“What about those funny little creatures that used to live in there?”
“Joey and Zoe? They moved out months ago, which is another good reason to get rid of it before some other sand sloths claim it for their home. I’ll have a word with Kathy and get her to mention it to Peter.”
Jack is a really slow eater. I’d already cleared my plate by the time he was half-way through his.
“Hey!” He knocked away my fork with his. “Leave my sausages alone.”
“I didn’t think you were going to eat them both.”
“Why would you think that?”
“You have the look of a man who is going to leave a sausage uneaten.”
“I’ll have you know that I intend to eat all of my sausages, and all of my bacon, and everything else on my plate, but I’d enjoy it a whole lot more if I didn’t have you hovering over me like a vulture.”
“Charming.” I stood up from the table. “I know when I’m not wanted.”
My husband-to-be could be so selfish sometimes.
I had to get out of the kitchen, otherwise I would have succumbed to the urge to grab one of his sausages, with or without his permission.
“Hey, Jack, it looks like our new next-door neighbour has moved in,” I shouted from the lounge.
“I don’t believe you. That’s just a ruse to get me to leave my breakfast unattended.”
“It’s true, there’s a van parked on the driveway. You should go around there and say hello.”
“And leave my breakfast for you to eat? No chance.”
Drat. He’d seen right through my cunning plan.
Just then, Jack’s phone rang.
“Chris? Good morning, Buddy.”
Chris Jardine was Jack’s bowling partner. He’d no doubt called Jack, so they could revel some more in their victory. I figured the phone call might have distracted him from his breakfast, so made my way furtively back through to the kitchen.
“What? How?”
I could tell from Jack’s voice and expression that something was badly wrong.
“I can’t believe it. How did you hear? Right. Okay, thanks for calling.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked as soon as he was off the call.
“It’s Bill Mellor. He died last night. Chris just got a call from Bill’s wife. Apparently, he collapsed not long after he got in from bowling.”
“That’s terrible. I’m so sorry.”
Jack stood up and walked over to the window. “He was fine last night when we said our goodbyes.”
“Do they know what it was?”
“Chris didn’t say. A heart attack, I assume. Poor Crystal.”
“I take it Crystal is Bill’s wife?”
“Yes, she must be devastated.” Jack gestured to his breakfast. “You can have what’s left of that if you want. I’m going to get ready for work.”
Needless to say, my appetite had vanished.
Understandably, Jack was still very subdued when he set off for work.
“Be careful.” He gave me a kiss. “Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“I won’t. I promise. See you tonight.”
I left for work fifteen minutes later, and I’d no sooner walked out of the door when a familiar, but unwelcome, voice called my name.
“Morning, Jill!”
“Mr Ivers?”
He was standing on next door’s driveway.
“Beautiful morning, isn’t it?”
“What are you doing here? Are you delivering something?”
“No, I live here. We’re neighbours.”
“You’ve moved in next door?” The full horror of the situation hit home.
“Yes, I bought it with some of the money from my lottery win. Are you feeling alright, Jill? You’re looking a little pale.”
“I’m okay. Someone told me about your lottery win. Are you renting this place? I assume it’s just a stopgap until you find somewhere else?”
“No, I bought it outright. I plan to be here for a long, long time. Probably the rest of my life.”
“That’s—err—great. Just great. What about your job? I heard you’d given up working at the toll bridge.”
“And thank goodness for that. My elbows were in a terrible state. I’ve started my own business now.” He pointed to the van.
“Have Ivers Got A Movie For You?”
“Catchy name, don’t you think?”
“I guess so. What kind of business is it, exactly?”
“Movie rental—door-to-door.”
“I’m no expert but haven’t you missed the boat a little there?”
“I know what you’re thinking. Silly Ivers has landed himself with a load of VHS movies that nobody wants anymore. Fear not. I’m on the cutting edge of the industry. All my movies are on DVD.”
“Right. Don’t you think streaming has taken over the market?”
“Streaming? What’s that?”
“Never mind. I’m sure it’ll be a great success.”
“Your luck is in because I’m offering a special discount for the first one hundred customers.”
“How many have you signed up?”
“None yet. I only took delivery of the van and the DVDs last Friday. Today is day one. What do you say, would you like to be my first customer?”
“Thanks for the generous offer, but Jack and I never watch movies.”
“Really?” He looked horrified. “What do you watch?”
“Jack mainly watches TenPin TV, and I prefer educational documentaries.” I made a show of checking my watch. “Is that the time? I’d better get going. Bye, Mr Ivers.”
“Bye, neighbour.”
I must have done something really awful in a previous life to have deserved this. Just when I thought I’d seen the last of Ivers, he turns up as my new neighbour. Again.
***
“Morning, Jill.”
I still hadn’t got used to seeing Mrs V’s desk on the opposite side of the room.
“Morning, Mrs V. I see the tripwire has gone.”
“They came to do it first thing this morning. A nice young man with a green beard.”
“Green?”
“I think he must have dyed it.”
“I certainly hope so.”
“He made short work of putting in a new socket. I gave him a scarf and a pair of socks. Green to match his beard.”
“Nice.”
“Have you thought anymore about having Brian work his magic on your office?”
“I don’t think I’m going to bother.”
“I know it seems expensive, but it would soon pay for itself with the increased productivity.”
“Even so. I like things the way they are.”
“You know best, dear. How did the dress fitting go last night?”
“Okay. The hem is apparently now perfection itself.”
“How did the little ones look?”
“Lizzie’s dress is gorgeous, but it seems we aren’t going to have a pageboy. Mikey has said he doesn’t want to do it.”
“Is Kathy going to try to change his mind?”
“It would be a waste of time, and besides, I wouldn’t want him to do it unless he wanted to.” I started towards my office door, but then remembered something I’d been meaning to do. “Mrs V, would you contact Sid Song at ‘It’s A Sign’ and ask him if he can make a new sign for me?”
“What’s wrong with the one you’ve got?”
“I’ll be taking Jack’s name, so I want the new sign to reflect that.”
“I assumed you’d keep the business under the old name.”
“It would get too confusing; I’d rather just have a clean break. Tell Sid that if he can do the new sign for the same price as the old one, you can give him the go-ahead, but if he wants more money, tell him you’ll shop around.”
“Will do.”
“Ideally, I’d like it to be installed while I’m away on honeymoon.”
“I’ll tell him that.”
“Oh, and I should warn you. Sid is a strange kind of a guy. He doesn’t so much speak as sing.”
“That’s okay, dear. I’m used to working with strange people.”
Burn.
“I’m going to need some cash,” Winky said as soon as I walked into my office.
“For what?”
“To hire a tux, and I’ll need a new shirt and tie.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My outfit for the wedding. I heard you tell the old bag lady that your nephew has left you in the lurch.”
Oh bum! Me and my big mouth.
“I don’t think we’re going to bother with a pageboy. Or cat. I think we’ll just stick with the bridesmaids.”
“You promised. You gave me your solemn word that if Mickey—”
“Mikey.”
“Whatever. You said that if he dropped out, I could step in for him.”
“Yeah, but things have changed.”
“How?”