‘I didn’t know they had a living room.’
‘Well, the room that they mainly live in. They call it the games room.’
‘Ah, yes. Isaac invited me to take a peep in there. I initially mistook it to be a long-forgotten storeroom for an underfunded youth club.’
‘That’s the one.’ We both smiled and rolled our eyes.
‘Okay, cool. What did you have in mind?’
I took a deep breath. ‘Okay, so it has to fit with the cottage – not too modern. There’s still some nice original features hiding beneath the lack of effort. At the same time, it’s a primarily male home, so the décor needs to reflect their personal styles, while working with what they use the space for. Just maybe allowing some room for it to be used for other things, too. Also, Elliot needs an environment that’s not too busy or cluttered.’
Connie’s eyes narrowed in thought. ‘What do they use it for apart from their competitions?’
I glanced around while I thought about the question, catching a glimpse of Isaac, sitting with Elliot on one side and Arthur on the other, the three of them guffawing at something or other. It was enough to remind me that this whole thing was supposed to be helping Connie realise Isaac was worth giving a go. Not a man with no life or interests outside of work or mini games with his only two mates.
‘Isaac’s been getting into gardening recently, and cooking. But neither of those involve the living room, of course.’
‘Really?’ Connie’s eyes were round with surprise.
‘Yeah. I should probably say that it was their idea, to decorate. They’ve all been so busy with their careers that they feel embarrassed at neglecting the cottage. They invited me to come up with some ideas because they want me to feel at home there, too.’
‘Right.’ Connie took a forkful of feta salad. ‘Did Isaac ask you to talk to me?’
‘No! Definitely not. Please don’t mention it to him. The truth is, Elliot’s knocked a bit off my rent in exchange for me redecorating, so I feel like I owe them a really good job, and I didn’t want to admit that the only home I’ve ever decorated was my Barbie Dreamhouse.’
‘Don’t panic. Either way I’d love to help,’ she reassured me. ‘It’s just that Isaac’s been a bit… off with me lately and I wondered if he felt like he couldn’t ask me himself.’
‘Ah.’ I looked down at my plate.
‘I’m sorry, you’re his sister, I’m not going to drag you into it or ask you to break his confidence. I just thought he and I were friends, you know? I’ve been trying to ignore it but I’m starting to worry that I’ve either done something specific to annoy him, or he simply finds me really irritating.’
Oh boy.
‘But I’m probably being paranoid. We’ve had a stressful few weeks. Better to take it out on me than the clients, right?’
I glanced up and Connie’s expectant face, then shovelled in a tiny tomato tart, quick. The temptation to blab at least some of the truth was almost too much to bear. I chewed slowly, swallowed, took a drink of water and wrestled those tempting truths back down again.
‘He’s mentioned that it feels like the past two years are catching up with him,’ I said, carefully. ‘When he’s overtired, or anxious, it can come across as gruff. And you’re right, I’d take it as a compliment that he feels comfortable enough to let some of that out with you. Not that it makes it any easier to be on the receiving end, though. Especially when you’ve both been under the same strain. I’m sorry you’ve had to put up with it. Although, from what I’ve seen, you handle him really well.’
Connie nodded, considering my words. ‘Thank you. It really helps to know that. I’ve taken two holidays in the past year while Isaac’s only had the odd day off here and there. It’s no wonder he’s finding it tough. We’ve got a work meeting at yours on Wednesday. I’ll perhaps mention something then.’
‘Not that I said anything?’
She leant forwards and rested her hand on mine. ‘Woah, I’m not about to break the girl code one week in, Jessie. Besides.’ She smiled. ‘Not great to reveal to my boss—’
‘Colleague of equal status.’
‘—To the MD of the company I work for that I’ve been gossiping about him with his twin.’
She turned to answer Wilf who was asking if he could move to sit with his friends, before whirling back around again.
‘I got side-tracked about Isaac and forgot we were talking about decorating. How about I come over a bit earlier on Wednesday and bring some sketches, so you can see what you think? We might have some stuff in the Barn storage that you could use, save a bit of money.’
‘That would be amazing, if you’re sure? But isn’t Wilf coming too? Won’t he be bored?’
Connie rolled her eyes. ‘If Isaac’s there then Wilf will be more than happy. That’s why I agreed to an out-of-hours meeting, because I knew Wilf would be over the moon about not only getting to visit his hero’s house in person, but eat a meal that he’s apparently going to cook – or at least reheat, if the last time is anything to go by.’
I had to smile. ‘It is a very strange concept, my brother being idolised by a small child.’
