Standing in front of a display of screws and nails, Rory was at a loss. Some of the skirting board was coming away in her bedroom and she just wanted to screw it back. Why were there so many different types?

If there was one thing she hated, it was asking for help in a shop like this. Not only was there rarely anyone around to ask but, when you did, they were usually male and had a way of making you feel like an idiot. She had had enough of being made to feel stupid this week. Nathan Finch had been introducing new initiatives at school on an almost daily basis.

At this evening’s staff training, he had instructed them that they would need to produce a seating plan for each of their classes. This was something they already did, but he wanted a lot more than a sketch of who sat where in the room. ‘For each student, you will also need to indicate the following things. Firstly, their gender and ethnic origin. Then whether they have a Special Educational Need, are “Gifted and Talented” or receive free school meals. Lastly, their current National Curriculum level and whether they are making above, below or expected progress. We would like this colour coded as indicated and, ideally, I would like you to complete these by the end of the week.’

Although this was going to take a great deal of time and effort (and would have no impact whatsoever on the teaching of the children in her classes) at least Rory knew how to do it. Online dating, however, was a whole different ballgame. Susie had bullied her into looking at it with her over the weekend. They had scanned the websites together and had tried to work out what they needed to do.

‘Who are these people?’ Rory had been quite incredulous at the photographs people chose to use to promote themselves to their potential future life partners. Some of them looked like they were auditioning for the adult channel, whilst others decided that they would be most attractive atop a camel or beside a national monument. One picture looked like it had been taken in the Amazonian rainforest and the man in question was a tiny dot way in the distance. ‘That’s either an attempt at irony or he has got some serious self-esteem issues.’

‘Maybe we shouldn’t look at the photographs.’ Susie kept scrolling through the list. ‘Let’s read their descriptions instead.’

This was worse. ‘“I love long walks in the countryside”,’ read Rory. ‘That’s the tenth one who says that. Maybe they should be thinking about getting a dog rather than a girlfriend?’

‘What about this one?’ Susie looked hopeful as she read. ‘“I’ve dated many women, but I am still searching for my soulmate.”’

‘Clearly wants someone to agree with everything he says.’ Rory leaned over the keyboard and hit return. ‘Next.’

‘How about this one? “Recently divorced, I am looking for that special lady who will help to mend my broken heart.”’

‘Rebound. Next.’

‘“Open minded, and seeking adventure, I would love to meet a woman who wants to try new things.”’

‘Swinger. Susie, I don’t think this is going to be for me. I can’t even face writing my description. Anyway, it’s too risky for us. What if one of the kids from school found us online? The humiliation! We’d have to leave the county.’

‘Maybe you’re right. But if you won’t try speed dating and we’re not going to do online, you have to promise that we will start going out more. You might be happy expending your energy with a paint brush or a hammer, but I need to meet someone soon or I am going to start walking funny.’

Rory had duly promised that she would go out more but she was starting to regret it already. She had had about the same success with choosing the right man as she was having with choosing these screws. She didn’t have a clue which ones she would need to buy and couldn’t afford to start buying materials which turned out to be useless. Although she had the money her mum had insisted on giving her, it was safely in a separate account and she was only going to use it for emergencies. Like that damn rewiring.

Walking to the end of the aisle, she found an assistant who seemed to be idly raking through a tray of metal. May as well give him something more productive to do. ‘Excuse me, could you give me some help? I need to know which screws will fix a skirting board to a wall.’

Without any particular rush, he ambled over to her before crouching forward slightly and squinting at the display. He must have just come from the warehouse because his trousers were covered in dust and his boots were splattered in different types of paint. Rory could imagine him hefting boxes around; he had the shoulders for it. Maybe this was B&Q’s new marketing strategy to attract more female customers: good-looking sales assistants. This one could almost be auditioning for a builders and decorators calendar shoot. He was upright again and holding something out to her. ‘They should do the job. Although you may want to glue it as well; sometimes screws aren’t enough.’

She took the packet from him. His hands were paint-spattered too, but his nails were clean. ‘Great, thanks.’ Whilst she had his attention, she may as well get the other things on her list. ‘Actually, I also need some help with plaster. I have an electrician coming tomorrow to rewire my house and apparently he is going to channel out the walls for the new cables. He told me I would have to fill them back in myself. What do I need?’

The assistant shook his head. ‘I’d get a plasterer in for that if I were you. It’s a tricky job.’

Rory had been expecting this ever since she’d walked into the DIY shop. In fact, she had been just waiting for someone to ask her if she was looking for her husband. ‘Thanks for the advice, but I’m sure I’ll be able to fill in a few holes with plaster.’

Rubbing his unshaven face, the assistant fixed a pair of bright blue eyes on her. ‘Have you done it before? It’s quite difficult to get a smooth finish. Plastering is a bit of an art form, actually.’

She had been asking for directions to the correct aisle, not a tutorial. ‘If you could just show me where it is, I’d be grateful.’

The man shrugged and smiled. ‘Okay. I think I saw it a couple of aisles down. They keep moving things, but I’m sure we’ll find it. Follow me.’ As Rory followed him, she wondered how much of an expert on plastering he could be when he couldn’t even remember where products were kept in his own store. His long strides forced her to practically skip to keep up. When he stopped, she almost ran into him. ‘Here you go. These are the fillers. A professional plasterer would use Thistle, but if you’ve just got thin channels to fill in, you’ll probably get away with this stuff.’

Again, Rory was faced with a choice to make, as there were three different brands. Reluctant to open up the possibility of more advice, she picked the one in the middle. ‘Thanks for your help.’ She nodded to indicate that she didn’t need him any more.

‘You’ll be wanting sandpaper, too. Follow me.’ He walked away without giving her the chance to refuse him. Getting help in this place went from one extreme to another. Obviously, he must be on commission. At least he seemed quite confident about where the sandpaper could be found.

Again, more choices – there were even different colours and different numbers to choose from – but this time he didn’t wait for her to decide. He selected a couple of types and gave them to her. But she would have to admit her ignorance. ‘What do I need this for?’

‘After you’ve used the filler. You’ll need to let it dry until it’s completely hard and then sand it down. Like I said, it’s a tricky business. I really do think you should consider getting a professional. Did you say you were having a room rewired?’

Rory shook her head. ‘Not just a room. The whole house needs new electrics, apparently. We turned on a light switch and there was a big bang. The electrician I called in spent a lot of time making tutting sounds as he looked around. I got him off the Internet, so I’m hoping he knows what he’s doing.’ She had been tearing her hair out about the expense of the electrical work. She would have to use Sheila’s money and she hated it. ‘I’ve taken on a bit of a project, to be honest. The estate agent wasn’t entirely truthful. By the time we got the survey back and realised the extent of the work, my daughter and I had already fallen in love with it.’ She didn’t add that everyone, from her mother to her ex-husband, had told her that she was being completely ridiculous. They would have to admit they were wrong when she single-handedly transformed it into a show home. Belle had already made a sign for the front door: The Palace.

‘Then you really do need to think about getting someone in. Otherwise you’ll be looking at hours and hours of hard work. Hard, dusty work. You’ll need a mask.’ He took one from the shelf above the sandpaper and put it onto the pile of products in her arms. ‘Where’s your house? If you’re local, I could pop back with you and take a look at it now, if you like?’

Rory was slightly alarmed at the prospect of taking a strange man back to her house. She hadn’t done that in at least seventeen years, and she wasn’t about to start now. ‘Do you usually offer this kind of service to your customers, or is it just the inept female ones? I’m sure your boss wouldn’t be too pleased with you following me home halfway through the day.’

He looked confused. ‘I don’t work here.’

Rory could feel a deep flush starting at the base of her neck. She started to stammer. ‘I’m so sorry. I thought… Well, you know what I thought… And I was dragging you around the shop.’ The flush had reached her cheeks. ‘I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?’

He grinned. ‘Because I was taught never to ignore a damsel in distress. Look, I’m a builder. I can get one of my friends to give you a quote on the plastering if you like, then you can decide what to do. Let me give you my card.’ He felt around in his back pocket, then held out a small white business card. ‘With a job as big as yours sounds, you’re going to need help with some of it.’ As she couldn’t move her full arms to reach out for it, he tucked the card into her hand, under the original bag of screws. ‘Anyway, I’ll leave you to it. I was supposed to be in here to get some drill bits before you tempted me away to the plastering section.’ He tapped the card she was still holding in front of her, then looked her straight in the eye. ‘Give me a call.’

After dropping her purchases onto the conveyor belt at the till, Rory had a closer look at the man’s card: JP Building Services. Maybe he was right, maybe she would have to give in and pay someone to do the more difficult work on the house. Obviously, she hadn’t planned to do the electrics or the plumbing herself, but she had hoped to do most other things. The problem was, she and Belle had to live there now, so they couldn’t wait for months for it to be made habitable. Even if they could get a couple of the bedrooms straight, and the kitchen and bathroom, they could be more patient with the rest. Unless someone she knew could recommend someone, maybe she would give this guy a call. Looking for a contact name and number, she flipped the card over. It looked as if JP Building Services was the man’s own company. His name was John Prince.

Her mum was going to love that.