Dreams of a Little Cornish Cottage

by Nancy Barone

  I just knew he’d say that again. This was not what he’d bargained for. He was looking for a quiet house where he could unwind and live in peace, not Romper Room.

  The trouble was, I didn’t want to interview anyone else. The process of waiting for someone to answer my ad, and the worry about who I’d end up with in my home had been painful enough, not to mention the humiliation of having no other choice, and I didn’t want to have to expose myself to all that again. Okay, confession: I didn’t want anyone else. Period.

  ‘Oh, of course not!’ I said.

  ‘Are you sure? It’s such a delicate moment for your family and I’d only be in the way.’

  ‘I’m sure, Connor, thank you. But I’ll need the income even more now – you know. But if we’re too noisy…’

  He sprayed the counter with Dettol and wiped it down again, rather than just pushing the sugar off the edge of the counter and onto the floor like Neil used to when he thought I wasn’t looking. And to think he was a doctor. But Connor? A man after my own heart.

  ‘No, it’s not that. I’m happy here. But I’m wondering whether you might all need your privacy? I understand that Sarah is going through a difficult time, too.’

  ‘Which is why we need cheery people like you around,’ I concluded with a smile before he could continue.

  He rinsed the sponge out under the tap and squeezed it before placing it in the draining basket by the window to dry. Oh, wasn’t he absolutely perfect?

  He looked up. ‘Are you sure? I will be working from home a lot and don’t go out much.’

  ‘Connor,’ I said. ‘You are most welcome to stay. Otherwise I’d have found a way to politely mention it to you, believe me.’

  He stopped, studying my face, and then broke out into a smile. ‘Okay, then. Thanks. But if at any time, should you change your mind…’

  ‘I won’t, Connor. Thank you.’

  ‘Excellent.’ He stuck out a huge hand. ‘Shake on it?’

  We shook, my hand completely disappearing in his warm one, while a funny feeling shot up from my legs through my stomach, unsettling and exciting at the same time.

  ‘And now,’ he said with a wink, ‘let’s get that brew to your mum, or I’ll have to play Strip Poker with her.’

  I nodded and watched him walk back to my mother. If I was unable to ignore the warmth in his eyes and his voice, I was completely unable to ignore the lean hips below the low belt. Strip Poker, indeed. Oh, get a grip, will you, Nat?

  You see how nice he was? Anyone else would’ve fled this nest of females like a bat out of hell. But Connor? He fit in perfectly with us, and the idea was totally heart-warming.

  I got to my feet when he returned. ‘Right. I’m going to start on prepping dinner for tonight. My daughter Lizzie and her boyfriend Liam are coming over. It’ll be a chance for you to get to meet them.’

  ‘Cool. Need any help?’ he offered.

  I shook my head. ‘No, thanks. I want to impress everyone tonight by myself.’

  *

  What I hadn’t considered was that Connor would have done all the impressing without even trying. He and Liam, the only males in the house, had gone off together to the garden to do that Male Bonding thing, while Lizzie, who was more a hindrance than a help in the kitchen, was still looking at him even after the introductions.

  She picked at a piece of cheese broccoli from the oven dish. ‘So, what’s he all about, Mum? Is he yours or did you get him for Sarah? I’d say he’s too old for her.’

  ‘He’s not mine, and no, I didn’t get him for Sarah.’ The cheek!

  Sarah snorted. ‘He may not be hers, but she’s got the hots for him.’

  ‘Ooh, Mum, you naughty girl, you!’ Lizzie teased as she craned her neck to have a good look through the glass of the orangery. ‘Well, in any case, the goods are all there.’

  ‘Lizzie,’ I said. ‘Stop taking the mickey. He’s just a lodger. Nothing more.’

  And that was when Connor looked up and his eyes met mine in a huge grin visible from across the garden. Luckily, he hadn’t heard over the din the twins were making. He just did that eye contact thing with me very often, making me all jittery inside.

  ‘And a gorgeous lodger at that,’ Lizzie hissed under her breath.

  ‘He’s also in his twenties, for Christ’s sake, Lizzie. Look at him,’ Sarah said.

  I’d have readily agreed if I hadn’t remembered that his personal information was on the contract. He was thirty-three next October. Still, I enjoyed the girls’ musings.

  Lizzie studied him. ‘Nah. He’s got to be early thirties. But I’m telling you now, if I were to break up with Liam, and if Mum wasn’t interested in him—’

  ‘I’m not—’

  ‘I’d know exactly where to go looking now.’ Said by the young woman who had sworn her eternal love to her boyfriend only last month.

  Sarah shrugged. ‘I don’t ever want to see another man as long as I live.’

  A clear, manly laugh rung out and the three of us looked through the glass again at Liam and Connor chewing the breeze over their beers. Not to be mean, but Liam didn’t have a patch on Connor.

  ‘Single?’ Lizzie asked.

  ‘Divorced,’ Sarah answered.

  Lizzie thought about it and nodded her approval. ‘Gorgeous face and bod. Sexy smile, too. And what does he do?’

  ‘He’s an IT expert. He works from home,’ Sarah answered, elbowing her sister. ‘And Mum has barely left the house since he arrived.’

  ‘I thought you didn’t like him, Sarah,’ I reminded her.

  ‘It’s not that. I’ve nothing personal against him. Have your fling if you must. But do it discreetly.’

  Lizzie guffawed. ‘Discreetly? In this house? And in Wyllow Cove? Good luck.’

  ‘Even if I have my doubts on whether it’s the right thing to do at this point in your life, Mum,’ Sarah said.

  ‘What, take on a lodger, you mean?’

  ‘Along… with everything else…’

  ‘Nonsense, Sarah,’ Lizzie said. ‘You want Mum to be celibate for the rest of her life?’

  ‘Ew…’ Sarah said and I stared back and forth between them, trying to get a word in.

  ‘Don’t “ew” me,’ Lizzie replied, nodding towards the window. ‘Can’t you see he’s got the hots for her, too? He keeps looking over at her, and did you not notice? He’s like her shadow.’

  Which, I had to admit, was true. But maybe that was just the way he was. Attentive. It didn’t necessarily mean he was attracted to me as well.

  ‘And why shouldn’t she go for him? She’s only thirty-nine, for Christ’s sake. And still smoking hot.’

  ‘Hello? Your mum is still in the room?’ I said. But I didn’t mind the compliment, even if I knew that Lizzie spoke out of love. Because smoking hot, I was not. After the divorce, I had forgotten how to smile. And how to groom. I needed a makeover pronto. Especially if I was to impress my new boss, Miss Chic Extraordinaire.

  After dinner, drinks and more conversation, Lizzie and Liam drove back to Truro and Sarah took the girls upstairs to sort them out for bed. Mum was in her chair in the lounge watching Corry, and Connor dried the dishes that I churned out of the sink at breakneck speed.

  ‘Lizzie and Liam are a lot of fun,’ Connor observed, still grinning to himself about the jokes they had cracked.

  I smiled as I passed him a plate. ‘Yes, they are. They are such a good couple.’

  ‘And they’re so lucky to have found each other at such a young age. My ex-wife and I had been childhood sweethearts, and we gradually just grew out of each other.’

  ‘The same happened to Neil and I. We were students when we met. He was very different back then,’ I said, trying to justify myself in his eyes. Why, I didn’t know.

  ‘Divorce happens.’ Connor sighed. ‘But I’m glad I gave Mel the house. She always loved it more than I did. And I’m glad you got this house.’

  I sighed. ‘It’s too big for me. Or rather, it was. I guess that it’
s a good thing I hadn’t already downsized. I was going to buy myself somewhere smaller, but it’ll have to wait.’

  Because I’d really have to put myself on the backburner until I could get the family sorted out. Mum needed me for at least another three weeks. Sarah could stay here as long as she wanted, but the twins needed me indefinitely, so there was no way I could go anywhere right now as I had literally been sandwiched in somewhere between three generations. They should have called me The Sandwich Girl.

  When I was done washing up, I dried my hands and turned to tidy the pile of real estate brochures on top of the fridge, and binned them in one sweep. Connor’s gaze flicked over me, but he said nothing. Good man.

  6

  The Hounslow

  ‘Auntie Nat, why is Mum always away? Doesn’t she love us anymore?’ Zoe asked the next morning right out of the blue. Yola had only sent video messages due to the time difference, and the girls were starting to feel neglected by her.

  I took her onto my lap. ‘Oh, sweetheart, of course she does! She’d love to be here. Do you remember what we talked about last Easter when you came to stay with me?’

  Zoe nodded. ‘That she loves us very much, but she can’t be here right now because she’s working.’

  ‘That’s right, Zoe,’ I said. ‘Mummy loves you so, so much, and she really misses you.’

  ‘So then why doesn’t she come back?’ Zoe insisted. ‘We don’t need all that money.’

  At that, Amy rolled her eyes. ‘Because our nanny says when you’re rich, it’s never enough, Zoe. How else do you think Mum’s going to pay for all our nice things?’

  Zoe was not convinced. ‘But we never see her. What if she can’t make it for our birthday?’

  Amy shrugged. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time.’

  But Zoe shook her head. ‘Not even Daddy loved us. He left before we were even born.’

  ‘Sweetheart…’ I said, caressing her hair. ‘Your mummy and daddy were having problems, but they both love you very, very much, you know?’ What else could I say? All I knew was that Piers and Yolanda’s marriage had been on the rocks for quite a while, and I had always wondered why she’d insisted on IVF in the first place. And then one day Piers simply filed for divorce. And we hadn’t heard from him since. I only hoped that Yolanda would sort her love life out soon for the girls’ benefit. It must have been very lonely for them to not have a father figure to refer to. Perhaps that was why they’d latched on to Connor so quickly, although he was more of an uncle figure.

  ‘Yeah, right,’ Amy snorted. ‘He never gave a toss about us.’

  ‘Amy…’ I gasped. ‘Where did you learn such language?’

  ‘At football, Auntie Nat.’

  ‘Well, please don’t talk like that. It doesn’t become a smart little girl like you.’

  ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’ll try to remember your rules.’

  ‘And anyway,’ I said cheerfully, ‘we all have each other, haven’t we?’

  ‘But even if Mum does marry again, we won’t be the bloke’s kids, will we?’ Amy insisted.

  From her chair, Mum harrumphed. ‘God knows how many kids their father’s had all over the world.’

  I turned to glare at her.

  ‘What?’ she said. ‘You don’t think he’s got enough kids for a cricket team by now?’

  At that, Zoe’s lower lip wobbled and her eyes filled with tears, but she remained silent as they plopped down onto her sundress.

  I wiped them away. ‘Sweetie, just look at how many people love you! There’s me and Uncle Neil and Nana and Sarah and Lizzie and Liam,’ I assured her. ‘You’re surrounded by love!’

  ‘Both of us?’ Zoe wanted to know.

  ‘Of course, you silly sausage!’ I said, pulling her closer and blowing raspberries into her neck until she giggled and finally threw back her head in a fit of laughter.

  ‘I love you, Auntie Nat. I wish you could be our mummy instead.’

  I bit my lip. I wished so, too. At least they wouldn’t have to go through all this. ‘Oh, but your mummy is very special, Zoe,’ I said. ‘She’s intelligent and beautiful and kind and famous. And she cooks the best dishes anybody’s ever had.’

  ‘Speaking of, when’s lunch?’ Amy said. ‘I’m starving.’

  ‘I’ve got everything ready. Do you girls want to go and get the plastic containers from the fridge and set the table? I’m sure Connor’s hungry, too. Isn’t that right, Connor?’ I called, twisting around to see him coming up from the bottom of the garden.

  ‘Ravenous,’ he called back, pulling his gloves off with his teeth.

  As the girls ran off into the kitchen, I watched (along with Mum) as he scrubbed his hands and face and arms in the outdoor sink, but I blushed and turned away at the sight of a beautifully tanned and taut chest as he pulled on a clean T-shirt he had brought with him outside. He liked to sit at the table as clean as possible. Do not think about his chest and surfboard tummy. His dedication was admirable. Nor that twinkle in his eye. I wished I had the same stamina with my own work. Do not think about his outrageous sex appeal. Think about practicalities. Like Mum, the twins, Yolanda, my finances – anything else but him.

  ‘I guess no one realises how tough having kids is until you have them,’ Connor mused as he smoothed his T-shirt down over his abs and I gave my absolute, undivided attention to straightening the tablecloth on the patio table.

  ‘Does their father not keep in touch at all?’ he whispered as he sat at the table. ‘Sorry for being so nosy, but it seems to me that you are being both their mum and dad.’

  ‘No, he left before they were even born.’

  ‘Shame, such lovely girls.’

  ‘I know,’ I said, choking up.

  ‘I’m sorry, Nat…’ he said. ‘I should learn to keep my mouth shut.’

  I shook my head. ‘It’s okay, Connor. We just have to deal with it, is all. I just worry about the effect on the girls. Zoe is losing her self-confidence and Amy is overcompensating her losses with a hard heart.’

  ‘Who broke up – Yolanda and Piers?’ Mum said, out of the blue. ‘The tosser. When?’

  ‘Years ago, Mum, don’t you remember Yolanda telling you?’ Was her medication messing with her head?

  ‘No one ever tells me anything in this house,’ she muttered as she leafed through her magazine, squinting. ‘Can’t see a damn thing here, without my glasses,’ she said.

  ‘They’re on your head, Mum. And please don’t use those words. Now I know where Amy gets her potty mouth from.’

  ‘Bollocks,’ she spat and Connor snorted water through his nose, reaching for his napkin to wipe the front of his T-shirt down, his eyes twinkling as he glanced at her and then grinned at me.

  ‘When’s lunch?’ she continued. ‘I’ll tell Yolanda you’re starving me.’

  At that, Connor reached out and took her hand. ‘Come on, luv – you’re treated like the queen that you are, here. Look at your granddaughters coming back with all that food!’

  I relieved the girls of their piles of plastic food containers and filled the serving trays up.

  ‘We got pretty much everything that was in the fridge,’ Zoe explained.

  ‘I can see that, darling,’ I said as with a couple of swipes of my hand I arranged all the plates and forks into place. Connor rose to cut some daisies and put them in a glass in the centre of the table.

  ‘That looks nice,’ Mum said, beaming at him. ‘You always think of everything, don’t you?’

  I smiled as I uncovered more containers of potato salad, stuffed peppers, cold roast beef, a mixed green salad and a bacon and cheddar quiche.

  Connor poured the lemonade and then disappeared into the kitchen to return with Mum’s pillbox. A sense of guilt for forgetting, but also gratitude for someone else remembering, flooded me. ‘We’ll save these pleasure pills for after lunch, what do you think, darlin’?’ he cooed and she giggled.

  ‘Oh, you naughty boy, you.’

  ‘What did he say?’ Zo
e wanted to know.

  ‘It’s a little game between him and Nana,’ I offered and she shrugged as she reached out for some potato salad, whereas Amy went straight for the meat.

  After lunch, while we were all still lounging around lazily, my mobile rang and I checked the screen to see who my caller was, my heart immediately shifting into overdrive.

  It was my work, Lady magazine. Lady magazine never called me. Factor in the new boss firing anyone with a four at the beginning of their age, and that I was currently thirty-nine, logic told me that this call could not be good.

  It was Hilary’s (now Octavia Hounslow’s) PA, calling me to a meeting with the boss herself on Monday morning in London. See? I knew it. Based on what Maggie had told me, it was only a matter of time before I got sacked myself. But I was determined not to make it easy for her.

  I hung up and huffed.

  Connor looked up from his lemonade. ‘Is everything all right?’

  I slid him a glance. ‘Lady magazine is cutting down and my new boss wants a meeting. Which is never good.’

  ‘Maybe she just wants to meet you.’

  ‘They have conference calls for that. No, she must want to sack me.’

  ‘Sack you? Why?’ Connor asked.

  ‘Because I’m almost fort— Never mind.’

  He put down his glass and sat up, studying me as I took a nervous sip of my own lemonade.

  ‘You know what I think, Nat? You are an amazing writer and should be proud of what you have achieved. And I’m sure she is only dying to meet such a bright mind.’

  Bright? Me? Good one. If I hadn’t had my column, I don’t know what I’d have done in life. I have no particular talent. I can’t play any instruments or fix things. In our family, Neil was the one who shone, and initially I had been happy to support him throughout his career while simply sending in an article or two until I had received the offer for this fixture years ago. Which had been and still is my lifeline.