CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
It’s moving day!
I barely slept last night, I was so excited, even though I’dbeen hard at work all day packing up. I can’t wait to move to Cowslip Hollow. It’sall been such a whirlwind, buying the car and renting the cottage on the verysame day.
I felt abit nervous phoning Carrie to tell her what I’d done, but she laughed andsounded delighted for me.
‘That carof yours definitely needed replacing. Trust you to do it in style! But hey,enjoy it, Sis. You deserve it. And I can’t wait to see this cottage you’ve setyour heart on. It sounds gorgeous and you’ll be a home-owner for the very firsttime, which is wonderful.’
My heartlurched guiltily. Carrie obviously thought I was intending tobuyRoseQuartz Cottage, not rent it. And of course that would be the really sensiblething to do.
‘Erm,actually, I was thinking I’d just rent for a year first... togive myself time to work out what I want to do going forward?’
‘Oh.Right.’
‘I justdon’t want to rush into a house purchase and then end up regretting it, youknow? I want to take my time looking around for a place that’s exactly rightfor me. But I was thinking that in the meantime, a move to the country would beso good for me. Fresh air... lots of, um, breathing space tomake decisions?’ I was wincing slightly as I talked. It sounded like such alame excuse for basically splashing out a ton of cash on a year’s rent withnothing to show for it at the end of the twelve months. But Carrie seemed fineabout it, and I reminded myself that we were different people and I didn’t actuallyneed her approval for the decisions I was making about my life.
Carrie wasadamant she wanted to help me move, but I knew that she and Ronan were super-busy,so I told her Adam had offered to help, which he had.
Adam wasactually the first person I phoned after buying the car – mainly because I wasbursting with excitement and I had to tellsomeoneand also because Iknew that he, of all people, would very much approve of my Porsche 911 impulsepurchase. So then, of course, I told him I was going to see Rose Quartz Cottage.He phoned later that evening and I must have talked his ear off for ten minutesstraight describing the cottage in detail, from the heavenly fragrance of thewisteria to the quality of the marble worktops and the amazing pastoral viewsfrom the upstairs windows. To give him credit, he listened without interruptingeven once, although as soon as he could get a word in edgeways, he did thetypical bloke thing and immediately got down to practicalities.
‘When’sthe move-in date? I’ll take a few hours off and bring the van.’
‘Great!’
*****
When Adam pulls up on Saturday morning in his van, hemakes a beeline for the Porsche. Even before we start shifting boxes, he has totake a spin in it, which is fair enough...
‘Jeez, Krystle, you really don’t do things by halves, doyou?’ Sitting in the driver’s seat, he slaps the steering wheel and grins atme. ‘You’d better do it justice and that means giving it the revs and notdriving at a steady sixty on the motorway.’
I laugh, still fizzing with excitement at owning such abeautiful car. I took delivery of it the day before, getting the bus intoSunnybrook and driving the gleaming Porsche away, terrified all the way homethat I might crunch the gears or misjudge the distance to the pavement andprang a wheel or something. I’d got so used to my comforting old Fiat, andbeing behind the wheel of this sporty number felt exciting but verynerve-racking at the same time.
I heaved a sigh when I managed to get home safely, locked itand went inside. Then I spent most of the evening peering out of the window,checking that the car was still there, where I’d parked it. I was trying topack boxes, but I kept getting distracted and didn’t make much headway. I toldmyself that at least when I moved, it would be to a cottage with a doublegarage, so it would be much safer there.
Now, I grin at Adam, who’s still drooling over the Porsche’sinterior. ‘If you get out of the driver’s seat, I’ll take you for a spin in it,’I offer. ‘You’ve turned green, by the way.’
‘Well, of course I’m jealous! I’ve been driving the sameclapped-out old van for years.’
‘The business is doing well, though, isn’t it?’
He gets out, patting the roof of the Porsche fondly, and Islide into the bucket seat, smoothing my hands over the soft leather of thesteering wheel.
‘Can’t complain.’ Adam sprints round to the passenger sideand jumps in. ‘Since I decided to focus on woodcarving and set up the website,I’ve had a few big commissions, one from a pub-restaurant interestingly calledThe Boxing Hares. So the guy who owns it contacted me last week to say they’dlike –’
‘Let me guess. A wood carving of Big Ben.’
‘Ha ha. You’re so funny.’
‘I know. Can’t help it.’ I look across at him as I start theengine. ‘But seriously, Adam, I couldn’t be more pleased for you. You’re makinga living doing something you love and how many people can really say that?’
‘True.’ He smiles.
‘Where’s this pub-restaurant, anyway? I want to see theboxing hares when they’re in position.’
‘South coast. You can buy me a drink there when they’restanding proudly inside the entrance, knocking the crap out of each other.’
‘Okay, you’re on. I’ll even treat you to a slap-up meal. Howabout that?’
