Page 69 of The Runaway Wives

‘I can keep him if you want. I’m hoping to buy somewhere in Port Telwyn when my divorce is settled. I’d be happy to take Snowy with me,’ Dee told her.

‘That’s another reason I phoned you, dear. Why don’t you buy my home?’ Edna suggested. ‘That would be the perfect solution.’

If only. Edna’s cottage might be cluttered, and it needed a few repairs, but it was in a prime position and Dee was sure it would fetch at least £500,000. ‘It’s a lovely idea but I’m afraid your cottage will be worth far more than I can afford,’ she said.

‘Let’s get it valued and take it from there,’ Edna suggested. ‘If it was within your price range, would you be interested?’

‘Definitely,’ Dee told her.

‘Then I’ll contact an estate agent. It’s easier if I give them your name and contact number as you’re living there. If that’s okay?’

‘Of course. Thank you.’

Andi smiled as Edna finished the phone call. ‘She told me earlier that she really wants you to have the cottage, she’s so grateful to you and Babs for saving her life, and for looking after Snowy for her. She wants Snowy to stay in his own home.’

‘That’s very kind but I don’t want her to lose out financially,’ Dee said. ‘Primrose Cottage must be worth a fortune.’

‘It needs lots of work done on it,’ Andi reminded her. ‘That will be reflected in the price.’ She tilted her head to one side. ‘Would you be willing to do all that though? You’d probably have to clear it out too. Edna won’t have room in the apartment for all her things. She said that Mabel will bring her down in a couple of weeks so that she can take back what she wants. The rest I’m sure she’s hoping to leave.’

Dee thought about the quaint little cottage with its sea views. It’s smaller than what she was used to, and was rather dated, but she loved it. She would be so happy to live there and be part of this community. She could take her time clearing it out and modernising it; she was happy to settle for Edna’s furniture until she had time to replace it all. She didn’t want to get her hopes up though.

‘I wouldn’t mind at all, but let’s see,’ she said.

It would be wonderful to live in the pretty cottage, and with Snowy too. Could it be possible that running away had turned out to be running towards her future?

45

The estate agent arrived the next morning. He walked around everywhere, making notes, and seemed to be taking a long time.

‘It’s very old-fashioned, as you must be aware. The bathroom needs updating, it needs central heating, and could do with new windows. I’ll work out some figures and message you within the hour with what I think is a reasonable price,’ he told her.

Dee waited eagerly for his message, trying to imagine herself living here. She walked around the cottage, assessing every room and what needed doing. The estate agent was right, the cottage did need a lot of money spent on it. Even if she could afford to buy Primrose Cottage, would she have enough funds for all the work it needed?

When the estate agent finally messaged Dee with the price she was delighted to see that she could afford it from her divorce settlement. They’d received Nigel’s financial disclosure now and her solicitor had told her what figure to expect. It was enough to pay for the cottage but what about all the alterations she needed to make. Should she go for it or look for something cheaper?

She was still deep in thought when she went to meet Kenny later that afternoon. Gordon had contacted Kenny to say that he’d thought about the affordable housing for locals scheme and it was something he was really interested in and wanted to discuss it with them further. They arranged the meeting for today as it was Dee’s day off from the café this week. Gordon had wanted them to meet him at the site this time and asked them to wear sensible shoes. He greeted them wearing a hi-vis jacket, hard hat and boots, and gave them both a hard hat and hi-vis jacket to wear. ‘Safety precautions,’ he said.

The site was a hive of activity and a block of apartments had already been built but still needed decorating and appliances installed. ‘This is the one Glenn will be living in,’ Gordon said. ‘Whilst he’s caretaker the rent will be heavily subsided, but the flat is his for as long as he likes. The rest of this block will be affordable housing. Anyone who lives in Port Telwyn, or was born here and would like to move back, will be able to apply for one of these. There will be fifty homes.’ He mentioned the rent and Dee and Kenny both gaped.

‘That’s very generous,’ Kenny said.

They were both impressed as Gordon showed them around the site, pointing out where various things were going to be.

‘It’s going to be amazing,’ Dee said.

‘I’m glad you think so,’ Gordon said with a smile.

As Kenny went off to look around the gardens, Gordon called Dee back. ‘I wanted to talk to you alone. Keep this between ourselves but I’d also like to offer you one of the apartments at a discount, for old times’ sake.’ He mentioned a price that was definitely within her price range. ‘It’s not one of the affordable apartments for the locals so if you ever go on to sell the apartment there will be a clause that the discounted amount is to be repaid to me,’ he said. He handed her his card. ‘Think about it and call me if you’re interested.’

Dee was gobsmacked. Two offers of a permanent home within a few days. What should she do? She loved Edna’s cottage but it did need a lot done to it, whereas the apartments were modern and spacious, and Gordon had told her that one would be ready to move into within a month. Imagine living here, waking up to the beautiful sea view every morning.

Then she thought of Edna’s cottage. It had so much character and was right in the centre of the village. She felt so at home there. And it was Snowy’s home. She adored the little cat. Would they both be happy in an apartment?

She was genuinely torn.

‘You’ve gone quiet,’ Kenny said as they walked home.

She considered telling him about Gordon’s offer but then that would be asking him to keep the secret too. Her mother had always said if you want to keep something a secret, then tell no one. Kenny had entrusted her with his secret, she remembered, when Gordon had first approached him offering to donate some money to the Artists’ Studios.

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