Page 14 of Cosy & Chill
Exploring a Dream
“How about the lady with the dog?” Leo pointed across the road where an older woman walked a spaniel.
“Lace shawl,” Finn said after a short appraisal. “In a mix of colours. She lives alone, but isn’t lonely, and has many good memories. A lace shawl would be like a hug from your dreams.”
Leo smiled, enchanted with Finn’s way of classifying people by garments, yarns, and colours. “The young woman with the baby in the pushchair?”
“A sturdy miniskirt in chocolate orange.”
“Chocolate orange? What sort of a colour is that? Murky brown?”
Finn laughed. “It’s not a single colour. It’s a colourway. The yarn’s mostly dark chocolate and every so often it runs a stretch of bright orange. It looks gorgeous knitted up. I’d knit it lengthwise, maybe with a subtle pattern running across.”
They were on their way to view the empty store on the High Street, and instead of the apprehension Leo had expected to feel, they were both in tearing high spirits. As if there’d been something apart from tea in the pot they’d shared with their sandwiches.
Leo didn’t mind. He’d take this floaty feeling, the belief that he could do anything, in place of overtired drudgery any day of the week. He’d felt drawn to Finn in the pub because of the quiet delight on his face while he’d sat in a corner and plied his needles. Finn openly laughing and enjoying the sunshine was an even more striking sight. Leo resolved there and then not to lose sight of Finn, whether they rented a shop together or not.
A woman waited outside the store’s front door, dressed in heeled boots and a smart grey coat to ward off the November chill.
Finn grinned when Leo nudged his side. “A soft cowl in lilac lace or 4-ply. Or a drop stitch pattern in dark grey and lilac. That would look lovely, too.”
“Do you think she’s here to show us around?”
“Oh.” Finn’s expression switched from delighted to apprehensive in a blink. “I hope she likes us. I didn’t… I didn’t precisely dress before I came out to go to the post office.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re smart as sixpence.”
“Nonsense,” Leo argued, though he liked the way Finn’s eyes tracked over him. “We’re not here to display our fashion sense. Good afternoon,” he called when they were five steps away. “Are you here to show us around the store?”
The woman smiled and held out a hand. “Caroline Tienfield,” she introduced herself. “Mr Hoogan, Mr Wetherall?”
They exchanged names and then the woman produced a bunch of keys to unlock—not the shop’s front door—but the next door over. “My husband will join us shortly. He just had to check on some paperwork. This is your side entrance. It leads through this alley into a small yard behind the house where you keep the bins and recycling containers and to the back door into the house. I’m afraid there isn’t much in the way of a garden.”
“We’re more interested in the shop than gardening,” Leo assured her. “I don’t think I’ve ever grown anything that survived.”
They followed her down the path, turning right at the end towards a double-width backdoor. “It gives you a choice how to enter the house,” she said, sliding the key into the lock. “Saves you bringing all deliveries through the store.” She pushed the door wide and stood back. “After you, gentlemen.”
Beyond the door lay a short hallway with whitewashed walls and a black-and-white tiled floor.
“This is why the house doesn’t have much outdoor space.” Mrs Tienfield opened the first door on the left. “You have storerooms on this side. Next there’s a laundry room. The room at the end was used as a staff kitchen. On the other side, there are two offices, one leading into the other. My husband mentioned that you were thinking of offering café services from the store. In this case, I would suggest you turn what is now the kitchen into your office and convert the two small offices into one larger kitchen. Entirely up to you.”
“And a long way down the road,” Leo chuckled. “I didn’t think we’d be allowed to make changes to the building.”
“The trust isn’t unreasonable, Mr Wetherall. If we want to keep the building functioning as a business and family residence, we need to ensure that it is fit for the business you want to run. If, once you’re established, you have any suggestions for renovations or changes to the property, please come and discuss them with us. As I said, we’re not unreasonable.”
Finn followed in her wake, peeking into rooms, looking stunned. Leo got it. He was beginning to feel a little faint himself, and they hadn’t fully explored the ground floor yet.
Mrs Tienfield gave them a reassuring smile. “Did I mention that I’m our firm’s conveyancer? My husband deals with all the legal aspects of the properties we look after. I handle the hands-on management of said properties. Also, I’m not sure if my husband pointed that out, we were planning to let this place partially furnished.”
“What does that mean?” Finn asked with a hefty dose of trepidation in his voice.
“That you’ll have some furniture in place when you move in. Only pieces to help you get settled and feel comfortable. We don’t have any furniture for the store. That one is entirely down to you.”
“What do you have, then?” Leo rented a furnished bedsit and furniture hadn’t been on his mind when he’d stepped into the solicitor’s office that morning.
“There’s a washer and dryer in the laundry room, both plumbed, plugged in, and ready to go. There’s also an old chest freezer. If you’re planning to make ice cream, you probably need more cold storage.”
