Page 15 of A Seaside Escape
She nodded. ‘Perfect.’
*
On the morning following their viewing the all-important call was made to put their offer forward. They had both adored the cottage. They just needed to secure it, but unfortunately it was in the hands of fate… well, the estate agent and the owner to be exact.
They arrived home to Yorkshire, collected Ruby and filled Josie and Brad in on the details of their potential new home. Once they were back at Railway Terrace, Sam constantly checked his mobile for missed calls and after hours of pacing the floor, negotiating and nail biting, the call came through from Scotland.
Sam answered his phone and Mallory clung onto the hem of his shirt, anxiously waiting for Sam’s facial expression to reveal the news.
A crease of concentration furrowed his brow. ‘Ahuh… yes… okay… oh, yeah?… hmm… okay, well thanks for all your help Mr Warriner, it’s much appreciated.’ Sam hung up; his face stoic. He closed his eyes, ran his hands through his hair and let out a long breath.
Mallory’s heart sank. Her eyes welled up. The dream was evidently gone.
Sam finally spoke in a low, resigned tone. ‘Well, that’s it I guess.’
Mallory stifled the sob that was desperate to lurch from her throat. ‘I guess so.’ She slumped onto the sofa. Although she had been filled with trepidation about the whole thing initially, to know that it wasn’t happening broke her heart. There were a few moments of silence as she tried to come to terms with the news.
Sam huffed, shaking his head. ‘Yup… I am soooo not looking forward to all the packing.’
Mallory hesitated, pondering that last sentence. She looked up slowly into the face of her beloved, only to see the huge grin that had transplanted itself onto his flawless face.
She stood and whacked his arm playfully. ‘You rotten sod! You utterly mean GIT!’ She screamed as the realisation of the truth dawned on her. She flung herself into the arms of the fibber and burst into floods of warm, ecstatic tears.
*
April 2015
Packing had begun in earnest. Mallory looked around at the boxes that surrounded them both. ‘How onearthdid we accumulate so much stuff? You hardly brought anything from Canada and I hardly had anything to begin with.’
‘Beats me, babe. Although, I think most of it’s yours,’ he teased. She threw a cushion at him but he caught it. ‘Want me to pack this?’
Sam pulled the loft ladder down and climbed up. ‘Oh. My. Gosh. Mallory, you thought down there was bad… you ain’t seen nothing yet, baby. Not by a long way.’
Mallory cringed. ‘Oh no. I just keep putting things in there without really thinking. I slide the Christmas decorations just inside the hatch every year but avoid going up there at all costs.’
He lowered his head through the hole in the ceiling. ‘Well, as they say, there’s no time like the present! C’mon. Time for a clear out.’
Mallory groaned at the thought. Grabbing some black rubbish sacks, she climbed the ladder and pulled herself up beside Sam.
He handed her a box, ‘What’s in here I wonder… okay,Mallory’s school stuffis what it says. Should be interesting.’ He pulled out a report card and laughed heartily.
‘What? Oh no what have you found?’ She snatched the card from his grasp. ‘…Mallory has the potential to be a very bright girl, if she would only stop daydreaming long enough to apply herself,’ she read in her poshest voice, mimicking Mrs Gloria Sanders, her prim and proper high school English teacher.
‘Hah! No change there, huh?’ Sam poked her in the ribs, making her scream in shock and punch him on the arm in playful retaliation. ‘We have to keep these to show our children hownotto behave,’ he sniggered.
‘Cheeky,’ Mallory retorted dryly. ‘Ooh, what’s in this one?’ She opened the lid and stared inside. ‘Oh wow, these are my mum’s things.’ Mallory lifted her hand to her mouth. She placed the box between them so that Sam could see.
He reached inside and pulled something out. ‘Hey, that’s a photo of you as a toddler. So, sweet. Look at your curls!’
Mallory glanced at the old, faded image. ‘Oh, yes. My mum used to spend hours trying to tame my bird’s nest.’ She took out another and nudged Sam, holding the picture up for him to see. ‘Here’s one of me with my mum.’
‘Hmm, now I see why you ended up so darn gorgeous. She was a beautiful lady, Mally.’
‘She was… I miss her so much. I wish you could’ve met her.’
Sam pulled her to his side and kissed her hair before resting his head on hers. ‘I know, baby, me too.’
‘She would have loved you.’
