Page 60 of Her Fixer Upper

‘Oh dear. It’s easily done,’ he said in his usual comforting manner. ‘I remember doing that on a job once, ended up shorting the whole house. After that mistake, I bought myself one of those little devices which check what’s in the wall before you hammer anything in. It made the world of difference.’

I felt a bit better knowing that even my granddad, builder extraordinaire, had made mistakes.

‘I wish I’d known about that handy device before I did it. I think I was a bit too gung ho.’

‘No harm done. You’re here talking to me, after all. If you’d done any serious damage, it would be the emergency services you’d be on the phone to right now.’

I decided not to tell him about the pounding pain in my foot, not wanting to worry him any further.

‘That is very true. Anyway, I was wondering if you had any advice about what I should do next? I was thinking the fusebox might be a good place to start.’

‘A very sensible idea. If you’re not sure what you’ve hit, it might be best to turn the mains off until the morning when you can get a proper look in the daylight. And if you discover you have gone through a wire, then definitely leave it to the professionals to sort out.’

‘Don’t worry, I will.’

‘The other thing to consider is that it might be a big coincidence and that it could be a power cut because of the storm. If the wind is raging there anything like it is here, it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s brought down a few wires. Sjaak was telling me a real humdinger is forecast.’

‘You make a very good point, Granddad. That could be what’s happened, as the internet went down shortly beforehand. I guess coincidences do happen sometimes, even though the timing does seem rather iffy. Thanks for the help.’

‘That’s what grandfathers are for. And when can I next expect a visit from you, Charlie and Ted?’

‘As soon as you like. Although I can’t promise for Charlie, of course. He’s got a lot on at the moment.’ I was skirting around the truth.

‘That’s a shame. There was something I was hoping to discuss with you both.’

‘Oh?’ I said. ‘Do you want to talk about it now?’

Somewhere in the background I could hear laughter, and then the sound of a song being played on a piano.

‘Sorry, love, but I’ve got to go. It’s dance night here, and my physiotherapist has ordered me to join in.’ He sounded like it wasn’t going to be a huge hardship. I was pleased that he seemed to be settling into his new surroundings. ‘Besides, I think it’s something that would be better discussed in person. See you soon, Freya.’

‘Bye, Granddad, love you. Ted sends his love too.’

I felt even more alone when I hung up the phone. On impulse, I scrolled back to my favourites and dialled Charlie again.

This time the call was answered on the third ring.

‘Hello, Charlie’s phone,’ said Serena in her Scottish burr.

‘Oh,’ I said, surprised, although I shouldn’t have been. I wished the connection was better so I could hear the background noise and try to work out where they were.

‘Charlie’s popped to the loo. Can I take a message, or get him to call you back, Freya?’ she offered.

‘No, no, it’s fine. Sorry to disturb your evening,’ I said, suddenly desperate to get off the phone. Her politeness was making me feel worse.

‘It’s not a problem. Are you all right?’

I’d either given myself away with the catch in my voice or this was a loaded question, asking so much more than if I was okay at the moment.

‘I’m grand, thanks,’ I said, forcing a smile so it reflected in my tone. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’

‘Hold on a sec, I can hear Charlie coming down the corridor. I’ll wave at him to hurry up.’

‘No, really, it’s fine. You don’t even need to tell him I called. Everything’s under control. Bye, Serena, lovely to talk to you.’ And with that, I quickly hung up.

I allowed myself thirty seconds of wallowing in misery in the dark hallway, and then I forced myself to get a grip. Just because I knew for a fact now that Charlie was spending the evening with Serena, it didn’t change anything materially. And it was hardly the most important thing to consider given that I was sitting here in a blackout with a potentially broken toe throbbing painfully. At least things couldn’t get any worse.

I shouldn’t have tempted fate.

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