The Wishing Well

by Jilly Bowling

  “Seems to be alright but we won’t know whether the battery’s holding a charge until you’ve run it a good distance.”

  Slamming the hood down he looked at her and seeing that she was embarrassed he went on “Well, I’ll leave you to your work. Don’t forget to eat or you’ll make yourself ill.” Then he climbed into the land rover and drove off.

  Mortified and flustered at the way he’d affected her Bella hurried back into the cottage and set to work scrubbing the oak floor in the bedroom and bathroom. By the time she’d finished that and brought in the rag rugs and curtains it was getting dark, so she called it a day.As she was eating the cheese omelette that she’d made for her supper she made a list of things she needed and what she could afford. After buying the van she had been left with just over five hundred pounds. More than she’d had when Gervaise had dropped his bombshell, because of all the things she’d sold.

  Paint was the first priority for the walls and ceilings. She’d brought all the paint she’d collected for her upcycling and there were many half tins of emulsion, satinwood, and a lot of of match pots that she’d bought for smaller items. She also had a box full of stencils, rub on transfers etc. and a large tin of finishing wax, that she had bought just before her life had changed when she met Gervaise. Thank god she’d hoarded them away out of his sight or he would have nagged her to throw them out. The boxes they were in, were now in the lean to beyond the kitchen, so when she’d finished eating she went through to sort through them. As she did so she realised that all she needed to buy was one giant tin of white matt emulsion, usually the cheapest colour to buy and mix it with the matt emulsion she had already in different colours, to make different tints for each room.

  Now all she had to do was find a good cheap store to do her shopping in. Normally she’d have gone online but there was no internet connection at the cottage, and it would probably be awhile until she could afford it. Back in the living room she switched on the TV and drank a mug of tea as she mulled over her dilemma. The TV was turned low but she was absent mindedly watching it as she drank until an advert flashed onto the screen, showing a large complex with towers, peacock’s and fairground rides. Written across the screen in large print was `MEGA SPRING SALE, 50% OFF EVERYTHING.` she turned the sound up as the picture flashed through furniture, clothes, electric, and DIY items.

  One of the company’s stores was at Newton Abbot, on the edge of Dartmoor and she became excited at the prospect of a store where she could get what she wanted cheap and all in one place. Getting out her map of Dartmoor she found the giant store actually marked on it and saw that it was an easy drive.

  After rummaging around in the dirty lean to she definitely needed another bath so went through into the bathroom and turned the tap on. As the bath filled she saw to the Aga and woodburner, locked up and set her alarm clock, then undressed and sank into the hot water. As she soaked she drew pictures in her head of how the cottage would look when she finished decorating it.

  * * *

  The shopping trip proved to be a great success and she enjoyed it very much. On reaching the store she marvelled at all it had to offer. The fun park had much to keep a family happy, the show gardens were beautifully set out and on entering the store she’d been amazed at how much it stocked. Even on a weekday it was busy with people taking advantage of the weather and the mega sale.

  On entering she’d seen the DIY section immediately and to her delight displayed at the end of an aisle, were giant tins, matt and silk, of white emulsion for the amazingly low price of eleven pounds and ninety nine pence. Mixed with the half tins of coloured emulsion she already had it would paint the whole cottage, walls and ceilings.Thinking of the ceilings she picked up a roller pack, consisting of a tray, small roller, large roller with a telescopic handle and drip tray. Placing it all in the plastic basket on wheels that she’d picked up at the entrance, she wandered on through the store. At the top of a sloping ramp the shelves on her left held household and cleaning goods, for personal use or cleaning a house, so she popped a few things into the basket and then saw, on her right, that there were shelves and shelves of electrical goods. Spotting a toaster for nine pounds ninety nine she picked that up too and followed the aisles until she came to an area where curtains and material were piled high. In a corner she found a pile of end of roll pieces and rummaged through them until right at the bottom she found a large roll of faux velvet in a pale apple white. Pulling it out she stared at the price tag, no that couldn’t be right! Ten pounds for all that, surely not, so she went to the counter to ask. The assistant told her that it was old stock, out of fashion, and green wasn’t a popular colour anymore, so yes that was the price. Telling the girl she’d have it she left it with her while she looked through the rest of the reduced pieces. There was a few yards of a tapestry type cloth which had the same pale green in the pattern. Holding it up she envisaged a strip along the bottom of the velvet living room curtains with cushions made from it, on the two old armchairs covered in the green to match the curtains. After adding green thread to her purchases she made her way to the till area, paid and carried her finds back to the van.

  Feeling hungry she wandered through the concourse outside the store and bought herself fish and chips from one of the food outlets. Although sunny it was still too chilly to eat at one of the picnic table standing around the food area so she carried her meal along with a can of coke back to the van and ate it there

  As she’d driven onto the site she’d seen a sign for a Co-op foodstore, so meal finished she started the van and drove round to it. She didn’t have a freezer so settled for getting chilled things with a long use by date, tins of corned beef, ham, vegetables, half baked rolls that would keep for months, crumpets and more bananas.On getting out of the van she’d noticed a pile of pallets, made from some nice looking wood, so found the manager and asked if they were going to be reused or thrown away. When he said they went to the tip she asked if she could have a couple.

  “Take them all” he replied, “just leave a donation in the Devon air ambulance box.”

  When she’d paid for her shopping she pushed a ten pound note into the charity box and went out to inspect them. There were a lot there, more than she’d get in the van, so she sorted through them to find the best. As she struggled to get them into it, a young man came out to straighten the trolleys, and came over to help her, refusing a tip. Blown away at the kindness of the people in this area she waved gratefully to him as she drove away.

  Back at the cottage she unpacked the van, putting the pallets in the open barn to keep them dry. To her delight the old quilt was nearly dry so she took it indoors and laid it over two of the hardwood chairs.Shopping unpacked she made a cup of tea and feeling more cheerful than she had in ages set to to make the old cottage into a home to be proud of.

  Chapter 4

  Over the next two weeks Bella worked sixteen hours a day with half a day off, on the Sunday, to go to a boot sale, and the cottage had slowly started to shine. The muted colours she had achieved, by mixing some of her old emulsion with the new white, had made the rooms seem larger but warm and homely.

  To her delight she’d sold the old sideboard to a dealer she’d dealt with in the past, along with an old settle she had found in the tiny loft room. Luckily she had discovered that if she walked up the slope behind the cottage she could get a signal, so she’d taken a picture of the two pieces and after speaking to him had sent them to him. His response had surprised her and when he arranged to come and see them the very next day she’d inspected them closely. Her knowledge of antiques was limited but she could see that they were very nicely made and carved. She couldn’t find any screws or nail heads showing and everything seemed to be dovetailed together. Even the inside of the drawers was solid which she knew meant that they were probably quite old.

  When James, the dealer saw them he hadn’t been able to hide his appreciation of the craftsmanship tha
t had made them. “Mmm,” he’d said, “these are quite nice.”

  Bella had smiled at the understatement but didn’t comment on it, only asking “Would you and your driver like a cup of tea or coffee after your long drive?”

  “Thank you, yes that would be great. Two teas please, with milk and two sugars in each.” James had answered, still running his eyes and hands over the intricate carving on the sideboard.

  After supplying them with mugs of strong tea, Bella had stood quietly sipping hers.

  “Have you thought how much you want for them?” James had asked.

  “No, I’m not an expert on oak furniture so make me an offer.”

  “Well... How about eight hundred for the two?”

  Bella had smiled “I may not be an expert James, but I do know quality when I see it. I would think eight hundred for the settle alone.”

  “Oh, hey, hang about!” Then he had pretended to examine the sideboard again and offered eight hundred for the sideboard and three for the settle, and said that he couldn’t do any better than that.

  So she’d said “Oh well, if that’s your limit I think I’ll leave it and once I’ve got the internet up and running I’ll try them on line.”

  James had frowned “Ok Bella, tell me what you want.”

  She’d asked two thousand for the two and settled for fifteen hundred and when he’d gone she did a war dance in the space left by the sideboard, All the things that were in it were now in a box in the lean to and she intended to look through the paperwork etc. when she had the time.

  Now that the main rooms were painted, she’d set up her old sewing machine, that she’d bought when she was in art college, and was making new covers for the two old armchairs and a high back two seater sofa she’d picked up from a charity shop. It was in good condition, although the covers were grubby and had cost a whole twenty five pounds.

  The curtains that she’d made first were up at the newly painted and cleaned windows, looking fresh but very chique, with two narrow panels of the tapestry material across the bottom and tapestry tie backs holding them back in neat pleats. To make the most of the green material she had covered the furniture in a patchwork effect with velvet and tapestry intermixed and was now making scatter cushions, green one side and tapestry the other. As she placed the last cushion on the chair next to the woodburner she stood back and looked around delighted with how the room looked.

  The oak floor that had never been varnished and had been just dark with age and dirt, now glowed lightly showing the beautiful oak grain. She’d scrubbed it and scrubbed it using sugar soap and a bleach mixture, until her hands were sore. Then she’d finished it with a modern wood preservative that didn’t darken it or make it slippery.

  The walls were a pale linen colour, the doors and woodwork white satin, and she’d found a couple of modern box canvases at the boot sale at Exeter racecourse, for fifty pence each, which went perfectly with the decour. The inglenook was spotless and the old woodburner shone, after a hard polishing with old stove black that she’d found under the sink. The couple of rag rugs, that had survived the washing machine whole, gave a splash of colour to the oak floor.

  She heard the roar of Roman’s quad bike before she saw it through the open door. The weather was improving as March moved into April and she’d got into the habit of leaving the door open as she worked. Going to the opening she watched as the bike crested the rise in the drive and came to a halt on the gravel in front of the cottage. Strapped to the back of the bike was a large plastic animal container from which whines and scratching could be heard now that the engine was switched off. Roman’s dog was sniffing up at it and he pushed him away before opening the door on the side and lifting out a filthy bundle of fur.

  “What’s happened?” Bella asked rushing out of the cottage to Roman’s side. “Is it hurt? What is it?”

  Roman put the bundle of fur on the ground where it unfurled its legs and stood up, tail between its legs and trembling.

  “It’s a six month old lurcher pup. I’ve just taken it off its former owners. I’m sure you can see why.”

  Bella could also see the bruises on Roman’s knuckles, but didn’t say anything, as she squatted down next to the frightened pup gently scratching its chest.

  “You poor little thing you’re all just skin and bone. What are you going to do with it?”

  “Well, I thought maybe you’d like some company.”

  “What? You brought it for me?”

  Roman smiled “Only if you want her. If not, I’m sure one of our neighbours will give her a home.”

  “I don’t know much about dogs, although I do like them and I’ve always wanted one.” Bella was now scratching the pup’s ears, causing her tail to wag tentatively.

  “Be careful you don’t get fleas, “ Roman said “She needs defleaing and a good bath.”

  “She, oh she’s a girl then? What’s she called?”

  “Misty, but you can always change it if you don’t like it.”

  “No, it suits her. How do I get rid of the fleas?”

  “I’ve brought some flea and tick powder, got to watch out for ticks, what with the deer and sheep. If you want her I’ll help you de-flea and bathe her, as she won’t like it much.” Then he laughed as his dog slunk away to hide. “Hamish hates the word bath.”

  Bella grinned “He makes it very obvious. So how do we begin?”

  An hour later, both soaked and grimy, they sat on the bench and watched as Misty, now looking very pretty with silky grey fur, tore around rubbing herself dry on the long grass, before pouncing on a dignified Hamish, then running away before he could retaliate.

  Taking a long drink from his mug of tea Roman said “I can’t get over how much you’ve done in such a short time. Your flair for decorating and refurnishing is amazing. Why aren’t you working as an interior designer?”

  “Long story,” Bella pulled a face, “after art college that’s what I was trying to do. I’d built up a reasonable reputation for my upcycling, but then, well, let’s just say I got derailed and eight years later I’m starting again.”

  Roman saw the pain in her eyes and didn’t comment. Instead he asked “So how are you going to do that?”

  “Buy a few pieces, do them up and sell them. The joy is that the boot sales in Devon are a lot cheaper than those around Bristol, Cheltenham or the south east. When I’ve got a reasonable stock together I’ll do flea markets in those areas and hopefully rebuild my reputation.”

  “So you’ll travel?”

  “Yes, I’ll have to to start with. Wishing Well crafts will hopefully become known nationwide.” Bella laughed at herself and her big dreams.

  Roman looked thoughtful, “I believe you’ll achieve that. You deserve to, the work you’ve done in a couple of weeks is amazing.”

  Bella glowed at his praise, but then gave a self deprecating smile and shrugged her shoulders, “I’ve had nothing else to do.”

  “Well now that the cottage is done you’ll have to take some time off. Look there’s a barn dance the other side of Widecombe, young farmers do. Why don’t you come along and meet some of the locals?”

  “I wouldn’t want to gate crash and I haven’t been invited.”

  “I’m inviting you,”Roman insisted “I’ll pick you up and bring you home. Come on, you’ve got to get to know people.”

  “Well,” Bella hesitated, “what about Misty? And I haven’t got much to wear.”

  “We’ll take Misty and Hamish with us and lock them in one of the stables, near the barn. Hamish comes most places with me, it’ll get the pup used to things, and it’s just a tee shirt and jeans do.”

  Despite the insecurity Gervaise had instilled in her when it came to meeting a new group of people, Bella bravely agreed and it was arranged that he’d pick her up at seven o’clock the following
Saturday evening.

  Roman had thoughtfully brought a large bag of dog kibble with the pup, for which Bella insisted on paying him, so she lured Misty into the cottage with a bowl of food as he whistled for his dog and rode away.

  Misty had been half starved by her previous owner and she attacked the food with gusto, licking the bowl clean and looking for more.

  “Sorry love, but Roman said little and often until you’re used to being fed. Don’t want to give you delhi belly.” Bella laughed as the pup sat and lifted a paw up to her begging with her eyes. “You’ll get some more later, I promise.”

  Seeing that she wasn’t going to get any more Misty gave a big sigh, drank some water, from the bowl Bella had put on the floor in the kitchen, and flopping down onto the rug in front of the woodburner fell into a deep sleep. Bella watched her for a minute thinking that suddenly she didn’t feel so alone, then going into the bedroom started to stencil some delicate stalks, leaves and wild flowers onto the wall above her bed.

  * * *

  The following day being Sunday, Bella took herself off to the boot sale at the racecourse. She couldn’t take Misty as no dogs were allowed, so decided to lock her in the kitchen, where, hopefully, she couldn’t do much damage. Bribed with a long walk in the morning and a bowl of food, the pup settled down on an old rug that hadn’t survived the washing machine, and wouldn’t matter if she destroyed it.

  Bella had another list of things she’d like to find, like a large rug for the bedroom, and new cupboards and worktops for the kitchen. The two cupboards on either side of the sink were formica topped and in a sorry state. The palettes she’d picked up from the supermarket, could be made into cupboards or worktops, as the wood was really nice, but would need sanding, so she was on the lookout for an electric sander too.