Page 2 of Match Point in Crumbleton
‘Well,’ she sighed, ‘this pretty much sucks!’
It definitely wasn’t how she’d imagined beginning this new chapter of her life. She’d been hoping for a certain sense of triumph as she started over with her new flat, new job and—with any luck—new friends. Instead, here she was, all alone and feeling a bit… stranded.
Closing her eyes, Cath sucked in a deep breath and was instantly comforted by the faint aroma of fresh cake and homemade bread wafting towards her from the bakery next door. The sign on their door might say closed, but that lingering scent felt like a warm welcome to the little town she was going to have to learn to call “home”.
‘Tomorrow, I’ll get a fresh loaf and some cake,’ she promised herself quietly, hauling herself back to her feet.
This was the one drawback of rocking up after closing time—she couldn’t even grab a sugary treat to give herself a bit of a boost. It had been her new landlord’s suggestion to wait until after everyone had gone home for the day before braving the high street with the removals van.
Cath hadn’t met Oli in person yet, but she’d been grateful for his email full of meter readings and details about the flat above the bookshop that she’d just rented from him. He’d included a few suggestions about how to make her moving day as easy as possible, too.
Cath might not be able to lay her hands on an emergency piece of chocolate cake right now, but other than that, Oli’s advice had been spot-on. Thanks to him, Bruce hadn’t had to deal with any other traffic on the narrow, winding hill, and she’d known to leave her car outside town in the Marsh Carpark and walk up. Even better, with all the shops shut for the day, the gaggles of tourists had gone home—so at least her vast heap of stuff on the pavement was less likely to cause a pile-up!
Of course, it was a bit of a shame that she couldn’t pop into the bookshop to introduce herself to Oli in person. Not that she really needed to—she already had the keys to the flat. Ruth from Crumbleton Council had posted them to her along with the huge, ornate key for the museum and the Welcome Pack for her new job as the curator. She’d included a note of apology that she wouldn’t be around for Cath’s first few weeks because she was off on holiday to Greece.
Cath didn’t mind that much. She rather relished the idea of having free rein with the museum while she found her way around and made some plans for the place. She’d discovered a list of phone numbers in the Welcome Pack, with instructions to “call any of them” if she had any problems. The thought of bothering random strangers made Cath more than a little bit nervous, and she’d instantly vowed only to use them as a last resort. After all, she hadn’t actually met any of the locals in person yet - the entire interview process had taken place online.
With any luck, her first few weeks would be plain sailing. What could go wrong at a museum?! That said, what would she know?! Cath hadn’t even set foot inside the place yet—there could be all manner of problems waiting to greet her.
There had been several times over the past few weeks when Cath had felt like her impending move to Crumbleton was a dream she might wake up from at any moment.
‘As long as it doesn’t turn out to be a nightmare,’ she sighed.
Ruth had made a few comments during the interview that made Cath suspect she was going to have her work cut out for her. Still… there was nothing like a bit of hard work to help you settle into a new place, was there?
A little wriggle of excitement ran through her as she thought about her new job. Cath couldn’t wait to explore the museum and put her own stamp on the collections there. Her official start date wasn’t for a few days, but she was planning to head up the hill first thing in the morning to take a look around and get a feel for what she’d let herself in for.
Cath wasn’t too worried. She wasn’t afraid of hard work, and frankly, it would make a nice change from the art gallery she’d been in charge of for the past few years. That place was beyond pretentious—filled with self-important exhibitions and an air of superiority.
Of course, it didn’t help that it belonged to her ex-husband.
Cath straightened her shoulders. She wasn’t going to think about him right now. He was firmly in the past, and she had her future to sort out. She had boxes to move, and a new life to settle into. Plus, she really needed that cuppa… she just needed to locate the kettle first!
The thought made her let out a low groan. There was no telling which of these boxes she’d stashed it in. She really should have been a bit more careful when she’d been labelling them. Ah well… perhaps if she started the hunt for it now, there might be some chance of tea before midnight!
Grabbing the nearest box labelled "Kitchen", Cath headed through the front door and took the unfamiliar staircase slowly. Leaving all her belongings unattended outside while she carried the boxes upstairs one by one was hardly ideal. But this wasn’t the city… it would be okay, wouldn’t it? She’d just have to work as fast as she could to get everything stashed away safely upstairs.
Cursing Bruce under her breath, Cath struggled to open the door at the top of the stairs without dropping her heavy load. Pushing it open with her foot, she glanced around the unfamiliar space. She hadn’t had much chance to get a good feel for it yet, but considering she’d agreed to rent it without actually seeing it first, she had to admit that it looked like she’d landed on her feet.
The flat was small, but it felt cosy rather than cramped. The kitchen and living room were open plan, divided by a counter flanked by a couple of high stools. The sitting area was lovely and light, even at this time of the evening, thanks to two huge skylights offering views of the clouds as they skimmed across the sky.
Thankfully, Oli had included some of his larger bits of furniture in the rental agreement. Cath had practically taken his arm off at the offer of all the basics, plus a three-seater sofa. She’d figured that she could always spruce it up with a colourful throw if she didn’t like it. Looking at it now, though, she knew there was no way she’d be covering this beauty up. In fact, it was as much as she could do not to slump straight down into its patchwork depths for a snooze. But no… but there were boxes to move before she could even think of putting her feet up!
‘On that note…!’ she muttered, plonking the first box down onto the kitchen island and darting for the door.
Cath edged sideways through the living room, squeezing between the teetering stacks of boxes as she searched for a spot to place the narrow bookshelf she was carrying. She was exhausted, out of breath, and starting to feel the effects of running up and down the stairs for over an hour with no respite.
Leaning the shelves carefully up against the living room wall, Cath let out a long breath and stared around. The little flat had morphed from cosy to seriously cramped now that she’d brought up the majority of her stuff. The idea that she still had to unpack and sort through it all was more than a little bit daunting. Still, at least this part of the job was nearly done. There was just a giant bag of clothes and a couple of the heavier bits of furniture left down on the pavement. She’d soon be able to have a bit of a breather before phase two commenced.
‘Knock knock?!’
A tap on the door followed by an unfamiliar voice made Cath jump.
‘Hello?’ she squeaked, turning awkwardly on the spot and peering over a stack of boxes. There were two people grinning at her. The man was holding her chunky coffee table as though it weighed no more than a feather. The woman next to him had the handles of Cath’s huge tartan laundry bag clutched in her hands, and a packed shopping bag slung over her shoulder.
‘Cath?’ said the man. ‘I’m Oli—and this is Ruby, my much better half!’
Rubbing the grubby cuffs of her jumper across her face just in case she looked as sweaty as she felt, Cath plastered on a smile and picked her way towards them.
