Page 91 of A Colourful Country Escape
‘Oh, Lexie will want all of it,’ Sky reassured her. ‘But we both just got dumped by guys who preferred cash. Now we’re living in a cramped old van with no money of our own and nowhere to put a ruddy thing.’ She smiled as though this was a perfectly normal chat to be having with a stranger.
‘Thanks, Sky.’ Lexie gave her a sarcastic double thumbs up.
‘Just keeping it real,’ said Sky.
‘It’s not for ever,’ Lexie explained, feeling the need to stand up for their sorry circumstances. ‘We’re just … ’
‘Waiting for inspiration,’ finished Amy. ‘Well, you’re in the right place.’ She beamed at them and returned to her painting.
As they moved around the shop in a semi-tipsy, semi-awestruck trance, taking in the beautiful furniture that had been given new leases of life, Lexie was becoming more inspired than she’d bargained for. That was the thing about afternoon drinking – it could bring out all sorts of wild ideas. Maybe she’d have to sort through them properly when her blood alcohol levels were back to normal. But for now, she was happy to enjoy it. To dream a little.
‘This is stunning.’ Lexie traced her fingers across a chest of drawers which had been revamped in pastel pink, with a lacy white pattern covering the top.
‘Thank you,’ said Amy. ‘I decorated it myself. Although I’m trying to branch out with some less muted colours now.’ She pointed to the teal piece she was working on. ‘But it makes life trickier, because I have to make my own colours. I struggle to find enough unique shades.’
‘Lexie said the same,’ said Sky with a wave of the hand, as though her sister was some sort of renowned paint guru. ‘She’ll probably make her own range one day. She’s super artistic.’
Lexie felt her cheeks redden. ‘Not really,’ she muttered.
Amy beckoned them over and opened one of the doors of the sideboard. ‘The possibilities are endless, but I’m thinking of painting a peacock-feather pattern inside. Or maybe line it with peacock wallpaper.’
Lexie shuddered.
‘You don’t like peacocks?’ Amy asked. ‘Not everyone’s into birds, I guess, but they’re fascinating creatures. Symbolic of so many things. The all-seeing eyes on their tails, and their element of fakery. But they also stand for beauty, truth and immortality. Self-belief and new beginnings … ’
‘They’d be lovely in a pie,’ Sky mused.
Lexie clapped a hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh, but she was glad of the change of subject. She didn’t want to think about Nutgrass Hall and its omnipresent spies, nor its annoyingly immortal ruler. New beginnings, however …
‘So, is it easy, having your own shop?’ asked Sky.
Wow, she had even less boundaries after a few glasses of wine, thought Lexie. Although she couldn’t help her ears pricking up.
Amy put her paintbrush down and rearranged her bun, inadvertently swiping teal paint through her hair. ‘Not easy, exactly. But it’s food for the soul, following your dreams. Having something for yourself. Your own empire. I mean, it’s tiny.’ She swept her arms around her, a contented look filling her face. ‘But it’s mine, you know? I make my own decisions, follow my instincts, create. And that lights me up.’
Her features were a picture, her cheeks almost rosy with happiness. Lexie found herself slowly nodding.
‘Anyway, listen to me.’ Amy giggled. ‘You must think I’m a proper sort. Now, I can’t offer you any peacock pie, if there is such a thing. But I was about to put the kettle on, and I haven’t had a good chat all day. Do you ladies fancy a cup?’
‘Ooh, really? People are so nice here,’ Sky gushed. ‘Lexie will grab us some cookies from that bakery next door. And then we want to hear all about how you came to have your own shop. This guy I used to fancy, Cory, is going to have his own surf shop one day. And I think you should talk Lexie into doing something for her soul too.’
‘I’ll go for the cookies,’ said Lexie, holding up a hand and excusing herself, before her sister’s wild suggestions blew her mind.
Chapter 46
‘Damn it! I really thought this could work.’
Lexie hopped on one leg as she massaged her stubbed toe for at least the fourth time that week. The camper van was becoming perilously cramped now she was trying to juggle her new project amid their usual two-woman clutter bomb.
Spurred on by Amy’s Inspiration, and perhaps a little by Ben and Grace’s past pep talks on trusting her instincts, she’d been beavering away on her own range of brightly coloured chalk-style paints. The chalk (of controversial-white-powder fame) that she’d ordered a while back was finally coming in handy.
‘It is working, isn’t it? You said the ingredients were mixing really well.’
Sky was wearing a mud mask she’d made from actual mud and had her lazy feet up on a stack of Lexie’s paint cans. At least her toenails were drying nicely in the heat of Lexie’s vexation.
‘They are mixing well – the colours are brilliant. But I can’t build my empire in this.’ She flapped her arms upwards, trying not to get tangled in the washing line of socks overhead.
The rain hammered its agreement against the window, reminding Lexie she couldn’t even go outside to take a breather without ending up drenched. Not to mention that Penny Two was sinking further into the mudbath with every drop that fell.
