Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage

I turn to go, then hesitate.

‘Um … just so I don’t put my foot in it, or anything. Do you mind if I ask when her husband died? I heard her daughter talking about it.’

‘About sixteen months ago in a tragic accident. A tyre blowout on the motorway. It’s considerate of you to ask. So easy to assume a husband is around and she’s very fragile still, naturally.’

I nod my thanks, holding up the cheque in acknowledgement and head off to the van.

It’s a bit chilly, but with the radio playing in the background I’m happy enough sitting here eating my sandwiches and looking out over the extensive views. If only I could stop my mind wandering and wondering ‘what if’. If Anita wasn’t so bitter, if I’d realised how trapped she’d end up feeling—

A movement in front of me makes me jerk my head up and I see Elana parking her car up by the garage. As she walks down the path it would be rude not to wave. She smiles and when she draws alongside the van I wind the window down, because she appears to be slowing her pace.

‘I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch, Luke. When you’ve finished do you think you could pop in and take a look at something?’

‘Will do, Mrs James – I mean, Elana. I’ll be in shortly.’

Even when she smiles there’s that little hint of sadness in those green eyes of hers. Something that she probably isn’t even aware is there, or maybe it takes one to know one. People who have sadness in their lives often carry it inside, unseen, but the eyes are the windows of the soul. When a hurt runs deep there’s no getting away from it. I wonder if that’s what people see when they look at me – the disappointment and sense of failure I feel.

I straighten my back and stretch out my arms, my muscles beginning to ache a little from sitting in a cramped space. I can’t wait to get to the gym tonight and have a really good workout. Then it’s a takeaway pizza and a little software program to test out. One of these days, hopefully, I’ll have something to sell that will take away all of my money worries. Until then, though, it’s back to the job in hand.

As I walk up to the front door of Bay Tree Cottage, Elana is looking out for me and immediately opens the door.

‘Thanks, Luke. Much appreciated. The problem is in the utility room, this way. Don’t bother about your boots, it’s hardly pristine in here.’

She sounds accepting of the situation and I feel for her, now I understand the position she’s in. She appears to be quite a proud lady and it must hurt, being alone with a child and living in something that is only partially completed.

I follow her into the narrow utility room and she pulls open the doors to the sink unit, exposing a large bucket half-full of water. A constant drip that is running quite fast is like a low drumbeat.

‘How long’s it been leaking?’

I look across at her and she grimaces.

“A while. I have to empty the bucket several times a day. And it’s getting worse.’

A quick glance isn’t enough to discover what’s causing the leak, although it’s sufficient to establish that this probably wasn’t done by the best plumber in the world. If her husband did it I have to be careful. In fairness, it’s not a really bad job, but there’s a lot of pipe work running off to service the washing machine and dishwasher. I would have configured it differently, flush against the back wall so that if there was a problem everything was easier to access. Quite simply, this is a pig of a job, because it’s going to be difficult to get a wrench in there to tighten up whichever joint is leaking.

‘It’s not a problem. I’ll go and grab some tools.’

She lets out a sharp breath, clearly relieved it’s something I can fix.

‘I was rather worried you’d say it was a major problem. I’m afraid the plumber we used wasn’t the best. My husband wasn’t here when the work was done and when he saw it he thought it was a bit of a mess.’

I smile and shrug, but she looks back at me rather flustered. I’m not sure she meant to share that, so I make a quick exit and when I return she’s nowhere in sight. I throw a dust sheet on the floor and open the doors wide, then take out the shelf. Lying down on my back I ease myself into the cabinet and stare up at the maze of pipes. Isn’t it always the way that the leak comes from the top? It’s the cold tap that’s leaking; the drip is almost constant. I can just about get my hand up between the pipes and get the wrench in place, but when it bites I can only twist it about a millimetre at a time. Even then, nothing seems to be happening. Then it dawns upon me that whoever installed this probably cross-threaded it when they tightened it up. Every time I move it slightly, it’s just going around the same thread. Nothing I do seems to stem the dribble of water. I hear a cough and as I begin easing myself back out, I find myself looking up at Elana.

‘It’s not going to be an easy fix, is it?’

I guess she can tell from the look on my face.

‘Hey, it’s not as bad as that. Someone has over-tightened the nut at some point and it looks like the tap itself is crossed-threaded. That means when I try to do it up it’s not making any difference.’

‘There’s an “and”, isn’t there?’

I nod.

‘And that means a new tap. The problem with the layout underneath there is that the taps were put in first. All the extra pipe work was installed without any thought to accessing the taps. In all honesty I’m better off doing a quick re-design so that it’s easier for the future. If I try to replace the tap as it is now, it will probably take me longer than sorting it out once and for all.’

She nods. ‘Okay. Thanks. No point in cutting corners. To be honest, I’m getting a little sick of the word leak. Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost?’

‘It’s a couple of hours’ work and a tap, that’s all. It won’t be a lot. As I’m here working anyway, it will just be a small add-on.’

‘Thanks, I appreciate that. Can I make you a drink?’

‘That’s very kind, but I’ll pop off now to pick up a replacement tap. I have everything else I need in the van. It going to take me a couple of hours, tops.’

‘Sorry to have pulled you away from the roof. Oh, there’s my phone – I’ll leave you to it. I’ll make a cuppa when you get back. And thanks for not making a drama out of my little crisis.’ She gives me a warm smile and the little furrow in her forehead disappears for a second or two.

***

Elana opens the door and I step inside, slipping off my boots.

‘You know, there’s really no need. It’s not as if the floor is clean, the concrete constantly throws up a white dust and I’ve given up on it.’

‘It’s a habit – we like to respect our customers’ homes. I’m going to have to turn off the water for a while, so if you need to run a tap for anything let me know when you’re done.’

‘The kettle is full, so no problem. It’s only me here during the day when Maya is at school, so you aren’t disrupting anything. One sugar, white – right?’

‘Thanks. I’ll make a start, then.’

As Elana disappears into the kitchen, I head off to the utility room. Walking past the computer in the corner of the dining room, I can’t help but notice the photo of a rather good-looking guy on the screen. It must be so hard to lose the person you love, just like that; having to juggle not only your own emotions, but those of a child, too. It makes me think of the Santa thing and her daughter. It’s not something I can bring up, but I sincerely hope she’s aware of what’s going on inside that little girl’s head.

Anyway, it’s none of my business and now I have a mess of pipes to hack about, so I can start again and do the job as it should have been done in the first place. Shoddy workmanship just annoys the heck out of me.

Chapter 6 (#ulink_ea0cf9ce-bb7e-5eb7-bcb7-1ece700f63c2)

Luke (#ulink_ea0cf9ce-bb7e-5eb7-bcb7-1ece700f63c2)

Dad For the Day

Picking up Joe is always a bittersweet moment. It’s great to know I have some quality time with him and yet the handover is always upsetting. What I wish is that we could have family time together, all three of us. It can’t happen, I know, as whatever was good between Anita and me has completely disappeared. Maybe it’s just too soon to expect her to be able to put her feelings to one side to join in our fun. But I always try.

‘We’re going swimming, would you like to come?’

She looks directly at me, raising one eyebrow with disdain.

‘Swimming? You know the chlorine isn’t good for my hair. I think I’ll pass. Besides, I’m meeting up with a friend at the mall to do some shopping. Goodness knows, I don’t get much time to myself and I deserve a few hours off.’

I’m such a fool, I didn’t mean to upset her, or make her feel guilty for grabbing a few carefree hours. I just thought … hoped—

‘No, it’s fine. I understand. I thought I’d ask, as you know what Joe’s like. He loves splashing about in the water and it’s great fun.’