Fen gives a sad little smile. ‘I have a feeling Hell willfreeze over before Jaz allows herself to be vulnerable again. She was sodevastated over Harry’s affair and their split.’
I return to the house to get drinks for everyone, andfinally, all togged out in old shirts and a mish-mash of odd cover-ups, we’re readyto get the painting underway.
Krystle has made firm friends with Rolo the dog, tearingaround the lawn with him and playing a fierce game of tug-of-war with a ropetoy that Harlyn brought with him. She offers to get him settled in my bedroomout of the way, and I hand her Rolo’s basket gratefully. She whistles to himand he races up the stairs after her, and I watch them go, smiling, andthinking how much better the house feels with laughter and life in it.
Fen and Maddy have settled themselves on the sofa. It’scovered in dustsheets but still perfectly comfortable for one heavily-pregnantwoman and her friend on crutches!
I’ve stored the paint and brushes and the paint-trays out ofthe way in the garage, so everyone can go and help themselves to what theyneed, and we now have more dust-sheets than we need, thank goodness. Rob hasbrought a set of step-ladders in his van, which will be really useful when itcomes to painting ceilings. There’s also a set in the garage so we’rewell-equipped.
Jen and Harlyn start painting in the kitchen-diner, andPrimrose and Krystle head for the living room. Rob proposes painting thedownstairs bathroom, then moving on to doing the ceilings.
‘Are you sure Rob’s okay doing all that?’ I ask Fen, findingher in the kitchen pouring a glass of water. ‘Painting ceilings is a horriblejob. You get a crick in your neck.’
Fen lowers herself gingerly onto a chair covered in a dustsheet. ‘Oh, let him do it,’ she says with a sigh. ‘He’s much better when he’soccupied.’ She shakes her head. ‘Honestly, Lottie, I love Rob to bits but he’sdriving me totally bonkers these days. It’s obviously just nerves at becoming adad for the first time but he’s been decorating the cottage like there’s notomorrow: stripping walls and hanging new paper, and painting at all hours. Lastnight, it was nearly two when he came to bed. He said he had to finish thespare room because he’d be clearing out the garage in the morning!’
‘Wow. So your house must be looking great!’
‘To be fair, it does look good. But I wish Rob would calmdown. I thought it was the mother-to-be who’s supposed to get the nesting bug –you know, making sure the nursery is perfect, and scrubbing everything until itsparkles. But in our house, it’sRobwho’s manic about everything beingjust-so for when the babies arrive. He should be taking it easy before thebirth, storing up on sleep, because there’ll not be much of that once the twinsarrive!’
‘So everyone says.’
She smiles sheepishly. ‘Sorry, Lottie, for going on likethis. It’s just I’m so exhausted and I want Rob beside me, you know? But thesedays, he gets back from work and immediately starts on jobs in the house.’
‘How are you feeling now, after your scare?’
‘Oh, fine. But I really thought I was going into labour andI was gutted when it was a false alarm. I just want it to be over. I mean, notoverexactly. That sounds terrible.’
‘No, I get it. I really do,’ I reassure her. ‘You just want yourbabies to be here and for them to be safe and well.’
‘That’s it exactly.’ She smiles. ‘And now I’m going to stopcomplaining because in actual fact, I’m the luckiest woman in the world. Atleast, I will be if Maddy would just stop making up stupid names for the twins.She just asked me how Scooby-Do and Daphne were doing and I had to leave beforeI told her to shut up!’
I smile in sympathy. ‘I don’t blame you.’
‘No?’ She gazes at me hopelessly. ‘Oh, Lottie, I think I’velost my sense of humour. Do you think it’ll come back after the babies areborn?’
‘I do. And Rob will return to normal. And everything will begreat because you’ll have your little family at last.’ I shrug. ‘It’s just thehormones. That’s all.’
She nods. ‘You’re right. Hormones. I’ve been lying awake atnight worrying about what we’re going to call the twins, so I suppose that’swhy Maddy making up silly names for them is really irritating me.’ Grinning,she leans closer and whispers, ‘But seriously, if she does it once more, she’sgoing to get a pot of paint on her head!’
Chuckling, I leave Fen making her way back to the sofa, andI collect my painting gear and go upstairs to Dylan’s old bedroom where Katjahas already started on one of the walls. We talk away as we work. Katja has toleave at twelve and take her grandmother, Olga, to the café, where she’ll beworking alongside Sylvia in place of Ellie.
‘Gran’s car is off the road and she’s not used to buses, soI’d rather drive her there myself,’ she explains. ‘I’ll collect her later whenI leave here. She’s really looking forward to this afternoon, getting backbehind the café counter.’
‘You seem really close, you and your gran.’
She nods. ‘She was my rock when Mum died and she’s been sosupportive of me all my life. It’s my turn to take care of her now.’ Shelaughs. ‘Not that she needs it, really. She’s too darned independent for herown good sometimes!’
‘You’re really lucky to have her,’ I murmur, and Katja nods.
I think about my own grandparents, who died when I was little.If they’d still been alive when Mum left, things would probably have been sodifferent for Dylan and me. We wouldn’t have had to go into the care home.
A burst of laughter interrupts my thoughts. Liam and Nat arepainting Mum and Dad’s old bedroom next-door to this one, and I’ve been tryingnot to get distracted by the chatter and the laughter that’s going on in there.Are they gettinganywork done?
When Katja leaves at twelve, saying she’ll be back in anhour, it’s just me working away in Dylan’s room, which is fine – except I can’thelp feeling a bit left out, listening to the racket next door! They seem to behaving a whale of a time, the two of them. Who knew painting could be such alark! Not that I’m bothered, of course. It was good of them to offer to help,so I can hardly complain that they’re enjoying themselves just a little toomuch!
Ellie and her family arrive soon after one, just as Nat isleaving. Ellie and Zak get straight to work, while Fen goes out into the gardento look after Rose and Maisie. Through the open window (they’re all wide opento dispel the paint fumes), I can hear Maisie shrieking with laughter on thetyre swing and it makes me smile, recalling all the happy times I played on itmyself with Dylan.
I calculate that including me, there are eleven peoplecurrently painting away! And it’s astonishing how much we’re managing toaccomplish in a matter of hours. Rob is doing brilliantly painting theceilings, and Zak has now joined him in the task, using the other set of laddersfrom the garage. We couldn’t find another shower cap to protect his hair, butEllie had a brainwave and tied a plastic supermarket bag into the shape of ahat, which Zak is now sporting, much to everyone’s amusement.
