Lola's House (Lola Series)

by Groers, Suzie

  I pause, chewing my food slowly. I can’t believe we are back to this again. ‘I don’t want to sell the house.’

  ‘I was just saying to Alexander, last time I saw him that it was too big a job for you and he agreed with me. He said he would come over and stay with you to discuss some options.’ She looks at me pointedly. ‘It wouldn’t hurt you to give him some of the proceeds when you sell it, for all the trouble he goes to for you. You know he needs the money for his business. He’s working so hard trying to build it up.’

  My mother thinks Alexander should have inherited the house and the money when Gran died as he is the only male grandchild in the family. And there was me thinking that it was just the house that was Victorian, and not that we are living in the Victorian era.

  ‘I’m not selling the house, mom.’ I can feel myself start to get really irritated. We’ve had this conversation many times before and it never ends well. ‘I seem to remember Gran left Alex a substantial sum of money, what happened to that?’

  ‘Don’t be flippant, Lola, your brother is struggling at the moment what with the economy and quantitative easing and everything. But he’s willing to take some time out of his business to come and help you.’

  I frown at her and think yeah right. ‘My business is struggling too, mom, the economy has affected everyone, not just Alex. The only thing he wants to help me out of is my money.’

  ‘That’s enough, Lola. Honestly, this is what your poor brother gets for offering to help you?’ She replaces her knife and fork again, her facial features rigid. ‘He said he would call you soon so try not to be so ungrateful.’

  I sigh yet again. I know it’s a losing battle so there’s really no point arguing with her. ‘Look mom, can we just eat our meal and not talk about it please?’

  She purses her lips together like a cat’s arse, and the rest of the meal is eaten in silence until Malcolm gets home and lightens the mood. He gives me a massive hug and sits down to eat his meal. Mom disappears into the kitchen to tidy up and leaves us alone.

  ‘I’m guessing by the atmosphere when I came in she has been giving you a hard time again. What was it about this time?’ He grinds black pepper onto his casserole followed by an extraordinarily large amount of salt.

  ‘The house, she wants me to sell it and give some of the money to Alex.’

  He blows out a big breath, shakes his head and reaches over to hold my hand. ‘Don’t take it to heart, Lola, I don’t think she means any harm.’

  ‘But why does she always have to have a go at me, every time I see her for goodness sake.’ I lean my elbows on the dinner table in defeat, but then remove them quickly in case mom spots me through the doorway.

  ‘She does care - she just has a funny way of showing it.’

  ‘Very funny if you ask me,’ I say, tucking into dessert which has now lost some of its allure.

  ‘I know you’re more than capable of doing the house up and making it into a beautiful home. Try not to be too hard on her, she does love you.’ He gives my hand another squeeze and points towards the dessert with his other hand. ‘And we only ever get chocolate pudding when you visit because she knows it’s your favourite.’

  Small consolation though I think to myself as I put another forkful into my mouth, but the chocolate has lost all of its sweetness and now leaves a bitter taste on my tongue.

  The rest of the weekend drags along like a funeral wake until Sunday when I eat lunch at breakneck speed and say my goodbyes. I can’t wait to get home and really chill out. I need a weekend to get over this weekend. And, quite frankly, I can’t believe she has spent yet another visit nit-picking at me. I really don’t know what her problem is, I’m a good dutiful daughter, I turn up for her birthday with a nice gift and squashed flowers, yet Alex can’t even be arsed to show his face and he ends up being golden balls while I’m the antichrist. I make a mental note to self to have a good excuse ready for next time so I don’t have to turn up at all. Then I can send her some flowers, which I haven’t sat on (and are actually meant for her in the first place).

  I drive off like Jenson Button, happy at having made my escape. I stop off at the supermarket on my way home to pick up some supplies, a big pizza and a bottle of wine. I plan to have a nice long soak in the bath later, and then kick back on the sofa for the evening, with the wine for company.

  I let myself in through the front door and breathe a big sigh of relief at being back in my sanctuary. I stand with my back to the door and let myself absorb the good vibes, taking a deep calming breath I feel the serenity washing over me. Then I notice another considerably big hole in the wall where the light switch used to be in the hallway. The hole runs a few feet upwards and then angles itself towards the stairs. I step forwards and peer into it, taking in the dust and bits of plaster work, the crumbly old wiring and cobwebs. I can feel the dust motes going up my nose and hold back a sneeze.

  Great, just what I wanted to come home to. Ned hadn’t said they would get started - just they would have a look. I go into the kitchen and there too are more holes in various places dotted around the room, like we have giant termites. I can feel my good vibes starting to dissipate as I walk over to the table and drop my keys down on the top. I shake my head in despair. I don’t feel I want to investigate any more rooms for fear of what I will find, so I make a mental note to speak to Ned first thing on Monday morning. I take myself off up to the bathroom to run a very hot bath.

  After an hour and twenty minutes of soaking in the bath my skin has pruned and the water has gone decidedly cool so I get out, towel myself off and wrap up in my favourite fluffy towelling robe. Pizza and wine here I come.

  Chapter Five

  The light is fading outside but it is lovely and cosy indoors. I get myself settled on the sofa, chick flick on the DVD player, and a chilled bottle of wine to my left. I press play on the remote and pick up my first slice of pizza, ready to sink my teeth into its hot cheesy goodness, when I hear a thunderous noise coming up the driveway. I dump the pizza back onto the plate and hit pause on the remote, then go to investigate at the window. I peer through the glass into the fading light and see a huge motorbike come to stop by my front door, together with a huge leather clad man positioned on top of it.

  Who the hell is that, I think to myself? I wrack my brain furiously searching to see if maybe I have ordered a kiss-o-gram and then forgotten all about it. A light bulb goes off in my head. Maybe Ned has had his quote couriered over, and then I quickly dismiss this idea as Ned would probably write his quote on the back of a fag packet.

  I go into the hall and briefly consider picking up the Maglite torch I’d left there on the side table in case of emergencies, perfect weapon for defending yourself I think. And then quickly dismiss the idea as the visitor is wearing a crash helmet, so it would be pretty pointless. Unless, I think, I could skilfully angle a swift blow at the base of his neck, rendering him instantly immobile. Seeing as I’m not Bruce Lee I dismiss this idea completely, and then freeze as the doorbell rings in three quick short bursts.

  I quickly slip the chain onto the door and open it a few inches to peer outside into the gloom. First I see his leather clad chest, and my eyes travel upwards until I’m looking into the most beautiful green eyes I have ever seen. He peers back at me through the crack of the door.

  ‘Hi, are you Lola?’ he says, removing his crash helmet.

  ‘Indeed, I am she.’ God knows where I’ve learnt to speak like that all of a sudden, maybe from reading too many Jane Austin novels.

  He steps forwards and puts his gloved hand through the gap. ‘Hi, I’m Robert. My uncle said you had a room to let?’

  I stare at his hand and my brain turns over furiously again and then I remember Mike from the Waddling Duck. ‘Oh shit, yeah.’ I say, Jane Austin now completely forgotten.

  He raises his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Would it be okay if I came in and took a look at the room?’

  ‘Shit yeah.’ I push the door to and fumble with the chain, embar
rassed that I seem to have lost the ability of proper speech and can only utter expletives. I open the door and he steps towards me offering his hand again, which is by now minus the glove. I put my hand in his and it disappears in his bear like grip.

  ‘I thought you were going to call me to set up a time to come round?’ I take my hand away and feel the heat of the contact spreading up my arm, sending shivers of pleasure down the rest of my body. I pull my robe tightly around me.

  ‘Sorry, my uncle did say to call you, but I lost out on a place last week because I didn’t move fast enough, so I thought I had better get over here quick smart. I hope that’s okay?’ He shuffles from one foot to the other on the doorstep smiling.

  To be honest, my brain is doing somersaults and sending all the wrong messages to my nervous system. You’d have to go a long way to find a specimen of manhood this fine. Standing there at least six foot three inches tall, he towers above me. Dressed completely in leather, I become aware of the creaking noises each time he moves his arms and it takes all of my willpower not to reach out and touch him. His chest is massive, you could lose yourself on it and from the way I am gawping at him I would have very much liked to. He is running his fingers through his messed up dark brown hair, which is slightly too long, and bits are sticking up giving him a wonderfully dishevelled look. His face is tanned from being outdoors with little white lines fanning out from the sides of his eyes, a sure sign he laughs a lot, I think. Altogether a very pleasing sight, which is making my stomach flip nervously.

  He breaks me out of my reverie. ‘So is it okay if I have a look?’

  I snap to attention, and move out of the doorway to let him in. ‘Sorry, of course you can, it’s through here.’ I lead him into the opposite sitting room and snap on the light. I motion to the empty room. ‘I was planning to get some furniture, you know a bed and a wardrobe but I haven’t had chance yet. Sorry it’s a bit bare at the moment.’

  ‘No, that’s fine, it’s fantastic. I love it.’ He walks around the room filling it with his presence. He turns sharply. ‘And no need for furniture, I’ve got my own stuff in storage.’

  ‘Oh okay,’ I say, watching him as he stands in the open bay window.

  ‘This place is fantastic.’ He turns and looks down the room again.

  ‘Well I’m in the middle of renovations at the moment, so I’m afraid it might not be too comfortable.’

  ‘Its fine, I can put up with that.’ He strides off towards the adjoining room and pulls open the double doors. ‘What’s through here?’

  ‘Oh, that room is unused, I thought you could have both rooms and the shower room at the back to give you more privacy for, well whatever.’ I shrug my shoulders.

  He comes back and stands in the doorway. ‘It’s perfect. When can I move in?’

  He sees the hesitation on my face. ‘Sorry, I never thought, have you got other people to see?’

  ‘Er no.’ I feel like I’m losing the ability to speak under his close scrutiny.

  ‘I can give you a couple of months rent up front,’ he says, his eyes twinkling.

  I look out of the bay window to the huge motorbike parked on the driveway. ‘I’m sorry. I never envisaged bikes roaring up and down the drive. I’m not really sure it’s a good idea after all.’

  He takes a few steps more decidedly over the hardwood floor towards me, his feet clomping across the wood and filling the room with the sound. ‘The Harley? I’ve only just finished restoring it so it’s just one bike, not bikes plural. And I’ll only use it now and again to keep it ticking over. The rest of the time it will sit in the garage getting polished, I have a car for every day use.’

  I look up into his green eyes which look luminous in the fading light. ‘The garage is unusable, the roof partly collapsed in my Gran’s day and it’s so far down the repair list I’m not sure it’ll ever be fixed.’

  ‘Well that’s not a problem, I have storage space for the bike. So, if I promise not to turn the house into a Hells Angel chapter?’ He looks at me expectantly and the skin around his eyes crinkles up again with a smile.

  I mull it over briefly. He looks genuine enough, he’d be bringing his own furniture which would save me money, and it might be useful to have a man in the house in case of burglars. I return the smile. ‘Okay, I’ll get a spare key cut and leave it with Mike so you can move in when you’re ready.’

  He rubs his hands together and grins. ‘Excellent.’ He takes another look at the adjoining room, and I show him the shower room and kitchen. We agree on rent and a suitable deposit and he says his goodbyes. I watch him mount the monster motorbike and roar off down the driveway spitting gravel in the air from the tyres.

  I return to the sitting room and the now cold pizza and think over what I’ve just agreed to and bite my lip nervously. I don’t know what got into me, I felt as if he had put me under a spell with his mesmerising eyes, and who could say no to a face like that? He was a lot hotter than I’d been expecting, I sort of expected a weedy computer nerd, not that tall drink of water. I’d have to stop drooling over him though; he might not take too kindly to it. And of course thinking practically, the extra money would be a godsend. I smile to myself and bite into the pizza.

  By Wednesday afternoon I have tidied up the rooms ready for my new lodger. I have moved out the boxes I had been storing in the front sitting room and dumped them in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs. I’ve swept the wooden floors, cleaned the windows and washed and re-hung the curtains so everything is ready for him to move in.

  It had briefly occurred to me, to give Robert one of the bedrooms upstairs, but the thought of him bumping into me first thing in the morning, when I’ve just fallen out of bed with my slept on hair and pillow creases on my face sent a cold shiver down my spine.

  I am feeling really nervous now it is becoming a reality, and to be honest, I am having a few doubts.

  But, the spare keys have been cut and dropped off with Mike at the Waddling Duck and there is no turning back, but my fingers are crossed just in case. On both hands. I asked Mike to tell him to call me and let me know when he was going to move in, I’m not sure I can take any more surprises. So far however, he hasn’t called me.

  I am meeting Chrissie at the Coffee Pot in town, our usual hang out place for dissecting life and Mochachino’s. As I walk through the door the smell of coffee hits my nostrils and I take a satisfying deep breath. Chrissie is sitting at a table by the window, examining a bridal magazine. I make my way over and plonk myself down opposite her. My face lights up as I spot the steaming mug of coffee and chocolate sitting waiting for me. As I dump my bag on the floor she pushes the magazine under my nose and points to one of the gowns.

  ‘What do you think of that?’

  I peer closely at the gown. ‘What, for Poppy? I thought she had already chosen a dress?’

  ‘No, for me. Although I’m not sure if I should go for something more slim line to show off my silhouette.’

  I suddenly get excited. ‘Oh my god, is this your way of telling me you’re getting married?’

  ‘Mm no, but I think it’s time we started thinking about it,’ she says, taking the magazine back and flicking through the pages.

  I feel myself deflate again as I slurp the foam off the top of my mocha. ‘Well has Cal even proposed?’

  ‘No and I’ve been dropping loads of hints.’ She snaps the magazine shut then crams it into her enormous handbag. ‘He doesn’t seem to be catching on though - I may have to step it up a bit.’

  ‘I didn’t realise you were that keen to get married. You’ve only been together for a year.’

  She bites her lip thoughtfully. ‘It’s never too early to start planning though, right?’

  The waitress appears and places two tuna melts on our table, both steaming hot from the grill. ‘Oh yummy,’ I say, and try to pick mine up immediately but burn my finger tips. Chrissie shakes her head - same thing happened last week - I just can’t wait for food.

  ‘So,’ she says,
‘tell me about the sexy new lodger.’

  I look up from blowing on my finger tips. ‘Robert? He hasn’t moved in yet so there’s not much to tell.’

  ‘But you’ve met him, what’s he like? Are you planning to get up close and personal?’ She grins and wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

  ‘What? God no. He’s a paying guest and any funny business will just blur the boundaries.’ I test the tuna melt again and take a tentative bite, while blowing outwards to cool it down and fanning my mouth as an extra precaution. ‘He is rather delicious though. It’s going to take all of my restraint not to jump on him. You will have to call round when he moves in and see for yourself.’

  ‘Can’t wait, I’m feeling jealous already,’ she says, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. Chrissie is the only person I know who can munch her way through her lunch and still keep her lipstick intact. ‘Aren’t you going out with James soon?’

  ‘Oh yeah, I’d almost forgotten, he sent me a massive bouquet last week.’ I don’t mention I’d wrecked the bouquet, and then given it to my mother - or rather she had given it to herself. ‘He sent me a text this morning - he’s picking me up tomorrow night, told me to dress up nice for dinner.’

  Chrissie looks suitably impressed. ‘Well he’s making an effort, he must be serious.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m not sure how I feel about it all. I guess I’ll have to see how it goes tomorrow night.’ I think about this while I eat my tuna melt.

  Chrissie chews her food and her eyes swivel upwards thoughtfully. ‘I never really saw you and James together as a couple.’

  I stop mid chomp. ‘What? You never said anything before.’

  ‘Yes, I know but I couldn’t say anything while you were together, and after you had split up it seemed a bit pointless. A bit like rubbing salt into the wound.’