Page 81 of The Wedding Dress Repair Shop
He carried his tools and the wood into the house and I sat on, listening to birdsong … and drilling, sawing and the sound of an electric screwdriver.
On my left, Jester snoozed on, curled on his cushion, but Golightly didn’t emerge and I was just wondering whether to go and look for him when Thom called me in to admire his handiwork.
The sofa now stood solidly on four large antique wooden castors, which he said he’d oiled, to make moving it easier.
Then he demonstrated the new door. ‘I’ve fixed the length by running this piece of batten across, like a sill. You can wax it when you do the door, so they match.’
‘The stripped woodisnice. I think waxing would look better than painting it,’ I agreed. ‘I see you’ve fitted bolts top and bottom, too.’
‘I had them spare and thought they’d do instead of a lock – and there’s another vertical one so you can hold the two halves together, if you want to open the whole door instead of just half.’
‘It’s perfect!’ I said. ‘But you must let me pay you back for the bolts.’
‘OK, and I’ve got a tin of antique-finish wax you can have, too, which is quite expensive, so that can go on the bill! You just rub it in with a soft cloth and it gives a nice, mellow finish.’
‘Great!’ I said, then added tentatively, ‘I’ll make us some more coffee, but while you’re here, would you mind putting some picture hooks up for me? The new plaster on the walls is making me feel nervous! I’ve put sticky tabs where the hooks need to go. There’s one in the workroom, too, for my big corkboard.’
‘That won’t take a minute,’ Thom said, and after I’d pointed them all out to him it seemed no time before he joined me outside and picked up his mug of coffee.
‘All done. Any sign of the furry marauder?’ he asked. ‘Jester doesn’t look as if he’s moved since I last saw him, so Golightly must have stayed quiet.’
‘The nearest shrubs swayed a bit a few minutes ago, even though there’s no breeze, so I thought that might be him exploring. I mean, he’s never been in a garden before, so it’ll all be new to him.’
‘Like an exciting jungle,’ Thom agreed. ‘We could go and check up on him in a minute, if you still feel antsy about him.’
The town hall clock struck half past ten and, as if on cue, Simon and Pearl came out of their adjacent cottage doors, waved at us and then got into Simon’s car and drove away.
‘Off to mingle with the godly at St Gabriel’s,’ said Thom,and then, as a backfire sounded from the direction of the square, added, ‘And he really needs to get that exhaust fixed!’
The noise had been enough to startle Golightly into flight, for he suddenly shot out from between the railings and was halfway across the cobbles in the direction of home when he spotted us and slowed to a saunter, as if he hadn’t been scared at all.
The backfire had woken Jester, too, and the movement as he sat up caught Golightly’s eye. He stopped dead and stared.
Jester saw him at the same time and, getting up, tail wagging, he went to meet him.
‘A new friend!’ his amiable face seemed to be saying, but Golightly’s expression must have been anything but friendly, for the dog’s steps slowed to a halt as he neared him.
For a long moment they faced each other like a furry version ofThe Gunfight at the O.K. Corral– and then Golightly gave one of his high-pitched banshee shrieks and Jester did the only thing possible: he laid down and rolled over, all four paws in the air.
‘Wuss,’ observed Thom. ‘Mind you, if I’d been a dog, I’d have done just the same that day when you came for the keys to the cottage, because scary doesn’t begin to describe it.’
I ignored that. ‘Discretion is the better part of valour – and look!’ I exclaimed, for Golightly appeared to accept Jester’s submission. Something must have passed between them, anyway, for Jester cautiously rolled over and got up, before they both headed back to his furry bed outside the workshop.
‘That was a quick about-face!’ I said, gobsmacked, as they settled down together. ‘Do you think it’s love at first sight, or does Golightly just think Jester is some strange kind of cat?’
‘Neither. I think it’s a takeover bid and Jester threw in the towel in the first round.’ Thom got up. ‘I somehow don’t thinkyou need to worry about Golightly any more and I’d put even money on him coming home in time for his dinner.’
‘I expect you’re right … and now perhaps I can get on with something else and stop worrying about him. I’ll hang all my pictures and then skim through the basic catalogue of the dress collection that Honey’s sent me.’
‘I’ll leave you to it, then,’ he said, and when I’d taken the chairs and mugs back in, I resolutely shut the front door and hoped for the best.
*
I didn’t have to wait until dinnertime for Golightly to reappear, for with unerring instinct he returned at lunchtime to share a tuna sandwich.
The excitement of his initial expedition seemed to have worn him out, because after that he curled up on the armchair and went to sleep and he was still snoring wheezily while I was getting ready to go over to Pelican House. He woke as I spooned gourmet cat food into his bowl and came in, slightly stiffly. I’d tried to do it quietly, but the spoon had rattled against the dish, which was as good as an alarm as far as he was concerned.
‘Listen,’ I said, waving the spoon at him. ‘I’ve only put your dinner out this early because I’m going out for a few hours. If I were you, I’d leave some of it for later.’
