Page 76 of Sun, Sea & Strawberry Shortcake
I settle in, happy to be with Hudson at last, but wonderingwhy on earth he’s making me sit through such a boring film. To be fair, I’vehad it up to my eyeballs with the job he’s been working on because it’s totallyruined our time together! But that’s life, I suppose...
‘It’s not the best quality film but it was the best we coulddo while making sure the job was actually finished in time,’ he says.
‘Right.’ I’m bored already by the views of perfectly paintedwalls and – ‘Hang on a minute. That looks exactly like my bedside cabinet inthe hall there!’
‘That’s because it is.’
‘What?’ I turn, bemused.
‘Just watch,’ he murmurs with a chuckle.
So I do. And as the film suddenly speeds up like the actionscenes in a silent movie, I suddenly realise that I’m looking at a view of my kitchenfrom the hallway of my flat, and two men with hammers are attacking the oldcupboards and worktops, demolishing everything in a matter of seconds, so thatthe kitchen is just a shell. And then beautiful new cabinets – in the lovelypale blue I wanted – are carried into the space, along with marble worktops. Andbit by bit – as I watch, open-mouthed – my dream kitchen begins to appearbefore my eyes.
‘How did you film all this?’ I ask in disbelief, stillstaring at the screen.
‘Mike did it. He had the camera set up and running while theworkmen were busy.’
My eyes widen as the camera now moves to focus on the tiredbathroom, and the discoloured old bath, sink and toilet are replaced with agleaming white suite, and a beautiful wooden floor laid to replace the tatty lino.Next, a different set of workmen appear and set about decorating the entireflat. And finally, as I watch in awe, the furniture is moved back into my roomand a new bed is assembled by Hudson in the second bedroom, specially for Mum.
‘This is like an episode of a home makeover show but speededup a hundred times.’ I give an incredulous laugh. ‘I can’t believe you’ve beendoing all this without telling me.’
‘I wanted it to be a surprise.’
‘Well, it’s that, all right.’
‘We hooked up with a building company last month, as I thinkyou know, so that in future we’ll be able to tackle entire renovation jobs,including the interior design.’
I nod. ‘I remember you telling me that.’
‘Yes. So a while ago, I asked Mike, the guy in charge, tolet me know when they had time in their schedule to do the work on your place.’
‘Oh. I didn’t know.’ I stare at him in surprise.
‘Well, it could have been ages before he could fit us in.’He grins. ‘But... the day we got here, Mike called meto say they’d had a cancellation and would be able to start on your flat immediately.’
‘Really? Wow. So that’s what your phone call was about.’ Myhead is in a spin. I can’t quite believe it...
‘Mike was convinced we could get it all done in a week, andI wanted it to be a surprise for you.’ He chuckles. ‘I was tempted so manytimes to let the cat out of the bag – especially seeing the disappointment onyour face when I had to work instead of spending time with you. Which is what Ireally wanted to do, by the way.’
I shake my head in amazement, glued to the big screen as thefinal touches are put in place – a bowl of lovely silk tulips on the windowsillof Mum’s bedroom, and a large canvas photo of Mum, Auntie Joy and me, laughingtogether at a village fete last summer, on the wall opposite the bed.
‘It’s beautiful,’ I murmur. ‘I love it. And Mum’s going to beable to stay over whenever she wants to in future.’ I turn to him, blinkingaway tears. ‘Thank you.’
‘You like it?’
‘Of course I do! It’s exactly what I wanted. In fact, it’s evenbetterthan I was actually visualising it.’
He chuckles. ‘Halfway through the week, I was regrettingever starting on it. There were so many hiccups and hold-ups, I thought we’dnever get it finished. And I was worried you’d be annoyed that I’d given thego-ahead without talking to you first.’ He looks at me anxiously. ‘You’re notcross, are you?’
‘No, of course I’m not cross. Hudson, this is the loveliestthing anyone has ever done for me. Honestly. Thank you from the bottom of myheart for organising it. It’s absolutely amazing!’
He smiles, looking chuffed. ‘It was all worth the effort,then. I started filming it so I could show you halfway through the week. Sorry ittook until the very last day to finish up.’
I grin, snuggling up to him. ‘Better late than never.’
He pulls me against him, murmuring, ‘So I guess you’d betterstart thanking me, then.’
As he plants hot kisses on my neck, I manage to mutter,‘Okay. I’ve got some strawberry shortcake for you.’
