“Is this an official police request?” She asked coyly.
“Uh, no, it’s not. It’s just me asking as a bloke who would like to take you to dinner or for coffee or something sometime.”
“I don’t drink coffee.” She said in a matter of fact tone.
“Oh, ok then, uh well never mind then.” He said looking down at his boots, unsure of himself now.
“But I do love going to the cinema if that’s maybe something you’d like too?” His head snapped back up straight away, his eyes widened and a smile slowly spread across his face.
“Yeah, I love movies! That would be cool.” He said, a bit more excitedly than Iris had expected.
“And maybe we could get dinner before or after the movie?” She offered tentatively.
“That would be great.” She gave him her number and he said he’d text her when he finished his shift.
“I’m looking forward to it.” Iris told him. There was suddenly slight electricity to the air around them and they realised after a while that they’d both been standing there, staring at each other, for a few minutes.
“Do you need to be somewhere?” She said.
“Oh! Yes, I do! Sorry, I’ve got to go back to the college. I’ve still got a few hours of my shift left and some paperwork to fill out about today’s training. But I will text you when I finish.” He said with a smile.
“Great, I’ll speak to you soon then.” She said, putting one hand up to wave him goodbye as he turned to leave. “Oh! Wait!” She called after him and he turned back round to face her. “What’s your name? So I know who it is when you text me later.”
“Oh, yeah that would help!” He said as he started to go red. “I’m James.”
“Bye James.” She smiled as she said his name. He smiled back and then left for real this time.
Chapter 11
She got home after a long day at work and went to make herself dinner but realised she didn’t quite have anything to make a meal. She had cupboard staples but no vegetables, no meat and no eggs. There was a packet of chicken flavoured noodles but they were hardly what could be called nutritious. Iris did a double-check of the cupboards, fridge and freezer in case she’d missed anything but decided to order a takeaway instead. She got her laptop out and got comfortable on the sofa before opening up the delivery app on her phone. She ordered food to be delivered asap and started making her travel plans. She had approximately 45 minutes to wait for the food to arrive, according to the app, so might as well use the time productively.
First up, book the flights. She planned to go out to Rome on the Saturday and come back 2 weeks later. But if she was going to the Amalfi Coast afterwards, it would be better to wait and see where she was before booking the flight home. She ended up finding a flight out that left on Friday late afternoon and she could be in Rome by 8pm. Perfect for checking into the hotel she’d find later, getting dinner and going to bed, ready to start her adventure first thing on the Saturday. From what she could tell from a quick online search, the records office in the little town doesn’t open on weekends. So she’d have 2 days of sightseeing, pizza and gelato in Rome before doing what she needed to do. It’s an hour and a half on the train from the centre of Rome to Bracciano but, hopefully, she’d be done there in a couple of days. Iris started looking for a hotel in Bracciano to stay in for 2 nights when the doorbell went. She put her laptop down on the sofa next to her and got up to answer the door.
Her phone pinged as she started to tuck into her BBQ chicken and halloumi wrap. She precariously balanced her wrap and plate on the arm of the sofa and got her phone from her pocket. It was a text from a number not stored in her phone, so she assumed that it was probably James, the police officer from earlier.
‘Hey, it was great to meet you earlier! A movie and dinner sounds like fun, are you free a week on Saturday?’ She smiled and typed back a response as quickly as she could with one hand.
‘Hey, I’m looking forward to it already but I can’t do that Saturday I’m afraid. I’m going on holiday for 2 weeks on the Friday.’ She hit send and took another bite of her wrap. No sooner had she put her phone down than it beeped again.
‘Oh, cool, when you get back then maybe?’
‘Yeah sounds good. I’m free most weekends so let me know when is good for you.’
‘We have funny shift patterns so I’ll have to let you know when I know.’ Not something Iris had considered but of course he would work shifts.
‘No worries! I get it. I’m pretty flexible with work so could probably do an evening during the week if that works better for you. Just let me know.’
‘That’s cool, thanks. I appreciate that. So where are you going?’
‘Italy. I’ve got a couple of days in Rome to start and then a few days in a little village outside Rome. Then I’m hoping maybe a week on the Amalfi coast or something. See where I end up.’
‘Oh wow! I’m definitely more of a planner for my holidays. I’ve decided where I’m going and what I want to see before I’ve even got on the plane!’
‘Haha me too usually! I’m doing some family tree research and I’ve gone back so far that the records I need aren’t digitised, so I need to go to Italy to find them.’
‘Ah, so that’s the little village outside of Rome I’m guessing.’
‘Yes! And then depending on what I find will depend on where I go next.’
‘That actually sounds really interesting and like so much fun.’
‘I’m looking forward to it. I usually plan everything too, and I definitely have Rome planned out. Still, I’m kind of excited at the idea that I have no idea what I’m going to find and that’s going to affect like two-thirds of my time there!’
‘What are you planning to see in Rome?’
‘Not sure yet, definitely the Colosseum, the Trevi fountain and the Vatican. But not sure what else really. Maybe the Castel Sant’Angelo.’
‘The Vatican is definitely worth a visit. I went a few years ago and my ‘to see’ list was pretty similar to yours!’
‘Oh really? Any tips or suggestions of places to go?’
‘If you want to go to the Colosseum, go to the Palatine hill next door and get a combined ticket. It’s slightly more expensive as you’re buying a ticket for the 2 places instead of 1. Still, you walk through the Palatine hill back to the Colosseum anyway. Then you don’t have to queue to get into the Colosseum as you already have a ticket. And there’s some good stuff worth seeing there too.’
They spent the rest of the evening texting back and forth about Rome and travelling and life in general. By the time they said their goodnights she already felt like there could be something special there. She felt a brief spark when they were in the kitchen in her office earlier in the day and there’s no doubt that he’s a good-looking guy. Even with his uniform and vest on she could see he worked out. Not to the point where his muscles were so big he couldn’t put his arms down by his sides and walked like a gorilla though. That was something in a man Iris just couldn’t stand. She was all for working out and building muscle, in men and women, but unless you’re a bodybuilder, is there really much point to it?
And not to mention the diets bodybuilders follow, especially around competition time. Iris had first-hand knowledge, courtesy of her last boyfriend. When they got together, he was a little squishy around the outside and she’d liked that. He was tall and broad anyway so the little bit of extra weight he was carrying made no difference. Once he’d decided he wanted to start working out more, she’d been supportive. She’d even made an effort to start going to the gym a bit more herself and bought some kettlebells to work out at home. She was an average size with a little wobble and had been intending to start toning anyway. It all became too much when she found out he’d started taking steroids to boost his muscle gain. The ‘roid rage’ had become unbearable and he refused to admit he had a problem. Iris had thought their relationship had been going somewhere but after just less than 6 months it fizzled out as quickly
as it had started. That had been three years ago and there hadn’t been anyone since.
Maybe it would turn into something more with James but they’d have to wait until their date to find out. Iris went to sleep thinking about the handsome dog handler she’d met and how, after their conversation this evening, she really hoped he was as interesting as he seemed to be.
The weekend unfolded in a blur of internet searches, hotel comparisons, a little bit of retail therapy and food shopping. Which is why she wasn’t very surprised when she got one of those trolley token keyrings on Saturday morning from the cabinet. When she got to the supermarket, she could see an old lady struggling with getting a trolley out. She didn’t seem to have a coin the trolley would accept and it didn’t help that they’d all recently been changed to fit the new style £1 coin. Iris could hear her huffing and puffing trying to get the mechanism to work. So, Iris offered her the trolley token. She accepted and put it in the trolley, which was then released straight away. The old woman thanked Iris and off they went into the supermarket.
Sunday Iris received a small roll of electrical tape. It again seemed odd at first but she quickly realised she was enjoying finding out where these objects came in handy every day. This one really did come in handy when she went to cut the grass and saw that there was a loose wire coming out of her petrol lawnmower. She made a mental note to call someone to take a look at it and fix it properly. Hopefully, it was cheaper to fix than buying a new mower but for now, taping it up would have to do. She mentioned it in a text to James later that evening and he said it sounded like an easy fix. It would wait until she got back from Italy at least.
Chapter 12
On Monday morning, she woke up to find a run of the mill ballpoint pen in the cabinet beside her. It was a pretty uneventful day and she ended up giving the pen away on her lunch break to someone she walked past at a bus stop. She could see he was struggling with the pen he had and was trying to fill out some kind of form. She stopped and gave him the pen. He thanked her profusely.
“I need to fill out this form to apply for business grant assistance.” He said.
“Oh, are you starting a new business up?” She asked.
He told her about the business he’s just starting up. How there’s a business grant he could apply for through the local council, that would help fund his start-up costs and match him with a mentor for the first 6 months to get his business going. They still used paper forms and he sent his off a few weeks ago but when he phoned yesterday to check on the progress, they said they never got his application. It must have got lost in the post but it closed at 4pm that day, so he had to take the form to them in person. He’d only just finished working at his job hence why he was filling the form in right then while he waited for the bus. He had to swap shifts with someone to be able to get the time off to make the deadline and this bus should just about get him there on time before the office closed.
She wished him luck and went to her car to grab some lunch. She had a drive-through order for the whole office to pick up as it was Susie’s birthday. Whenever it was someone’s birthday her boss paid for lunch for everyone and a different person, with a car, would go to get it.
Once in her car, she drove passed the bus stop again but the man was still there. She knew he could be crazy but he sounded like he could really use the help. She stopped by the bus stop and rolled the passenger side window down.
“Hey, do you want a lift to the council office?” She shouted.
“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.” He said, moving towards the car.
“It’s like a 10-minute drive. Honestly it’s not a problem.” She said, no longer needing to shout.
“Are you sure?” He asked tentatively.
“Yeah, of course.” She unlocked the car door and the man got in.
“Thank you so much! I really appreciate this.” He said, a huge smile spread across his face.
“No problem, just glad I could help.” She started driving and they made small talk as they went.
“I’m Emir by the way.”
“Iris, nice to meet you, Emir .” She said, quickly glancing over at him.
“You too. What made you stop and give me a lift?”
“You sounded so passionate about your business and I’d like to think that if it was me that was desperate to get this form to the council office, then someone would help me out too.”
“I am passionate about it. It’s been my dream to start my own business for as long as I can remember. And then this scheme came along and it was perfect. I sent the application off 3 weeks ago and they said they get back to you within a few days of receiving it. So, I called them yesterday as it closes today at 4pm but they said they didn’t get it. I can’t miss this chance. It’s exactly what I need. It’s not even the grant really, it’s the mentorship. Yes, the money to cover start-up costs will be a weight off my shoulders but having that guidance will be priceless. The progress I should be able to make in 6 months will be twice as much at least as I could do alone.”
“So, what is your business? You didn’t say at the bus stop.”
“It’s a language school for kids. Schools don’t seem to teach languages here until kids are at least 11 and they miss out on so much by that point. Even just not having the embarrassment of getting it wrong in front of other people, that’s so key to learning a language well. Younger kids don’t care as much about getting it wrong.”
“Do you speak many languages?” Iris asked.
“Five, some better than others.”
“Oh wow, really?” Iris said, not even trying to hide how impressed she was.
“My mother is an immigrant and she learnt English from an early age. Living with her and her sisters after my dad died meant that I was exposed to every language they spoke between the 3 of them. So I speak English, French, German, Dutch and Hindi.”
“I can barely speak French and Spanish! I studied them at school but I just didn’t use them enough. Let me know if you ever offer adult language classes, I’d love to become more fluent, especially in Spanish.”
“I hadn’t even thought of that! That would be a brilliant way to diversify the business. Thank you!”
“You’re very welcome.” They pulled up outside the council building and Emir jumped out.
“Thank you again, Iris, you don’t know what this means to me!”
“Honestly, it’s no problem. I was headed this way anyway so it was nice to have some company.”
They parted ways with a wave and Iris headed off towards the restaurant to collect the office lunch order.
Once she got back into the car, all the lunches safe in the boot of her car, her phone started ringing. She could tell from the personalised ringtone that it was her mother.
“Hey mum, hang on a second while I connect the phone to the car. I’m just about to start driving.” The phone went quiet and then the car filled with white noise, coming through the speakers in the doors. “Right, can you hear me?”
“Yes, I can, where are you?”
“I’m just getting lunch for everyone, it’s someone’s birthday and my turn to pick it up.” Iris said, clipping in her seatbelt and starting the engine. The phone momentarily cut out before coming back at full volume.
“… see, so what..” Evelyn said before Iris interrupted.
“Sorry mum, it cut out when I started the car, can you say that again?”
“Oh yeah, I said I see, so what are you having for lunch?”
“Just sandwich platters. Well, a mix of sandwiches, wraps and bagels. And some crisps, I think. We get something different every time so we don’t get bored with the free birthday lunch. We had Mexican last time. I have a feeling this won’t be quite as good but whatever, a free lunch is a free lunch.”
“Very true! So, I called to find out if you can come back home for a few days the weekend after next? I’ve been invited to Sally’s son’s wedding and you know how I feel about Sally.”
“Sally
who thinks widows shouldn’t mention the big W in case you can catch it and it kills off other people’s husbands? That Sally?”
“Yes, that one. Well, I have a plus one and I don’t want to go alone.”
“When did you say it was?”
“The weekend after next?” Iris did some quick mental calendar checking.
“I can’t I’m sorry, I’m busy that day.” Which was technically accurate.
“Busy? Since when do you have a social life? Oh! Is it a man?”
“No, actually I’m going to Italy.”
“Italy? What are you going to Italy for?” Evelyn sounded surprised.
“Well, I’ve been looking into our family tree, trying to find out where and when the cabinet is from. To see if I can break the curse or end it or whatever and it turns out that our family came over from Italy in the 1800s.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Evelyn said.
“No, me neither. But the genealogy company I contacted couldn’t find any online records for our family as the little town they’re from hasn’t digitised their records yet. So someone needs to go there to find out more. And I can’t send them as for one, it would cost the same as a holiday and I would like a holiday, but I can’t exactly tell them ‘oh could you keep an eye out for a magical cabinet while you’re at it?’”
“Yes, that would be a weird request. So, when and where are you going?”
“I’m going to a little town called Bracciano, which is about an hour or so outside of Rome. I’m leaving on Friday afternoon and I’ll be gone for two weeks. I’m staying in Rome Friday and Saturday night then going to Bracciano Sunday afternoon. The record office I need doesn’t open on the weekend so I thought I’d take the opportunity to do some touristy stuff first. Since who knows where my search will take me and I might run out of touristy time otherwise. Oh, I feel like I’m going on a quest, like a medieval knight or something.” Iris laughed but she could hear her mother sigh heavily. She didn’t think her mother would approve of her sudden decision to go travelling in search of something completely unknown to both of them.
The Bedside Cabinet: The Cabinet Mystery Book 1 Page 5