‘Oh, only because he was mortified about it and wanted me to put in a good word for you if we crossed paths.’
‘Ah, so you’re going to put his case.’
‘I know he can really go for it when he flies off the handle sometimes, but he’s generally a sweetie. And I know I’m biased, but I think everyone who works for him is pretty happy.’
‘Yeah, no one badmouths him behind his back, which is always a good sign in a boss.’
John was leaning against the wall of the cottage when they got back.
‘So what do you think?’ he asked Lou as they got out of the car.
‘It’s perfect. I’d like to go ahead and buy it.’
‘I can leave it with you, if you want a bit of time to think about it,’ he said. ‘You can take it for a drive once you get your insurance sorted and let me know then.’
‘Thanks, but there’s no need for that. I’m happy to take it now.’
‘Well, if you’re sure.’
‘Totally. And if there are any problems, I’ll just send Abbie after you.’ She was excited about owning the car and was keen to get the transaction finalised and to know it was definitely hers.
‘Great! Well, that was easy.’
John handed over the paperwork, then gave Lou his bank details. She pulled up the banking app on her phone and tried not to feel too anxious as she made the transfer and watched herbalance plummet. Still, it was a good price and he was throwing in almost a full tank of petrol, so she couldn’t quibble.
‘Do you want to come in for a cup of tea? Seal the deal?’ she asked.
‘Thanks, but I need to get home,’ John said as he and Abbie moved to her car.
‘Well, thanks for bringing it over.’
‘No problem,’ he said, sliding into the passenger seat. ‘It was nice to meet you, Lou. Best of luck with it!’
Abbie slid into the driver’s seat beside him.
‘Thanks again,’ Lou said to her.
‘No problem,’ she said as she started the engine. ‘Bye. I’ll see you around.’
When she’d waved Abbie off, Lou spent some time admiring her new car before going back inside to ring around for insurance quotes.
The next afternoon, Lou took Jack shopping for a Halloween costume. Because the children wouldn’t be in school on Halloween, they were having dress-up day on Friday, the last day of school before the mid-term break.
‘What do you want to be for Halloween?’ she asked him as they looked through the rails of masks and costumes.
‘Can I be a skeleton?’ he asked, pointing to an outfit hanging on a high rack.
‘Sure.’ She reached up and took a couple down, checking the size and holding one up against him. ‘This one?’
Jack nodded. ‘And a mask.’
‘Okay.’ She added a skeleton mask to her basket.
‘And on Friday…’ Jack mused, still considering the display, ‘…I think I’ll be… a wizard!’ He pointed to another costume.
‘Can’t you be a skeleton for both?’
He shook his head. ‘Because you need a mask for the skeleton, but we’re not allowed wear masks to school.’
