A Pretty Beach Wish

by Polly Babbington

  ‘Hello, gorgeous. You look stunning in that dress,’ Luke said as she walked up to him.

  ‘Thank you, I didn’t feel it earlier.’

  Luke looked back at Juliette confused. ‘You’re kidding me, right?’

  ‘Nope, I’m not.’

  ‘Juliette, I was nearly knocked over by all the men whose heads turned as you walked off the ferry.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Luke! Who would be looking at me?’

  Luke shook his head to himself and didn’t say anything more and put his arm around Juliette’s shoulders as they walked down the wharf and over towards Seafolly. They strolled along for ten or so minutes and then walked into the restaurant where they’d booked a table.

  ‘Luke, it’s gorgeous,’ Juliette whispered as they walked over to a small table in the corner.

  Juliette looked around at the dark green walls. The whole place was breathtaking. Multiple hanging baskets with trailing succulents hung from overhead and tall standard lamps with floral vintage lampshades were dotted in between the tables. An eclectic mix of wing-back leather and cafe chairs were grouped around the tables, each one holding large dark vases stuffed full of greenery.

  ‘This place has been here for years. I must have walked past a thousand times and never been in,’ Juliette said.

  They both looked towards the back wall, the whole of which was covered in chalkboard paint where the restaurant’s dishes were written out and each one carefully explained.

  Juliette and Luke sat down at one of the tiny tables and studied the menu. Five minutes later, a waiter took their order and delivered a bottle of red wine. Luke poured out their wine and went to the toilet. Juliette slipped her phone out of her bag and checked her messages. Nothing from Jeremy. That was a bonus and a very good start to the evening. She idly started scrolling through her phone as she waited for Luke to come back from the toilet, opened her emails and began to check through for anything that had come in that afternoon. She saw an email with the subject ‘Vintage Christmas Decoration Opportunity’ and opened it.

  Hi Juliette,

  My name is Victoria Hadley-Jones and I am the operations director for Lellery department store in Piccadilly.

  I heard of you and your vintage decor store from the podcast Where the Heck is Pretty Beach? I hope you don’t mind me getting in touch.

  I am looking for some new unique brands within the store and was wondering if you would be interested in chatting. I have had a nose around your website and social media and think your vintage collections would be a really good fit for both our store and our customers.

  On another note, we are also looking for a Christmas stylist (due to a maternity leave this year at that time), and I was wondering if you take on contracts for styling work at all?

  Thanks so much - please do give me a call on the number below if you’d like to discuss.

  Kind Regards,

  Victoria Hadley-Jones.

  Juliette read the email again and looked around almost to see if she was being filmed for a prank. Lellery, the very famous department store, was contacting her! It seemed so unreal that she thought it must be a fake. She sat there in amazement.

  Luke sat back down at the table as Juliette stared down at her phone.

  ‘Everything okay?’ Luke queried. ‘You look like you’ve had a surprise.’

  ‘Read this,’ Juliette replied, and passed her phone over the table.

  Luke read the email and looked back up. ‘Lellery! Juliette this is absolutely massive.’

  ‘I know. Do you think it’s real?’

  ‘Sorry, what do you mean? Is what real?’

  ‘As in, could it be a fake? Is the email fake?’

  ‘Not by the looks of the email name and the branding all over it. Why would anyone want to send a fake email, anyway?’

  ‘I can’t believe it.’ Juliette said, shaking her head in disbelief.

  ‘It’s amazing.’

  ‘Styling for Lellery. I've wished for a job like that for such a long time, and now they are contacting me, and not the other way around. It must be a mistake.’

  ‘I doubt it. You’ll soon find out when you call this Victoria Hadley-Jones.’

  ‘I can’t believe I may have the opportunity to do Christmas styling with one of the most prestigious department stores in the world!’

  ‘Oh, I can, Juliette, your stuff is amazing, everyone can see that, even me and I know nothing. Just as Sallie said he would, Lucian McIntyre and the power of digital media has propelled your brand into a whole new arena.’

  ‘I think it has,’ Juliette answered. ‘I’ve felt like there’s something in the water for weeks, something around the corner - maybe it was this and not something bad like I kept thinking.’ Juliette said, picking up her glass and taking a sip of her red wine. But the nasty, niggling little thought was undeniably still there.

  Chapter 19

  Juliette walked all the way along the unmade road, watched the funicular railway go up the side of the cliff and checked her phone. All good and no problems from anyone, and nothing for her to deal with. Hooray.

  She watched as the railway carriage stopped at the top of the cliff, vowed to herself that she must go for a ride on it soon with Luke and Maggie, and then knocked on the door of Daisy’s house. Daisy opened the door, dressed in a pair of distressed boyfriend jeans and a grey t-shirt, her hair up on top of her head and tied with a scarf and kissed Juliette on the cheek.

  ‘Ooh, you smell nice as usual. Lovely perfume. How are you?’

  ‘Good. Very good, actually.’

  Daisy looked back at Juliette with her eyebrows raised in question. ‘Very good?’

  ‘Yes, you will never in a million years guess who I have had an email from.’

  ‘As long as it’s not an ex-wife or long-lost teenage boyfriend I’ll assume it’s good. Nope can’t guess. Who?’

  ‘Lellery.’

  ‘Lellery? As in the department store?’

  ‘Exactly the one.’

  ‘Elaborate please.’

  ‘They want to stock A Christmas Sparkle!’

  ‘Woohoo! Congrats. That’s huge. Like massive. Oh my! Well done you.’

  ‘I know. I can’t believe it.’

  ‘I can. Your stuff is amazing and your styling is even better. We all know that, Sparkles.’

  ‘That’s the thing, too. They’ve also asked if I contract for styling. As in, their Christmas displays. I can’t even take it in.’

  ‘Wowzas. This takes Sparkle to a whole new level. You’ll have to keep the name now, even if you marry Luke. There’s something in the air I can feel it. Something coming up with you.’

  ‘Daisy, why does everyone keep talking about me getting married? Lottie was asking if there were wedding bells in the air too. I’m not marrying Luke. Even if I did have a tiny little bit of inclination towards it, he’s not asked me.’

  ‘That’s a development - before you were adamant you wouldn’t ever get married again.’

  ‘I won’t.’

  ‘You know - you could ask him.’

  ‘I am aware of that, and it won’t be happening. The sooner everyone stops ringing wedding bells around my head, the better. I’ve made that mistake once already.’

  ‘Ahh, we’ll wait and see. Right, come on then, let’s get going on this cake.’

  Juliette took the ingredients for her chocolate cake out of her bag and started to put them on the worktop. Daisy had asked her round to bake her infamous, and very easy, chocolate cake to be topped off with her even more infamous, what she referred to as, ‘cloud icing’.

  ‘You’re sure you don’t want to do an episode with me for the vlog?’ Daisy asked.

  ‘Nope, I’ve no desire to be on a video on the internet,’ Juliette replied chuckling.

  As Juliette turned on Daisy’s cream KitchenAid and it whirred the chocolate cake mixture around and around, she looked up at the open shelves above. Daisy had somehow persuaded Syd to leave some of his highly ac
claimed pickles and jams behind and she had even convinced him to do a segment on her show from his allotment.

  The shelves were now laden down with all sorts of dishes, jugs, china, tins, and cups for Daisy’s food styling. Pots full of wooden utensils, all sorts of Cornishware stacked up and displayed, and piles and piles of vintage plates in all different shapes and sizes.

  The shelves went all the way to the top of the high ceilings, and to the rows of Syd’s pickles, jams and chutneys Daisy had added her own collections of sauces, powders, spices, oils, and dried herbs from her travels. Mason jars full of all different sorts of sugar, jars of English mustard and vintage French conserve jars held more of Daisy’s prized food possessions.

  Huge jugs of lovely tea roses stood on the worktop squeezed in beside a plethora of kitchenalia - pretty vintage cafetieres, old teapots, stacked up wooden chopping boards and vintage bottles. Daisy had clamped lamps to the side of the shelves and the whole place was lit in a soft white light.

  ‘This place was made for you and your vlog Daisy,’ Juliette observed as she looked around the kitchen.

  ‘I know. It didn’t even need anything doing much. Just a few of my pretty bits.’

  ‘It really does look fabulous. It’s all I’ve heard about from Maggie. Aunty Daisy’s this, Aunty Daisy’s that. I think she actually thinks that little room up there is hers.’

  ‘It might as well be. The rate I’m going I’m not going to be filling it with anything else. I’m never going to meet someone, so the chances of babies in that room are extremely slim.’

  ‘Don’t say that. You never do know. You never know what’s around the corner, and as you said, there is definitely something in the water. I only hope that it’s good.’

  Chapter 20

  Juliette drove down Strawberry Hill, then along the laneway, and around the back into Mermaids. The road was packed with cars and there were no spaces outside her house. She found a spot a few spaces down, reversed parked in and put the car into park.

  She sighed out heavily. Luke had called her to say he was running really late at the hospital and didn't know when he would be getting home. Jeremy’s mum had messaged her to say that she wouldn’t be able to pick up Maggie from horse riding as planned because she’d fallen over and hurt her ankle.

  As Juliette gathered her things from the car she mentally went over what she needed to do before she picked up Maggie - check and reply to the email from Lellery, get the dinner in the instant pot to save stress later, and, if she had time, get Maggie’s uniform out and ready before arsenic hour. If she dropped one of her balls at that time everything hit the fan and it did not end up pretty.

  Juliette locked the door of her car and as she walked along the pavement with her bags noticed a bright red Volvo parked outside her house. A woman got out of the car and slammed it shut and started looking up at the house. Juliette walked past the woman, stopped, and leant over to open the gate.

  ‘Hello!’ The woman dressed in a bright yellow fitted peplum top and a tight black pencil skirt and heels, said as she approached Juliette.

  The woman came closer as Juliette struggled with the latch on the gate and Juliette looked around.

  ‘Sorry, I thought you were talking to someone else. Can I help you at all?’

  ‘Yes. I’m the daughter of the previous owner of the house. I thought it might be you who got their hands on it,’ the woman said, and Juliette all of a sudden realised who it was standing on the pavement in front of her. Nicky Jenkin. The daughter of Mr Jenkin who had owned the house before Juliette. How could she have not recognised her? Her mind flashed back to the day she and Maggie had come along Mermaid Lane all bundled up in their hats and scarves with the note enquiring about buying Mr Jenkin’s house.

  ‘You are, are you? Apologies I don’t recall,’ Juliette replied, finding it very hard not to show her disdain for the sharp, angular, brightly dressed woman standing in front of her.

  ‘You had a note with you and a little girl,’ the woman continued.

  Of course, Juliette remembered. She also recalled how Nicky Jenkin had pointed one of her long talons at her and ignored Maggie. Juliette pushed open the gate and stepped up onto the path. ‘Sorry, I don’t remember.’

  ‘You said you wanted to buy the house. I couldn't see why anyone would want to live here, but by the looks of what you’ve done to it, you’ve turned it around. Pretty Beach is still a bit of a dump, though. I’m down here on business - I’m looking at an investment property in Newport Reef. Now the hospital is built, and the fast train is here, the area is the next place to take off.’

  ‘I would have thought you would have known that last year, then, when you were at this house.’ Juliette said with a false air of pleasantry.

  Nicky Jenkin coughed and spluttered a bit. ‘Things move extremely fast in the investment property business.’

  ‘Yes, I know. That’s why I wanted this.’

  ‘If I remember correctly you were trying to do a deal with me outside of the estate agents.’

  ‘Of course. I was investing in a house in one of the fastest growing property markets in the country.’

  And with that, Juliette flicked her hair over her shoulder, picked up her bags that she’d placed on the floor while she’d opened the gate, looked at Nicky Jenkin as if she was now dismissed, and put her phone to her ear to call Luke.

  Chapter 21

  Juliette finished her call to Luke who was working late for the fifth night in a row and put her phone back in her bag. She pushed open the door to the Marina Club, signed in at the front and made her way to the bar.

  ‘Hi Juliette. I haven’t seen you in here for a while. How are you getting on in Mermaid Lane?’ Dominic the barman asked.

  ‘Not too bad Dom, thanks. Yes, I’ve been really busy with it all, and so I’ve not been out much.’

  ‘Drinks with the girls though tonight, is it?’

  ‘Yep,’ Juliette said, pointing over to Holly, Xian, Lottie and Nel.

  ‘They’re well on their way,’ Dominic said laughing. ‘What can I get you?’

  ‘I don’t suppose there’s any of Lottie’s Locals Only elderflower wine?’

  ‘You’ll be lucky, and I know she didn’t bring any in with her. Hang on and I’ll go out the back and check.’

  A few minutes later and Dom came back with a small bottle of the elderflower wine. ‘Last one, unless she’s got a few more in her bag,’ he said smiling and poured a glass of the wine for Juliette.

  ‘Thanks Dom. You’re a lifesaver. I love this stuff.’ Juliette said as she paid, picked up the wine and walked over to the table where Nel, Xian, Holly and Lottie were sitting.

  ‘Good evening everyone. Guess what I’ve got?’ Juliette asked.

  ‘Looks very much like my very own recipe,’ Lottie said giggling.

  ‘It’s the last one, apparently.’

  ‘Possibly. I’ve a stash of them at home in the cellar though,’ Lottie replied.

  Nel in a skin-tight shiny pink one-shoulder top got up and kissed Juliette on the cheek. ‘How are you? How’s the luscious Luke and his abs?’

  ‘Ha, Nel, you’re funny. He’s good and I’m good.’

  ‘The new house? Settled in nicely?’ Nel asked.

  ‘We have. It’s weird, I feel like I’ve lived there forever already.’

  ‘What a lovely feeling to have,’ Nel observed.

  ‘You’ll never guess who stopped by outside it the other day. Talk about get one back on someone. I’m never normally one to hold a grudge but...’ Juliette trailed off and took a sip of the elderflower wine.

  ‘Oooh, you’re not. Sounds interesting. Who?’ Holly asked and put her chin on her hand and listened.

  ‘Nicky Jenkin!’

  ‘What? What was she doing back in Pretty Beach? I wonder if Shane Pence knows?’

  ‘Being nosey. It was so good. I pretended I didn't know who she was, and she was looking up at the house and couldn’t believe how different it looked.’


  ‘She went on about the property market in Pretty Beach and I replied by saying that all along I had been playing her. Looking for a deal and an investment. When in reality all I wanted was a forever house in Pretty Beach.’

  ‘Gold! I can’t believe you did that, Juliette,’ Holly replied. ‘That’s so unlike you!’

  ‘It was such a nice feeling. She made me feel terrible all those months ago before Christmas.’

  They all chatted, got in another round of drinks and Nel had them all in stitches regaling her latest adventures in dating.

  Holly leant forward to Juliette.

  ‘How are you getting on with the Lellery thing?’

  ‘Yes, really good. I’ve had a video meeting and been up there on the train to discuss the contracts and I’ve got a solicitor looking over it all. If it goes ahead, I’ll need to go up there and present to the marketing people too at some point.’

  ‘Wow. That’s brilliant Juliette. You must be over the moon.’

  ‘I am. Though I haven’t had too much of a chance to think about it all. It’s all gone so fast since I went on the podcast.’

  ‘Hmm. Yes. That podcast does some amazing things for Pretty Beach. Lucian mentioned my Christmas puddings last year. I couldn’t understand why they’d sold out nearly overnight until he came in for his cinnamon buns and told me he’d mentioned them on the show.’

  ‘Yeah. It’s massive, Holly. The power of the digital world is mind-blowing.’

  ‘So, when does the Lellery thing get going, then?’

  ‘I’ve got to get up there in a few weeks' time for the planning and then the styling installations nearer to Christmas.’

  ‘Wow. What a ride that will be.’

  ‘I know. I can’t wait. I’ve always wished I could do something like this with my Christmas stuff and all of a sudden, it’s happening. Like for real.’

  ‘Well, life does seem to be giving you an exciting old ride at the moment.’ Holly remarked.

  ‘I know, you’re not wrong. I only hope this is the last surprise life has for me for a while.’ Juliette replied. But in the back of her mind she had a funny little feeling that that statement wasn’t quite true. And she wasn’t wrong, life sure enough had another surprise for her yet.