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‘Both, I think.’
‘And you’re worried about what, exactly?’
‘That he’s trying to rip her off.’
‘Do you have any proof? Is he charging her over the odds for the work?’
‘No. I’ve seen the receipts for what he’s already bought and compared them to online shops and his are cheaper.’
‘Connie, be honest with me, are you a little, how do I put this ... envious?’
‘Of what?’
‘Of Gwen? And that Paul’s paying her more attention than he is you?’
‘No! Of course not.’
Her gaze sinks to her trainers, which suggests she might be being a little economical with the truth.
‘So ... what do you think he’s up to?’
‘In my experience, people don’t go the extra mile for you without a reason.’
‘In-ter-esting,’ I say.
‘Why are you saying it like that?’
‘Because you do exactly the same as Paul does.’ I let that hang mid-air for a moment. ‘Look at how you help me. I pay you to walkOscar but not for you to feed him, fill his water bowl, take him to get his fur trimmed, or call and check up on me if you haven’t seen me around at the weekend. And I don’t ask you to draw all the curtains on the dark nights or to push my wheely bins up and down the driveway on collection day. But you do it anyway, don’t you?’
‘I guess so.’
‘And what about the other crumblies in the village? How many drives and paths did you clear after that snowstorm in February? Who swept out Iris’s stables each night when her husband fell ill? Was there a hidden agenda as to why you went the extra mile for them?’
‘No.’
‘So why should Paul have one? You do it out of the goodness of your heart because that’s the kind of person you are. And look at what you’re like with your mum. You wavedarrivedercito your fancy-pants jet-setting life in Italy to move to this little village in the arse end of nowhere because Gwen needed you. So I wonder if the problem isn’t Paul, butyou? You’re so used to doing everything for other people that when a stranger comes along and shows you both some kindness, you find a reason to mistrust them. You say you know nothing about Paul, so change that. Try to get to know him better.’
‘I have done.’
‘Then try harder.’
Connie mulls over my advice for the length of time it takes to eat the rest of her lemon slice.
‘Trust me,’ I add. ‘You don’t get many things in life for free, so when someone wants to help you, grab it with both hands. And if you’re still not convinced, tell him you’re grateful for what he has done so far but you won’t be needing him anymore. Then send him around here. Preferably on a day that’s too hot for him to keep his T-shirt on.’
When she rolls her eyes and smiles, I know she’s taking my advice on board.
CHAPTER 13
CONNIE
I’ve given a lot of thought over the last few days to Walter’s suggestion about getting to know Paul better. So I’ve invited him to dinner with us tonight. It doesn’t mean I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt – precisely the opposite, in fact. It’s because I don’t trust him and I want to get more of an idea of who he really is and what he wants from us. And the best way to do that is to get to know him better. Sooner or later, every mask slips.
I keep thinking back to the Help for Homes Facebook post.
Don’t let Paul pull the wool over your eyes. He’s fooled you all.
You don’t post something like that on a public forum without reason. Its author still hasn’t returned my message; in fact the bloody thing has since been deleted. I wonder if my message scared them off?
