Christie Barlow - The Cosy Canal Boat Dream - A funny, feel-good romantic comedy you won’t be able to put down!

Bea gave a low whistle.

‘Why did I ever ask him to go out that night, Bea? If only …’

‘Oh Nell, I don’t know what to say, we all miss him and I know it’s not the same but we are always here for you.’

‘I know.’ Nell flashed Bea a grateful smile. ‘No amount of money will ever replace him.’

‘It won’t and look …’ Bea paused, ‘you don’t have to do anything with the money, leave it where it is for now.’

Both of them sipped on their tea before Nell pushed the letter to one side, then skimmed over the pages of the local newspaper.

‘What you need is a little company,’ Bea suggested, thinking that one of Gilly’s kittens might just be the thing for Nell.

‘Mmm, I believe you are going to have a new addition to the family very soon,’ Nell lifted an eyebrow and gave Bea a knowing look.

Bea sat up straight in her chair, ‘Wait, how do you know about that?’

‘Call it my psychic powers.’ Nell grinned, remembering Jacob’s little face when this morning he literally let the cat out of the bag.

‘You saw it, didn’t you?’

‘Saw what?’ Nell eyed Bea suspiciously.

They held each other’s gaze and no one spoke for a second.

‘Saw what?’ Nell repeated with a confused look on her face. She leaned forward and folded her arms on the newspaper and stared straight at Bea, who promptly blushed.

Bea opened her mouth and closed it again.

‘Spill Bea Green,’ Nell insisted, nodding encouragingly. ‘All eyes are on you!’

Bea looked suitably composed, ‘I think we may be talking about two different things.’

Nell lifted an eyebrow, ‘What are you talking about, then? Come on.’ Nell drummed her fingers on the desk in jest.

Bea swallowed and managed a nod, ‘At this moment in time I’m trying to ignore the queasiness in the pit of my stomach.’

It took a second for the penny to drop, ‘Sweet Jesus, you’re pregnant! You are, aren’t you?’

A huge beam spread across Bea’s face, ‘I am.’

Nell squealed, ‘Come here, let me give you a hug,’ she said as she squeezed her friend tight.

‘I thought you’d spotted the test I left in the toilet the other day.’

‘Ha no, but congratulations!’

‘Thank you, we are both delighted, but we’ve not told Jacob yet as it’s still early days.’

‘Mum’s the word!’ exclaimed Nell.

‘For the time being anyway,’ Bea grinned, ‘Now what was it you were on about?’ She sat back down on the chair.

‘Oreo!’

Bea gasped, ‘Has Gilly spilt the beans? I’ve not run it past Nathan yet.’ A worried look flashed over Bea’s face.

‘Don’t panic, Nathan took it all in his stride.’

‘Nathan? Oh God, how does he know?’

‘Well he’s about this big,’ Nell gestured with her hands, cute chubby cheeks, clomps around in the brightest pair of wellies and is not very good at keeping secrets!’

‘Jacob, the little monkey.’ Bea rolled her eyes and shook her head laughing.

‘Anyway, back to Baby Green, how far gone are you?’

‘Early days, only eight weeks or so. I’m feeling so-so, a little queasy at times, but I seem to be eating my body weight in anything and everything.’

‘Well don’t overdo it, you know I can help with the early morning baking if you don’t feel up to it.’

‘I promise I will ask if I need any help.’

‘Good,’ Nell replied, skimming the newspaper once more and turning the page.

‘Anything interesting?’

Nell sighed, twisting the paper towards Bea. ‘Now this is what makes me sad.’

‘Nathan and I were only talking about this last night.’ Bea glanced at the paper.

There on the property page of the local newspaper were the details of the old derelict picture house.

‘Such a shame,’ Nell said sadly, a wave of nostalgia washing over her.

‘They could easily throw up a few houses on that plot. How much is it up for?’

Nell stared at the page and then Bea.

‘It’s up for auction. Ollie and I always talked about doing something together, a project that would benefit the community and bring the kids and the older generation back together. Everyone these days spends their life tapping not speaking.’

Nell’s mind began to whirl and she wriggled in her chair excitedly as she read aloud the reserve figure. Nell had a sudden sparkle in her eyes. Bea knew that look on Nell’s face – she was mulling something over.

‘What if? …’ Nell hesitated for a second.

‘Go on, what are you thinking?’

‘No, I can’t, I’m just being daft.’

‘Come on, say what you’re thinking,’ urged Bea.

Nell swallowed and took a deep breath, ‘What if I bought the place?’ Once the words left her mouth her thoughts became reality.

‘What would you do with it?’

Nell bit down on her lip, gazed out of the window then turned back towards Bea, ‘Use Ollie’s money to restore it, turn it back into a picture house in his memory.’

It took Bea a second for Nell’s words to sink in.

‘Are you serious?’ Bea shot her a sideways glance.

‘How much do you think a project like this would cost?’

‘You are serious!’

Nell nodded, ‘I think I am.’

The excitement rose inside Nell. She’d often talked with Ollie about undertaking a project that would bring the community back together and this could be it. Not only would it benefit the whole marina, but it would stop new houses being built.

‘You’ll need to ask someone in the know. Shall I ask Nathan? He might know someone.’

Nell’s eyes grew wide then her face broke into a smile. ‘Would you?’

‘Of course.’

‘I just need to know how much a project like this would cost. I could co-ordinate it myself.’ Nell’s routine had been the same day in, and day out in the last couple of years, this project would be the perfect opportunity to get her teeth into something new which would benefit the whole community.

‘That’ll keep you busy,’ Bea mused, finishing her drink.

‘It would, wouldn’t it. There’s no harm in looking into it.’

‘No harm at all.’

It was Friday evening and Nell stood nervously on the steps of the annexe to Little End Cottage. She rapped on the door then dug her hands into her pockets to shield them from the frosty temperature of the night air. As she waited she shuffled her feet from side to side and snuggled deep inside her coat to keep warm.

She knocked again and still nothing.

‘Damn,’ she muttered to herself. She’d ventured out into the cold night on a whim. She’d never even considered there wouldn’t be any answer. She’d lain awake last night and had barely slept a wink, thoughts of restoring the Old Picture House had her pacing the length of the ‘Nollie’ in the early hours of the morning.

She’d had many honest conversations with herself, was she just running away with some romantic notion or could this be a possibility, was she even capable of renovating the Old Picture House back to its original state and make it into a viable business?

The previous evening, after seeing the property in the newspaper Nell had visited her mum at Bluebell Cottage. She’d sat in the kitchen tucking into homemade cottage pie and shared her aspirations for the abandoned building. While Nell enthused about the plans that were whizzing around in her head, she noticed a shift in mood in her mum.

‘The thing is, Nell, that place closed down for a reason. If a proper business person can’t keep it afloat, what chance do you have? Projects like that can be draining mentally and run way over budget. Who’s going to manage the place?’

‘Well, me of course.’