Page 56 of Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay
‘I’d like a refund; my wife doesn’t like it, she said it’s haunted.’
‘Haunted– what’s haunted?’
The man looks uncomfortable. ‘She thinks the dog is haunted. She’s funny about these sorts of things.’ He shrugs. ‘She said there was no way she could possibly have it in our house. So I’d like a refund.’
‘But this is a car boot— I mean a courtyard sale. We’re not a high-street shop.’
‘Makes no difference. I know my rights and I want a refund.’ He places his empty hand defiantly on his hip.
I feel myself start to redden. It wasn’t the man’s request so much – strange though that was – it was his attitude. I detest rudeness and bad manners in all their forms.
‘Course you can have a refund, mate,’ I hear Tom say next to me. ‘Here’s a tenner.’
‘I paid twelve,’ the man says petulantly.
‘Got a receipt, have you?’ Tom asks in the same light but firm tone.
‘No . . . but—’
‘Then you ain’t got no rights, mate. I suggest you take this and be grateful for it.’ Tom thrusts a ten-pound note in the man’s face.
The man glares at Tom, then at me, then he dumps the dog unceremoniously on the table, snatches the note from Tom’s hand, and storms off.
I grin at Tom. ‘That was amazing. Well done.’
Tom shrugs. ‘Ars— I mean, idiot.’
‘Nah, I think you were right the first time.’ I wink at Tom and he grins back at me. ‘I think we make quite a team,’ I say, holding out my hand for him to shake, but instead Tom takes hold of my hand and kisses the back of it.
‘I am only here to serve you, m’lady,’ he says, bowing.
‘Oh Lord, don’tyoustart with all that nonsense,’ I tell him.
‘Aw, I think it’s sweet,’ Tiffany says, grinning at the two of us. ‘Tom is quite the hero after saving Charlie on that roof. He could be Prince Charming to your Cinderella.’
‘Tiffany,’ I say, blushing furiously, ‘I’m hardly Cinderella, am I? This isn’t some rags-to-riches fairy tale.’
‘I dunno.’ Tom winks. ‘Itisa bit of pantomime at times living in this castle. Talk of the devil, here comes the villain of the piece.’
I look over to see Arthur walking towards our stall.
‘Aw, that’s not fair,’ I whisper to Tom. ‘Arthur is a lovely man and you know it.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ he says, digging me gently in the ribs with his elbow. ‘I’m only kidding.’
‘How’s it going, Arthur?’ I ask as he arrives at our stall. ‘Have we made a profit?’
‘Oh, we’ve done very well out of this. Very well indeed,’ Arthur says, smiling for once. ‘I won’t have the final figures until later, but I must admit although I wasn’t keen on this idea when you first suggested it, I now stand corrected. It seems there are a lot of people who are very keen on buying other people’s junk. I had no idea.’
‘I’m pleased you’re pleased,’ I tell him. ‘I think it’s been a great day. Everyone seems very happy.’
‘Everybody’s certainly smiling on this stall!’ Benji says, joining us now. ‘Whathaveyou all been up to?’ he asks, lifting his hat so he can see us better. ‘You look like you’ve all been on the happy juice!’
I turn to Tom and find he’s looking at me with a similarly affectionate expression as I am him.
‘It’s behind you,’ Tom calls suddenly.
As everyone turns around to see what he means, I feel Tom’s hand gently caress the small of my back, but he’s so fast that by the time everyone has turned back again his hand is casually running itself through his dark hair.
