Page 32 of Never Too Late
‘Thanks. Let’s go and have a nose around.’
The main living area looked exactly like the pictures we’d seen online, thankfully, and the high-ceilinged room was painted a soft shade of off-white. Luxuriously thick, pale-blue curtains hung at the full-length windows and complemented the cornflower-blue, squashy sofa that faced them. Two other cream-coloured armchairs provided more seating and a dark wood coffee table sat on a large, pastel, floral rug in the centre of these.
‘Isn’t it lovely that the seating is centred around the coffee table and not the television?’ I commented as I tried the sofa. ‘Ooh, this is lovely.’
‘I don’t think there is a telly,’ Sash said, looking around.
‘Good.’
She looked unsure.
‘Obviously, you can still access things on your devices, but, personally, I’m looking forward to reading more.’
‘Oh. Yeah. Of course.’
I walked to the window opposite the sofa and pulled back the sheer curtains that lay behind the others.
‘Oh!’
‘What’s the matter?’ Sash caught up with me. ‘Oh!’ she echoed.
I twisted the key, unlocked the doors and stepped out onto the tiny balcony.
Paris! I missed you.
Below sat a small, cobbled courtyard. A few benches were scattered about, a couple placed under the currently bare branches of some trees. On one sat an older man wrapped up, stylishly of course, against the chill of the weather, reading a hardback book that, at a glance, looked older than my daughter. Here and there was the odd evergreen shrub adding some colour to the scene. Various large planters were dotted about which, although currently empty, I could picture spilling over with spring and summer blooms.
‘Is that ours?’ Sash asked.
‘It’s shared between these three buildings,’ I replied, my hand moving to encompass the three similar houses that surrounded it, as well as this one.
‘Are they all apartments?’
‘I don’t know. Possibly. I suppose some of them could still be houses.’
‘They’d be massive!’
‘They would. And pricey.’ Even back in the day, it had cost a fortune to rent my one-roompension. I knew I was lucky to have secured such a great apartment this time around. Just as well as I was long past staying in ratty places like I’d been willing to back then. These days, creature comforts were high on the must-have list.
‘I think I’d feel a bit weird sitting down there when other people I didn’t know could be there too.’ Sash pulled a face.
‘That’s how you meet people. But, even if you saw someone, it doesn’t mean they’ll want a conversation anyway. That gentleman looks engrossed in his book, for example.’
‘Yeah. I suppose.’
We’d been lucky enough to have a large and fairly secluded back garden in our family home in Surrey. It wasn’t surprising that to have to share outside space now might come as a bit of a shock to my daughter.
‘At least there’s somewhere to go if you want to and it’ll be lovely as the weather warms up.’
She looked again. ‘True. I’m sure it will just take a bit of getting used to.’
‘Exactly.’
‘It’s gorgeous though, isn’t it?’
‘It is,’ I agreed. ‘It really is.’
Sash insisted on taking the smaller bedroom, although I’d told her I was happy to have it. Both had been tastefully furnished and were scrupulously clean. Mine also had an en suite which left the main bathroom for Sash to use as her own.
