Page 10 of The Little Cottage by the Cornish Sea

‘So how long has it been since your last visit?’ Dr Armitage wanted to know as he warmed up his stethoscope.

‘Uhm…’

‘Sophie. You know it’s not good to avoid the doctors.’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Nothing new you want to share with me, then? Nothing worrying you?’

He had a point. If I was going to be the best mother I could be, I had to tell him. ‘Well, yes. I am expecting a baby…’

He sat back, studying me as he did. ‘Congratulations, Sophie. And, if I’m not too forward, how are you feeling about that?’

‘Over the moon. And… a little freaked out. I’ve never done this before…’

‘You’ll be fine. You’re young and strong. May I ask… is the father on the scene? I’m only asking so I can gauge your total wellbeing. You can depend on me as your doctor to give you all the support you need. Plus I’ll put you in touch with the best gyno in Cornwall.’

‘Thank you. No, it’s just me. Please don’t tell anyone.’

‘You can trust me, Sophie. As your physician, I’ll always put your wellbeing first. Can you take a big deep breath for me now, please?’ he said. ‘Okay, it all sounds pretty good here. Now we’ll check your blood pressure. Give me your arm.’

When done, he looked up at me, his eyes narrowing.

Uh-oh. ‘Is it too high?’

‘Just a tad. You need to decompress. Relax,’ he replied, releasing my arm from the blood-pressure cuff. ‘Whatever is troubling you needs to stop now. Please step onto the scales.’

‘Oh. Okay. Are you going to listen to my lungs?’ Anything to get off this subject.

‘Why, are you a smoker?’

‘No.’

‘Are you having trouble breathing?’

‘No.’

‘Then you’re okay for now.’

‘Are you sure?’

He sighed. ‘The last thing you want to be is paranoid about your pregnancy. Just eat healthily, take your vitamins and go for walks in the fresh air. You’ll be fine. In the meantime, you contact Dr Chenoweth and get checked regularly, hear?’

‘Thank you,’ I said and that was the end of that. I knew I’d be in good hands.

*

The next day, I was having a closer inspection of the house and making plans on how to make it more homely.

After I found a job, I would be able to afford maybe a rug and perhaps a pair of curtains.

They didn’t have to be new. I loved vintage and pre-loved things.

If there was anything I couldn’t stand, it was feeding landfill sites.

As soon as I could afford to, I’d return to Bend Or Bump to get a tiny table and two chairs for the garden to enjoy the summer and all the following seasons round again and again.

Slowly, slowly, I’d make it my home. Mine and Baby’s.

There would be no Will to tell me what we were having for dinner, or what flowers to pick or even what coverlet to use.

I closed my eyes and envisaged the way I wanted it to look, eventually, and how to decorate the nursery.

Was I having a boy or a girl? I’d been referring to the baby as ‘she’, but really I had no instinct at all about what they would be.

And then the obvious dawned on me. I could choose my own child’s name!

Will would have absolutely no say in how I brought it up, where it went to school (Note to self: remember to check out local Northwood Academy for the future).

It would be just us. Yes, Tulip Cottage was perfect and I couldn’t wait to share it with Baby.

A knock at the door made me jump. I was still in my pyjamas, nursing a hot cup of decaf tea and binging on chocolate hobnobs. I stood at the foot of the stairs, debating. Who could it be? I had to stop being afraid. Will didn’t know I was here.

‘Hello? Anybody home? Dr Armitage sent me. I’m Noah, the handyman!’

Oh! I hurried to unlatch the door and stepped back to see a bloke who would’ve been better placed on a California beach: tall, tanned and with longish, blond hair, he had a contagious smile and an easy-going manner.

He was the exact opposite of Will, which was perhaps why I liked him immediately.

And the fact that he was carrying a toolbox.

‘Hello!’ he said in an Australian drawl. ‘You the new tenant in need of a fixing up?’

He looked for all the world like your typical playboy and nothing like a handyman, if you didn’t count the toolbox.

Well, okay, maybe he looked like those blokes in jeans and a fitted T-shirt girls dreamed about.

But not me. I was here for some peace and quiet, and to raise a baby.

No time for any shenanigans. But he did seem genuinely friendly, or maybe it was the accent drawing me in.

‘Can I come in, or are you going to leave me on the threshold?’ he said with a friendly grin.

I stepped aside to let him in.

‘Wow, is this place tiny or what? Talk about bijoux,’ he said.

I bristled. ‘It suits me just fine.’

He shrugged. ‘If you’re happy. You live here alone, then?’ he asked. ‘I’m not asking in a stalker-y way, mind you,’ he reassured me. ‘On the contrary, if you need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask.’

Three seconds in and Surfer Dude was already grating on my nerves. But I should be happy he had come.

‘Thank you, Noah.’

‘Care to show me around?’ he asked.

‘Of course. This is the living room and the kitchen is through there.’

He laughed. ‘I was joking! You could hardly get lost in here, could you? Now, let’s check the electrics first,’ he said, opening his toolbox to retrieve a screwdriver.

Not knowing whether to stay or go as he removed the socket plate by the front door, I sauntered into the kitchen to busy myself with the kettle.

Which reminded me. I hadn’t yet sent Mrs Nankivell a thank-you note for all the goodies she’d sent.

Perhaps I could bake her a cake. I hadn’t checked if the oven worked.

I flipped the switch but nothing happened. The kettle was as dead as a doornail. ‘Uhm, Noah?’ I called over the six feet separating us. ‘There’s no power.’

‘Of course not, do you want me to get electrocuted while I work?’ he called back. Good point. For being a builder’s daughter, I was a bit rusty.

And then he began to whistle. I hauled myself up onto the kitchen counter and listened.

The last person I’d heard whistling was my father.

He used to literally whistle while he worked.

How I missed him! How I missed the sense of security his presence gave me!

When he was alive, nothing could go wrong.

If only he were here now. My best friend always.

‘The system here is antiquated as hell. Needs a complete overhaul,’ Noah called. ‘Dr A said that might be the case.’

Dr A. Cute. ‘How long will that take?’ I asked.

‘Oh, about a week,’ Noah answered.

‘That’s okay. The important thing is the plumbing, which is a nightmare.’

‘There’s no hot water?’ he asked.

‘There’s no water, period. At least, not upstairs. I have been filling a bucket from a trickle but it takes forever. If I had water, at least I could boil it for a bath.’ Although the idea of lugging buckets of hot water up the steep staircase was not appealing to me in the least.

‘Aw, geez, that’s bad. That changes everything. Now I reckon it’ll all take about three weeks.’

‘Three weeks?’ I almost wailed.

‘At least, and that’s before I even paint the place. What’s the matter: can’t wait to get rid of me already? And there was me thinking I might have found a new friend. I’m new here and don’t know anyone yet.’

Aw . ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude,’ I assured him. I knew a little about loneliness myself. ‘You’re Australian, I’m guessing.’

‘You got it,’ he said, flashing me a brilliant-toothed smile. ‘Got here two weeks ago. I’m hoping my girlfriend will join me one day.’

‘Oh, that’s nice. And you did well to find a job so quickly, good on you.’

‘Actually, I was a surfing instructor back home. There are a few places in Newquay I checked, but no one’s hiring at the mo.’

‘Right.’ That was not good news for me.

‘And you?’ he asked as he motioned to the kitchen tap which he needed to check so I jumped off the counter. ‘What do you do for a living?’

‘I’m… sort of in between jobs at the moment.’

‘Ah,’ he said as the hot water tap screeched like a banshee. Still nothing came out. ‘What kind of work did you do in London?’

‘London? Who said I was from London?’

He pulled out a wrench from his side pocket and without looking at me, shrugged. ‘I just assumed, judging by your posh accent.’

‘I don’t have a posh accent.’ I was anything but posh. Will was, granted, but I never had been and that was one of his biggest problems with me. Well, not anymore.

‘So what kind of work will you be looking for, assuming you’re not a trust-fund child which, judging by the state of this place you’re renting out, you are not.’

‘You certainly know how to win a girl’s heart,’ I said distractedly, really fancying a cup of tea just now that the power was off.

‘So I’ve been told time and again,’ he said with a wink.

It was all I could do to not roll my eyes.

‘If you’re making a cuppa later, I’ll have tea with two sugars and milk, thanks.’

‘Do you think that maybe you might take a look at the oven for me?’ I asked. ‘I want to make a cake.’

‘Anything for cake, darl,’ he said with a twinkle in his eye. He said it like an American would say doll.

After Noah had switched the power back on, I busied myself with the teas and reached up into the cupboard for the biscuit tin Mrs Nankivell had so generously supplied.

I saw myself from the outside. Anyone watching would think they saw a young couple going about their morning breakfast routine.

Little would they know that she (I) had a baby on the way, and that this young and handsome man had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Because I was completely on my own. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t thank the people that were nice to me.

So I sat down to write Mrs Nankivell a thank-you note.

Dear Mrs Nankivell,

I hope you are well. I would like to thank you for letting me stay in your lovely cottage. Also, I’d like to thank you for the welcome gifts that you sent me with Dr Armitage.

She was such a nice old lady. Very sweet. I missed my own grandmother very much. Before I could stop myself, I added:

When and if convenient, I would like for you to join me for a cup of tea here at Tulip Cottage.

Yours truly,

Sophie

Surely there was no harm in befriending a sweet, elderly woman, was there?

She looked like she understood more than she let on, with her batty ways and all, but her eyes were keen and kind.

God knew I needed someone who might understand the predicament I was in, even if I couldn’t divulge the finer details.

‘Right,’ Noah said just as I finished my note. ‘I’ve got a good idea of which tools I need. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to make a start. Does nine o’clock sound okay?’

‘Nine is perfect, thank you.’

After he left, I lay down on the old settee and called the number of the gyno that Dr A had given me: Dr Gwyneth Chenoweth. I managed to make an appointment for the next day.

*

Dr. Chenoweth was very kind and welcoming, giving me a complete check-up. I was roughly five weeks pregnant, which meant my due date would be around December. A Christmas baby, what a gift! She assured me I was in excellent health. She gave me good tips on exercise and diet and mindfulness.

On my way back home, I stopped at the general shop in Starry Cove for some bread.

I was eating as if my life depended on it which, funnily enough, it did.

And that’s when I spotted Rude Bloke’s royal blue windbreaker at the dairy counter, his arms full of groceries.

As soon as he saw me, he turned around and practically ran for the check-out.

I followed him with my one loaf of bread. In fairness we’d never met face to face so I decided to give him a chance to redeem himself. So I smiled at him and said, ‘Hello. I’ve only got this one item, would you mind if just—?’

But he ignored me, chatting up the adoring checkout girl and plonking his goods down onto the conveyor belt while turning his back to me as if I didn’t even exist. Goodness me! Who did he think he was, royalty? It was obvious I was invisible to him.

*

The next morning, Noah arrived at nine on the dot, bringing in wiring and other electrical materials.

‘Mornin’, darl!’ he said cheerfully. I had not counted on him coming back, to be honest. Not that I had anything against him, but lately my motto was Trust no one and you will not be disappointed.

Plus, I really didn’t want him snooping around, although there wasn’t anything to snoop about once I had my documentation and purse on me.

Perhaps I was being a bit too suspicious, but better safe than sorry.

‘If you’re going into the village, I suggest you take a hat,’ he said as he began to attack the socket by the front door again. ‘It’s vicious out there.’

‘Oh. Uhm.’ I still didn’t feel comfortable leaving him in here on his own, but I couldn’t stay here guarding an empty shell for the next three weeks, or as long as it would take him to finish the jobs.

Of course, there was always the offer to stay at the Old Bell Inn but I liked the independence that the cottage afforded me.

Besides, I’d already started to buy things for the places and I didn’t want to lug it all over to the inn.

‘Thank you, I will. Have you got yourself lunch? There’s some cheese and stuff in the fridge,’ I offered.

‘I’m all right; I brought my own. Figured you’d be job-hunting today. Good luck!’

‘Thanks,’ I said as I let myself out, pulling my hood closer around my short hair.

Noah was right. Although the sky was a clear, bright blue, you could cut the cold with a knife.

Speaking of which, I had no plates. Will would be gloating if he saw the state I was living in.

But the joke was on him because at least I was free.

Meadow Lane was particularly slippery this morning, so I carefully picked my way past the pretty little terraced cottages, this time noticing they all had names.

My side was all named after flowers. On the way down, I spotted a Jasmine Cottage, an Iris Cottage, and even a Dahlia Cottage.

When the terraced cottages gave way to semi-detached houses, the flower names turned to trees, such as Maple Way, Oak View, etc.

I exhaled, realising I had been holding my breath since I’d arrived.

Something had shifted suddenly, and for some reason still unknown to me, I knew I was going to make it.