by Sharon Owens
‘I’m sorry, Daddy,’ Emily said, genuinely contrite. ‘Just tell me what’s happened. Are you in any sort of trouble? Is there a loan shark after you? Have you insulted somebody with dodgy connections? Oh sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just that you never go anywhere.’
‘Look, nothing dodgy has happened, okay? Why do you always think something has happened? It’s just a notion of your mother’s, that’s all it is. We had such a lovely time in London when we were over, and it’s been very quiet here since we got back. I’m barred from the poker games, and your mother’s been cutting back on the old you-know-what and also on the shopping. And because of all that, we’re a bit bored.’
‘Well, that’s understandable, Dad. But you do know that Dylan made a special effort to be nice to you when you were here before, don’t you? He wouldn’t be able to take you out every day, if you came to London to live. He has the shop to run, and I have to go to work.’
‘Yes, we know that, love. We thought we might get jobs too.’
‘What sort of jobs?’ Emily said, mystified.
Neither of her parents had worked in years. She heard a muffled struggle on the other end of the line as her parents fought over the handset.
‘Emily dear, we’ll get a couple of basic jobs; we’re not completely stupid,’ Emily’s mother said, taking the phone back from her husband. ‘We’ll get jobs and we’ll just see how we get on. Now, do you know of anybody that needs a couple of housekeepers or cleaners or something? And we can live in, or rent a room. Will you ask around, please?’
Suddenly Emily was overcome with love for her parents; bless them for trying to do something out of the ordinary, she thought to herself.
‘Are you serious about this?’ Emily asked, scratching her head.
‘Yes, we are.’
‘What about all your stuff there? All your nice things …’ Emily asked, thinking of her mother’s clutter.
‘What about it? The stuff can sit here and wait for us.’
‘Well, what if you like it here and you never want to go back to Belfast?’
‘Ah, the Council can dump the lot of it. Sure, it’s only rubbish, anyway,’ Emily’s mother said briskly.
‘This is very sudden, Mum.’
‘Aren’t you happy we want to live in London? We thought you’d be pleased that we wanted to be near you. Or have you changed your mind about playing happy families?’
Emily was momentarily dumbstruck by her mother’s direct and slightly hostile approach. Yes, she had always complained about their lack of a traditional family life. And she did often comment on how bad her parents were at remembering birthdays and anniversaries, and so on. Yet now they were offering to come and live near her, she could feel nothing but doubt.
‘Listen, Mum. I’m really sorry, but I don’t think I can help you,’ she said lamely.
‘No?’
‘It’s just that none of my friends could afford a live-in cleaner – and I don’t know if an agency would take you either, given your employment history.’
‘We don’t need a fancy agency, for pity’s sake. Emily, will you ask Dylan if he knows of anything that might suit us?’ her mother said impatiently. ‘Please try to see things from our point of view, Emily. We’re just sitting here, day in and day out, looking at the blessed wallpaper. I’ll go mad, if I don’t see a change of scenery very soon.’
‘Yes, okay, I’ll ask Dylan right now and I’ll ring you back,’ Emily said.
‘Do you promise you’ll really ask him? And not just tell us you asked him?’
‘Yes, I promise.’
‘Good, we’ll be home all day as usual,’ her mother said in a grim voice.
‘Fingers crossed, Emily,’ her father added.
‘That’ll do for now,’ Emily heard her mother say. ‘Hang up, will you?’
The line went dead. Emily immediately called Dylan at the shop before she could chicken out of it.
‘Dylan, listen. This is utterly ridiculous, but I just told my parents I would ask if you know of anyone who needs a couple of live-in housekeepers. They want to move to London! Now, I know you don’t know anybody who needs live-in housekeepers, and they couldn’t keep house if their lives depended on it, but they seem so keen, I promised them I’d ask,’ she said wearily.
‘Cleaning houses, huh?’
‘Yes. Honestly … just when you think they can’t get any dafter, they come up with a crazy plan like this. Cleaning houses? They clean their own house about once in a decade. I think they still have the first bottle of furniture polish they ever bought. I think they’re actually trying to drive me mad.’
Dylan laughed loudly down the phone.
‘You are such a diva,’ he said affectionately. ‘Bless the two of them; they’re only bored to death since they cut back on the gambling and the shopping.’
‘It would seem so,’ Emily said. ‘I haven’t the heart to tell them we can’t help them. Do you think we could tell them there’s a job coming up in a few months’ time, and hope they’ve lost interest by then?’
‘Well, there’s no need. Because it just so happens, I can help them,’ he said.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I’ve got a mate, Jake Lancaster, who’s travelling in Australia for six months. He wouldn’t mind your parents moving in and keeping an eye on the house for him. They wouldn’t have to make it official or anything; they could just tell anyone who asks that they’re going on a little extended holiday to London. Do you know if they get their benefits paid by direct debit? If they do, there’s no problem whatsoever.’
‘And this Jake wouldn’t mind that they’re not from an agency?’ Emily said.
‘Come on, of course he wouldn’t mind! What’s the harm in it? It’s a big house, and there’ve been a few burglaries on that street in recent times. They wouldn’t have to do anything, really – just switch on some lights at night, and so on. Keep the front garden tidy. It’s only a tiny little patch, so it wouldn’t be any bother for your father, I’m sure.’
‘My mum is a heavy smoker,’ Emily said. ‘She’ll stink the house out.’
‘Jake is a smoker too,’ Dylan replied, ‘so he won’t mind if she smokes.’
‘When did this mate of yours go to Australia?’
‘Three months ago.’
‘So they’d have the house for another three months?’
‘That’s about it, yeah.’
‘That’ll be more than enough time for them to get homesick, I suppose. Actually, I would be happy if they didn’t get homesick. It might do them good to make a fresh start. Oh, Dylan, this could be a great idea! Will I really tell them about this house-sitting gig, then?’
‘Why not offer it to them?’ Dylan said. ‘Ring me back in a bit. And if it’s a yes, I’ll send a message to Jake. The house is about ten minutes’ walk away from your flat, so you can keep an eye on them. I’ll give them the spare key that Jake gave me, and they can come over to London and move in whenever they like.’
‘I’m so excited. It will be okay, won’t it?’
‘Yes, I think so,’ Dylan said. ‘House-sitting generally is a simple arrangement. And Jake’s place is pretty casual decor-wise; they won’t be able to do much damage there.’
‘Okay, I’ll call you back.’
Emily dialled the number in Belfast with shaking hands.
‘Hello, is that you, Emily?’
‘Yes, Mum.’
‘Boy, that was quick. We’re still drinking our tea here. It’s not bad news, is it?’
‘No! It’s good news; I’ve got something for you. A friend of Dylan’s needs a house-sitter.’
‘Praise the Lord. Is the house anywhere near you?’
‘Yes, it’s very close to my flat. It’s close to the shops too. I mean, you’ll be able to get your groceries home without needing a taxi,’ Emily added, in case her mother thought she was referring to her shopaholic tendencies.
But her mother was too pleased to notice a
ny veiled insult.
‘Good thinking, Emily,’ she said. ‘I knew Dylan would be able to find us something. Good lad! Tell him thanks, won’t you?’
‘I will.’
‘We’ll be over on Sunday evening,’ Emily’s mother said chirpily. ‘This time we’re going to pack properly. Can we come to yours on Sunday evening, just to pick up the keys? We don’t want to be in your way at all.’
‘Of course you can,’ Emily said. ‘And you won’t be in my way at all. You don’t have to be like that about it, Mum. Look, I am happy that you’re coming over for a while. Really, I am. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, it’s a marvellous idea. Dad will get away from his old betting pals, and you’ll have lots of new things to do. I’ll cook us a nice roast beef dinner, and then Dylan can take you to see the house. Okay?’
‘Okay, love, we’ll call you tomorrow after we’ve got our tickets.’
‘Okay – and say goodbye to Dad for me. Bye, Mum.’
‘Bye, love.’
Afterwards Emily sat on the sofa and thought about what had happened. And she felt increasingly guilty that she’d not once thought of bringing her mum and dad to London and giving them a new role in life as house-sitters. At the very least, they’d have been able to pay their way in life – instead of rusting away on the scrap heap. She’d never thought of it, and yet Dylan had the whole thing fixed up in about two minutes. He really was a sort of guardian angel, she thought to herself. She gazed at her white Christmas tree happily. Well, this was a lovely start to December, wasn’t it? The glass angels seemed to shine a little brighter this year, she fancied.
Or maybe it was because her heart was feeling much lighter this winter?
That evening Dylan picked Emily up in his car and took her to see Jake’s house. She felt very comfortable, sitting beside him in the warmth of his old BMW. In fact, she almost wished they were going for a nice long drive in the country, instead of just nipping across a few streets.
‘It’s huge,’ Emily said, totally impressed when she saw Jake’s home.
‘Lucky sod inherited it from his great uncle,’ Dylan told her. ‘It’s worth about a million and a half.’
‘What does Jake do for a living?’
‘He runs the family business, a small brewery in Surrey.’
‘Sounds like an interesting job,’ Emily said.
‘Yes, it is. And he loves to travel, so it’s lucky for him he’s got no mortgage any more. Come on, then.’
They went inside the three-storey stucco-fronted mansion. Dylan had to shove the front door a bit to get it open, because a small mountain of mail had collected on the mat. Quickly he punched in the code that disabled the burglar alarm.
‘Would you look at that pile of stuff,’ he said incredulously. ‘I should have come round here more often. Listen, I’ll sort that lot out before we leave,’ he added, gently pushing the mail into a neater pile with his foot. ‘I’ll have a quick look and make sure there’s nothing urgent, though Jake said he’d paid all the utilities before he left. Let’s just make sure everything else in the place is okay before we let your parents move in, yeah?’
They went from room to room, exploring. The house was massive with very high ceilings, but Emily thought it was rather cold and empty-looking. Jake clearly wasn’t interested in interior design – a typical man, then! Just a few cushions and a tall vase or two would have made all the difference. Dylan checked that all the windows were locked, the radiators hadn’t leaked, and the fridge didn’t have anything festering in it. Then he reluctantly ran the vacuum cleaner over the wooden floors while Emily gave everything the once-over with a feather duster.
‘Would you look at the pair of us?’ she said, laughing as she pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.
‘We’re like an old married couple,’ he agreed. Then he put the vacuum away and began sorting the mail as Emily attacked the fridge with a clean cloth.
‘I’ll come over on Sunday morning and switch the heating on; warm the house up for them,’ Dylan said.
‘And I’ll make up the bed in the guest room,’ Emily added.
‘Great idea. I hope they like it here. It’s very plain, though … very bachelor pad, isn’t it?’
They both gazed around at the bare white walls, the thousands of vinyl records packed into black plastic crates, and a fly-encrusted Harley motorbike just visible through the dining-room door.
‘Well, I didn’t like to say anything … but this house sure could do with a woman’s touch,’ Emily agreed. ‘We could throw a sheet over the bike. Why is it in the house, anyway? Isn’t there a garage out the back?’
‘Yes, there is. But Jake said the garage door was ancient, and the bike might be stolen. The house is alarmed, you see?’
‘Oh yes, so it is.’
‘And he never uses the dining room, so he just keeps the bike in there. You don’t mind your parents coming over, do you?’ Dylan asked then, setting down a stack of junk mail and giving Emily a big hug.
‘No, I expect they’ll get bored within a fortnight and go home again. I mean, I’m happy they’re showing some initiative at last, but I don’t know if they’ll fit in over here.’
‘It’s a pity they never found their niche in life, isn’t it?’ Dylan said.
‘Yes, I think it would have made all the difference, if only they’d found the right jobs,’ Emily said.
‘True. That’s why I had to get out of banking before it took over my life,’ Dylan told her. ‘I didn’t want to become addicted to easy money.’
‘You’ll find another passion when Sylvia can afford to hire a sales assistant for the shop,’ Emily said, looking around the sitting room again.
‘Yes, I will,’ he agreed.
‘I wonder, would Jake mind if we washed his bike?’
‘I don’t see any problem. I could take the bike to the car wash, if you like? I can ride a little bit – enough to go to the car wash and back, anyway,’ Dylan offered.
‘That’d be great. And I’ll try and do something with this room. You see, if the coffee table was placed in the centre of the room here, with the sofa there and those two chairs at either side, the room wouldn’t look quite so empty. And then I’ll find a couple of vases and buy some colourful flowers to brighten the place up.’
‘Go right ahead.’
‘Mind how you go on the bike, now,’ Emily said as Jake found the keys and wheeled the motorbike to the front door. ‘And please wear the helmet.’
‘Okay, you’re the boss,’ he said, winking at her.
While he was gone Emily rearranged the furniture, gave the leather sofa a good rub-down, straightened the curtains and found some dusty old vases under the kitchen sink. She boiled a kettle full of water, washed the vases and polished them with a tea towel until they sparkled. Then Dylan came back with a newly pristine motorbike, and suddenly the house took on a stylish, sophisticated look.
They bought some bright red gerberas at the supermarket, and enough groceries to fill the fridge. Emily even found a dark brown wicker basket to keep the mail in.
‘There!’ she said, when the finishing touches had been added to Jake’s cavernous house. ‘What do you think?’ The leather sofa was gleaming, the crates of records had been moved into a neat line, the red flowers added a much-needed splash of colour, and the gleaming Harley gave the house an eccentric but glamorous note.
‘I think it’s totally amazing. Jake won’t know this place when he comes back from Australia,’ Dylan said approvingly. ‘You’re brilliant at this.’
‘I should hope so, after ten years in the business!’
‘No, really. In a couple of hours you’ve made this house a home,’ he said, nodding his approval.
‘Well, thank you, kind sir,’ she said, making a little curtsey.
‘Oh, I like that,’ Dylan laughed. ‘Let’s go back to your place now; I fancy having my wicked way with one of the maids.’
Laughing, they set the alarm, pulled the door behind them a
nd dashed back to the car.
18. One-night Stand
Emily and Dylan were enjoying a Saturday night drink at the Twickenham Arms, just embracing the peace and quiet before her parents arrived on Sunday evening. The pub was deliciously warm and welcoming and softly lit with orange and yellow glass lanterns. The gold tinsel strands on a huge Christmas tree were quivering in a faint draught by the door. Emily had a joint of beef marinating in the fridge back at her flat, and Jake’s house was ready with the guest room all made up and stocked with a basket of new towels.
‘Maybe I should stop drinking in a bit. All the cooking tomorrow will be a nightmare if I’ve got a belting hangover. I want to make tomorrow a nice day for Mum and Dad; it’s the first time in years that they’ve been so excited about anything. I really hope they enjoy living in Jake’s house.’
‘Relax, babe, you’ve thought of everything,’ Dylan said, his arm draped casually around Emily’s shoulders.
‘Did you just call me babe?’ she laughed.
‘Is that okay?’
‘Yes, it’s really nice,’ she smiled.
‘I’m looking forward to the dinner tomorrow,’ he said then. ‘Are you doing all the trimmings too? You don’t cook very often.’
‘No, usually I just have soup or a sandwich. But I want to make Mum and Dad feel really welcome. I think that they think I don’t want them here. I should have sounded a lot more enthusiastic on the phone that time. I mean, I was pleased they’d had an idea; I just wasn’t sure we’d find them anything. Of course, now they think I don’t want them around in case they cramp my style. And if I overdo the hugs and the happiness when they arrive, they’ll accuse me of faking it. Families, huh … I just hope I remember how to get everything ready for the meal at the same time,’ she added.
‘I’m sure it’ll be a feast fit for a king. Are you hungry now, by any chance?’ Dylan asked her.
‘I’m a bit hungry, I suppose,’ she admitted.
‘Shall we treat ourselves to some pub grub? I fancy a steak.’
‘Oh yes, let’s do that! I could murder scampi and chips.’