He doesn’t sound like he wants to talk about his family company much, and it is Sunday, so I decide to drop it for now. It’s not like we’ll be short of topics.
As we approach my house, I feel prickles of excitement. I’m so proud of where I live. I’ve decorated and furnished it with love. I’ve been creative with my ideas and really pushed myself. Nothing’s bland.
“Well, this is me!” I say as I usher Matt through the main front door. “At least, I’m on the top floor. It’s up the stairs.”
I fell in love with my attic flat the minute I saw it. It’s so original. It’s so quirky. It has cornices and original fireplaces and even an old wrought-iron fire escape leading down from the kitchen, which I love. I’ve filled every step with scented herbs in pots, and sometimes I take a glass of wine out and perch on the top step. It gives Harold a route out into our little garden too.
As we climb the last flight of stairs, I can hear Harold yelping excitedly—he knows I’m coming—and I beam at Matt.
“Harold’s waiting. I can’t wait for you to meet properly.”
I open my front door, and Harold leaps on me with joy, barking and snuffling and lifting up his front paws in expectation.
“Sorry,” I say, smiling apologetically over his head at Matt. “We have this routine when I come home….I missed you.” I address Harold lovingly and kiss his head. “I missed you. I missed you.” I’m holding Harold’s paws and waltzing round with him, and I suddenly wish Matt was in this with us.
“Join in!” I say invitingly, and extend a hand to him, but Matt gives us a slightly frozen smile.
“It’s OK,” he says. “I’m good. Were you out all day or something?”
“No,” I say over my shoulder. “I just popped to the tube to meet you.”
“Right.” Matt seems baffled. “So…you do this dance every time you come home?”
“It’s our thing. Isn’t it, Harold, my love?” I kiss his head one last time, then release his paws, and he trots off to the kitchen. “He’s a rescue dog,” I tell Matt. “He was found abandoned by the A414 when he was a puppy.” Just the thought gives me a stabbing pain in my heart. Who could abandon a dog as adorable as Harold? Who?
“That’s rough.” Matt winces.
“But I gave him a home, and—” I break off before I get too emotional. “Anyway. He’s happy now.”
“Good for you.” Matt takes a step down the hall, looking around with an expression I can’t quite read. It’s not the widest hall, but I’ve brightened it up with turquoise paint and lots of Portuguese beaded hangings, which I got on holiday. Plus gold paint on the cornices, which is an idea I saw in a design magazine.
There’s also a huge, ugly shelving unit blocking the way, which I hasten to explain.
“Remember I said I was into furniture? Well, that’s going to be upcycled.”
“Right.” Matt stares at it for a silent moment. “When you said you were into collecting furniture, I thought…” He seems to stop himself. “Anyway. No. Great!”
“My friend Maud upcycles furniture with chalk paint. She’s amazing, only she’s got a backlog at the moment….Careful, don’t get a splinter,” I add as he takes another step. “It needs to be sanded.”
“Got you.” He nods, edging carefully past it. “Nice plant,” he adds, looking at my yucca in the corner.
He’s saying all the right things. I love him even more.
“That’s my rescue yucca.” I beam at him.
“Rescue yucca?”
“I found it in a skip. These people had just thrown it out!” I can’t help sounding indignant. “A living plant! They shouldn’t be allowed to have plants. So I thought, I’ll give you a home, lovely.” I touch its leaves affectionately. “And now it’s thriving. So. Anyway. Come and have a drink.”
I lead him into the main room, which is a living-room-cum-kitchen. It’s a drop-dead gorgeous room, even if it needs a bit of a tidy, and I survey it with bursting pride. It’s decorated in the same turquoise as the hall, with purple-painted bookshelves everywhere I could fit them. It has multicolored floral House of Hackney feature wallpaper in the chimney breast. And—pièce de résistance—two amazing sixties chandeliers in orange glass, which complement the dark-green sofa perfectly.
For a moment Matt stands in the doorway, seemingly speechless at the sight.