by Karen King
Reece and Sue came in to join them, and after a little more chit-chat about the specific photos they wanted Hattie said goodbye and walked home feeling a lot more confident than when she’d set out. Ellie had been full of ideas about how Hattie could promote and extend her photography business, and both she and Reece had taken one of Hattie’s flyers and promised to recommend her to people.
It’s so kind of them. I’d better not stuff up their wedding photographs, Hattie thought as she walked down the hill to Fisherman’s Rest.
She unlocked the door and walked in, expecting to be greeted by Buddy’s familiar cursing, but to her surprise the parrot didn’t make a sound. Hattie made her way over to the cage and peered inside. Buddy was hunched listlessly on the perch, and a couple of feathers were lying on the bottom of the cage. She looked at them worriedly. Was he moulting because he was hot? Was it something to be concerned about? He still wasn’t eating any pellets and she was sure the level in the water bottle hadn’t gone down either.
‘Are you okay, Buddy? Are you missing Uncle Albert?’
The parrot stared at her miserably but still didn’t utter a sound.
‘You don’t have to worry, I’ll look after you,’ she said, wanting to reassure the bird even though she doubted if he could understand anything she was saying.
Buddy looked away and started pecking at a feather on his wing.
Was that normal? Hattie wondered. She was worried about Buddy, and wished that she hadn’t been so stubborn and had accepted Marcus’s offer to look after him. The poor bird must wonder what the hell was happening, he’d had so many changes in his life. He probably would have been better off with Marcus, who he seemed to have a bond with, she thought, remembering how Buddy had nibbled the banana in Marcus’s hand. Then she remembered the big black cat, and how Marcus had said Buddy was nervous of it.
You can do this, you just have to earn Buddy’s trust, she told herself.
She’d spend some time talking to Buddy when she got back from the beach, she decided. He probably just needed some company. Meanwhile, she’d leave the radio on; her mum used to do that when she had to go out all day and leave Timmy, their cat, alone. It might take a little while, but Buddy would soon get used to her. She didn’t need Marcus to rescue her. She could handle a parrot.
Chapter Nine
Hattie was on her way back from the beach when a sleek white convertible raced past her, a glamorous woman with short blond hair and wearing designer shades was driving and Marcus, looking very smart in what seemed to be a dinner suit, sitting beside her. Well, she’d got the impression he was a bit of a hippie, surfing in the daytime and doing evening shifts at the hotel, yet here he was all togged up and with someone who looked like they’d be more at home sailing across the sea in a yacht than surfing on it.
Not that it was any of her business.
She let herself back into the cottage and headed straight over to Buddy’s cage. The parrot eyed her warily. He didn’t seem to have plucked out any more of his feathers, she noticed with relief. Maybe leaving the radio on had been a good idea. It didn’t look like he’d eaten any of his pellets though, or touched the corn on the cob she’d left him. ‘Hello, Buddy. Do you want some more banana?’ she asked him.
He stared at her, but didn’t reply.
She picked up a banana and peeled it, broke half off, and then opened the cage very cautiously and slipped it inside, then closed the cage door again. Buddy squeaked and scrambled down the bars to grab it, then climbed back up onto the perch and sat eating it. She’d love to let him out and have him share the banana with her, as Marcus had done, but knew she had to take it slowly. At least he seemed to be getting used to her. She’d spend a bit of time talking to him tonight, and she’d clean out the cage and give him some fresh food and water. Hopefully he wouldn’t escape again.
Hattie went over and put the kettle on. She was pleased with how today had gone, Ellie was really warm and friendly, like her mum. And Reece was very nice too. She felt honoured to be photographing their wedding and was determined to do them proud.
She’d just made her coffee when her phone rang. It was Mali. ‘How’s it going?’ she asked. ‘Are you all ready for me and Lou to descend on you Tuesday?’
‘I will be.’ Hattie carried her cup of coffee over to the sofa and curled up, knees underneath her, to talk to her best friend. She couldn’t wait for Mali and Lou to come down. Mali was such a lively, fun character and Lou was a sweetie. It would be good to have other people here to liven up the place. It might do Buddy good too. She glanced over at the cage and saw that the parrot was now nibbling at the corn on the cob. She smiled. She was worrying over nothing; he’d soon get used to her. ‘I’d better warn you about Buddy, you might need to cover up Lou’s ears,’ she said.
‘Buddy? Who’s Buddy? That was quick work, you’ve only been there a couple of days.’
Hattie giggled at the surprise in Mali’s voice and settled down for a long conversation.
She felt a lot happier when she and Mali had finally finished talking – with a brief interruption from Lou extracting a promise from Hattie to build a big sandcastle with her.
Maybe being made redundant and having to leave her flat had been the push she needed to make a new start. Her job in the insurance office was okay but it wasn’t what she really wanted to do with her life, just like her relationship with Adam hadn’t been what she really wanted, they’d drifted into it if she was honest.
‘You never stop to ask yourself what you want, Hattie. You go along with the flow,’ Mali had told her more than once. Which was true. It made life easier. It seemed to be a pattern that had started when her parents were married and anything could provoke an argument. After the divorce, she had accepted without question that she would live with her mother and had gone along with her mum’s excuses as to why she shouldn’t visit her father and that woman after the disastrous first visit. Not that she had wanted to; her dad had betrayed them, made a new life for himself and left Hattie and her mother behind. Except, now he was back in her life, wanting to airbrush the past as if it never happened.
Almost on cue her phone rang again and it was her dad. She hesitated, wondering whether to answer it; she knew he’d try and chat to her while she preferred to keep their exchanges to texts or emails, such a distance had grown between them over the years that she didn’t feel close enough to him to chat. Then Hattie remembered how Ellie’s eyes had filled up when she talked about her father dying, and how she’d promised herself that she’d make more effort with her own father. So she slid her finger across the screen to answer the call.
‘Hello, Dad.’
‘Hello, Hattie. How are you settling in down there?’
‘Okay. I’ve got a wedding photography commission for next Saturday.’
‘Brilliant. Where?’ He sounded genuinely interested.
She briefly filled him in on the details, then the conversation turned to the cottage, which was obviously the real reason he had phoned, not to ask how she was.
‘How long do you think it will take to get ready to put on the market?’ he asked.
Hattie wondered what Marcus would make of her dad’s eagerness to sell the cottage; he’d already got them both down as gold-diggers. ‘I don’t know Dad; you saw the photos. It needs painting and updating and maybe even rewiring. The pipes make a lot of noise whenever I turn on the taps, and the bath is cracked.’
‘Maybe you could get an estate agent in to give you a rough idea of what needs fixing in order to sell it? It might not be a good idea to update it too much. A lot of people like the fishermen’s cottages to look authentic, especially if they want to rent them out. An estate agent could give you a general idea what it would sell for too.’
Hattie’s mum had suggested that they rent the cottage out to bring themselves in an income but Hattie felt it should be a family home and her dad wanted a quick sale and a clean break.
‘I’ll get someone in this week and let you know,
’ she promised. It probably was best to get things moving. The quicker the cottage was sold, the quicker she would have the money to get on with her life.
She decided to stay in that evening, keep Buddy company and tidy up downstairs a bit. Tomorrow, she was going into Truro to try and drum up more business by putting her posters into some shops, and also to see if she could find a local photographic, printing and framing service rather than an online one, as it would be easier and more convenient for her to pick up her prints. Then she planned to tidy up Uncle Albert’s room for Mali and Lou. Not a job she fancied doing.
The next morning, she woke up bright and early feeling really refreshed. She jumped out of bed and threw open the curtains. It was a glorious day! She looked down into the back yard where she could see her bike parked against the shed, the rusty table and chairs, and the clothes line stretching from one side of the wall to the other. She ought to tidy it up a bit and also put some pots out the front, to make it look pretty and welcoming.
She could see over into Marcus’s yard too, which was bare apart from a small wooden table and two chairs. Suddenly the back door opened and the woman she’d seen in the car yesterday stepped out, with Marcus behind her, barefoot and wearing just a pair of shorts slung low on his hips. He really did have a toned body and those tattoos on the top of his arms made them look even more muscular.
Hattie pulled back so that they couldn’t see her, as the woman flung her arms around Marcus’s neck and snogged him.
‘Sorry, I have to dash, darling. See you later.’
Then she was off, her heels clicking on the cobbled path.
So they were an item then. Well, Marcus obviously went for the older woman with money, and he had practically called Hattie a gold-digger! What a cheek!
They might genuinely love each other, she reminded herself. Anyway, it was his life, nothing to do with her.
She pulled on what was becoming her regular attire of shorts and a T-shirt, and went downstairs to check on Buddy, who was nibbling away at the corn cob on the bottom of his cage. Thank goodness, she thought in relief. He seemed to be getting used to her being here now. ‘Morning, Buddy,’ she said, walking over to his cage. ‘Say morning to Hattie. Morning, Hattie.’
Buddy looked up from the corn cob then turned his back dismissively and carried on eating.
Well, at least he hadn’t sworn at her. It was a start.
After coffee and breakfast, she left the radio on for Buddy and went upstairs to set about stripping Uncle Albert’s bed and putting the bedclothes on a wash, opening the window wide to let in some fresh air. She wanted it to smell fresh and clean for Mali and Lou to sleep in tomorrow. She did wonder if she should offer Mali the attic room, after all there was a double and single bed up there, but she knew that Mali would be happy to share with her little daughter, and Hattie wouldn’t feel right sleeping in Uncle Albert’s room. She felt at home in the attic, even a little nostalgic, remembering the holidays with her parents.
She vacuumed the bedroom, cleaning the top of the wardrobe too to make sure there were no parrot feathers or droppings, and left the bed to air. Then she hung the washing out to dry on the line running across the back yard, had a shower and set off on her Harley for Truro.
She parked the bike up in the council car park and then had a walk around the pedestrianised shopping centre. It was a beautiful city, the gothic-looking spires of the cathedral dominating the skyline. She remembered coming shopping here with her parents before they split up, visiting the cathedral, stopping for a coffee in the upstairs restaurant of one of the bookstores, which didn’t seem to be there anymore. Truro was an eclectic mix of the larger stores on the main street with smaller, independent stores. She browsed around for a while, enjoying the bustling atmosphere. Her mother had always insisted on coming here at least once when they were visiting Uncle Albert and, whilst Hattie had been bored with the shops back then, preferring to spend her time on the beach, she could understand why, now.
She left her flyer in a stationery shop, and a couple of photography shops. Then she browsed the albums, wondering which one Ellie and Reece would like most. The best thing to do, she decided, would be to look online, then send them the link, so they could choose the one they preferred.
When she arrived home, she felt in a reflective mood. She hadn’t thought about her childhood or her parents for a long time but staying in Fisherman’s Rest brought a lot of memories back to her. And not all good ones. She had to admit to herself that although her parents had tried not to argue when they were on holiday, she had always sensed an atmosphere between them, and had always been trying to please them, anxious to avoid anything that heightened the tension.
They hadn’t been happy together, she had known that even though she hadn’t expected them to divorce, because as a child you don’t really think about that. You accept your parents’ relationship. Now, looking back, she could see that it had only been a matter of time. Yes, Dad had been the one who had cut the tie, walked out and made a new life with someone else, but she and Mum had been happier afterwards, there had been a better atmosphere in the house. And Dad was obviously happier too, so happy he almost forgot about them.
She thought back to her own relationship with Adam. He hadn’t wanted to get married, which had suited Hattie as she had no plans to marry either. Not that she was completely against marriage but she would need to be really, really sure that this was the guy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with because she didn’t want to go through a divorce. And she hadn’t met anyone she felt that sure about. And maybe she never would, in which case she would be perfectly happy living her life as she chose. She didn’t see marriage or having a partner as the be-all and end-all of life. She was comfortable with her own company and happy to tread her own path. Relationships always meant compromising, and right now she had had enough of compromising. Now, she wanted to live her life for her, no one else.
Chapter Ten
‘I love it!’ Mali exclaimed, her eyes widening in appreciation as she stepped into the lounge.
The cottage suddenly seemed more colourful and alive; Hattie wasn’t sure if it was because of the orange top and print trousers her friend was wearing, or because Mali’s character was so vibrant. Lou was a mini version of her mother, her dark hair worn in braids adorned with pretty beads, like Mali, but she was dressed in a bright-pink T-shirt and shorts. Her eyes were dark and serious, like her father Ricki’s, and she had his nose, but her personality was pure Mali. She was staring at Buddy wide-eyed. ‘Mummy, it’s a parrot!’ she said in a half-whisper.
Mali was too busy gazing around in awe to hear her. ‘This is amazing, Hattie. It’s got so much character. Look at those stone walls, and the beams across the ceiling. It’s incredible. There’s so many of the original features here. I reckon this will be snapped up.’
It was interesting to see the cottage through someone else’s eyes. To Hattie, it was simply Uncle Albert’s cottage, a bit small, dingy and old-fashioned but, yes, quaint too. ‘I hope so, but it’s a bit tired and dated, don’t you think? We’re getting an estate agent in to give us a quote and tell us what to do to get the best price.’
‘As little as possible, I’d say,’ Mali told her. ‘A coat of paint, of course, and maybe a new carpet.’ She walked into the kitchen area and pulled back a corner of the red checked tablecloth. ‘This table will come up great with a bit of a sanding down and a fresh coat of paint.’
After staring at Buddy for a few minutes, Lou plucked up the courage to go over to his cage. She stood at a safe distance from him. ‘Hello,’ she said.
‘Bugger off!’ Buddy said loudly.
Lou giggled. ‘Mummy, that parrot swore.’
‘That’s Buddy and I’m afraid he swears a lot. You’ll have to cover your ears up,’ Hattie said conspiratorially. She threw an apologetic glance at Mali. ‘I did tell you what he was like.’
‘Oh, we don’t mind him, do we, Lou? We like character. And this place has plen
ty of it. How long did your uncle live here? Did he never get married?’
‘No. That’s why he left the cottage to me and Dad.’
‘Lucky you. Aren’t you tempted to live here?’ Mali asked.
‘I can’t if I wanted to, it’s half Dad’s cottage too and he wants to sell. There’s no way I could afford to buy him out,’ Hattie replied. ‘Besides, it’s a bit out of the way down here. There’s no wi-fi by the way. I hope you’re okay using mobile data’
‘No problem. We’ve come on holiday not to be glued to our phones and iPads.’ Mali wrinkled her nose. ‘Bit of a bummer for you though. Can’t you get some in?
‘Not worth it for the couple of months I’m here. Besides I’ve got unlimited mobile data so I can manage.’
‘Can we go to the beach?’ Lou begged. ‘I want to see the sea and build a sandcastle and have an ice cream.’
Mali smiled. ‘She’s been looking forward to this all week. How do you feel about a stroll on the beach? We can go by ourselves if you’re too busy.’
‘No way, you’re only here for a few days so I want to spend as much time with you as I can. I can do anything that needs doing when you’ve gone back home.’
Lou smiled and clapped her hands, her dark bunches bobbing up and down. ‘Hooray! Remember to unpack my bucket and spade, Mummy.’
‘It’s in the boot, we’ll get it as we go out,’ Mali told her. She turned to Hattie. ‘I’ve parked on the wasteland over the back. Will my car be okay there or do I need to move it?’
‘It’s fine, that’s where most of the people who live in these cottages park. It’s difficult to find a place in the summer, though, every spare bit of land is grabbed by the holidaymakers. Luckily, my bike can be parked in the back yard.’
‘Shall we get your stuff out of my car first? I worry about leaving it there,’ Mali suggested. ‘I don’t want anyone breaking in and taking it.’