Page 39 of The Merry Christmas Project

‘Don’t touch the electrics,’ he yelled. ‘In case they blow up.’

‘Arggh !’ I flinched and snatched my hand back from the light switch.

‘Sorry about that,’ he said, releasing me. ‘But we need to switch the electrics off completely in case of water ingress.’

‘I’m sorry for being pathetic and crying,’ I said, attempting a smile. ‘But I’ve woken up with a … headache. I desperately need a coffee and I think all my new delivery of stock is ruined. And I’m really cold and wet.’

Daniel gave me a hug. ‘OK, first things first. Why don’t you go and get dressed and warm yourself up while I investigate ?’

I nodded mutely, grateful for his help, even if I was only his mate and then went upstairs, leaving him to look for the fuse box.

Five minutes later I was back down, having dressed in several layers of warm clothes, thick socks and boots. I’d also spoken to a woman from the lettings agency, who had been lovely and promised to send someone round to assess the damage within the next couple of hours and in the meantime not to touch anything. She’d run me through some possible scenarios such as moving me to a hotel for the night or possibly finding me alternative accommodation, but had assured me that whatever happened, the landlord of the property would make certain I was looked after.

At least my hangover seemed to have vanished ; it had probably slunk off because I wasn’t giving it enough attention. I had far more important things to be getting on with than wallowing around with a sore head.

I found Daniel in the kitchen sweeping water out through the back door.

‘I’ve alerted the lettings agency. So help is on its way,’ I said.

‘You’re in luck,’ he said, moving the sodden boxes onto the kitchen table. ‘The flood didn’t reach the living room. So at least that room is dry.’

‘Not sure lucky is the word I’d use at the moment.’

‘No, maybe not,’ he agreed with a sympathetic smile.Although I was lucky that he’d turned up when he did. Daniel was sensible, practical and kind and his company was just what I needed. I smiled at him, realising that somewhere along the line, my feelings towards him had changed. My head had known for a while that he wasn’t mine anymore, but my heart had had difficulty accepting it. And now it had.

The truth was that I still loved him, but as a good friend or a big brother; yes, a brother, I liked that. I turned away from his gaze, my heart swelling with these new feelings. I steeled myself not to cry again and looked out through the window at the back garden. Already the surface water was starting to drain away.

‘The rain must have been of biblical proportions to flood the house,’ I said, trying to keep my voice casual.

Daniel joined me at the window and strained to look down to the end of the garden. ‘Actually, I’ve just had a phone call from the shop ; there’s a rumour that the builders at the edge of the new estate caused it by dumping rubbish in the river.’

‘What ?’ I gasped in outrage. ‘If that’s the case they can come and sort this mess out and pay for replacement stock.’

He nodded. ‘But in the meantime, it’s worth letting your insurance company know too.’

‘My insurance company ?’ I blinked at him.

That hadn’t even crossed my mind, although now I came to think about it, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d got round to paying for a policy. So much for the new, organised Merry.

‘Your home contents insurance ?’ he prompted.

‘Um.’ I remembered starting to fill in an online questionnaire to get a quote, but I got interrupted and then never got around to it again. ‘Of course. Absolutely. Yes, good idea.’

Daniel, who knew me too well, gave me a resigned look. ‘OK. I’ve turned the electrics off for now. I suggest I light a fire in the living room, boil water for a hot drink and then clear as much debris as we can.’

‘If you don’t mind, while you do that,’ I said, slipping my arms into my coat, ‘I’m going to see if I can see anything through the fence at the bottom of the garden.’

The wind whipped my hair around my face and I pulled my hood up and zipped my coat up tight. The rain had stopped now and the cloud was thinning above, but the air was heavy and damp. The lawn was completely waterlogged. I squelched my way to the bottom boundary, pushed my way past the overgrown shrubs behind the shed and peered through the bare branches of the trees. Running left to right through the trees and in parallel with the bottom of my garden was the river. It wasn’t a major waterway ; this stretch was normally only three or four metres wide but right now, it had burst its banks and water pooled either side for quite a distance.

It didn’t take a genius to work out the cause of the flood ; a little way downstream, a pile of logs and branches had clumped together and formed a dam. I’d noticed yesterday that I had a better view through the woods ; the two things were obviously linked. I could even still see the ridges of mud and tyre tracks left by big machines.

What sort of idiot would dump logs in a river ? Especially during the last twenty-four hours when the bad weather had been forecast. It might even be illegal.

On the other side of the woodland, I could see the building site. I didn’t envy them working outside in all this mud today.

The despair I’d felt earlier was beginning to morph into anger. My cottage, my lovely quirky cottage that had been my home for only a month had turned into a paddling pool. This wasn’t acceptable, I thought crossly. This was my home, I had a business to run, a very busy business at the moment. Those builders were clearly responsible, and I had every intention of making them put things right.

I stomped back inside feeling fired up and ready for a fight.