‘Aunty Nellie, Aunty Nellie are you home?’
Nell heard footsteps and spotted Jacob through the porthole clomping up the jetty towards the ‘Nollie’, quickly followed by Nathan and her mum. She loved how he called her Aunty Nellie and hoped he’d never grow out of it.
Nell shouted. ‘I’m home, come on in Captain Green.’
The door swung open and she was greeted by Jacobs’s huge beam. He kicked off his boots and slid on to the seat next to her.
‘What do I owe this honour? Even though I’m not complaining, it’s a very nice unexpected surprise indeed.’ Nell ruffled his hair then looked up to see her mum smiling and Nathan holding up a white plastic bag that smelled simply divine.
‘Fish and chips.’ Nathan said.
‘Yes please!’
‘I told you Aunty Nellie wasn’t on a diet.’
Nell flicked her eyes between her mum and Nathan, ‘Who said Aunty Nellie should be on a diet?’ she narrowed her eyes at Jacob.
‘Daddy said you and Mummy are always on a diet.’
‘But he didn’t say we needed to be on a diet?’ Nell jokingly raised her eyebrows at Jacob and wagged her finger.
Jacob quickly snagged his dad’s eye. He was shaking his head slowly. Jacob mirrored his move.
Nathan swiftly wiped his brow, ‘Phew!’
‘Mmm, I think you boys are sticking together,’ Nell grinned, standing up and taking the bag from Nathan.
‘Daddy said you should never joke about a woman’s weight if you know what’s good for you,’ Jacob added and everyone laughed,
‘That, Jacob Green, is a very sound piece of advice and one you should take note of for future reference.’
Nell reached up to the plate rack and began passing them to her mum, ‘How many plates and where’s Bea?’
‘She’s currently cleaning the display cabinets … again.’
‘Are you sure she should be doing that? She’ll be exhausted standing on her feet all day. I only left her ten minutes ago and she was ready for home.’
‘It’s this competition. She wants everywhere to be spick and span.’
‘Everywhere is always spick and span,’ she answered, passing Jacob a cup of juice. ‘Is she having any of this food?’
‘No, but she’s coming over when she’s finished.’
They all sat around the table and there was silence as everyone began tucking into their fish and chips.
‘As much as I love to see you all, and I’m not complaining, what are you all doing here?’ Nell asked, swirling a chip in the tomato ketchup on her plate before popping it into her mouth.
‘Some guy called Guy,’ Nathan grinned, ‘just introduced himself to me as I was on the way to the deli to meet Bea … Ed’s brother?’
‘That’s the one,’ answered Nell.
‘Apparently, he’d recognised me from working in the deli on Saturday and mentioned he’d been to view the Old Picture House with you at lunchtime.’
‘And I was on my way to the deli to catch you, see if you wanted to grab some food, but you’d just left, which was when Jacob suggested fish and chips,’ Gilly answered.
Nell stuck her thumbs-up towards Jacob, ‘Good call!’
Jacob giggled.
‘You never said you were going to view the Old Picture House,’ Gilly was staring straight towards Nell.
‘You cycled off before I got a chance.’ Nell knew that wasn’t strictly true.
‘You went with … Guy, did you say? How come you took a stranger to view the place? I’d have gone with you.’
‘I just wanted an independent opinion; anyway, he’s not a stranger as such, he’s Ed’s brother, helping him out for a few weeks while he recuperates after his operation.’ Nell could feel herself getting a little annoyed towards her mum.
‘So the Old Picture House. Come on, what’s your gut feeling Nell? I think it’s a fantastic idea,’ said Nathan oblivious to any tension between Nell and her mum.
Nell couldn’t be sure, but she thought her mum seemed to make a funny sound and bristled when Nathan said he thought it was a good idea.
She paused. ‘Guy has pointed the main areas for concern and he’s run some very rough figures past me, and I mean very rough. The only obstacle at this moment is winning the auction.’ Nell was driven not only by ambition but her enthusiasm filled the ‘Nollie’.
‘So, he’s an expert in this field is he then, this Guy?’
There was no mistaking the dismissive tone to Gilly’s voice.
Nell’s annoyance grew. ‘Well, he’s more of an expert than any of us. His granddad was a builder and he used to quote for his jobs.’
‘So he knows what he’s talking about, then,’ Nathan added, which Nell was grateful for.
‘I think it was just meant to be. Call it fate, call it what you want but in my opinion the timing of that place coming on to the market is perfect. It’s something I can get my teeth into, something to remember Ollie by.’ Nell wasn’t going to let her mum dampen her mood.
‘You don’t need a building to remember Ollie by,’ Gilly said and Nell shot her mum a scathing look.
‘No, I don’t, but Ollie and I always spoke about doing something like this and I know he would have approved. And I’ve got such fond memories of that place, Sundays mornings with Dad … it just feels right.’
Gilly’s mood seemed to soften at the mention of Nell’s dad.
Nell smiled. ‘Father and daughter time. I loved it especially when Dad bought me those penny chews that stuck to the roof of my mouth.’
‘And blackened your teeth,’ Gilly pointed out.
‘The good old days. That’s when going to the cinema used to be a reasonable price too,’ Nathan said finishing the last of his chips. ‘That could be our safe haven, Jacob,’ Nathan winked at him. ‘We could watch films on a Sunday morning and eat sweets.’
‘But don’t tell Mum.’ Jacob brought his fingers to his lips and everyone laughed.
‘That’s it, us boys have to stick together.’
‘The estate agent said the current owner, apparently an actor, had visions of turning it back into a picture house or a film museum but he retired abroad.’
‘Any idea which actor?’ queried Nathan.
Nell’s eyes darted towards Gilly, who’d immediately stood up and begun to clear away the empty dishes. It was becoming quite obvious to Nell that Gilly had some sort of issue with the Old Picture House.
‘No, the estate agent didn’t say. Are you okay, Mum?’ The words had escaped before Nell could stop them. ‘I kind of get the impression you aren’t bowled over by my idea.’
All eyes were on Gilly, who placed the last of the washed plates on the draining board, hung the tea towel on the oven door and sat back down.
‘No, not at all,’ Gilly said defensively, ‘I just don’t want you to rush into anything, get yourself in a financial mess and be disappointed. I’m just a little worried, that’s all.’
‘Well, don’t be, I’m a big girl and won’t do anything daft. Let’s just see what happens. I’m going to weigh up all the pros and cons and what’ll be will be,’ Nell said, sensibly.
Gilly nodded. She smiled and for the moment it seemed her mind was put at rest.
‘And what’s this about you rescuing a man on a boat? It’s all the talk in the butcher’s this morning,’ Nathan said, changing the subject.
‘There’s never a dull moment around here is there? It was Guy’s dog, Sam, who swam across the water to raise the alarm. A man had collapsed on the floor of his boat.’
‘Which boat?’ Nathan asked, ‘A regular or one that’s passing through?’
‘Much Ado About Nothing. It’s not been moored long at the marina, probably passing through. In fact, Bea and I were only saying the other day we hadn’t seen any life on it.’
‘What were we only saying the other day?’ Bea appeared around the doorway of the ‘Nollie’ looking exhausted.
‘Come in and sit down. Budge up, Nathan,’ Nell smiled up at her friend.
‘We were chatting about Guy and his heroic rescue of the man on the boat. Cup of tea?’
Bea shook her head, ‘I’m in one of those moods. I can’t decide what I feel like. It’s driving me insane. Maybe a blackcurrant cordial.’
‘Coming right up.’ Nell made Bea a drink and sat back down. ‘Have you finished cleaning now? Again!’
‘I have,’ she smiled. ‘I’ve even cleaned out the drinks display unit and re-stocked it. That’s one less job for the morning, but that’s the least of my worries,’ she sighed.
‘What’s up now?’ Nathan gave Bea a worried look.
‘It’s Nancy, our Saturday girl. She’s just telephoned me to say she’s moving to London. I knew she was unhappy with her studies and I was about to offer her a full-time job but she’s decided to move to be nearer her parents. You can’t blame her, really.’
‘That’s such a shame for us,’ Nell said, offering Jacob a biscuit. He’d made a makeshift car track out of the place mats and was sitting quietly pushing his car around the table. Nell couldn’t help thinking that if she won the auction this was going to put more pressure on her friend – she was already losing one member of staff and if she went too …
‘Financially, I can afford another member of staff and with me being pregnant …’
‘Pregnant?’ Gilly squealed, ‘Why has nobody told me?’ she shot a glance between Nell, Bea and Nathan. ‘You said she had a stomach bug on Saturday,’ Gilly swiped Nathan’s hand playfully then scooted off her seat and hugged Bea. ‘Congratulations to you both, all,’ she said shaking Nathan’s and Jacob’s hands – who were both sitting there looking as pleased as punch.
‘It wasn’t my secret to tell,’ Nell said, feeling a little guilty she hadn’t told her mother.
‘What about Isabel? Could she do more hours in the week?’ Nathan asked, thinking of suggestions.
Bea shook her head, ‘She’s studying for her A-levels. Maybe I just need to advertise.’
‘Ooh,’ Gilly said, her voice in a thespian tone, ‘Look no further!’
‘Master of chocolate brownies and flapjack,’ Nell grinned at Bea and winked in her mum’s direction.
Bea felt a smile tug at her lips, ‘Now why didn’t I think of that? Are you serious?’
‘Absolutely, all I’m doing is pottering around and I loved helping out on Saturday.’
‘Full time is a lot to take on,’ Bea said as she looked towards Nell.
‘I’m sure we will make a fantastic team!’ Nell nodded with approval. She was already feeling torn between leaving Bea in the lurch and bidding on the Old Picture House. Her friend needed her now, especially with being pregnant, to help out at the deli, but winning the Old Picture House would give Nell something to focus on, something that was for her and her own business for the future. Nell felt relieved that her mum was coming on board; it meant she felt less guilty about abandoning Bea if she was successful in winning the Old Picture House.
‘In that case, then,’ Bea thrust her hand forward, ‘Welcome to The Melting Pot and we’ll see you bright and early, eight o’clock sharp.’
‘Can I start at nine? Only joking!’ Gilly laughed, shaking Bea’s hand. ‘I’ll see you both bright and early!’