Sergeant Kieran Phelps closed his front door behind him, dropped his rucksack on the hallway floor, and expelled a sigh of relief. It was the end of his last shift and the start of two weeks of annual leave and, quite frankly, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Usually, he wasn’t much of a one for taking his holiday entitlement, preferring to keep his weeks focused on the rhythm of his shift pattern and then being paid in lieu for his untaken holiday. Working as much of the year as possible meant he didn’t have to think too much about the other elements of life, like visiting his mother and tackling the small, but growing list of niggling D.I.Y jobs required by his flat. But this holiday had been much anticipated because it coincided with the final preparations for the opening of his girlfriend’s new theme pub, The Wild and Woolly. Leah, for that was her name, required as many helping hands as possible, his included, to assist with the final push of decorating and stocking up before the launch party which was scheduled for the end of October to make the most of the Halloween celebrations. What better time, Leah had said, to open a pub called The Wild and Woolly, than at Halloween? Kieran had suggested sheep shearing season, and got a wallop across his arm for his witty trouble.
His flat seemed darker and smaller since the evenings had begun to draw in. It was a perfectly serviceable flat, very bachelor pad, Kieran thought, as he went to the kitchen and switched on the oven in preparation for it receiving whichever ready meal would first meet his hand when he opened the tiny freezer box in his fridge. Yet it wasn’t the most welcoming of places in the shorter days of the year, with its small windows and cosy room sizes. The pub, however, had very spacious accommodation above it, the kind you could easily turn into B & B rooms if you wanted to. However, Leah had been dropping very strong hints that maybe it was time they thought about moving in together. And the idea was very tempting. From a living accommodation point of view, anyway. Who wouldn’t want to be able to spread out into more than twice the space currently at one’s disposal? Or live above a pub, come to that? But living with another person? Kieran hadn’t done that for fifteen years.
The first ready meal to emerge from the freezer box was Thai green curry. Kieran studied the packaging. Was he in a Thai green curry mood? He threw it back and had another rummage around. Lamb hotpot? Beef lasagne? The oven beeped, signalling it was hot and ready to receive an offering. Come on, Kieran, he said to himself. Make a decision. Lamb hotpot it was, then. And a thought process step closer towards selling his flat and moving into the pub with Leah.
As he leant against the sink, waiting for his dinner to be ready and pondering the pros and cons of cohabitation, his mobile phone rang out. Leah. It was as if she could feel he was thinking about her. She always joked she had psychic tendencies.
‘Hello, Officer Hotpants!’ she said, as soon as he answered the call. ‘How are you? What are you doing?’
Kieran smiled. Officer Hotpants! ‘I’m good, thank and just heating up some food,’ he said. ‘You?’
‘Making a list for tomorrow,’ said Leah. ‘We’re starting at eight a.m sharp. Can you make it for then? I’m cooking bacon sarnies for everyone…’ There it was, that hint of teasing and pleasing encouragement in her voice.
‘How can I resist?’ said Kieran. ‘And I’ve been thinking…’
‘Oooh, steady on there,’ said Leah. ‘Sounds intriguing. Continue on…’
‘Well, perhaps I should bring a couple of suitcases of stuff with me,’ said Kieran. ‘You know, and stay over at the pub for the next two weeks. It’ll save travelling back and forth every day. And,’ he took a faltering breath, ‘it could be a trial run, you know, for us perhaps living together?’
Leah let out a robust laugh. ‘What? See if I can tolerate your weird bachelor living habits, you mean?’ she said.
‘If you like,’ said Kieran.
‘Yes, why not?’ said Leah. ‘As long as those suitcases aren’t full of computer games.’ Her voice softened. ‘It’ll be fun…’
Kieran nodded. Yes, he thought, it probably will. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then,’ he said. ‘All bagged up and ready to go.’
‘Love you!’ said Leah. ‘I’m so excited about this new venture of ours.’
‘Yes,’ said Kieran. ‘Me, too.’
The timer on the oven shrieked out.
‘Sounds like your dinner is ready,’ said Leah. ‘I’ll let you go. But there will be none of that ready meal crap when we’re living together, understand?’
Sounds like she’s already made up her mind without a trial run, thought Kieran, blowing her a kiss down the line and finishing the call.
* * *
Kieran had invested some of his own money in the pub venture, as had an aunt of Leah’s whom he’d never met, but apparently was like a second mother to her. If he sold his flat, he thought as he set off early the following morning to make the journey to The Wild and Woolly, perhaps the plan of starting a group of pubs could happen sooner than planned. Or perhaps he could buy that motorbike he was hankering after first. When this venture had started over a year ago, he had rather imagined himself as a sleeping partner in the business, leaving the day to day running of everything to Leah, but she seemed determined from the start that he would leave the police force and join her as a full and active partner. Back then Kieran had no thoughts at all about ever leaving the police force, but over the previous six months his dedication to the service had begun to waiver. He felt like he was losing his touch. He certainly felt like his career was going no further, especially since he had failed to make any more progress with the Clive Thing case.
‘Don’t even start to think about THAT again,’ he muttered to himself, turning down the road on which sat, possibly, the start of a new life and career. ‘It’s done. All over. Case closed.’
He could see Leah already standing in the pub’s expansive car park, marshalling some white trade vans into position. There she was, giving directions, being efficient, organised, very much in charge, and everyone around her obediently following her commands, because they didn’t dare do otherwise. An unexpected shiver ran over his skin. Was that what she’d be like with him, he wondered, once he’d moved in? Very much in charge of everything they did, with him following along like a good boy?
He swung into the car park and tooted his horn. Leah smiled and waved, then directed him towards the door whilst miming cooking in a frying pan. Yup, he thought. She’s going to be in charge of me and there is nothing I can do about it.
* * *
‘It’s looking good, isn’t it?’ said Leah. They were standing in the bar area, just before lunchtime, watching as the final fixings of the beer pumps were being made. ‘Just a bit of decorating to finish, and the flooring, and we’re done.’
‘Did you take on that decorator you had in the other day?’ said Kieran. ‘The woman. She seemed very efficient. Just your kind of person.’
‘Willow Reginald? I did,’ said Leah. ‘She said she is just finishing a job at some house in town and can start here by the end of this week. She had some great ideas for final touches, too. Said she could get hold of some interesting objet d’art that would fit in beautifully with the ‘wild and woolly’ theme.’
‘Good,’ said Kieran. ‘Sounds like everything is running to your very exacting timetable.’
‘It is,’ said Leah. ‘But I need you to take over for a couple of days. I’ve got to go away. Meetings with suppliers, stuff like that…’
Kieran sighed. ‘Seriously?’ he said. ‘I thought the idea of me moving here for the duration of my holiday was to see if we could bear living together. And now you are clearing off…’
‘Oh, you won’t be returning to that poky flat of yours,’ said Leah with the assuredness of a woman who had already made a co-habiting decision, and had already arranged for an estate agent to value his flat and put it on the market. ‘Not after you’ve enjoyed the space of living here. Anyway,’ she continued, ‘last night I didn’t know about these meetings, and now I do. I’ll be home as quickly as I can. And it’ll give you a chance to wear your ‘I’m in charge’ pub landlord hat.’
Fait accompli, thought Kieran. But still, he couldn’t help but love the woman.
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