhad arrived a short while after Belinda had left with a very loud power generator on the back, but the driver had made it clear it was only available for today. Xander had found a dust mask from somewhere and insisted Immy wore it while vacuuming, and when he started muttering about goggles too, she had reluctantly agreed to wear her scuba diving ones which were at least airtight. But the gear was making her very hot and sweaty and she was having to take regular breaks outside without her face protection to cool herself down.
Xander had gone off with Etta to buy all the cleaning equipment and painting supplies they would need. Immy had tried to insist he keep the shop open in the lead up to Easter but he wouldn’t hear of it. He’d said he’d go back over and open for a few hours at lunchtime.
Just as she was emptying the vacuum cleaner for what felt like the tenth time, there was noise at the door and she turned round to find Alex standing in the doorway, dressed in old clothes, clearly intent on helping.
Immy felt a rush of gratitude and love for her sister and tears pricked her eyes. She quickly pulled off her mask and goggles and moved outside to give Alex a hug. Alex didn’t say a word for a moment, just enveloped her in a tight hug and held her close.
‘I thought you weren’t due back until tomorrow,’ Immy said, into her sister’s shoulder.
‘We came back early so we could help.’
‘You didn’t have to do that.’
‘We wanted to. Quinn will be here with Zara shortly.’
Immy pulled back to look at her. ‘Thank you.’
‘Of course. You’re my sister, it’s my job to look after you.’
‘Well, I’m the older sister, I think I’m supposed to look after you.’
‘And you’ve done more than enough of that over the last few years, now it’s my turn.’ Alex surveyed the shop. ‘I’m so sorry. I know how devastating this must be for you.’
