A Pretty Beach Wish

by Polly Babbington

  She opened up her emails, answered a question about one of the excruciatingly expensive vintage baubles on her site, replied to an enquiry about wholesale prices, and then opened up the email she had been waiting for from Victoria at Lellery.

  She’d been in for another meeting with Lellery since the baubles had arrived and thank goodness Adrian Liellcock had not been present. In fact, Victoria had told her that she was in the process of initiating Liellcock’s move to another part of the business to give him a more rounded experience. Victoria told Juliette that what she really meant was that she wanted him well and truly out of her hair.

  The meeting had gone well and everything with the collaboration was sorted and documented. Which just left the window styling contract she’d signed to brainstorm. Victoria had been very casual with a ‘whatever you do will be fine’ attitude, but as Juliette opened the email and saw the five attachments, her heart raced a little bit. This didn't look quite as straightforward as Victoria had led her to assume.

  There was a spreadsheet on timelines, a document to outline the main aesthetics of her idea (she didn’t yet have an idea), and another three attachments with outlines requiring her to document her proposal on how she was going to progress her idea into a working plan that other people could operate from and with. Woah, way, way out of my depth here, Juliette thought as she scrolled further and further through the documents and sheets. What had she expected, though? This was not a one-man band with an online shop. This was the styling of one of the windows, albeit a very tiny one, of one of the most prestigious shops in the country, possibly the world.

  She sat back in her chair and started to rack her brains. Nothing came up. Not a sausage. She couldn't think of a single thing that would put her brand, her feel, the aura of A Christmas Sparkle into the window of Lellery. She started to scroll through her vintage boards on Pinterest. A few things caught her eye and she started a private board for the job, but overall, there was nothing that was grabbing her, and the one thing that Juliette had learnt in all her years of all things Christmas was that something did and would jump out - it was just never very obvious when, and if, it was going to come.

  She opened a small notebook she kept on her desk for ideas and leafed through it. A vintage sleigh drowning in the baubles? Already been done many times by many other people. The blackboard theme? Also not very original. A huge wreath completely constructed with the baubles. She put bauble wreath into the search bar, and many had been there and done that.

  Juliette closed everything down, got up from her desk, walked out into the kitchen, and called out to Maggie.

  ‘Darling, are you ready for our bike ride? Do you want a snack before we go?’

  Maggie came bounding in from the sitting room, Delilah under her arm. ‘Yes, please.’

  ‘Okay. What would you like?’

  ‘A Marmite sandwich, please.’

  ‘You’re very easy to please, you know that? I might just have to join you in one myself,’ Juliette replied as she took four slices of bread out of the bread bin, smooshed some butter into a small bowl, added a dollop of Marmite, mixed it all up, and then spread it onto the bread.

  ‘Right, let’s sit out in the garden and eat these and then we’ll pop out for our bike ride. We’ll stop at Maisy’s later on the way home if you like. Anywhere else you'd like to go?’

  Maggie, who was polishing off the sandwich as if she’d not eaten for days, put her head to the side as if Juliette had asked her a very serious question. ‘I would like to go to those swings near our old house.’

  ‘Which ones?’

  ‘The one with the round swings.’

  ‘Oh yes. The swings down the end of Seapocket Lane. I’d completely forgotten about those. Too easy, Maggie. We’ll ride over there and make the most of the sunshine.’

  ***

  Juliette sailed along behind Maggie with the breeze coming in off the sea in her hair, and called out, ‘Yep, stop at the end there and press the button for the crossing.’ She caught up with Maggie and they waited for the green man to go off, crossed the road, and then they started to cycle down Seapocket Lane, veered off at the end towards the beach and stopped at the play park.

  Juliette leant their bikes up against a picnic table, sat down on the bench and with her chin on her hands gazed at Maggie swinging wildly back and forth on the swing and the sea glistening in the distance.

  Her eyes roved around the small grassy park and then caught sight of the weather vane on the very top of the domed Orangery roof. She sat there thinking about the Orangery and how she’d used to love glimpsing that from the bedroom in the eaves at the top of Seapocket Lane. She thought about the Orangery and when she’d been there with Sallie, how lovely it smelt - that heady mix of earthy smells and botanicals.

  And then all of a sudden it came to her. Yes! Simple, effective, and original. She would style her vintage window like the Orangery. She would use the idea she’d had for Sallie and the decorations the Christmas before, and adapt it to her Lellery collaboration baubles. Genius.

  Chapter 48

  Juliette inhaled the gorgeous smell of the old-fashioned roses trailed all the way around the door of the Orangery, keyed in the number on the keypad, heaved open the huge old door and stepped in. It smelt amazing. Earthy and botanical and somehow floral at the same time.

  She stood still and looked at the huge, old arched windows, the tessellated floor, and the beautiful intricate brickwork. It was all very well thinking what a great idea it was to use the look of the Orangery for the window display, but a rather harder job to actually translate that into something tangible she could put into a spreadsheet and into a window in the West End of London. She strolled around and then called her friend Sallie.

  ‘I just don't know how I’d be able to replicate it now that I’m in here. I mean the whole beauty of the place is the building, the uniqueness of it, the vast feel, the scent even. How can I transplant that into a small window looking out onto a busy street in the middle of London?’

  ‘Yeah, I see what you mean. I remember when I first looked at it and stepped in with Shane Pence. It’s almost like you can’t put your finger on what it is in there and that’s why it works.’

  ‘Yes, exactly,’ Juliette said looking up at the domed roof.

  ‘Could you scour around for old arched windows? Somehow prop them up as the backdrop? Work the baubles all through that?’

  ‘Yeah, I did think that. I just had a quick look at online auctions for vintage windows, there are a few...’ Juliette trailed off as she ran a hand along one of the old trestle tables stacked in the corner ready for upcoming weddings.

  ‘I’m trying to think back to the Where the Heck is Pretty Beach? competition and what we did there. Remember? It was magical. I’m just getting it up on my phone.’

  ‘I had a look at those pictures too. The problem with that is a lot of the magic was the tree and the room size and the dome. I won’t have that luxury to work with in that space. I can’t transplant the dome...’

  ‘No, and it’s really hard to capture that whole feel anyway. If you walk through to the kitchen area the cupboards at the back have all the Christmas decor in there, and your garlands and stuff are packed away in there. Having a rifle through that might be a good idea. You might come across something you haven't thought of,’ Sallie said.

  ‘Yep. Good idea. Okay. Hang on. I’ll walk through there.’

  Juliette wandered through the main room to the corridor and then stepped into the adjacent Fernery on her way to the kitchen area. She stopped dead in her tracks.

  ‘Of course! Duh,’ she said into the phone.

  ‘What? What have you spied?’

  ‘The Fernery and the Gin Room. That's exactly how I’ll do it. Remember how we styled it? The pom-poms. Yes. Thank goodness. I was really starting to panic about this,’ Juliette said sighing in relief.

  ‘Yeah, that was brilliant. Simple and effective and a lot of bang for the buck.’

&n
bsp; ‘Yes! It will be amazing. I can set the backdrop up as a bar with shelves, the dried herbs, the glasses and fruit crates etc and then use the pom-poms and tuck in the baubles all around.’

  ‘What about some of that faux snow on the floor?’

  ‘Absolutely. Thank you. I am so, so relieved, Sallie. I can’t even tell you how much this has been playing on my mind.’

  Juliette sat down on an old chair in the Fernery and looked around. Yes, the window would be perfect styled in the Gin Room theme. Thank goodness for that.

  ‘Changing the subject rapidly. How is everything with Bella and the Jack thing? I haven’t had the update,’ Sallie asked.

  ‘Yeah, the Jack thing is really, really not good. He’s now announced that he wants to come to Pretty Beach. See where Bella grew up, the front of the man, and I’m meant to just suck it all up, take it on the chin, and welcome him with a smile on my face,’ Juliette declared.

  ‘Oh dear. That does not sound pleasant. The man who abandoned you rocking up in your little neck of the woods. Not nice at all.’

  ‘No, not at all. And it’s not long before the day now.’ Juliette replied with a sigh. ‘Though, I just want it over and done with.’

  Chapter 49

  The rain lashed down on the windows of the train as it pulled out of Pettacombe station. Every seat was taken, people stood holding onto handles in the aisles, and the air was humid and warm as if the air conditioning was fighting against the hot and bothered bodies inside.

  Juliette had met Bella in Pettacombe for a check-up with the orthopaedic consultant and further x-rays so that the consultant could make her decision on the next surgery. Everything had gone well, the appointment had even run to schedule, and Juliette and Bella had made the train just before the skies had opened, and it had begun to pelt down with rain. Bella was coming back to Pretty Beach for the weekend to meet Jack in Pretty Beach.

  Juliette sat opposite Bella on the train full of commuters and checked her phone. Texts from both Luke and Jeremy informed her that a huge summer storm was forecast to hit Pretty Beach that evening, and it was going to be bad. Jeremy’s message had also said that because of the rain and the forecast of thunder and lightning horse riding was cancelled, and he was instead going to take Maggie to the cinema if Bella didn’t mind not seeing him until the next day.

  Juliette relayed the message over to Bella who replied that it suited her fine - she was exhausted from the journey and had lots of lectures to catch up with. Juliette texted Jeremy back and then read another text from Luke who was at work.

  ‘Luke has said we need to get the hanging baskets and all that sort of stuff in from outside.’

  ‘It’s going to be that bad, is it?’ Bella queried.

  ‘Yep, according to this, Pretty Beach is going to be hit by the worst summer storm it has seen in years. The council have put a warning on their website, and Pretty Beach radio issued a newsflash.’

  ‘Typical, the weekend I come down. Drama though, we always like a bit of Pretty Beach drama... There’ll probably be a town meeting about it next week,’ Bella said giggling.

  ‘We do. I don’t think there'll be many picnics in Pretty Beach tomorrow, I can tell you that. And bang goes our walk up to the lighthouse. Blooming weather.’

  Bella tutted and raised her eyebrows, the train flew along and Juliette received a further text. This time from Daisy - another one with news of the storm.

  Hey! How did it go at the hospital? Hope you two are on your way home now? There’s a huge storm coming through. I’ve just looked it up on the satellite map and it looks like a big one. It’s coming in right off the coast.

  It went really well. The consultant was pleased with the progress and the next surgery should give her some more movement back.

  Wow! So pleased to hear that! That is excellent news.

  Me too. We’re so relieved. Yeah, we’re on the train. You're the third text I’ve had about the storm. It’s absolutely hammering down outside and the train is packed. You can’t put a pin between the people on here.

  The wind has already started to pick up and I just heard on the radio that the ferries are cancelled for the rest of the day.

  We’re going to get drenched getting home.

  Is Luke not collecting you?

  No, he’s working.

  Okay I can be there if you want a lift?

  Actually, I know it’s only a few minutes, but that would be lovely. What with the foot and everything.

  Sweet. No probs. Text me when you’re five minutes away.

  Cool. Thanks xxx

  ***

  Twenty minutes later, the fast train pulled into the station and Juliette and Bella waited until the very end when all the other passengers had already alighted from the train. Juliette stepped off onto the platform and then helped Bella down. They walked slowly all the way through the station and waited for Daisy’s car to appear as the driving rain splashed from puddles all over the pavement onto their feet. Daisy was waiting a street away, Juliette phoned her and a minute later she pulled into the collection area of the train station.

  ‘Hop in, ladies. Good call to wait until everyone got off. It was pandemonium when I got down here five minutes ago. Cars parked willy-nilly. You can’t make it up sometimes. No wonder there are accidents. I took one look at it, drove around the roundabout and waited for all the lunatics to leave.’

  ‘They'll all be out tonight for sure. Everyone drives when there’s a spot of rain,’ Juliette said as she helped Bella into the car as the pouring rain pelted against the car and sloshed up from the gutters.

  ‘How are you feeling, Bella?’ Daisy asked as Bella stretched out her foot into the passenger footwell and put her bag on her lap.

  ‘I’m fine and it’s all looking positive. So, we’re really pleased, aren’t we, Mum?’

  ‘We certainly are. The best news to get in the circumstances. We couldn’t have asked for better.’

  ‘So, what else is going on this weekend, then? Where are we going to celebrate that good news?’ Daisy said to Bella.

  ‘Well, obviously there’s tomorrow. Not sure how that’s going to go,’ Bella replied as the windscreen wipers swished back and forth on the windscreen and Daisy indicated right, looked in her mirror and pulled away. Daisy peered over at Bella with a confused look on her face.

  ‘Oh, I assumed Mum would have told you?’

  ‘Nope. Told me what? I’ve hardly spoken to your Mum, have I, Sparkles? I thought we would be going for lunch or dinner or something with you being down. Sorry, I’ve been so busy with work this week, I haven’t checked.’

  ‘Yes, I’d love to go out, but not for lunch,’ Bella replied.

  ‘Okay, why’s that then?’

  ‘Because, depending on the storm and whether that affects the train, Jack is coming to visit Pretty Beach.’

  ‘Ahh, that’s tomorrow, is it? Sorry, my mistake. Yes, I did know he was coming to Pretty Beach. I just didn’t know when,’ Daisy responded and tapped on the steering wheel not really sure what else to say.

  Chapter 50

  Juliette sat in the back of the car and waited for Daisy to park, helped Bella out, and got all the bags out of the boot. They all walked slowly to the front door, and Bella hobbled along carefully in the thick, humid pre-storm air. Juliette looked up at the dense, black clouds starting to roll in from the coast and nodded her head.

  ‘Everyone is right. It looks like this is going to be a big one,’ Juliette stated.

  They walked into the hallway, Daisy strolled through to the kitchen to put the kettle on, Bella sat down at the pink table in the corner, and Juliette stepped out the back door onto the terrace.

  ‘Wow, it’s already starting to blow everything around,’ Juliette called through, as the hanging basket brackets creaked, and she could see the shed door banging away to itself right down at the end of the garden. ‘Come out and have a look, Daisy.’

  Daisy stepped out onto the terrace and looked up at the back of t
he house and the swirling heavy clouds above. ‘It’s coming in very quickly - the forecast was right for once.’

  ‘Yeah, it is. I need to go down and ram that shed door shut. I hope those trees are going to be okay,’ Juliette said looking up at the dubious looking angles of some of the branches on the trees on the left-hand side of the garden.

  Juliette walked all the way down the path, shut the shed window, wedged the door shut and double-checked the bolt on the back gate. She walked slowly back up, the wind whipping her hair about her face, and helped Daisy take down the remaining hanging baskets.

  Daisy checked through the window to see that Bella wasn’t listening. ‘You didn’t tell me he was coming tomorrow! I’m surprised we haven’t had a full-on meeting to analyse and dissect this.’

  Juliette whispered back, ‘Trust me, we would have. I need more than a meeting for this. I need anaesthesia of some sort to get me through it. I gave birth to a rather large baby without any pain relief, but the thought of this makes me want to throw up. I can’t believe it’s actually happening. Jack is actually coming to Pretty Beach.’

  ‘When did she tell you then? She said in the car she was surprised I didn’t know?’ Daisy asked as she stood on a patio chair and carefully unhooked a basket full of petunias.

  ‘The night before last. Then I was manic at work yesterday, and I had a full-on talk with Luke about it, and then this morning I did my appointments and got straight on the train for the check-up. I haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone about anything.’

  ‘I still can’t believe he wants to come to Pretty Beach and to meet with you. The pure audacity of the man,’ Daisy said rolling her eyes.

  ‘I know,’ Juliette agreed, shaking her head.

  ‘Maybe you should have said no.’

  ‘To be honest I thought about it, and I thought about calling him and making it into a big drama. Telling him to get as far away from Pretty Beach and Bella as possible, and then I thought it through more prudently. It will be better once he’s been and gone. I’m going to just get it over and done with.’