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21
Decline and Fall, Evelyn Waugh
‘It’s actually got quite good bones, Emmie,’ Faith says as she looks around the shop.
‘You think so?’ I ask.
‘Absolutely. I’ll bring in a structural engineer just to check, but it’s just a reno job.’
‘That’s great. When would I be able to decorate? I want to make it Christmassy.’
‘Oh dear,’ she winces. ‘Jago won’t like that. He hates anything festive.’
‘Oh no – he’s agreed to let me do what I want with my half of the shop.’
She makes an impressed face. ‘Really? That’s a first. Well done, then. We’ll come and give you a hand with the other girls. They love spreading Christmas cheer, as you’ve seen.’
‘But you’ve already helped me so much…’
She shrugs. ‘It’s a tradition among the Coastal Girls. Most of us come from screwed-up families, so we’ve sort of pooled our resources, you know?’
I know. Rosie has told me a bit about how Faith and her sister were adopted, and how the need for a loving home made her become an interior designer. And also how her hopes of a happy home had later been dashed by her fiancé.
‘Well, I… thank you, but are you sure?’
She smiles. ‘Absolutely. You’re in.’
It’s too late. I can’t stop them. The tears, I mean.
‘Hey,’ she says, hugging me. ‘What did Rosie tell you? We take care of one another down here. Now, don’t you go worrying about anything, understand? You have friends here, Emmie.’
‘I… thank you. I don’t know what to say. Ever since I got here I’ve been met with nothing but kindness from everyone…’
‘Well, almost everyone,’ she says with a laugh.
I dry my eyes. ‘Do you mean my grandmother, or my new partner?’
‘Both. They’ll come round. They just need time.’
Time to what? I wonder. Ruin my life more than it already is?
*
Having matured the decision to resign from my old job, I’m now taking care of the paperwork and also listing my flat, as I’m no longer prepared to let anything stop me from living my own life the way I want to. So the next day I go down to the town hall to speak to someone about getting a mooring licence for the barge business.
‘First, you’ll have to present a report detailing the state of the boat, and then take it to a boatbuilder and have it adapted. He’d then have to write his own report about the feasibility of the barge as a business concern. He’s in a meeting now, if you want to wait?’
So I wait. And plan. And budget. And jot down some ideas and sketches in a little blue booklet that never leaves my bag. I put everything in there – phone numbers, happy memories, to-do lists and even my favourite scraps of poetry. It looks more like a Mexican piñata than a notebook.
When it’s my turn, I take a huge breath and knock on the massive oak door. I can do this!
‘Come if you want,’ the muffled voice beckons, and in I go, unable to contain my happiness.
For about two seconds. Because there, behind the massive desk, like a king on a throne, is Jago bloody Moon!
‘Oh, come on! Really?’
He grins up at me sheepishly, then sits back and nods for me to sit down.
