Page 55 of The Seaside Supper Club

Chapter 22

Cath arrived at the beach hut two days later to the sounds of sawing – really? – and more predictably Wham’s ‘Club Tropicana’ blaring out on a portable speaker. Oh my, what was going on in there? She bloody well hoped the lovely surprise for Will wasn’t going to end up being a shock, for all the wrong reasons. She suddenly remembered the infamous episode of Changing Rooms, where the homeowners walked in for the big reveal, and ended up shouting, ‘I hate it. Get this mic off …’

She had messaged Nikki yesterday, reminding her of her promise to keep Andreas’s ‘creative flair’ under control. Nikki replied that she was still working on ‘The Hamptons’ theme, but with Andreas in the mix, who knew what else might happen. And sawing? Surely the professional builders had done all the woodwork repairs that were needed when they’d sorted out the roof and walls?

Spotting a heap of what looked to be old chipboard, intriguingly piled beside the deck, Cath took a steadying breath, and then cautiously poked her head in through the main door. ‘Hel-lo!’

The sofa bed in the centre of the room had a dust sheet over it, thankfully. Behind that, Dan looked up, with screwdriver to hand, from a half-built kitchen cabinet unit … in, phew, a stylish off-white. The old kitchen section had been totally ripped out and was gone, wow. So, that was the pile outside.

Across the other side of the room, Andreas, was in fact the one sawing, umm, what looked to be thick bamboo canes. Goodness knows what they were for?

‘Hi, petal.’ Andreas beamed, as he reached to turn the music down a touch.

‘Hey, lovely,’ said Dan. ‘How’s Will getting on?’

‘Okay, he seems in pretty good spirits. Well, as much as he can be, right now. Still sore and rather frustrated with life.’ Will had actually been a bit grouchy these past few days, understandably. But the catheter was due to come out in a day or two, and she figured that should help him feel a little more comfortable, and more like himself.

‘Oh God, having surgery down there … it just doesn’t bear thinking about.’ Andreas was being brutally honest.

Dan gave him one of his looks.

‘Sorry, hun. That was probably a bit tactless in the circumstances,’ he added.

‘Don’t worry,’ Cath responded. ‘And yes, it’s a very tender area, the poor lad. Anyhow, what’s been happening here? That new kitchen unit’s going to look great, Dan.’

‘Thank you.’

‘But, umm, I thought we were just giving things a lick of paint?’ she ventured. The lads evidently had grander plans. ‘And what are you making, Andreas?’

‘Now that’s a surprise.’

Cath raised her eyebrows. It was damned hard reining that man in.

‘Just wait until you see it all come together. No need to stress, we’re sticking to the script on neutral wall shades. In fact, I think Nikki’s found the perfect white plus a moonlight-grey for an accent wall. She and Lily are off to Homebase to collect the tins. But hey, admit it, it does need a little livening up. I’m working on a special feature, that’s all.’

‘O-kay, well, I’ll reserve judgement on that until I see it.’ Hopefully it might be something that could easily be taken down, or moved, should Will not like it. ‘Right, well, how can I help? Give me a job.’ Cath was keen to get busy.

‘Well, before you get started, I’m desperately in need of a coffee hit. If you don’t mind putting the kettle on, that’d be amazing,’ asked Dan.

‘Kettle?’ Cath quizzed. When they’d left the last time, there was just an old pan. Dan had shifted the portable hob down to the floor, whilst he worked on the new unit, and there on the camping stove was a lovely, traditional-looking black and chrome, kettle. ‘A gift.’ Dan smiled.

‘Oh, you shouldn’t have. You’re already doing so much. But, that’s wonderful, thank you. That’ll come in so handy. Coffee it is then. I’ve brought a new cafetière over with me too, to leave here, and some ground rich-roast Italian.’

‘Oh, a rich, roast Italian sounds good to me,’ called out Andreas giving a naughty laugh.

Dan, shaking his head, then added, ‘There’s a carton of milk in the cool bag, lovely.’

They carried on with their toil, whilst she found three mugs and began to make the hot drinks.

‘We’re back! With our gorgeous ‘Pearl White’ and ‘Grey Whisper’. The Hamptons, here we come.’ Nikki strolled into the hut grinning, with two large paint tubs to hand.

‘More like a “Careless Whisper” the way Nikki paints,’ chortled Andreas, ever the Wham fan.

‘I’ll have you know I decorated our lounge and dining room, single-handedly. I’m quite the pro,’ came Nikki’s retort.

‘And I can do all the delicate skirting boards and edge bits. It’ll be like piping a cake,’ Lily chipped in.

‘Or there’s always good old masking tape,’ added Dan practically. ‘There’s some in my rucksack there.’