Christmas at Sandcastle Cottage

by Christina Jones

  And she was angry. Bloody angry. She’d known for ages they wouldn’t survive as a couple. She’d known that her feelings for James had changed, so why hadn’t she been the one to end it? She sighed heavily. How infuriating! She could have told him to get lost so many times, told him that she no longer liked him much, let alone loved him, but she hadn’t… because she felt sorry for him!

  Angry tears made her blink. ‘Stupid soft touch!’ she muttered, sniffing back the tears. ‘Stupid soft touch, that’s what I am! A stupid soft touch who no longer has her own home, or a boyfriend, or anything. I’m nearly forty, unmarried, no career prospects, no children, no nothing! I’m living in a bedsit and working part-time in a kebab shop in a pretty run-down area – and I have no chance of ever escaping – and now it’s Christmas and I’m going to hate it – and it’s all James’ fault!’

  Her phone rang. Zorro looked up from his water bowl and gave her his best and biggest Staffie grin, trickles dripping from his jowls.

  ‘Oh, I love you!’ Kitty wiped her eyes and smiled at him. ‘Thank god I’ve got you… ok life could be a whole lot worse, but…’ She answered the phone. ‘Oh, Jemini, yes, sorry… no I got side-tracked… Am I what? Crying? Yes… no… well, sort of. Look, there are things you should know – but let me ring you back… yes, right away. Promise. And yes, I’m ok… we’re a right pair, aren’t we? Stay there…’

  Half an hour later, emotionally drained, having laughed and cried with Jemini, listened and talked, and explained the situation and agreed that yes, they should both have been more honest with one another when they met in Firefly Common, Kitty headed to the bathroom to try to make herself look decent before she started work.

  She’d told Jemini she’d be in touch really soon and would try and help her as best she could because Jemini’s parents didn’t even live in the UK now, and had no idea what sort of life their daughter was living; and her ex-husband had disappeared from the radar the minute the CSA had tried to pin him down. Jemini, for her part, had said that James was never good enough for Kitty and that she was doing great, really – and that this was the moment for a fresh start: New Year, new man… and then they’d both laughed at their optimism.

  Re-doing her mascara, fluffing her fingers through her auburn hair and finding a clean tabard in the wardrobe, Kitty kissed Zorro and Honey, and headed downstairs to work. She couldn’t wait to tell Apollo all about James – the rat!

  The shop was still closed. Everything was silent. Kitty looked round in surprise. There was no mouth-watering smell of barbequing meat; no fresh scent of newly washed salad vegetables; no warm aroma of bread, or herbs, or spices. It was cold and quiet and empty. There was also no sign of Apollo; but he’d been fine earlier when she’d collected Honey for her walk. Had he been taken ill? Fallen asleep again? Popped out for something and forgotten the time? No… Not Apollo…

  ‘Apollo?’ Kitty called nervously. ‘Are you ok? What’s happened? Why is the shop closed? Oh!’

  A tall, silver haired man, wearing a black coat and with bleak grey eyes behind black rimmed glasses, emerged from the back kitchen carrying a briefcase. Kitty was relieved to see Apollo behind him.

  ‘I think I’m finished here,’ the man said to Apollo. ‘I know none of this is what you want to hear, but as they say, don’t shoot the messenger, eh?’ He laughed. ‘Right, I have to go and spread my glad tidings elsewhere. You’ll have everything in the post. Good day.’

  He left the shop. Apollo said nothing but left the door sign on “closed”.

  ‘Who was that?’ Kitty asked. ‘A health and safety bod? We weren’t expecting anyone, were we? Not today? Apollo – what on earth’s the matter?’

  ‘We have to close the shop. For ever.’

  ‘Is that what he said to you? That man from the HSE? That’s nonsense! All the hygiene checks have been one hundred percent! You’ve never had any problems at all.’ ‘It’s not to do with the hygiene, Kitty. It’s to do with the landlords and the council selling the land to developers. It’s about bulldozing this little parade of shops and turning the area into an estate of so-called affordable housing. It’s all because of government quotas, and money being available to whoever owns land that might be ripe for development where dozens of houses can be built. The die is cast – is that what you say when you know the decision has already been made?’

  ‘Yes, but, surely you’d have been given some warning?’ Kitty wasn’t sure she’d heard or understood. ‘When? When is this supposed to happen? They can’t do that, can they? I mean… What did he say? That man – whoever he was. What has he told you?’

  ‘Compulsory purchase has been approved with immediate effect. Very little compensation because – conveniently – all our leases are up at the end of the month anyway. We will be fully compensated for the loss of stock and equipment – but our landlord has jumped at some easy money I think. Oh, yes… there have been whispers and rumours and some more stronger hints about this happening any day now. We knew it was on the cards – we just hoped it would never happen. We have even had letters saying that our premises were likely to be bulldozed if the deal went through – we just hoped it wouldn’t.’

  Kitty groaned. Jemini and Apollo – both burying their heads in the sand and hoping the problems would go away. What a pair! ‘But why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped you.’

  ‘How could I tell you?’ Apollo shook his head. ‘I knew what you’d been through. I didn’t want to worry you if there was no need. I’m so sorry, Kitty. I had no idea it would happen like this. If I’d known, I would have warned you, believe me.’

  ‘But if I’d known I could have organised a petition online. We could have used social media to spread the word. Got the local television and radio on the case…’

  ‘We’ve tried all that. Ages ago. We formed a committee – all of us who rent the shops here. This has been simmering for a long time. No-one from the papers or the telly was very interested. To be honest, saving a row of run-down shops in an area that will really benefit from redevelopment simply wasn’t going to make a good news story or tug at anyone’s heartstrings.’

  Kitty wiped her eyes with her fingers. Her whole world was, once again, changing – and again it was out of her control.

  Apollo leaned against the counter, his kind, gentle face crumpling. ‘We were told this would happen one day whether we fought it or not. There have been lots of meetings – we all used to go, but nothing was ever decided and we all lost heart. This – this final decision – has come out of the blue. And they’d like us all out of here before Christmas.’

  Kitty suddenly knew exactly what people meant when they said something was like a bad dream. She looked at Apollo. ‘Oh Apollo!’ She hugged him. ‘Don’t cry! Please don’t cry! Let me make us a drink – I’ll put the kettle on – there must be something we can do…’

  ‘We can’t fight the inevitable. Where will I go, Kitty? Where will Honey go? And what about you and Zorro? We won’t have a home. We’ll be on the streets like the people I always try to help…’ He blew his nose noisily. ‘This is my home and my life and my livelihood… Oh, Kitty – what are we going to do?’

  Kitty hugged him some more and cried with him. And somewhere outside Wizard were wishing it could be Christmas every day.

  This year, Kitty thought dismally, Christmas was definitely cancelled.

  Chapter Six

  The idea that had been niggling away at Kitty for the last few days, was becoming an itch she simply had to scratch.

  Yes, of course, it was total insanity… it couldn’t possibly work… Could it?

  She fished out the leaflet that had been languishing at the bottom of her bag since the day of Miss B’s Firefly Common memorial, and sat on the edge of the bed. Zorro sat with her and stared. Kitty reached for her phone, then pushed it away. Zorro blinked. She picked it up again and Zorro thumped his tail.

  Holding her breath, her hand shaking as she tried to read the figures on the leaflet, she punched
out the number. It rang. She wanted to hang up. Then…

  ‘Lovell and Lowe. Connor Lowe speaking. How may I help you?’

  ‘Er…’ Kitty’s mouth was dry. ‘Um – good morning. I’m not sure if you remember me, but you showed me round Sandcastle Cottage a few weeks ago… My name is Kitty Appleby.’

  Connor, to give him his due, was very professional. Even if he didn’t have a clue who she was, no-one would have ever guessed. ‘Sandcastle Cottage… Yes, of course – Miss – er – Appleby.’

  ‘Well – um – what I wanted to know was, are pets allowed? And how much deposit is required? And – oh! – is it still available? That’s it, really.’

  ‘Ah – right – let’s take a look… Sandcastle Cottage…’ Connor spoke really slowly. Kitty wanted to shake him. He was either scrolling through his screen, or looking at the hard copy details, or gelling his quiff, or maybe just counting to a hundred before he put her off. He spoke suddenly, making her jump. ‘Ah, yes – of course – now I remember – the lady from Reading. How are you?’

  ‘I’m fine, thank you.’ Another lie, but what the heck.

  ‘Good… good…’

  Oh for pity’s sake, Kitty muttered to herself. Get a sodding move on!

  ‘Right – here we are – Sandcastle Cottage,’ Connor spoke again. ‘Well, Miss – um – yes… it’s still available. Um, let’s see – right, there are no problems with pets… Mrs Mulholland is an animal lover and well known locally as such, so I didn’t think there would be – although, obviously, there are the usual stipulations – any animal-caused damage must be paid for – that sort of thing… but no, no extra rental charges… And the deposit – two months in advance – but as I think we discussed, the rent is very low, so that shouldn’t be a problem.’

  Kitty let out the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. So far so good.

  ‘Miss – um – Appleby. Sorry – are you still there? Does this mean you – you and your partner – are going to rent Sandcastle Cottage?’

  ‘Not exactly. Me, yes – but certainly not with my partner. Turns out he’s a sodding rat and I’m well rid of him. So it’ll be me and a couple of friends – maybe – if I can just get it organised this end. I know they both need

  somewhere to live but I haven’t mentioned Sandcastle Cottage to them yet because I didn’t know if it was still available… now I do, I will – if you see what I mean.’

  Connor laughed. ‘Yes, I think I get the drift.’

  ‘Good – look, I know this may a be a bit unorthodox, but if I paid the deposit now and a month’s rent over the phone on my card, could you take Sandcastle Cottage off your books, please? I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible once I’ve asked the others. Oh, and I know I may have to forfeit my money if my plans don’t work out… but…’

  ‘Just the deposit will be fine, Miss Appleby. I’m sure Mrs Mulholland would be delighted that you and your friends will be in situ and taking care of her beloved cottage in her absence.’

  ‘Oh, and another thing,’ Kitty added quickly. ‘We – the three of us who might be moving into Sandcastle Cottage – won’t be employed as we’re moving from a different area and it’s just before Christmas and…’

  ‘That’s not a problem for me – or as far as I can imagine, Mrs Mulholland. As long as the rent is paid on time, that’s all that concerns us. And I’m sure you’ll all be able to find some sort of work in Firefly Common. However, you do remember the rental is very short-term?’

  ‘Yes… yes… How can I forget?’ Kitty sighed. ‘But it is exactly what we need right now, and I think we’re all very adaptable and we’ll certainly be looking for work, and presumably somewhere more permanent to live, once we’re settled in Firefly Common.’

  Connor laughed. ‘I’m sure everything will be just fine. So, yes, please, go ahead – give me your card details – and Sandcastle Cottage is no longer available as we speak.’

  Kitty, having been able to save some money while working for Apollo and thinking it would come in handy for the Christmas she imagined she’d be sharing somehow with James, now knew it was going to a far more important cause. She gave her details, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice. This was the easy part. Now she just had to suggest this madness to Apollo and Jemini and see what they thought.

  ‘Lovely,’ Connor said. ‘All done. So, your friends? Are they a couple?’

  ‘Good lord – um – no… They’re both single. One is a lady of my age who has a small daughter, and the other is a middle aged man… oh, and we have two dogs.’

  ‘One big happy family!’ Connor laughed. ‘Well obviously I’ll need all the details as soon as you know if your friends are in agreement with the arrangement. But I do hope this works out for you, Miss Appleby – I know how much you loved Sandcastle Cottage. I’ll be hearing from you soon, no doubt. Goodbye for now.

  ‘Goodbye – and thank you.’

  Kitty pushed the phone away from her and looked at Zorro. ‘Well – that’s that then. Now let’s go and see what everyone else makes of it, and then I just have to turn into the Chancellor of the Exchequer to see how the money side of things is going to work – not to mention the logistics of moving us from here, and Jem and Teddy from the Midlands – and then there’s the fact that we’ll all be unemployed… oh, and of course the fact that in the summer, Mrs Mulholland is going to want her home back.’

  Zorro grinned and thumped his tail.

  ‘Easy for you to say,’ Kitty kissed the top of his head. ‘Right, you snuggle down here while I go and see what Apollo thinks.’

  Apollo was busily coating potato wedges in an aromatic herby dip. While many of the other shopkeepers in the parade had already given up, removed what they could dispose of and shuttered their premises, he’d elected to keep the kebab shop open for as long as possible – “I shall need every penny for the future” he’d said.

  Kitty decided to not shilly-shally. She told him about Sandcastle Cottage, about Firefly Common, and about – well – all of it. Then she handed him the Lovell and Lowe property description, complete with photograph.

  ‘Just think about it,’ she said. ‘We can talk about it later. I know it’s a massive upheaval, but…’

  ‘Oh, but I am flabbergasted. Is that right? It’s a dream! It’s like a fairy-tale – what a lovely, lovely house… And it’s a lifeline,’ Apollo sniffed happily, grinning almost as widely as Zorro. ‘A fresh start. We’ll have a roof over our heads for Christmas. You are an amazing lady. You should be Prime Minister. You have so many problems and you solve them – and for others, too. And I’m glad that James is out of your life. He was a weasel. A true weasel.’

  Kitty giggled.

  Apollo was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. ‘And this beautiful place – is by the sea, you say?’

  Kitty nodded. ‘It’s lovely there. The dogs will love it.’

  ‘And we can definitely take the dogs to this Sandcastle Cottage?’

  ‘Yes I’ve checked.’

  ‘Then, Kitty – my answer is let’s do it. I will start sorting out what to keep and what to sell – we’ll need a pot of money to see us through, and… does this place, this village – this Firefly… does it have a kebab shop?’

  ‘Not yet,’ Kitty laughed and hugged him. ‘Oh, bless you – I’m so glad you’re ok with this.’

  ‘It’s a madcap scheme. But I have spent my whole life being sensible. I think I’ll enjoy being a madcap for once. Now, you go and see if your friend is as happy with the arrangement as I am – then we must make plans. Many, many plans.’

  ‘We must – but what about Mary? Does she rely on the money from here to eke out her pension? And even if she doesn’t, I know she enjoys the company.’

  ‘Mary will be ok,’ Apollo said. ‘Mary was wanting to give up her working here by Christmas anyway. She said she was too old to be pratting about in refrigerators. She thought she might take up Zumba. Is that right?’

  ‘Probably not
,’ Kitty laughed. ‘But I’m glad that she won’t be too unhappy to lose her job. OK – as you say, we have many, many plans to make – but first I have to make one more phone call.’

  Taking the back stairs two at a time, Kitty hurtled into the bedsit. Zorro, curled up on the bed, opened one eye.

  ‘One down, one to go,’ Kitty told him, scrabbling for her phone. ‘Wish me luck.’

  Zorro closed his eye, sighed heavily, and thumped his tail. It would have to do.

  The conversation with Jemini took longer than it had with Apollo, mainly because Jem kept squeaking and interrupting and repeating “Really? Say that again? What – seriously?” But eventually Kitty felt she’d explained everything clearly.

  ‘I’ll email you the estate agent’s link so you can see the cottage for yourself. If you’re up for it then we’ll have to make some serious plans.’

  ‘I’m up for it,’ Jem said quickly. ‘Oh god am I up for it! It’s a miracle, Kit – a bloody miracle!’

  ‘It isn’t. It’s only a temporary fix, but as we all need all the help we can get at the moment, I’m happy with temporary. So, we’ll make plans for getting what you want to keep down to Firefly Common – and if you can sell all the rest as quickly as possible, at least you’ll have some money. The cottage is fully furnished – so you’ll only need bedlinens, towels, and your clothes of course - that sort of thing.’

  ‘And all Teddy’s stuff.’

  ‘Well, yes of course. Now Jemini listen to me – I’m going to get a bit boring and serious here. You have to go back to the CAB. You have to tell them what you’re doing and where you’re going and get them to help you contact your landlord – and anyone else you owe money to – and sort out a payment plan. The landlord should be ok with that – you’ll be out of the flat and they won’t need the bailiffs to evict you. Give in your notice at work, make sure you get every penny that’s owing to you, tell the CAB that you will be looking for work in the new year and can they help you with the wording of the repayment letter. Don’t promise to pay when you can’t – but make sure you hand the keys and rent book back to your landlord and get a signature. OK?’