Page 26 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

‘Nights are beginning to turn colder now,’ he muttered, sinking down at the table with a heavy sigh. He looked tired, thought Ben.

Frankie placed a plate and sandwich in front of him. ‘I should have thought that at your age you should be slowing down, not speeding up,’ she told him.

Walter gave her a pointed look. ‘I’m not a feet up kind of guy,’ he replied before taking a bite of the sandwich.

‘Well, those afternoon naps you take on the quiet don’t exactly affirm your point there,’ Dotty told him with a knowing smile.

Dodgy Del walked into the kitchen. ‘Afternoon, all,’ he said. ‘Oooh, am I in time for lunch?’

‘A free lunch, you mean,’ muttered Walter.

‘I’ve been working hard actually,’ Del told him, trying and failing to look hurt. ‘Those bathrooms won’t kit themselves out. I’ve got ten more towel rails to put up.’

‘Actually I’ve got a bone to pick with you regarding that,’ said Ben. He had always regretted allowing Frankie to talk him into letting her godson help out with the bathroom renovations. Cheap didn’t always mean better, he had begun to realise. There was a reason why Dodgy Del’s handyman skills didn’t come highly recommended.

‘Wassup?’ said Del, his mouth full of sandwich. ‘I put those loo seats on as you asked.’

‘Yes, but you’ve wired them the wrong way,’ Ben told him. ‘The idea is that with that sensor they go up when you go near them. But you’ve wired them up so that the lid closes when you stand next to them.’

‘I’m sure you’re wrong,’ said Del, shaking his head. ‘I checked them all out.’

‘Electric loo seats,’ muttered Walter.

‘This place needs a touch of luxury,’ said Ben. ‘If they want rustic, there’s a new glamping site just down the road in Cranfield they can book into instead.’

‘Humph,’ said Walter.

Ben found that he had lost his appetite and stood up. His endless fights with his grandad weren’t doing either of them any good.

‘Aren’t you going to finish your lunch?’ asked Faye, looking concerned.

‘Not hungry.’ He picked up the plate with the sandwich on for Lily. ‘I’ll take it up for her,’ he said. ‘I want to check on the progress of the bedrooms anyway.’

He walked out of the kitchen feeling despondent. More than anything, he longed to escape out of there. To have life back as it had been before, without responsibility and with a loving relationship with his grandad. But he couldn’t see them ever getting along again.

Feeling wretched, he noticed that his hands were smeared in mayonnaise. Leaving the plate on the reception desk, he headed into the downstairs bathroom to wash his hands before he went to see Lily.

But as he went through the door, he almost tripped over a long electrical lead. He looked around and realised that it was trailing out of the small open window above the double sink.

What on earth was it for? Had one of the workmen left it behind? He turned around and headed back out of the washroom to find that it was plugged into the wall behind the reception desk. Still bemused, he walked out through the front door and into the car park. He turned right and went around the side of the hotel to find the open window from the bathroom and the same lead dangling down and across to a nearby vehicle.

He came to an abrupt halt and stared, spluttering out a shocked exclamation. In front of him was Dodgy Del’s new taxi. Having been a coach driver, Del had decided to increase his earnings by becoming a local taxi driver, although without any guests at the hotel, the pickings weren’t rich at Maple Tree Lodge.

However, the hotel did come with an added bonus. Because the taxi was a second-hand electric vehicle, Dodgy Del was obviously using the hotel’s electricity to charge his car!

Ben turned around, feeling enraged. But at least he knew why the electricity bills were so high now!

13

Lily wandered downstairs when she finally couldn’t ignore the hungry rumble in her stomach any longer, especially as the aroma of home cooking was wafting up the stairs.

She found all the family except Ben in the kitchen.

‘I thought Ben was taking you the sandwich that I made,’ said Faye, frowning when she realised that Lily was hungry.

Lily shook her head. ‘I haven’t seen him.’

Faye looked bemused. ‘How odd. I wonder where he went?’