‘I have no idea because you’ve not told me,’ said Ros.
‘Because I don’t know and I want you to help me work it out.’ Ros was sensing a level of irritation in Darla’s words.
‘Then I’m assuming that you would like to return home ready to accomplish something in addition to the debt repayment as your parents won’t be aware of that.’
‘Yes, but what?’ asked Darla.
‘These are two different things. Your primary aim is for a zero balance, which you are on track to achieve. Secondly you need a longer term goal to present to your parents and that will fulfil you as an individual.’
‘Exactly. I’ve been asked to clean a yacht in the marina on a weekly basis and it pays well so I should be able to build a small amount of savings.’
‘Would that be enough to secure a rental property in Oxford?’
‘Possibly not.’ Darla puffed out a breath. ‘I’m going back to square one. All this work and effort has just been to get me back to zero.’ She looked forlorn.
‘But that is a considerably better position than you were in. And you have gained a wealth of experience that I’m sure will be useful going forward.’ Although Ros couldn’t think specifically how it would be useful.
‘How is it useful?’
Ros had been hoping she wouldn’t ask. She took a moment to think as she looked out to sea at the fading sun. The sky changing from bright blue to burnished orange nearest the sea. The colours all perfectly reflected in the water. ‘You have acquired skills as a cleaner, bar worker, house sitter and animal carer. Should you wish to work in those fields again you would have references. Or perhaps if your finances improve you could consider self-employment.’
‘Self-employed?’
‘Starting your own business.’
Darla’s hand gestures hit a new high and as Ros feared her coffee cup went sailing through the air. Darla threw her arms around Ros, making her stiffen. ‘You are a complete genius.’
‘Thank you,’ said Ros although she had no idea why she had been given such an accolade.
As Ros opened the door to her apartment she was feeling more settled in herself, having had a good chat to Darla about the Gina situation and also alighted on a strong secondary life goal for Darla. There had followed an excited discussion, on Darla’s part, about what setting up a business would entail. Ros hoped she had summarised the key steps adequately although Darla had appeared somewhat daunted by the time Ros had got to the end of the list. With hindsight perhaps Ros should not have focused on the many risks associated with being a sole trader and the perils of running a start-up business.
Ros wasn’t sure if she was alone as she closed the door behind her. ‘Cameron?’ she called.
His bedroom door opened, and he appeared topless holding aloft a paint roller. He looked a lot like one of the pages from the Hot Men calendar she had received in last year’s secret Santa draw. It took a high level of self-control to focus her eyes on his face and not his exposed torso. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
‘Painting.’ He waved the paint roller and grinned at her.
‘And why?’ She was trying to manage her inner control freak who was going berserk at the thought of him redecorating without discussing it with her first.
‘I noticed the holes in the wall so I thought I’d make myself useful. I’ve filled them and now I’m painting that wall so you’ll never know the holes were ever there.’
Ros was pleasantly surprised by the explanation. ‘The holes were from a television set that was mounted there, which I’ve now given to Darla. May I enquire as to the colour of the paint you are using?’ She didn’t want to seem ungrateful but before she steeped him in praise she needed clarification as she was already mentally reviewing her last decorating bill and the thought of getting the decorator back again was an inconvenience she could do without. Ros didn’t do painting and decorating; it was messy, fiddly and time-consuming, hence her need to get a workman in for such tasks.
‘I zapped the wall with this app I downloaded so I got an exact match. It’s Strong White by Farrow and Ball.’
‘It is indeed,’ said Ros, going past him and into the bedroom. She surveyed his workmanship.
‘I masked up and put down some bin bags to protect the carpet. I just have that last bit to finish and it’s all done.’
Ros was impressed. She knew she had a critical eye – for one thing the last decorator had told her something similar. Although she seemed to recall he had termed it obsessively nit-picky. ‘You’ve done an excellent job. Very professional. In fact possibly better than the average self-styled professional. Thank you. Please let me know what I owe you for both your time and materials.’
‘Nothing, Ros. I’ve fixed your bedside lamp too. I wanted to make myself useful.’
‘You definitely have,’ she said, inadvertently scanning his stomach and almost giving herself whiplash as she snatched her head up to a more decent level.
‘You okay?’ he asked.
‘I may have strained my neck.’
‘I meant with me painting,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘Sorry if I should have checked first.’
‘Oh, yes. I’m very happy with that. With everything really. But why are you half naked?’
‘Because I don’t want to get paint on my clothes. These shorts are already knackered so they don’t matter, but I wouldn’t want paint splatters on my Danger Mouse T-shirt.’
‘Of course not.’
‘Want to join me?’ asked Cameron.
Ros wasn’t sure if she was experiencing a bout of angina, but her heart rate had increased dramatically.
‘I meant painting, not in taking your top off,’ said Cameron with a laugh.
‘Of course you did. No, I’ll give that a miss if it’s all the same to you.’ And with that Ros made a hasty exit.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Darla came home from a busy shift at the cocktail bar. An evening of wall-to-wall hen nights would wear anyone down. Cameron had garnered a lot of attention from the women and Darla had noticed how he was polite but always ignored any flirting. It wasn’t something new but she’d not really spotted it before. Perhaps Ros was right that he was devoted to Gina. She still wanted to find out more from him but tonight had been too busy and, even if she’d wanted to, there was no chance of a chat. Which was probably for the best because she needed to think through her approach so that it wasn’t obvious otherwise Ros would not be happy with her.
