Page 22 of A Christmas Celebration
‘Now this thing,’ he said, holding up a little sort of funnel which was an attachment for the vacuum cleaner and looked like it had the foot of a pair of tights taped to the end of it, ‘can be used on the upholstery in the sitting room, but only on the lowest setting.’
‘Got it,’ I nodded. ‘And she’s written that down and underlined it, so I’m not likely to forget.’
Archie looked at me and raised his eyebrows.
‘I’m not being sarcastic,’ I told him. ‘There’s a lot to do, isn’t there?’
‘Yes,’ he sighed, ‘there is rather and this is the really pared down version of what usually goes on, on a day-to-day basis.’
‘However does Hayley find the time for her art on top of all this?’ I asked. ‘This is more than a full-time job in its own right.’
‘Beats me.’ Archie shrugged. ‘Are you sure you want to take it on? Molly’s going to help out when she can between her readings and Reiki appointments, but it’s still a lot for one person.’
‘I am.’ I nodded. ‘Come on, what’s next?’
‘You won’t have to use any of these specialist cleaners,’ he said as we ran through the contents of the cleaning supplies cupboard. ‘She just wants us to focus on the main rooms and said she’ll give everything else a thorough going over when she gets back.’
I hoped she wasn’t going to mind that I had taken over from Archie.
‘And Mick’s going to do the fires,’ I said, forcing myself not to worry about it.
‘Yes,’ Archie confirmed. ‘He’s dealing with those as usual.’
‘Right,’ I said, puffing out my cheeks as I scanned down the list to make sure we’d covered everything. ‘I think that’s it, and don’t worry, I won’t let you down.’
‘Oh,’ he laughed, ‘I know you won’t.’
‘No pressure then,’ I said and not for the first time since I’d arrived.
‘None at all,’ he beamed. ‘Right, let’s go and see if Dorothy needs winding up, shall we? That’s a very important part of Hayley’s role here too, you know.’
And one I most definitely wouldn’t be taking on.
Chapter 8
After my lengthy briefing from Archie about how to best keep on top of cleaning the hall, I began to get an idea of exactly how much work I’d agreed to take on. Combined with what I had already started to do on Anna’s behalf, I calculated I was never going to have a spare minute in the run up to Christmas and therefore I’d better stop thinking about the mysterious and contradictory Brodie, who had somehow managed to take up permanent residence in my head, and was too distracting by far.
Having only encountered him all but briefly, he should have been easy to dismiss yet his brooding manner and unexpectedly seductive smile coupled with the discovery that we had something in common had been a game changer. Married to the creative fantasy I’d started to weave around him, the one where he was painting in an idyllic studio and half covered in paint, he was proving impossible to shake off. Admittedly it made a welcome change from fretting over the real reason behind my arrival at the hall, but even so…
The Thursday delivery round did go some way to helping me forget about him because there was far more to do. Practically everyone on Kathleen’s list had requested something and a longer than usual hold up at the house of Gladys Burdock meant I didn’t leave while it was light, which was a little unnerving as I still didn’t know my way around and didn’t feel particularly comfortable about driving in the dark. Just a few months ago I wouldn’t have cared a jot, but now I felt vulnerable and wished I had Bran by my side.
‘I’m so sorry to have kept you hanging about,’ Gladys apologized as she saw me off and we commented on how quickly the light had faded.
‘It really doesn’t matter, Gladys,’ I reassured her, not wanting her to catch my nerves and feel even worse. ‘We got there in the end, didn’t we?’
‘We did,’ she smiled. ‘And I’ll rest easier as a result.’
‘That’s more than worth being a bit behind my time for then,’ I told her with a smile.
She had been having trouble working out how to use the telephone service to book a long-awaited hospital appointment, but between us we had sussed it in the end and the look of relief on her face when it was confirmed told me that the extra time had been well spent.
I knew it could have been arranged far more quickly had I not worked through the instructions at a snail’s pace, checking and re-checking every stage as we went along, but that was all on me. Despite that, we’d eventually got thedesired result and I felt an inner glow of satisfaction that I’d been able to help someone who had been struggling.
At that precise moment, Molly’s piece of rose quartz rubbed against the car keys in my pocket and I felt relieved that my friend hadn’t been in the vicinity to witness my sense of achievement. She would have let no time pass before pointing it out and then been full of herself as a result.
‘Now,’ I said to Gladys, pushing thoughts of clever Molly away. ‘You get back in the warm and I’ll see you next week.’
It was already cold, and I could tell it was most likely going to be a frosty night too. I shivered while I waited for Anna’s car to warm up and for the windows to clear and then reset the satnav to guide me to my last port of call. With it telling me in a bossy Australian accent, which I had no idea how to change, to do a U-turn, I carefully did as I was instructed, mindful of the deep dykes which ran either side of the verge, and set off.
