Agreeable, Juliette thought. Blimey, if it wasn’t for her tiredness, she would have been just about dancing all around the room.
‘We’ve not brainstormed it fully as we weren’t sure what your circumstances would be. We were thinking of a limited-edition bauble with the Sparkle branding together with the Lellery name on the bottom possibly, and the date on the front.’
Juliette had to pinch herself. The Sparkle brand? Is that what she was calling it now? She tried to remain calm and keep a steady note in her voice, ‘Okay. That’s fabulous Victoria. I do like the sound of that. Thank you so much.’ Breathe and calm.
‘We’ve a few different ideas including a bauble box set as the sales of the bauble you designed have been the biggest - the one you showed me when we first met, if you remember? That’s where this idea for the collaboration came from. Obviously, the sales from the past month are not a true projection taking the time of year into consideration, but we think it would be a winner.’
Juliette smiled to herself as Victoria launched into sales and profit and loss speak. Her Sparkle Up Your Christmas range had been a huge gamble a few years ago when her customer base via her website had really started to solidify. She’d found a very small supplier who made exclusive glass baubles and she’d spent all of her profits one year on a run of them. She’d carefully transferred her name onto them and that was her, what Victoria from Lellery was calling, branded line. And not only were they referring to Juliette’s lines, but here was Lellery interested in them. Interested in Sparkle Up Your Christmas.
It had all stemmed from Where the Heck is Pretty Beach? too. If it hadn’t been for Lucian, Lellery would most probably never even have heard of her or her little shop.
Juliette continued with the call and Victoria put a meeting date in their diaries for Juliette to come into the store and further work on timelines, and when Juliette pressed end on the call she had to admit that this was one, very much brighter, spot on the horizon. And there was something in the very back of her mind Juliette had been thinking about which would make that spot even brighter.
Chapter 33
Juliette got out of the shower, dried herself off, and put on a clean pair of pyjamas. Things were looking up since she’d had the conversation with Victoria. She’d got a bit of her energy back after the call and though she was still feeling lethargic and not doing much other than work she’d felt a bit better.
She combed through her damp hair and looked down at the pink vintage side table piled with lots of her lovely perfumed body lotions and layered herself in her favourite lime and basil lotion and smiled as the gorgeous scent hit her nostrils.
Juliette examined her face looking back at her in the mirror and thought that it was nice to have the whole house to herself in peace. Luke had gone to see his brother and was staying there overnight, and Maggie was at Jeremy’s. Even Bella, who she’d been video-calling every night to see how she was getting on, had messaged her to say she was going to a friend’s place and so she’d speak to Juliette in the morning. So, Juliette was free to veg out in front of the television however she liked for as long as she liked. All she had to do was order a take-away, pour herself a glass of wine, and sit on the sofa watching something mind-numbing. Something to recharge her from the past few months. Someplace to get lost in that was away from her world.
Juliette walked all the way down through the big old house, across the stripped pine floor of the hallway and into the kitchen. She switched on the fairy lights with her phone, and as the whole place twinkled and glistened, she stood back and gazed at it all. Another thing to be grateful for. Everything looked pretty just as she had wished for - she just hadn’t wished for the stress of the boating accident. The pale eggshell cupboards with their brass cup handles were now lit from underneath, fairy lights draped over the dresser displaying her Emma Bridgewater china and a huge, oversized willow heart she’d spied in a shop in Seafolly, and waited until it had gone on sale, was now fixed to the wall at the end.
To top it all off, the old table she’d painted pink when she’d moved into Seapocket Lane slotted beautifully in the corner. It sat there with a huge vintage jug of old roses from the garden in the centre, and as she stood there observing it all she actually broke into the faintest smile at the sight of the Smeg fridge. Oh, how I lusted after that fridge, how I wished for it, she thought. And now it’s mine.
Juliette pulled open the utility room door and opened a cupboard where a menu for Pretty Beach curry house was pinned to the back of the door. Even though she had a top-secret Deepa curry stashed at the back of the freezer, she was going to get a curry delivered and spend the evening lazing. She would snuggle up and shuffle between a pile of books, Netflix and having a nose into the latest goings-on in her Christmas junkie Facebook groups. Bliss.
Just as she fully opened the door to the utility room and was studying the curry menu, trying to decide between a biryani and a rogan josh, her text pinged. It was from Leza - her friend Dr Leza from Pretty Beach Natural Beauty. Juliette sighed and opened up the text.
‘I told you I was coming round if you didn’t invite me, and today is the day! We’re here and we’re outside. Don’t even think about not letting us in. We have supplies. We are in trackies.’
Juliette tutted and sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was see anyone. At least the house was tidy. She heard the doorbell ring from the front of the house and considered trying to pretend that she wasn’t in and that she hadn’t seen the text. She could just slide down onto the floor of the utility room, keep really quiet and stay there until Leza had gone. The text had said ‘we’ so it wasn’t as if Leza was alone. Leza was bringing her boys round too. What was she even thinking?
Juliette stomped down the hallway and could see the outline of a few people through the glass of the front door. She flicked back the bolt on the door, turned the latch, pulled it open and there in pyjama bottoms and a grey hoody stood Leza with a huge pot of what smelt like curry in her arms. Holly stood beside her in a purple velour tracksuit with a designer’s name splayed across the front in gold lettering, a large bottle of Baileys in her hand, and a present wrapped in bright red shiny paper. Xian in fluffy pink socks tucked into sliders and a huge puffy jumper with teddy bear ears on the back was closing the gate with a large bottle of her special drink out in the open for everyone to see.
‘Hey!’ Holly called out.
‘Hellooooooo, yoohooo,’ Xian said, shuffling along the path, the sliders flapping against the tessellated tiles.
‘Woah, you do look tired! We’re coming in. You’ve no choice in the matter,’ Leza said and pushed past Juliette with the huge cast iron pot in her arms. ‘You needed the troops and we’re here.’
Xian held up the drink. ‘Juliette, you need this. My very special concoction. Known and loved by all in Pretty Beach. I’ve used it on all sorts of people over the years. It works wonders!’
‘Known and loved! You’ve nearly killed people with that Mum. I’ve even thought about insuring it, or you, somehow,’ Holly exclaimed.
Juliette couldn’t help herself from breaking into a smile. ‘Xian, the day I drink that stuff ever again really is the day I know I’ve completely lost the plot. I’m tired, but I don’t think I’m quite in need of your special drink yet, though give me time.’
Xian shook the bottle near Juliette and started to shuffle towards the kitchen. ‘This stuff is mystical. It gets you out of all sorts of trouble.’ She then proceeded to shout something in Vietnamese at Holly. Holly shooed Xian into the kitchen and all four of them sat down while Holly took bits and pieces out of her bag.
‘Deepa brought this in when she came in for her bread this morning. It’s been under lock and key since.’ Holly laughed and took the lid off the pot.
‘I must be drained if Pretty Beach has sent the troops over with Deepa’s Locals Only curry and Xian has an extra-large batch of her special drink with her.’ Juliette kidded.
Leza took her phone out of her bag and
hung her bag on the back of her chair. ‘I was tweaking Holly’s face in the week and we decided it was time. We decided you needed some of Pretty Beach’s best friend therapy. You need to recharge.’
They all turned around as they heard the back door handle click and Daisy walked in smiling.
‘Ahhh, so you’re the culprit who told them I was home alone and in peace for the evening,’ Juliette said smiling at Daisy.
‘I wasn't having it any longer, Sparkles. You needed your friends. You need your friends should I say.’
‘Indeed she does,’ Xian said as she shuffled over to the dresser and took out an Emma Bridgewater polka dot mug and sloshed in some of her special drink. ‘Can I get you one, Daisy?’
‘Absolutely, you can, Xian. Yes please. It’s been a very long time since I have had one of your special drinks. The last time, let me think, I was in the back of the bakery with Rory.’
‘Ahh, yes. When we came back and found you together drunk on Mum’s drinks,’ Holly said laughing. ‘Those were the days.’
‘They sure were. I’ve been remembering a lot of those days since I’ve been back,’ Daisy laughed.
‘I can’t believe you’re willing to give it another go.’ Leza laughed. ‘It’s disgusting. And not only that, it’s lethal, too.’
‘I think I’ll regret it in the morning,’ Daisy said giggling. ‘Right, Sparkles, nice jarmies by the way. Get yourself sat down at that very delightful pink table. I’ve got bhajis, poppadoms and all the pickles in my bag and one very large, very chilled, bottle of wine.’
Juliette looked around the kitchen lit by fairy lights and her beautiful friends and felt like her energy levels did a little upwards turn. Things were looking up. There was just one more thing she had to do.
Chapter 34
Juliette awoke to a bright streak of sunshine streaming through the shutters of her bedroom windows. She reached out carefully so as not to wake Luke, and pulled her phone from her drawer to see what time it was. They’d slept for ages for the first time in weeks. She could hear a wood pigeon cooing gently outside and the sound of a plane engine buzzing somewhere high up in the distance.
She put her head back on the pillows and waited to come to fully, and was certainly in no rush to get up. As she looked over at the shutters she felt like she’d slept in a vortex. A long, full night of undisturbed sleep had been few and far between over the previous few weeks, but as she’d slowly got a bit more energy back her sleep pattern had returned.
Luke was dead still beside her with no signs of movement. He was clearly exhausted too and didn’t stir as she picked up her phone. She decided to try and sneak out without waking him. Luke, lovely Luke. Good, old dependable Luke.
She tiptoed quietly out of their room, grabbing her pyjamas on the way, and pulling them on she went to check on Maggie, surprised that she couldn’t already hear Maggie up and pottering in her room. Juliette poked her head around Maggie’s bedroom door. Maggie was also sound asleep even though the light was streaming through both her shutters and her curtains. It had been quite the ride for all of them.
Juliette walked down to the ground floor, through the hallway, put the kettle on and then waited for the tea to brew. She took some bread out of the pink bread bin and then put it back again. Maybe she would wait and not have any toast yet and see if Luke and Maggie wanted to go out for breakfast. Since the accident mornings had been rushed because Juliette had dropped a few of her usual organisational balls. So, it would be nice to go out for a long, leisurely breakfast without haring around dropping people off here and there, and worrying about check-ups, doctors, and appointments.
Juliette picked up her cup of tea, pulled open the back door and walked out into the garden to the beautiful sounds and sights of the season. The lawn needed a good mowing but everything else seemed to have taken care of itself since she’d either been too busy or too tired to do much of her regular gardening. After twenty or so minutes of sitting there quietly with nothing more than the birds for company Maggie came walking down the path still in her nightie.
‘Darling, you’re awake at last. That was a big old sleep you had there,’ Juliette said.
Maggie’s hair was standing up on end and she rubbed her eyes sleepily.
‘Now, would you like me to go and make you some breakfast? I was wondering if you fancied going out for pancakes though instead? If you would, I'll just get you a small bowl of cereal, shall I?’
Maggie looked at Juliette, smiled and nodded, replied that she absolutely fancied going out for pancakes and shuffled back inside rubbing the back of her hair as she did. Juliette followed beside her with her now finished cup of tea.
Juliette and Maggie walked into the kitchen through the back door as Luke was coming in from the hallway.
‘I wondered where you all were!’ Luke said smiling.
‘I was first up. I crept out while you were dead to the world, and Maggie only just came down then.’ Juliette smiled and kissed Luke on the cheek.
‘Luke. We’re going out for pancakes, Mummy said,’ Maggie explained to Luke as he reached into the cupboard for the porridge.
‘Oh, are we? That sounds like a fabulous idea to me,’ Luke replied.
Juliette nodded, getting a small bowl from the dresser and pouring in some cereal for Maggie.
‘Are you sure you’re up for it Juliette? I thought we were going to take it easy and not do too much at all today. We’ve all been worn-out over the last few days.’
‘I think it would do us the world of good, and Maggie loves a good pancake or three.’ Juliette responded with a smile as she poured milk into Maggie’s bowl and got a spoon out of the drawer.
‘We need to get ourselves out and treat ourselves. There are better things coming. I can feel it in the water.’
‘I’m getting used to your feelings now, Juliette. So far, they have been uncannily correct. So, I wonder what we’ve got on the way, something nice I do hope.’ Luke said and sat down next to Maggie with his cup of tea.
‘I do think they will be nice things, yes.’ Juliette replied, a funny little smile on her face.
Chapter 35
Since the visit from her friends and taking care of herself a bit more rather than worrying about Maggie and Bella, and Bella having turned a distinct corner Juliette felt like her old energy had slowly started to come back.
It was a beautiful day and Juliette had planned to get some fresh air and have a stroll around Pretty Beach. Luke had stuck a flyer for the Pretty Beach Farmers Market on the front of the fridge a few days before, and Juliette had decided that she would put on a pretty dress, put her basket on the front of her bike, and enjoy strolling through the stalls.
When she’d mentioned it to Daisy, Daisy had added to the attractiveness of the market by saying that Pretty Lavender Farm was going to be there with a stall.
Juliette’s friend Lottie had also sent a text saying that she was going to go to the market and was going to finish off, weather dependent, with a flask of tea, a batch of homemade biscuits and the afternoon on the beach. So, Juliette had replied to Lottie’s text and had arranged to meet Lottie and Daisy at the market, and Luke was going to join them later on the beach.
Juliette hung her blue tea dress on the outside of the wardrobe and went and turned on the taps on the wonky old bath. She looked out the window to the sea as she listened to the water cranking all the way through the house and poured in a long stream of bubble bath as the water gushed into the tub.
In the past months, even a bath hadn’t really recharged her. She stood by the bath and watched as it slowly filled up and then stepped in, sinking down into the warm water. She let out a long, deep sigh. As she let the warm water wash over it felt like months’ worth of stress seeped out into the bath. It was as if her body was a stuck coil unable to unwind, but the warm bubbly water did just enough to make her close her eyes and lean her head back on the edge of the old clawfoot tub.
She could hear Maggie downstairs with Luke ope
ning the front door to Jeremy, and she sank back further, sloshing up the water over the back of her neck. She opened her eyes and looked down at the vintage taps at the end and reminded herself of all the wonderful things she had to be grateful for and most of all that Bella was going to be okay.
***
Juliette pulled her hair into a side ponytail, curled the ends with her tongs and sprayed the whole lot with fixing spray. She put on a layer of foundation, mascara, and blusher, and looked at herself in the mirror. Just the simple act of putting on her makeup had somehow magically made her feel more energetic.
She stepped into the powder blue dress, did all the little white buttons up down the front and rummaging around in the bottom of her wardrobe pulled out her white plimsolls.
She walked out of the bedroom, down the stairs, lifted her French market basket from the hooks in the hallway, opened the huge old front door, looked up at the sky, and decided to throw in her denim jacket.
She closed and locked the front door from the inside, and walked all the way through the ground floor, out the back door, through the garden, and pulled her bike out of the pink shed. As she unlocked and opened the gate at the back to the laneway Lottie was approaching on her bike.
‘Perfect timing!’ Lottie said as she got off her bike and kissed Juliette on the cheek. ‘How are you feeling? Any brighter?’ Lottie asked.
‘I am, actually, thanks.’
‘You’re looking a million times better than when I last saw you, has to be said.’
‘Because I’ve got some makeup on!’ Juliette said with a small smile. ‘I think I was beginning to look like a walking corpse.’
‘Never. I know what you mean, though. I can barely step outside without a bit of help in the face department these days. Not wanting to frighten the locals and all that,’ Lottie joked. ‘Do you feel better?’
A Pretty Beach Wish Page 11
