Renovation, Renovation, Renovation

by Nell Dixon

  “Lou, I’m not sure you should be on your own right now.”

  “It’s what I need.” There was a slightly desperate edge to her voice.

  “Just remember I’m here for you.” I wanted to go inside and ask lots of questions. I wanted to hug her and shake her at the same time. Most of all I wanted to make everything go back to normal again.

  She gave a brief nod of her head and blinked before quickly climbing out of the car. She managed a fleeting wave of her hand to indicate she was all right and hurried inside the entrance of the flats. I waited at the kerb until I saw the light from her lamp in the lounge come on, and then headed back to the cottage feeling profoundly dissatisfied and emotional.

  The sounds of hammering and rock music met me as I walked through the door. Steve was still at work in the lounge. It should have cheered me that he had continued carrying on working so late but Lou’s pregnancy revelation was playing on my mind.

  I pushed open the lounge door to see Steve lovingly cleaning up the brickwork of the newly exposed inglenook with a soft hand brush.

  “What do you think?” he asked as I turned the volume down on the battered old CD player.

  “Great; it certainly adds character.” I stared at the open fireplace and an unexplained chill ran up my spine.

  * * *

  I am as nervous as one of the kittens in the barn. My own shadow makes me jump and every slight sound jars my mind. It is as if there are other people dwelling in the house that only I can see, strange shadow people that emerge from time to time then fade away when I turn my gaze upon them. Even mother has noticed how pale and out of humour I have become and is making me drink concoctions of honey and herbs.

  * * *

  Steve put down his tools. His dark hair was speckled with brick dust and he had a grey streak across his cheek. A few months ago I would have been rubbing it off with my finger and telling him all about Lou. He would have been holding me tight and reassuring me that everything would work out.

  He rubbed his hand across his head dislodging some of the dust. “I was about to quit for the night. How did it go at Claire’s?”

  “Okay, I suppose. Chuck certainly seems all right. I’m not sure, there’s just something a bit off about him.” I picked at a small piece of peeling paint on the edge of the doorframe. Chuck had certainly appeared to be pleasant enough, so it felt a little disloyal to be talking about my new stepfather like this.

  “Did you find out much about him? His family and where he’s from?” Steve picked up the brush again and cleaned out some loose bits of mortar from the fireplace brickwork, flicking the bits into the hearth.

  “No family, lives in a rented place, doesn’t seem to have any friends. He claims he’s got some money and he and Mum are going to be looking for a home in the States and a seaside place here.”

  Steve raised an eyebrow. “Wow, talk about your man of mystery. He hasn’t suggested Claire put money into these new places though, has he?”

  “I don’t think so, at least I hope not. He said he had his own money to invest, Lou and I suggested he talk to you about property. He sounded keen to see the cottage.” Though looking around at my bare and dust-coated lounge I couldn’t see the attraction myself.

  Steve tapped the brush clean against a brick sending a plume of dust into the air. “They don’t have anything this kind of age over there, remember. It’ll be interesting to meet him.”

  The dust made me cough and my eyes started to water. I waved my hand to waft the dust away. “I might be misjudging him. Mum obviously liked him enough to fall in love and marry him.”

  “What does Lou think of him?”

  I tried to clear my blurred vision by wiping my fingers across my eyes. “The same as me. The jury is still out I think.” I wanted to tell him Lou’s news, to throw myself into his arms and have him tell me everything would be okay.

  The hairs on my arms suddenly became gooseflesh and a cool breeze stirred around my ankles. I rubbed at my arms trying to dispel the chill that had enveloped my skin.

  “Can you feel a draught?”

  Steve stared at me as if checking to see if I were joking. “Draught? You have to be kidding. I’ve been dripping with sweat working on these bricks.”

  I held out my arm to show him. “Look, I’ve suddenly gone cold.”

  Of course, because I’d been rubbing my arms to get the warmth back, there wasn’t anything to see.

  “Is this more of your ‘haunted house’ stuff?” Steve asked.

  “I only said I’d suddenly gone cold and there was a draught, that’s all.”

  “It’s probably from the chimney now it’s been opened up.” He crouched down and manoeuvred himself inside the inglenook so he could peer into the chimney.

  Since it was still warm outside with no hint of breeze, I didn’t think that whatever I’d felt could have come from the fireplace.

  “Hey, Kate, can you get me the torch from the kitchen?” Steve’s voice was muffled but excited.

  I went and collected the torch from the junk drawer and passed it to him.

  “What have you found?”

  He’d pulled a crate into the fireplace and balanced on it, shining the torch into the flue. Knowing my luck he’d happened on some protected species of bat and we’d have to abandon the whole project or live in the Hammer house of horrors for evermore. I could hear him scrabbling around.

  “This is so great.”

  “What?” My curiosity was piqued in spite of myself. Maybe he’d found treasure – some previous owners nest egg of sovereigns perhaps?

  Decorated with yet more dust and soot, he emerged from the fireplace clasping a small dirty brown object in his hand.

  “I never thought we’d be lucky enough to find one of these. I’ve heard about them but never, ever thought I’d find one.” An excited grin split his face and he looked like a small boy who had just been given the world’s biggest treat.

  He held the object out towards me almost reverently. “It was on a ledge, quite high up inside the chimney.”

  As I looked more closely I could see that what he’d found appeared to be a child’s shoe, much worn and filthy dirty from its time in the chimney. I failed to see why Steve was so excited.

  “You do know what this is, don’t you Kate?” Steve touched it carefully with the forefinger of his other hand. Again a cool movement of air swirled around my feet and ankles.

  “It’s a shoe.”

  “It’s a spirit trap.”

  My arms turned to gooseflesh once more. “A what?”

  “A spirit trap. In past times they believed evil spirits or witches could get into houses through the doors and down the chimneys. So they would put a shoe or a bottle in the chimney to trap them or put them off attacking people in the house.”

  All the air felt as if it had been sucked out of my lungs. Steve continued to stand there with the damned shoe in his hand and a big smile on his face, oblivious to the effect his words were having on me.

  “Put it back. Or throw it out.”

  “What?” He stared at me in bewilderment.

  “That thing. Put it back or throw it out. It’s evil. No wonder this house is so creepy.”

  “Kate, it’s only a shoe. There is nothing creepy or evil about it. If you take it out of the house it’s supposed to bring you bad luck.” He gave it another loving stroke with his forefinger.

  “Then stuff it back up the chimney. Maybe the previous owners knew what they were doing when they shut the flue off.” I knew it wasn’t logical but finding the shoe had freaked me out. I’m not a superstitious person. I don’t follow my horoscope or subscribe to theories about UFOs or worry about going under ladders but I didn’t like the tattered scrap of leather that Steve was cradling so tenderly in his hands.

  “Don’t be stupid. This is a rare find. It needs to be dated and photographed. I saw a programme on this kind of thing once. Years ago when I was with the band our bus broke down in the middle of nowhere and w
e ended up staying the night in this little B and B. The only channel that worked on the TV in my room was BBC2 and there was a whole programme on this sort of thing. It’s a really interesting superstition.”

  I sucked in a breath. The air in the room had grown colder the whole time he’d been speaking. Over Steve’s shoulder I could have sworn I saw two tiny dancing balls of light swirling towards the fireplace.

  “There is something strange about this cottage. I don’t care what you say and that thing is creepy. Who knows what you might have disturbed by moving it. Put it back, Steve, I’m begging you.” My voice wobbled up a notch.

  “Okay, keep your hair on. I’ve never known you get so freaked out about something.” Steve shook his head and gave me a puzzled look.

  “I can’t help it. It’s this bloody house. I mean, can’t you feel how cold it’s become in here?”

  “It’s getting on for midnight and we’ve got a newly opened chimney bringing in different air currents.”

  I watched as he carried the manky old shoe reverently back towards the fireplace. “It’s more than that,” I insisted. “There’s an atmosphere here and it’s got something to do with the history of this house.”

  “Crap.” Steve disappeared inside the inglenook and stepped up onto the crate.

  His voice became muffled once more. “This is a beautiful house that will be beautiful again when we’ve finished with it.”

  I waited until he re-emerged. He rubbed the dirt from the palms of his hands onto the legs of his jeans.

  “I’ll prove it to you. I’m going to start the research at the records centre this week and then we’ll see.” I glared at him, waiting for his response.

  “Whatever. You’re just determined to hate this house because it wasn’t that cruddy barn you were so hung up about.” Steve picked up a rag and scrubbed at his palms to try and remove the soot.

  My chest contracted in pain, his words stuck sharp like a blade in my heart.

  “That’s a horrible thing to say. You knew what that barn meant to me.”

  He flung the rag down onto the floor. “No, I don’t think I got that message until you’d screamed it at me several times over. This cottage has a million times more potential than that over-priced cowshed and if you weren’t so pigheaded you would have seen it.”

  “At least my cowshed wouldn’t have creepy artefacts stuck in its chimney or strange noises and draughts.”

  Steve’s eyes narrowed and I could see the pulse ticking in his cheek the way it always did when he was really angry. “Well when we sell this place you can go and buy yourself an old cowshed and I hope you’ll be very happy.” He pushed past me, his shoulder almost brushing against mine on his way out. A few seconds later I heard his feet on the stairs followed by the bang of the bathroom door.

  * * *

  On my mother’s life, I swear to you the strange maid was there by the fireplace once again as life-like as I am now. I was sure she was a maid despite the peculiar breeches she wore. Her dark hair rested on her shoulders and I could see she was trying not to cry. Indeed there is something very strange happening in the house although no one else seems to have noticed. The maid looked right at me and I waited for her to say something although I suppose if I heard voices as well seeing spirits then they would say I was mad. I held my breath as she started to move and I wondered if she could see me the same way I could see her.

  Instead she reached across and touched something on the wall and my breath escaped in a sigh of relief.

  * * *

  I waited for a moment to gather myself and went to turn off the light, my heart still pounding from our argument. As I reached for the switch a soft sigh sounded just by my left ear.

  Chapter Eight

  I didn’t get much sleep that night. In between running through the argument with Steve over and over again in my mind I worried about Lou. Add my mother and Chuck into the mix, plus every single sound inside the cottage becoming the Bogey Man coming to get me and it was the perfect mix for a terrible night.

  Even Nasreen sounded genuinely sympathetic as she told me I looked

  “absolutely awful” when I arrived for work. Clearly I needed to buy a better concealer for the dark circles under my eyes - preferably something super strength.

  I was supposed to go straight back to the cottage when the bank closed to help Steve continue the renovation work in the lounge. Since that room wasn’t my most favourite place in the world right now, and since I was more concerned about my sister than the freaky fireplace, I texted Lou to meet me in town instead. The bank closed at lunchtime on Saturdays so I could tell Steve I’d gone grocery shopping.

  We met in the café at the central shopping arcade. It had taken to advertising itself as a shopping mall but since there were only twenty shops at best, and three of those were charity shops, calling it a mall was a touch optimistic.

  Lou looked as rough as I felt. She flopped into the seat opposite mine with a heavy sigh and half a dozen carrier bags of shopping.

  “Bad day?” I was pleased she’d agreed to show up.

  She shrugged. “As good a day as you can have when you spend all morning wanting to barf.”

  “Have you thought any more about what you’re going to do?” I tried to imagine Lou with a baby and failed miserably. Lou struggled to look after herself most of the time so I was having trouble picturing her being responsible for an infant.

  “I’ve been thinking about finding the dad. Well, the guy that might be the dad.”

  I didn’t know what to say although I had plenty of thoughts running through my head. “Oh?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been trying to work it out, you know, and I think I know where to start looking for him.”

  “I thought you said Gor, I mean Gary might be the dad?” What did she mean, where to start looking? How many candidates were there likely to be? Couldn’t she remember where she’d met this other bloke? I began to think that I didn’t really know my sister at all.

  Lou gave me a hard stare.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Kate. I know what you’re thinking. Look, it was a one-night-stand. I’m not proud of it and it isn’t something I make a habit of doing but I’d know him straightaway if I saw him again.”

  “You’re not making this sound any better.” I warned her.

  “Yeah, well it was one of those things, okay. He was gorgeous, I’d had a few drinks and well, there you go.” Her expression was sullen as the waitress arrived with our drinks.

  I waited till we were alone again. “What’s Mum going to say? Have you told her yet?”

  Lou paused in the middle of ripping open a sachet of sugar. “I thought that maybe you could prepare the way a bit for me.” She peeped up at me from under a stray lock of blonde hair that had tumbled across her forehead.

  “No.”

  “Oh Kate, you always were the favourite. She’d take it better from you than from me. Please.” She took on the pouty, begging look she’d always worn when we were little and she wanted me to ask Mum for extra sweets from the tin in the kitchen.

  Usually it worked quite well. Not today.

  “First, I am not Mum’s favourite. Second, how do I prepare the way for you to announce you’re pregnant?” What do you suggest? That I casually leave Mothercare brochures on the sofa, or subscribe her to Grandparents Today magazine?” I resented her telling me I was Mum’s favourite when we both knew that wasn’t true. As the baby of the family Lou had always managed to get away with far more than me. I was seven years older so I’d always had to be the responsible one. Somehow I knew that Lou getting herself up the duff would somehow end up being partly my fault in my mother’s mind.

  “Well, I don’t know, do I? I just thought you could well, sound her out on how she might feel about becoming a grandmother.” Lou gave her cup a vigorous stir, slopping some of her tea into the saucer.

  “You need to tell her yourself, but remember she’s only just become a bride again so she might not be ver
y prepared for your news.” My hands shook as I picked up my tea. I cradled my hands around the cup to steady myself, drawing comfort from the heat of the liquid through the white porcelain. I wasn’t going to do Lou’s dirty work for her. I’d been caught out like that too many times before.

  My sister surveyed me sulkily over the rim of her tea cup. “Then promise you’ll come with me when I tell her. I can’t face her on my own, especially if Chuck is there as well, hanging around like a bad smell.”

  My momentary hesitation was my undoing and Lou, sensing a weakness, went in for the kill.

  “I need you with me, Kate. You’re my big sister.” She turned on the big blue puppy dog eyes.

  “Oh, all right.” I set my cup back down, my drink untouched. “When do you think would be a good time?”

  Lou’s face lit up and we compared notes on the best time to tell Mum she was about to become a granny. We’d just decided that we’d call in Mum’s in the morning when a well-spoken masculine voice disturbed our discussion.

  “May I join you ladies?”

  I’d been so caught up with Lou and her problems that I hadn’t noticed Mike, our tutor from the evening class, approaching us.

  “Of course.” Lou winked slyly at me as she moved along the banquette seat to make room for Mike to sit next to her. “Plenty of room.”

  I took the opportunity while Mike ordered his drink from the waitress to kick my sister under the table to warn her not to start meddling. Not that it made any difference. She winced and flashed me an unrepentant grin.

  “How’s the research going? Any more spooky happenings at the cottage, Kate?” He turned his attention to me.

  By the time I’d finished reciting last night's events both Mike and Lou were gaping open-mouthed at me.

  “I’d love to take a look at the find, and at the cottage.” Mike’s eyes shone deeper blue than before and my heart gave a tiny flutter of excitement.

  “You could call round tomorrow afternoon.” I suggested, trying to sound casual. Lou gave me a discreet thumbs-up, mercifully out of Mike’s sight.