angst at having to miss what had been his favourite films at his age.
‘Suppose,’ Jamie murmured not sounding too convinced.
‘Have you seen the original Star War films?’ Ben asked. ‘Think the first one was late 1970s – they were a different class.’
‘Uh-uh, don’t think so.’
They turned into their street, Ben noticing the stark contrast between the two houses waiting for them. His house lay in darkness while light glowed from the other. Eva had come to the door now, her eyes seeking out her son and then shifting to Ben. Jamie had been chatting continuously and carried on as they reached Eva.
‘My friend Fraser’s big brother is at the university and he said they’ve got a great sports bit. He said you can do almost any sport you want – American football, judo, and everything. Do you get to do all that if you want?’ He looked up at Ben earnestly.
‘I guess so, yes.’
‘I’d love to try all those things,’ Jamie exclaimed eagerly.
‘Well, I know the university runs sport taster days. Maybe I can take you and your friend along to the next one so you can try a few things?’
Jamie’s face lit up. ‘Really? That’d be awesome!’
Ben hoped he hadn’t overstepped a mark but noticed Eva rolling her eyes jokingly in exasperation at her son before ushering him into the warm house.
‘Think you’ve just made someone’s day.’ She laughed.
‘Well, I keep meaning to investigate the sports department and haven’t got round to it so I guess this way I’ll have to go.’
A delicious aroma of cooking infused the air between them and for a moment he imagined eating with Eva and Jamie again before pulling himself together. They looked at each other for what felt like a long moment and Ben realized he needed to say something.
‘I should …’
‘Would you …’
‘Sorry you go first,’ Eva said.
He discarded the image of a shared meal, tightening his grip on the bag containing his students’ essays – that was the reality of his evening. ‘I’ve got a pile of marking – I should really get home,’ he said.
‘Oh, of course,’ Eva replied. ‘And thank you.’ She took the racquet from Ben’s hands and they shared a smile before Ben turned to go back to his house.
Eva pulled off her rubber gloves and stretched out her back. Finally, she had removed all the wallpaper. She had spent the past two days in a cloud of steam, stripping off layers of wallpaper that had been up so long it had flaked away in little pieces and fallen at her feet in a sticky mess. But now at last it was all off and the room looked much bigger and brighter.
She glugged a mouthful of water from her bottle and then, after a short break, set about lifting the carpet. Donning her heavy work gloves she used her knife and started to cut the carpet into manageable strips before rolling them up. Who needed the gym she thought hurling bits of carpet into a corner of the room. Eva was pleasantly surprised to discover the wooden floorboards were in good condition. It wouldn’t take too much effort to restore them to their original glory – some sanding and varnish and they would look lovely.
Much later, covered in sweat and with aching muscles, Eva surveyed the room. Apart from a bit of plastering where the leak had caused damage, the room was ready for decorating. She had created a blank canvas to work with and, most importantly, it no longer felt like the MacKenzies’ room. It felt a little sad, as though Eva was stripping away their memories, but she knew they’d had a happy life here and now it was someone else’s turn. Would that person be Ben? she pondered.
Knowing she was working in Ben’s house – doing it all for him – felt personal, made her feel connected to him, but as she gazed around the room now, it dawned on Eva she had no real plan what to do next. Usually her mind was brimming with ideas and colour schemes. She’d always found it easy decorating her own home but with a sinking feeling realized all her creative thoughts seem to have floated off somewhere else.
As if looking for inspiration she wandered into the hall where boxes remained unopened, a clear sign that Ben hadn’t made up his mind about staying, and Eva felt her heart drop. Feeling horribly nosy but unable to stop herself, she walked through to the kitchen. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for but wanted to see if she could get more of a feel for Ben’s life that might give her clues for decorating.
As in her own house the kitchen was a large, bright space but there was nothing to suggest Ben was cooking or even spending much time here. Some fruit – not too fresh-looking – and an opened packet of biscuits lay on the worktop and several dirty mugs competed for space with a stack of books on the table. In one way she supposed it was typical for a man living on his own but there was also something sad – an emptiness – like seeing a life on hold.
She couldn’t see any personal touches or anything to show he intended to stay and certainly no hints of his personality that might help with her decorating. She thought about what she did know about him. She knew he had experienced loss and that his relationship had ended. She had detected a serious, studious side to him but also a very human side. She had observed how good he was with her son.
Watching him and Jamie walking home the other night and chatting so naturally she had felt her heart do a little dance in her chest. Jamie responding so positively to Ben was lovely but she hoped she wasn’t making a mistake allowing her son to form a bond with him. She had missed the MacKenzies dreadfully at the beginning but the truth was she was beginning to get used to Ben as her new neighbour.
Thinking about him now Eva felt the stirrings of something. She couldn’t identify the exact feeling – part fear, part exhilaration. She was beginning to realize how much it mattered to her that Ben liked what she created. Whatever her motives had been when she first offered to do the job, it was beginning to feel about much more than paint and wallpaper, almost as if she was investing part of herself into the project. The sudden knowledge that she didn’t want him to leave struck her with her a force that left her feeling bewildered and she bolted out of the kitchen as if she’d been caught trespassing.
With forced concentration she focused on tidying up: folding up the stepladders, packing away her tools, and tucking all thoughts of Ben neatly to the back of her mind. It had been a long day and her early start was finally catching up with her. This morning she had told Jamie he could go on the trip. Remembering the expression on his face made her smile. Breaking his own no-hugging rule, he had voluntarily wrapped his arms around her.
‘Thanks, Mum! I love you.’
‘I love you too,’ she had replied, holding him tightly.
***
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee met Eva as she walked into The Coffee Hut on Saturday morning. Heather was already settled at their usual table and waved over to her. Eva shrugged off her jacket and flopped down beside her, grateful for the seat.
It had been a bit of a disastrous Saturday morning with the discovery that Hamish had chewed one of Jamie’s
