Lola's House (Lola Series)

by Groers, Suzie

  It’s about an hour’s drive to Bridgnorth. James finds a parking space and we go off in search of somewhere to sit. We find a nice secluded spot overlooking the river but mostly shielded by bushes and trees on both sides.

  James lays the blanket on the grass and forages around in his rucksack, which today is doubling as a picnic basket. He pulls out two packets of sandwiches, which he has obviously bought from Sainsbury’s on his way to pick me up, a punnet of strawberries and a small bottle of champagne. I sit on the blanket and get myself comfortable and he hands me two plastic beakers to hold whilst he fills them with champagne. He sits next to me and taps his beaker against mine and says, ‘here’s to us.’

  I smile and sip the champagne, watching the river flow past whilst James studies the clouds in quiet contemplation for a short while. Eventually he breaks the silence. ‘So, how’s the house coming along, I noticed you’ve had the roof done.’ He must have seen the panic in my eyes at the mention of the house and he grabs my hand to reassure me. ‘It’s okay, Lola, I’m not going to go into meltdown about the house. It is how it is and I know you’ve worked hard on it. I was an arse back then and totally selfish. I should have been more supportive. But I think I’ve changed and if you give me a chance I’ll prove it to you.’

  I visibly relax at his words and start to breathe again. ‘The house is great thanks, I’ve had to put in a few hours work, but I think it will be worth it in the end.’

  ‘Yes, it’s a big house. I bet you spend most of your time rattling around it on your own.’ His eyebrows crease together as he thinks about it carefully. ‘Maybe you’d fancy a roommate?’ He gives me a saucy wink.

  I smile at his obvious hinting. ‘Funny you should mention that, I’ve just had a new lodger move in so the house feels more lived in at the moment.’

  He stops smiling. ‘A new lodger?’

  ‘Yeah, he moved in a couple of days ago. We’re still settling into a routine but I think it will be okay.’ I pluck at some tufts of grass and then watch them sprinkle to the ground.

  ‘You’ve moved some bloke in?’ James pulls away from me as if he’s been stung. ‘When were you going to tell me that?’

  ‘He’s not some bloke, he’s a paying lodger.’ I begin to feel decidedly ruffled under his angry stare.

  ‘For God’s sake, Lola, do you really think that’s a good idea?’ He runs his hand through his hair and stares down at the river. ‘Who the hell is he?’

  ‘He’s Mike’s nephew from the Waddling Duck, so I know he checks out okay. It’s not as if I’ve moved any old bloke off the street into my house.’

  He interrupts me quickly. ‘Well I’m not very happy about this development, Lola, not happy at all.’ He knocks back the rest of his champagne in one gulp, an angry sneer twisting at the corners of his mouth. ‘I think I had better have a word with Mike and sort this situation out.’

  I feel my own anger rising, how dare he question my judgement and treat me like I’m a child. I stand up quickly, knocking over my beaker and soaking the edge of the blanket with bubbly. ‘You’ll do no such thing. I’m more than capable of making my own decisions, James. I’ve managed for the last twelve months perfectly well, thank you very much. I certainly don’t need you to step in now and treat me like I’m incapable of trusting my own judgement.’

  James quickly gets to his feet and wraps his arms around me. ‘Oh god, Lola, I’m so sorry. I never meant it to come out like that. I was just shocked and worried about your safety. I don’t want you to be taken advantage of.’ He tugs at my arm. ‘Please sit down again, I’m really sorry babe.’

  ‘Well don’t think you can throw you weight around with me, James.’ My body feels rigid. ‘You may have done it in the past but you certainly won’t do it now, I have also changed.’

  ‘Look, I’m sorry. It was just a shock and I worry about you, alone in that house. And I just want to make sure you’re safe, babe. You can’t blame me for that surely?’ He holds both of my arms to my sides and looks deep into my eyes. ‘Forgive me, please?’

  He pulls me towards him and kisses my neck and works his way to my lips and I feel my anger dissipate as he pulls away slightly and I see the pleading in his eyes. I sit back down on the blanket and let James pour me some more champagne. I take a sip and feel the last of my anger slipping away. Maybe I have overreacted, he does look really sorry and I hate to stay angry with him.

  ‘Let’s not fall out, Lola.’ He takes the beaker from me, tossing it onto the grass and pushes me back until I’m lying down. He presses his lips onto mine and kisses me hard. His breathing gets heavier as his hand travels from my hair, gently down my neck, and further down to my chest, where his fingers slip through the buttons of my shirtdress and trace the edge of my lacy bra. A small moan escapes his mouth as his lips travel down my neck and then up to my ear, and his hand gets more adventurous and goes further into my bra. I can feel his breath, hot in my ear as his hand explores further down my body, and he pulls up my dress until his hand is gently rubbing on my knickers. I must admit, I am getting carried away myself at this point, and who wouldn’t under such provocation, when I hear giggling coming from nearby. I come to my senses and look over to where a small boy stands at the foot of our blanket, tightly gripping a football.

  ‘James,’ I whisper, and push him gently to alert him, but he carries on not realising we have a spectator. I punch him hard on the arm. ‘James, for the love of God, stop.’

  He looks up just as the boy turns and runs away shouting for his mom. James rolls onto his back and groans in frustration, pushing his hands through his hair, but I feel slightly relieved we have been stopped from going too far.

  James drops me off at home around six o’clock, he can’t stay as he is going to London on business for the week. The house is empty when I get in, which is a blessed relief as I need time to chill out and recover from our mini argument and the frustrating encounter that followed it.

  I kick off my sandals and drop my bag in the hall, and then go in to the sitting room and flop onto the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. I don’t know how long I have been lying there when there is a loud rapping on the front door. Thinking it might be James having had second thoughts and come back to finish what he had started earlier, I spring off the sofa and go and open the door. In breezes Chrissie.

  ‘So, is he here?’ she whispers, furtively looking around her.

  I sigh and roll my eyes upwards. ‘I’m sure we’ve had this conversation before, but I’ll ask anyway. Is who here?’

  ‘Your dishy lodger of course,’ she says, her eyes scanning the hallway as if he may be hiding in a corner.

  I shut the front door and follow her. ‘No, he went out this morning. Not been seen since.’

  ‘Damn, I thought I might catch sight of him.’ She stands by the door to Roberts’ room and puts her hand on the door knob. ‘Can I have a quick look round his room while the coast is clear then?’

  ‘No, you bloody can’t you nosy cow.’ I grab hold of her arm and drag her away before she can open the door. ‘Come and have a cup of tea instead.’

  I lead her into the kitchen and out of harm’s way and she sits at the kitchen table pouting. She looks me up and down. ‘You look nice, where have you been?’

  I tell her about the picnic with James and the brief sexual encounter until her eyes are well and truly popping out. ‘Phew, he always was a horny little devil. So did he plunder your lady garden?’

  ‘No, he only made it to the gate,’ I giggle, ‘but he might have if we hadn’t been interrupted. James is nothing if not persistent.’

  ‘Wow, get you and your al fresco sex,’ she says, looking impressed. ‘Me and Cal think we’re adventurous if we do it with the light on these days.’

  I smile. ‘It can’t be that bad, you two are really into each other, everyone can see that.’

  ‘I know, but you know me, I like lot’s of sexual activity and variety and Cal’s just getting a bit lazy in that department. And he stil
l hasn’t asked me to marry him - I really don’t know what to do.’ She looks really glum and that just isn’t like Chrissie.

  ‘Try calming down, he’ll ask you when he’s ready. Stop trying to push him into it, he can probably sense your desperation.’ I pat her on the arm and she smiles up at me. ‘Why don’t you take him away for the weekend and you can unleash your full sexual prowess on him.’

  She thinks on this for a minute. ‘Maybe you’re right, if I could take him out of his usual environment for a day or two he might perk up a bit. The hen weekend is a few weeks away, if I could arrange somewhere nice before then, and give him a treat to remember, it will keep him satisfied until after we come back from Brighton. By then he would have missed me so much he’ll be begging me to marry him. Thanks, Lola, good idea.’

  Okay, so not exactly what I meant but she always likes to put her own spin on things. I know she can be forceful at times so I just hope she doesn’t go full on and scare the living daylights out of him.

  Chapter Nine

  The next morning I’ve just got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me when I hear Ned’s truck reversing up the driveway, below my bedroom window. I take a quick look out and see Ned and Kev pile out of the truck, together with a short balding man. I breathe a sigh of relief, at least it looks as if I am going to get my electrics fixed some time soon.

  I hurry up and roughly dry my hair and pull it back into a messy knot. I put on a bit of make-up, finish it off with lipstick and a spritz of perfume. I take a look in my wardrobe and run my hand across the garments hanging in a neat row. I have got Muriel’s niece coming in to see me this morning so I want to look professional and chic at the same time. My hand falls on a raspberry coloured silk shift dress I’ve had forever. It clings in all the right places and just skims my knees. I always feel confident when I wear it so I pull it out of the wardrobe ready to slip on. Then I get out my black patent stilettos and a thin black patent belt to go over the dress. As a comfort precaution I throw some black ballet pumps into my handbag in case my feet start to protest over the stilettos, at any point during the day.

  Twenty minutes later I walk into the kitchen and Robert is sitting at the table eating toast. He looks up as I enter the room and his eyes widen as he takes in my dress. He gives a little whistle. ‘You look nice, are you off to work dressed like that?’

  I feel a little rush of elation surge through my body under his approving gaze, which quickly turns into a self conscious blush, as I feel my face and neck heating up to match the colour of my dress, but I try hard to keep myself composed. I place my bags on the table and rummage around inside to make myself look busy. ‘Yes, I’ve got a meeting with a new designer this morning.’

  He nods his head in approval, still not taking his eyes off me. ‘Wow, I didn’t realise you were such a hot shot in the fashion world.’

  I want to tell him I’m not, it’s all an act but my insides are now doing somersaults and my brain has started to scramble under his close scrutiny, so I do the best I can and feign confidence, spouting the first crap that comes into my head.

  ‘Even vintage shops need a breath of fresh air now and again to keep the customers coming back.’ I snort with fake laughter as my eyes take in his jeans and tee-shirt. ‘It’s not like I can slum round the house all day is it?’

  There is a slight flicker of change in his expression, from approval to something else entirely, which makes me feel uncomfortable. He picks up his coffee cup and knocks back the contents in one gulp before slamming the mug down on the table and scraping back his chair across the quarry tiles. As his door closes behind him I realise what a pompous cow I must have sounded like, but in my defence, I get embarrassed when I’m the centre of attention and rarely handle it well.

  As I stand alone in the kitchen in my killer heels and the raspberry dress I suddenly feel bereft. And the worst thing is, I don’t know why his approval matters so much to me.

  I don’t feel like eating breakfast after that so I grab my bags and keys and let myself out of the front door. As I turn around in the portico I nearly jump out of my skin as Ned is standing right behind me. I had forgotten he was there.

  ‘Morning, missus. You know you’ve got a mole over there don’t you?’ He points to the front lawn and the little mounds of earth dotted across it.

  ‘A mole? No, how can you tell?’

  ‘Well you see those little piles of dirt, that’s where he pokes his head out of the ground to have a look around. But he can’t see, so he has a good old sniff around him before he pokes his head back in again and tunnels off somewhere else.’ Ned holds his hands up in front of his chest like limp paws and sniffs round to demonstrate typical mole behaviour. He rubs the bristles on his chin and laughs to himself. ‘You’ll never get rid of that bugger.’

  I think about this for a second. ‘He’s not hurting anyone is he, can’t we just leave him be?’

  At this point Ned roars with laughter. ‘Leave him be? Do you want a mole colony setting itself up under your lawn and then moving under your house? Digging away and making tunnels everywhere, loosening the foundations until your house dips into the ground?’ He shakes his head and answers his own question. ‘No you don’t. I’ll give my brother-in-law a call. He might be able to help you get rid of it. He uses explosive mind, so it could get a bit messy. You would probably be better off staying indoors if you don’t like the sight of blood.’

  My eyes widen in horror. ‘No, there’s no need for any kind of massacre, I’ll see if I can get him moved humanely.’

  He shrugs his shoulders. ‘Your choice missus, but it’s no bother.’

  I’m starting to feel a bit queasy at the thought of exploding moles so I change the subject quickly. ‘So, Ned, what are you doing today?’

  He points over to the short balding man who is standing talking to Kev, both of them flicking dog-ends in my hedges. ‘I’ve got my brother-in-law Barry here to crack on with your electrics.’

  ‘Well at least we are making some progress at last. Do you know when it’ll be finished?’

  He shakes his head and sighs. ‘You don’t want to be rushing these things, missus. Can’t have your plug holes going fizz and pop when you’re drying your hair in the morning can we?’

  I look at him horrified and actually imagine I can smell burning hair. I run my hand over my head just to make sure I’m not on fire. ‘Okay, well you need to keep me updated with progress, Ned.’ I start to walk away to the car and remember Robert. ‘Oh, just so you know, I’ve got a guest staying for a while so can you try not to disturb him too much as he works from home.’

  He raises his eyebrows and I swear he actually looks impressed that I’ve got a man in the house. He taps his nose. ‘You say no more, missus, we’ll look after him.’

  As I drive off I ponder on exactly what Ned will do to look after Robert. I hope it is better thought out than his exploding mole idea. I shake my head to get rid of that thought as quickly as possible and instead wonder just how many brothers-in-law Ned actually has.

  When I get to the shop Muriel is already in and setting out cup cakes on a plate, carefully arranging each one. My eyes automatically lock like a homing device onto the thick pink and white frosting and my stomach actually rumbles out loud. ‘Oh yum, are they for us?’

  I reach out my hand and Muriel quickly taps it away laughing. ‘You can have one later when the girls get here.’

  I pout slightly and rub my offended hand. ‘Girls? I thought it would be just your niece?’

  ‘Katherine is bringing a couple of girls with her to model the samples, so you can see them to full effect.’

  My face lights up and I clap my hands together excitedly. ‘A fashion show and cupcakes? I like this already.’

  Muriel chuckles to herself and lays the plate to one side. She turns the kettle on then makes her way into the shop to open up. As I watch her depart I take a quick look at the cupcakes, and my mouth salivates imagining the sweet thick frosting melting o
n my tongue. I consider dipping my finger in the icing while she is out of sight, then remember the tap on the hand I got and think better of it.

  An hour later the shop door swings open and in walks Muriel’s niece dragging an enormous suitcase behind her. She is quickly followed by two young tall skinny girls who I assume are the models. She holds out her hand to me. ‘Hi, I’m Katherine.’

  ‘Hi Katherine, pleased to meet you at last.’ I shake her hand and take in her appearance. She’s tall, with long straight blonde hair that swings from the back of her head in a high ponytail. Her cheekbones are high and her eyes the palest blue I have ever seen.

  She turns and waits for the two models to catch up. ‘This is Cindy and Sadie. They’ll be modelling a few of the pieces for you today.’

  I smile at the girls who then go off to the rails, flicking through the garments and pulling out each one after the other and holding them up against themselves.

  ‘Katherine, you’re here.’ Muriel appears from the back of the shop and immediately wraps her niece in a big hug. ‘So you’ve met Lola. Let’s get cracking then shall we?’

  ‘Oh yes, I can’t wait to see what you have for us.’ I’m actually bursting with excitement to see what Katherine has hiding in the massive case. I lead them down the shop towards the stock room. ‘We’ve made a bit of space in here so you can get changed.’

  I come back and get myself settled next to Muriel while we wait for the first items to come out. A few minutes later Katherine appears leading the models behind her.

  ‘Cindy is modelling a nineteen forties inspired black pencil skirt. We use modern fabrics, cut with an authentic pattern on the bias so the skirt hugs the figure and skims just below knee length. As you can see we also add our own finishing touches.’