Page 4 of Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop
‘It’s not like that. It’s—’ She broke off, laughing. ‘You’re teasing me.’
‘Obviously. But can I make sure you’re exploring this because it’s what you really want and not because you think you’d be a burden on me if your health or mobility did take a downturn? Because you couldneverbe a burden.’
‘You’re a good lad, Lars, and I promise that’s not the reason. I know you’d move heaven and earth to help me. I’m doing this because it feels like the right thing for me. However, I’m conscious that if I like the apartment and decide to move, you’ll need to find somewhere new to live.’
‘Why? I could buy you out.’
‘You could, but I don’t want you to. Even if it was your name on the deeds, you’d see it asmyhouse and never your own and I don’t want that for you. Besides, selling that business of yours means you’ll be able to afford somewhere in a nicer area with a garden instead of a yard and with off-street parking. Imagine not having to drive around the block three times to try and find a parking space near the house.’
‘Such a thing exists?’ I joked. Parking was a huge issue on Fountain Street and the connecting roads as a ridiculous number of our neighbours had large work vans and sometimes two or even three vehicles to a household vying for limited space.
Nanna had loved Bay View, as had I, so she chose an apartment, handed over a deposit and put Fountain Street on the market. A few months later, Nanna accepted an offer from the Clark family and we were aiming for a completion date of late October so they could move in during the half-term holiday. I’d found a house too, or rather Nanna had found it for me – The Lodge in Hutton Wicklow, a village ten minutes’ drive south-west from Whitsborough Bay. It had needed a complete refurbishment and would hopefully be ready by the time the sale of Fountain Street went through.
With so much upheaval at the same time – preparing My Study Hub for handover, helping Nanna downsize her belongings and liaising with the builders at The Lodge – it was no wonder I hadn’t had any time to think about my next career move but, as soon as Nanna was settled, I’d have plenty of time. And that scared me. What if I couldn’t find anything that appealed? What if I found something but, having only ever worked for myself, I was deemed unemployable? What if it took months and months to find something? There’d be so much time on my own to think and… I shuddered at the prospect. I’d have to find something to keep my mind occupied quickly, even if that meant more volunteering. I already spent one day a week at Hutton Wicklow Library. Nanna’s friend Hilary was an avid library-user and visited the main Whitsborough Bay one weekly. She’d spotted a poster on the noticeboard seeking additional volunteers for Hutton Wicklow and I’d thought it would be a good way to get involved in the community before my move, while also indulging my passion for books. What I hadn’t expected was that I’d become the tech guru. It was my fault. On my first shift, I’d offered to look at a system issue and now I was the go-to man for anything technical – library-based and personal. Not that I minded. It came easy to me so it was no bother to help others who struggled, but I had hoped to spend more time on the books side. Books were, after all, the reason why volunteering in the library had appealed. Perhaps I could increase my hours there? Anything to fill that dreaded thinking time.
3
LARS
‘We’re loaded up now,’ Mick the removals man told us a couple of hours later. ‘Ready when you are.’
I glanced at Nanna, who was standing by the fireplace, gazing into the empty grate. ‘Can you give us five minutes, Mick? Maybe ten?’
‘No worries. Take your time. It’s not like we’ve got far to go.’
Mick was Hilary’s great-nephew. He’d moved Hilary into her apartment a fortnight ago and Geraldine last week so Nanna was the last of the three friends to make the big move.
‘How are you feeling, Nanna?’ I asked.
She turned round with a sigh. ‘It’s hard to believe that I’ve lived here for sixty-three years. I sometimes can’t remember what I had for breakfast but I clearly remember the first night Norman and I spent here. We’d massively pushed ourselves to buy this place so we had nothing left for furniture – not even second hand. Everything was borrowed or donated. The electrics didn’t work and the only source of heating was this fire. My parents said we should wait until we could at least get the place wired properly before we moved in but we were too excited. We spent that first night together eating cold baked beans out of a can, sitting on a pair of high wooden stools my aunt had liberated from a skip and I was so happy at that moment that I thought I might burst.’
‘That’s a great memory.’
‘One of thousands to cherish forever.’ She breathed in deeply and gazed around the room before reaching for her coat, draped over the back of the nearby armchair. ‘But it’s time for a fresh start. I’ll text Geraldine and Hilary from the car and tell them to pop the kettle on.’
While Nanna settled into the front passenger seat, I wandered over to the removals van to tell Mick and his colleague that we were ready to leave. Moving Nanna to Bay View wasn’t a big job. She’d decided that most of her furniture wouldn’t suit a modern apartment so had splurged on several new items. Having her leave most of her furniture behind helped me when I was staying put for another month.
‘Hilary says she’s baked a chocolate cake,’ Nanna said, looking up from her phone shortly after. ‘She knows how to make me happy.’
‘Do you think the staff at Bay View are ready for you three getting up to mischief together?’
‘It’s Geraldine. She’s the ringleader.’
‘I can well believe it.’ Geraldine was a larger-than-life character with purple hair, a tattoo of Ursula the sea witch from the animated version of Disney’sThe Little Mermaidon her arm, and the dirtiest laugh I’d ever heard.
Half an hour later, Nanna and I were in Hilary’s apartment with Geraldine while the removals men unloaded her belongings.
‘The three of us under one roof is going to be so much fun,’ Geraldine declared, helping herself to a second slice of cake.
‘How’s the refurbishment going, Lars?’ Hilary asked.
‘Really good. Most of the big things are done – building work, rewiring, new heating and replastering. The kitchen’s going in this week and it’s the bathrooms after that so it should be mainly cosmetic work left when I move in.’ I crossed my fingers. ‘Hopefully.’
‘Have you decided what you’re going to do with all your free time?’ Geraldine asked.
I shook my head. ‘I still don’t know.’
‘You could retire,’ Hilary said.
