Page 13 of Right Place, Right Time
I smile gratefully at them all. ‘Thank you.’ Then I turn to Adam. ‘Looks like it’s this weekend then. My little van isn’t big enough to carry everything from the house, that’s for sure. I’ll hire a larger van for a couple of days.’
‘You have your own transport then?’ Adam asks. ‘Only when you came on the bus today, I assumed you hadn’t.’
‘That’s because I much prefer to use public transport or to walk. Plus, there’s nowhere to park in central Cambridge, not that won’t cost me an arm and a leg anyway. So I keep my van in a locked garage I rent near my home. I store some of my stock there too.’
‘Nice. Where do you live, over the shop?’
I’m not used to someone asking me so many questions – not personal ones anyway. People usually aren’t that interested in me – present company excepted.
‘No, I have a little house not far from the shop.’
‘Eve’s house is gorgeous,’ Orla says keenly. ‘I adore it so much. Some of us live over our shops. But Eve owns her little home.’
‘I’m just lucky my grandparents left me the house,’ I say for Adam’s benefit.
‘Grandparents come in handy, eh?’ Adam says. ‘Well, I definitely won’t be living in my grandparents’ home. Nope, as soon as it’s sold, it’s straight back to London for me.’
‘The sooner we get it cleared, the better, then!’ I say.
‘Then you can go back to your life in London and I can get on with selling all your grandfather’s treasures.’
But as I’m about to find out, the best-laid plans have a habit of not turning out quite how you expected …
4
‘Blimey,’ Adam says as I open up the back of the hire van on Saturday morning to reveal neat rows of cardboard boxes and protective paper. ‘It looks like a professional removals company you’re running here.’
‘It is a professional company, thank you,’ I say, climbing up into the vehicle I’ve rented from Cox’s van rental in Cambridge, and I get ready to pass him down all the packing supplies. ‘I have done this before, you know?’
That was a bit of a white lie. I have never taken on a house clearance quite as big or as valuable as this one is going to be. But what I do have is confidence that we’ll be able to get the majority of the house packed up with a couple of days of hard work.
I was a little hesitant when Adam offered to help me with the packing – I’m used to doing that part on my own. But I quickly realised it was going to be impossible to get the house cleared completely within two days if I didn’t have help, and other than Barney, who is in charge of the shop for the weekend, I don’t have anyone else. So Adam will have to do.
Adam helps me carry the boxes and paper into the hallway of the house, and we stack them neatly at the bottom of the staircase that curves elegantly up to the second floor.
Today Adam is wearing jeans again – black ones this time – along with a long-sleeved black T-shirt advertising the band Metallica, and a plaid green-and-black shirt. He has the same amount of stubble as yesterday and I find myself wondering if he keeps it that length at all times, and, if so, how? Is there a special razor that men use to achieve the perfect length of stubble?
‘Where do you want to start?’ he asks, pushing the sleeves of his shirt up his forearms in a determined fashion.
‘Hmm?’ I ask absent-mindedly, still thinking about razors.
‘Where do you want to get going?’
‘Oh, right yes. How about in one of the bedrooms?’ I say, looking up the staircase.
Adam doesn’t answer, so I glance back at him – he’s grinning. I immediately understand his amusement at my answer, but I choose not to react to it.
‘Becausethere’s less stuff in them, and it will feel like we’re making more progress than if we start down here on the bigger rooms.’
Adam’s amused face drops a little.
‘Look, we’ve got a lot of stuff to get through today,’ I tell him kindly. ‘There’s not going to be a lot of time for joking around.’
‘You’re in charge of course,’ Adam says, saluting. ‘But there might be room for both? It might keep our spirits up.’
‘Anything that gets you filling all these boxes with more speed might be worth a shot, I suppose.’ I pick upa couple of the boxes and some sheets of paper, and then I begin to climb the stairs. ‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ I ask, turning back, but I can’t help smiling.
‘Nothing, sir!’ Adam says, looking delighted. ‘I’m right behind you.’
