Page 6 of Fake Rocks
Tris
The image of Saffron Barnes bending over to look in the refrigerator and giving me a full on view of her, well,everythingwas burned into my retinas.
Sure, I knew who she was. I knew she was in a band, but most recently she appeared on those gossip websites in the sidebar of shame. She was also close friends with a high-profile fashion model and there were pictures of the two of them partying into the night with their famous buddies.
When she’d come back downstairs in that minidress, fishnets and biker boots, I’d almost had to hide behind one of the kitchen counters, such was the hard-on growing in my jeans. It had been a long time since I’d had any action.
In a whirlwind, she left the house and I thought I saw Jonas heave a sigh of relief.
Jonas took us on a guided tour. Arranged over four floors, it was a pretty spectacular house, if a little tired looking, which was where we came in. On the ground floor was a large dining room and reception room which led out onto a terrace, stairs led to the lower ground floor which housed the massive kitchen, with Jonas’ office off to one side and another room that appeared to be a combination of a snug and a spare bedroom. The two upper floors had a bedroom and bathroom each. Although Jonas stopped shy of actually showing us into Saff’s room, I could imagine what lay behind the closed wood-panelled door. All of the rooms looked like they needed a good lick of paint to bring them back to life.
We ended up back in the kitchen where Jonas made us more coffee. I was going to be more jittery than I already was if I carried on mainlining caffeine like this.
The three of us sat around the table and Col pulled out a sheaf of papers from his folder and started to flick through them.
“You want us to start in the kitchen still?” he clarified.
I looked around the room, which had all the boxes for the units to be assembled stacked to one side. Everything else appeared makeshift; how they’d managed to live here and function was a mystery.
As if sensing my question, Jonas spoke. “We’ve lived on takeout and microwave meals this past week. The guys who installed the cooker told us to leave it until everything else was finished before using it.” He gave us a sheepish smile. “I guess I didn’t really think this through.”
Uncle Col made a sympathetic face. “It’s not a problem. We should get this sorted in around a week. You should be all ready to cook Sunday dinner next weekend.”
Jonas laughed. “You saw Saff, right? Neither of us is really the cooking at home type.”
“Ah, that’s a shame. My Annie’s a whizz in the kitchen, loves to cook. She ought to go on one of those cooking programmes, she’d blow everyone out of the water,” said Col proudly.
He wasn’t wrong about Auntie Annie’s cooking skills. In the short time I’d been there, she’d whipped up pies and cakes from scratch, created stews and fish dishes and even made her own truffles. I was already looking forward to what I was going to find in my lunch box.
While Col and Jonas chatted and agreed on the plans, my mind drifted. After everything that had happened to me in the past year, I was truly grateful to my uncle and aunt for taking me in. Unable to have children of their own, they dedicated themselves to helping others and had even fostered a couple of kids when I was younger. Col, my mum’s older brother, doted on me as if I was one of his own. When he turned up on my doorstep after my dad had done a runner, I almost broke down. Sat amongst bills I had no idea how I was going to pay, with a tin of baked beans in the cupboard and half a pint of milk in the refrigerator, dark thoughts had run through my head. Who would care if I wasn’t there anymore? I had seriously considered finding the nearest motorway bridge until that knock on the door. I’d never told Uncle Col. He’d be devastated to think I could even entertain suicide as a solution. Even I was still coming to terms with it.
My uncle kicked my ankle under the table, clearly noticing I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should be.
“You’re happy for us to have a key? Means we can come and go as we please,” he said.
Jonas stood up and went over to the one clear area on the counter. “Sure. Though I’d suggest ringing the bell first anyway, because I can’t guarantee the state you might find Saff in.” He gave us a rueful smile.
If Saff greeted me every morning in the Nirvana t-shirt, I’d be more than happy. I shook the thought away. I was here to work and pay my way in the world, not lust after the client.More’s the pity.
After a further discussion and confirmation of what needed to happen next, Jonas left for work, leaving us alone to get on with the job.
“We’ve got a great bit of work here, Tris. And if we do a decent job, then maybe Jonas will pass my details on.” Uncle Col stuffed all his paperwork back in his folder. “Before we start, shall we have one more coffee?”
The day absolutely raced by as I worked harder than I’d ever done in my life. We pulled out cabinets and broke them down, carrying bits of wood and metal out to the van, up and down the stairs, what felt like several hundred times, before sanding the walls and then cleaning up the mess it made. At least by the time the end of the day came, we could see the wood for the trees.
It was starting to get dark when we left. I was strangely disappointed Saff hadn’t returned during the day, although if she had done I don’t know what I would have said to her. I doubt she would be interested in someone like me anyway.
Exhausted from the exertions of the day, I nodded off in the van on the way home. I wasn’t used to manual labour and I knew I would ache the following morning.
“Tris, we’re home.” Uncle Col shook me awake.
I stretched and yawned. “Sorry. I hadn’t realised how tired I was.”
He laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”
The smell of home cooking hit me the moment we walked through the front door. Aunt Annie had clearly been busy.
“Just in time. I’m about to get the pie out of the oven.” She kissed Col on the cheek and directed a smile towards me. “Come and sit down, dinner’s pretty much ready.”
