Page 52 of One Cornish Summer With You
‘Only because I had the expert guiding me. All I did was rake a few lines in the sand.’
‘If you say so. Davey said he’d come along on Sunday for the final design too.’
That figures,Ruan thought. The last design was to be Tammy’s sunrise tribute to her father. It would be an emotionally charged evening.
‘If you want me to leave that to you two, then you only have to say,’ Ruan said. ‘I’ll give you a lift, of course, but I can leave after that.’
‘No. No, I want you to be there too,’ she said, herinsistence mirrored in her eyes. ‘After all, you were there at the start. Kind of.’
‘True, and I’m glad I decided to call into Porthmellow before my meeting.’
‘Me too. Oh, there’s Davey and Breda.’
Ruan saw the couple walking along the harbour front towards the studio. An elegant black woman in a white dress and the stocky figure of Davey, grey-haired but still in decent shape for a man of his age.
‘At least they’re talking again. Breda’s the best thing to happen to Davey for years. I’m not sure he realises how lucky he is to have her. Anyway, I have to go.’ She opened the door and climbed out. ‘See you tomorrow.’
Can’t wait,Ruan almost said but moderated it to, ‘Looking forward to it.’
He drove off, his rear-view mirror giving a glimpse of Tammy joining Breda and Davey on the cobbles outside the gallery.
He felt like the luckiest man alive, even if he’d loved to have spent the evening with her. Still, they had the whole summer stretching out ahead of them – and he could hardly wait.
On Saturday morning, Ruan woke early, brimming with enthusiasm to attack the Seaspray ‘garden’ again. He’d decided to focus on cutting back overgrown shrubs at the front of the house so he could actually get a proper look at the façade.
He wanted to make a start because Kane and some of their kitesurfing friends were coming early the following morning to do some serious clearing.
It was a warm but overcast morning, and like all the south-facing valleys in West Cornwall, it had its own microclimate. This helped the plants grow massive and kept conditions mild and humid day or night. Later on in June, the valley was a hot and sticky place to be doing heavy labour.
Mid-morning, he stopped for a cold drink and called his parents to tell them about his progress on the house. It was obvious they missed having him in the same city, even though he’d been so busy with work and friends that he hadn’t seen them as often as he’d have liked. Now that he was a four-hour drive away, he had even fewer opportunities to see them and he missed them too.
He owed them a lot for helping to put him through university, despite their financial difficulties. While he’d been home a few times since he’d moved to Cornwall, they hadn’t had a chance to visit him yet.
He sat on the caravan steps, knowing he dare not wander too far or the Wi-Fi would drop out. His parents, who’d been busy in their own garden when he called, were interested and enthusiastic about the grounds. After chatting about various plants and shrubs, talk turned to the building itself.
‘Have the builders been round yet?’ his dad asked.
‘Two of them have,’ Ruan said, anticipating where the line of questioning would lead. He was still in shock from the estimates supplied by doom-and-gloom gold-welly womanand Sean’s sharp intake of breath followed by, ‘That’s not going to be cheap, mate.’
‘And?’ his mum put in. ‘What did they say?’
‘That there’s a lot of work required. Nothing I couldn’t have worked out for myself, to be honest,’ he joked.
His dad frowned at the mobile camera. ‘Have they given you any estimates yet? Don’t accept the first figure they come up with. They’re probably trying it on.’
‘Maybe,’ Ruan said, knowing how suspicious his father was of any tradesperson doing work on his own home.
‘You need at least five or six estimates,’ his father added.
Ruan wasn’t sure he could find five or six people willing to do the work on Seaspray. ‘I’ve got two quotes so far. I’ve tried another couple of firms but they’re all fully booked until next year unless they get a cancellation. There are a lot of renovation projects down here, Dad. The builders aren’t short of work.’
‘No, and I bet they can name their price, especially to an incomer like you who’s inherited a place.’
‘I won’t be ripped off,’ Ruan said patiently, ‘and I’ll get another quote if I don’t like what’s come in so far, but I want the job under way as soon as possible. Otherwise, I’ll be living in this caravan forever, which won’t be much fun in the winter.’
His mother tutted. ‘Leave the boy alone. He knows what he’s doing.’
‘I’m only trying to look out for him,’ his father grumbled.
