thinking.
“I’m sure you’ll find something to do,” says Luke cheerfully. “Some project or other. You’ll have plenty to keep you busy.”
The buzzer suddenly goes in the hall and we look at each other.
“That must be the delivery people!” I say, feeling my spirits rise. “Let’s go down!”
Luke’s penthouse has its own lift right to the front door, which is just so cool!
“So, where shall we tell them to put everything?” he says as he presses the ground-floor button.
“I thought we could pile it all up in the corner of the sitting room,” I suggest. “Behind the door. Then I can sort it out while you’re at work.”
Luke nods. “Good idea.”
I suddenly remember the twenty Chinese silk dressing gowns. Maybe I’ll be able to smuggle them in without Luke’s seeing.
“And if there was any overspill,” I add casually, “we could always put it in the second bedroom.”
“Overspill?” Luke frowns. “Becky, how much stuff are you expecting?”
“Not that much!” I say quickly. “Hardly anything! I just meant if they’ve packed things in really huge boxes or something. That’s all.”
Luke looks a bit suspicious, and I turn away, pretending to be adjusting my watch strap. Now the moment’s nearly here, I’m feeling just the odd tiny qualm.
I kind of wish I’d told him about the wooden giraffes. Should I quickly confess?
No. It doesn’t matter. It’ll be fine. Luke’s flat is huge. I mean, it’s vast! He’ll never notice a few extra things.
We push open the double doors of Luke’s building and walk out, to see a man in jeans, waiting on the side of the road by a small van.
“Mr. Brandon?” he says, looking up.
I feel a small whoosh of relief. I
knew
we hadn’t bought that much stuff. I mean, just look at that van. It’s tiny!
“Yes. That’s me.” Luke holds out his hand, with a pleasant smile.
“Any idea where we can park the lorries?” The man scratches his head. “Only we’re in a no-parking zone round the corner.”
“Lorries?” echoes Luke. “What do you mean, ‘lorries’?”
His smile has kind of frozen on his face.
“We’ve got two lorries to unload. Can we take them into the parking bay there?” The man gestures at the forecourt of the building.
“Of course!” I say quickly, as Luke doesn’t seem able to speak. “Go ahead!”
The man disappears. “So!” I say brightly. “This is fun!”
“Two . . . lorries?” says Luke.
“It must be a shared load!” I say quickly. “With someone else. I mean,
obviously
we haven’t bought two lorry-loads of stuff.”
Which is true.
I mean, it’s ridiculous! In ten months, we couldn’t possibly have—
I’m
sure
we couldn’t have—
Oh God.
There’s a rumbling from round the corner, and a big white lorry appears, closely followed by another. They back into the forecourt of Luke’s building, and there are huge grinding noises as the backs are lowered. Luke and I hurry round and peer into the crowded depths.
What an amazing sight. Each whole lorry is crammed with objects and furniture. Some wrapped in plastic, some in paper, and some barely wrapped at all. As I feast my eyes on all the stuff, I start to feel quite emotional. It’s like seeing a home video of our entire honeymoon. The kilims from Istanbul. The gourds from Peru. And I’d totally forgotten about buying that papoose carrier!
Some men in overalls start lifting things up and carrying them out. We stand aside to let them pass, but I’m still gazing around the inside of one of the lorries, lost in memories. I suddenly glimpse a bronze statue and turn round with a smile.
“The Buddha! Do you remember when we got that? Luke?”
Luke isn’t listening to a word. I follow his gaze, and feel a slight flip of apprehension. He’s staring in disbelief at a man carrying a huge paper-wrapped package out of the other lorry. A wooden giraffe’s leg is poking out of it.
Shit.
And now here comes another man in overalls with the
“I’m sure you’ll find something to do,” says Luke cheerfully. “Some project or other. You’ll have plenty to keep you busy.”
The buzzer suddenly goes in the hall and we look at each other.
“That must be the delivery people!” I say, feeling my spirits rise. “Let’s go down!”
Luke’s penthouse has its own lift right to the front door, which is just so cool!
“So, where shall we tell them to put everything?” he says as he presses the ground-floor button.
“I thought we could pile it all up in the corner of the sitting room,” I suggest. “Behind the door. Then I can sort it out while you’re at work.”
Luke nods. “Good idea.”
I suddenly remember the twenty Chinese silk dressing gowns. Maybe I’ll be able to smuggle them in without Luke’s seeing.
“And if there was any overspill,” I add casually, “we could always put it in the second bedroom.”
“Overspill?” Luke frowns. “Becky, how much stuff are you expecting?”
“Not that much!” I say quickly. “Hardly anything! I just meant if they’ve packed things in really huge boxes or something. That’s all.”
Luke looks a bit suspicious, and I turn away, pretending to be adjusting my watch strap. Now the moment’s nearly here, I’m feeling just the odd tiny qualm.
I kind of wish I’d told him about the wooden giraffes. Should I quickly confess?
No. It doesn’t matter. It’ll be fine. Luke’s flat is huge. I mean, it’s vast! He’ll never notice a few extra things.
We push open the double doors of Luke’s building and walk out, to see a man in jeans, waiting on the side of the road by a small van.
“Mr. Brandon?” he says, looking up.
I feel a small whoosh of relief. I
knew
we hadn’t bought that much stuff. I mean, just look at that van. It’s tiny!
“Yes. That’s me.” Luke holds out his hand, with a pleasant smile.
“Any idea where we can park the lorries?” The man scratches his head. “Only we’re in a no-parking zone round the corner.”
“Lorries?” echoes Luke. “What do you mean, ‘lorries’?”
His smile has kind of frozen on his face.
“We’ve got two lorries to unload. Can we take them into the parking bay there?” The man gestures at the forecourt of the building.
“Of course!” I say quickly, as Luke doesn’t seem able to speak. “Go ahead!”
The man disappears. “So!” I say brightly. “This is fun!”
“Two . . . lorries?” says Luke.
“It must be a shared load!” I say quickly. “With someone else. I mean,
obviously
we haven’t bought two lorry-loads of stuff.”
Which is true.
I mean, it’s ridiculous! In ten months, we couldn’t possibly have—
I’m
sure
we couldn’t have—
Oh God.
There’s a rumbling from round the corner, and a big white lorry appears, closely followed by another. They back into the forecourt of Luke’s building, and there are huge grinding noises as the backs are lowered. Luke and I hurry round and peer into the crowded depths.
What an amazing sight. Each whole lorry is crammed with objects and furniture. Some wrapped in plastic, some in paper, and some barely wrapped at all. As I feast my eyes on all the stuff, I start to feel quite emotional. It’s like seeing a home video of our entire honeymoon. The kilims from Istanbul. The gourds from Peru. And I’d totally forgotten about buying that papoose carrier!
Some men in overalls start lifting things up and carrying them out. We stand aside to let them pass, but I’m still gazing around the inside of one of the lorries, lost in memories. I suddenly glimpse a bronze statue and turn round with a smile.
“The Buddha! Do you remember when we got that? Luke?”
Luke isn’t listening to a word. I follow his gaze, and feel a slight flip of apprehension. He’s staring in disbelief at a man carrying a huge paper-wrapped package out of the other lorry. A wooden giraffe’s leg is poking out of it.
Shit.
And now here comes another man in overalls with the
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