Strangers

1-3

She nodded and gently freed herself from him, keeping hold of one hand for a few seconds longer. Her attention was caught by a pile of clutter in the corner of the room. ‘What’s all this?’

‘Some of the old guy’s stuff. I was going through it before I chucked it out. I’ll keep the magazines for the fire.’

‘You said you’d cleaned this place up,’ she said, running her fingers along a dust-covered dado rail.

‘I have cleaned it. You should have seen it before I started. Some rooms hadn’t been touched in years. I swear, I was flat out all week. I dumped three loads at the tip. It’s a sixty mile round trip, you know. There’s still more down the side of the house to get rid of. Once that’s all gone and the rest of our gear’s in, we’ll be sorted. This time next week...’

‘I think it’s going to take a while longer than that. It’s not all about decoration and furniture, you know. The kids are—’

‘The kids are going to be fine.’

‘I know that, I’m just saying it’ll take them time to adjust. In some ways it’s been a bigger move for them than us. They’ve had to change school, leave their friends...’

‘We’ve all had to make sacrifices. But I’ll tell you something, Chelle, we’ve made a bloody good long-term move here. I was looking in an estate agent’s window in town the other day. You should see the prices some of the properties like this one are up for. Once I’ve done it up, we’ll make a killing on this place. We’ll double the value of it in no time, I reckon. Think how much stronger a position that’ll put us in.’

‘One step at a time, love.’

‘I’m serious. I’ve got big plans...’

‘You’ve always got big plans.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Nothing.’

‘I’m gonna start down here,’ he said, oblivious to her reticence. ‘I’ll knock the kitchen through into the dining room, make it more open plan, then I want a conservatory coming off the living room on the back and a decent-sized patio. All the windows need replacing, there’s no double-glazing, it’s all the original glass by the looks of it. Then I was thinking about extending our bedroom back and putting in an en suite, maybe even a walk-in closet if there’s space. You’d like that. You always said you’d like more room for your clothes.’

‘It’d be nice, sure, but I don’t need more room.’

‘Structurally the house is sound. The extension could do with a few minor repairs, but nothing much. I want to get someone in to look at the rendering.’

‘Slow down, love.’

‘The rendering’s important. It’s not just about keeping the place looking nice, you know.’

‘I understand that...’

‘We’ll need to re-carpet throughout, but it’s not worth doing that until I’ve done the interior alterations.’

‘But...’

‘Probably be a good idea to get the drive tarmacked too. The gravel’s okay, but it’s so bloody noisy, you know? And we’ll be constantly dragging it into the house.’ He stopped. She was staring at him. ‘What?’

‘Where are we going to get the money for all of this, Scott? Just because we’ve got a little in the bank at the moment, doesn’t mean we can afford to let ourselves go wild.’

‘You have to speculate to accumulate.’

‘Yes, but the business is gone, remember? That money’s all we’ve got to live off until we’re earning again.’

‘I don’t see the problem. It’s a sound investment. We use the cash in the bank to increase the value of the house.’

‘Then what?’

‘Then we’ve got an asset worth double what it is now. We’d never get that kind of return from a bank.’

‘I know, you’re right.’

‘So what’s the problem?’

‘How do we live in the meantime?’

‘We’ll manage. We always do. f**k’s sake, wish you’d have a little more faith in me.’

‘I do have faith in you.’

‘I know what I’m doing.’

‘I never said you didn’t.’

‘Change the attitude then.’

‘I’m sorry. I just get the feeling we’re on our last chance here, and I don’t want to blow it.’

‘We won’t. I won’t. I’m doing all this for you and the kids.’

‘We just need to be careful.’

His expression changed. He looked hurt, then angry. ‘You sound like you’re having doubts.’

‘I’m not. I’m sorry, love. I’m just tired, that’s all. That was a hell of a drive. You must be knackered.’

‘I’m all right. Getting used to it. It was a good run today, just on six hours. You should have seen it when I came up last week. Bloody nightmare, it was. Pissing down with rain all the way.’

‘I just need some rest. I’ll be fine in the morning.’

‘As long as that’s all it is.’

‘I’m fine,’ she said again, voice firmer.

Phoebe appeared in the doorway, holding her little brother’s hand. ‘George is hungry.’

‘I’ll see to him,’ Michelle said. ‘Can I have the keys, Scott. I need to get his food out of the car.’

Scott fished in his pocket and threw the keys to her. She left the two of them showing George the garden and went out to the Zafira. Tammy followed her.

‘You okay, love?’ she asked as she opened the boot and dug around for the remains of the picnic lunch they’d stopped and eaten mid-journey. ‘What do you think?’

‘It’s a dump,’ Tammy said, pulling no punches. ‘He said it was a big house, but he never said anything about it being such a shitty big house. Have you seen the state of the bathroom, Mom?’

‘No, not yet.’

‘There’s a tidemark round the bath that looks like it’s been drawn on.’

‘Come on, Tam, try and be positive.’

Phoebe appeared beside her and reached into the car for one of her bags. ‘I’m being positive,’ she said. ‘I like it. I like my room. It’s massive compared to the old place.’

‘What have I got to be positive about?’ Tammy argued. ‘Bloody hell, Mum, thanks to your husband I’ve lost everything. My friends, my freedom...’

‘Oh give it a rest. You haven’t lost any of that. No one’s died. You can still keep in touch.’

‘You think? How’s that going to work then? You think Katie’s dad’s gonna be happy to do the twelve hour round trip both ways so we can see each other of a weekend?’

‘No, but—’

‘Like I said, Mum, thanks to Scott, my life is screwed.’

‘And like I said, it isn’t. You’ll still see as much of your dad, maybe even more of him. You know he works out this way sometimes.’

‘I used to be able to walk to all my mates’ houses. I could see Max’s house from ours. Look around you, Mum, what can you see now? Bugger all. Just fields and hills and bloody trees. No people. None of my friends.’

Tammy wiped away a tear, angry with herself as much as anyone else. Michelle put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. ‘I know it’s hard, Tam. I know how it feels, honest I do. I’m doing the best I can here.’

‘Problem?’ Scott asked. They looked around and saw him in the doorway. ‘Wondered what the delay was.’

Michelle shot him a quick glance – don’t get involved – but it was too late. Tammy stormed off around the side of the house.

‘What’s her problem?’

‘She just needs a little time,’ she told him. ‘She’ll be okay.’

She squeezed past Scott and went inside to find George, following the whines. Thankfully he was much easier to placate than his older sister. If only chocolate biscuits had the same effect on teenage girls , she thought.