Page 16 of Meet me at the Seaside Cottages

‘Nothing,’ says Janey quickly. ‘It’s . . . how was your day?’

‘It was awful,’ says Essie, sullenly.

‘Iknow,’ says Janey. Then, ‘Err . . . can I ask you not to mess with the heating too much?’

‘But it’s a stupid complicated mechanism.’

‘I know,’ says Janey. ‘I’ll put instructions on it.’

‘Also, I’m in the house all day. I can’t freeze to death.’

‘I know,’ says Janey again. ‘But you can burn the peat to keep warm, it’s much cheaper.’

‘But it’s hard to light . . . ’

Janey struggles to hold on to her patience. ‘Come on, sweetie,’ she says. ‘You had to open awindow.’

‘Fine,’ says Essie, rolling her eyes and closing the window.

‘So, dinner . . . ’ Janey says. It’s seven-thirty in the evening.

‘Oh, yeah, can we order in?’ says Essie.

‘Where from?’ said Janey, incredulously.

‘Isn’t there a Domino’s? I thought surely you’d have one by now.’

‘Well, no, there isn’t,’ says Janey. ‘And if there were, I probably wouldn’t want to eat pizza on a Tuesday.’

‘Fine,’ says Essie. ‘It’s my fault. Sorry if my life is in ruins and that interferes with your precious eating schedule.’

‘Essie,’ says Janey. ‘That’s not what I meant.’

‘I know I should have moved in and just started behaving like your servant. I know I’m not welcome here,’ she says.

‘Of course you are!’ says Janey. ‘Of course you are! Now you’re just being dramatic.’

‘But a very dramatic thing has happened!’

Janey can’t help her lips twitching. ‘Yes . . . to my lamb chops.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ says Essie. Then, grudgingly, ‘I’m sorry I ate your lamb chops.’

‘That’s okay,’ says Janey. ‘I shall call it fasting.’

Essie sniffs. ‘I ate them quite a while ago,’ she says. ‘You don’t keep any food in this house.’

‘I don’t,’ agrees Janey. ‘If I have it, I eat it, so I find it’s best not to have it. Why didn’t you just go to the Scot Nor?’ This is the local supermarket, which does a fine line in Empire biscuits and extremely localised crisp flavours.

‘I didn’t want to get dressed.’

‘Frankly these days I think they’re not that fussed,’ says Janey. ‘People started wearing their pyjamas to the Scot Nor during the pandemic and it kind of caught on.’

‘Classy,’ says Essie.

Essie doesn’t say the real reason: everyone in this town knows her, or at least knows Janey, who is popular, and they’d all want to know what was up. But Janey realises.

‘What do you say,’ she says finally, ‘to baklava for supper?’

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