Goodbye, Jimmy Choo by Annie Sanders

Author:Annie Sanders [SANDERS, ANNIE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC000000
ISBN: 9780446550208
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2008-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

And work they did! Easter wasn’t until the end of April. The nights were light and the days wonderfully warm—just as well, because the Blackcote Farm barn was unheated, and there was always a slight feel and smell of damp. No wonder the agent had discounted the rent!

Izzie and Maddy would arrive by seven, and the others by eight, bundled up in layers of jumpers, fleeces, Nepalese hats with earflaps, only to cast them off bit by bit into amorphous colored bundles around the walls as the sun rose higher outside. By lunchtime, they would all go and sit on the staddle stones ranged along the back wall, looking out over the swollen stream and the farmland beyond as they munched their lunch.

One of their staunchest workers proved to be Oscar Grant, who had shuffled up to Izzie one afternoon in Ringford. Looming over her in his school uniform, he’d looked vaguely menacing and at first she didn’t recognize him. His friends’ slightly timid jeers obviously unnerved him and he shifted from foot to foot, his bent head swaying like a mild-mannered dinosaur searching for tasty greens. “’Lo, Izzie,” he’d mumbled. “All right?”

“Hi! Oscar!” Izzie was relieved and went slightly over the top. “Great to see you. How’s, er, things? Been skateboarding lately?”

She wished she hadn’t asked, but at least it gave him a chance to overcome his embarrassment. He waxed lyrical about Ollies and goofyfooters; and, no idea what he was talking about, she nodded enthusiastically. “Right! Gosh—really? That sounds er . . .”

“So anyway, I’m saving up for new wheels, and they’re pretty expensive, so I was wondering if you might have any work going during the Easter holidays—not full-time, ’cos I’ve got to do some revision too but—”

“Oscar, that would be tremendous. We’ve been worrying about getting all the orders ready, so any time you could give us would be welcome. Why don’t you call me?” She rummaged in her bag for a Post-it note and pencil, then wrote down both her own and Maddy’s numbers.

“You’ve pulled, Oz!” came a muffled catcall from the bus stop, but Oscar didn’t blush this time. He glanced over at the tumbling pack of teenage boys with quiet superiority. “Wrong. Got meself a holiday job.”

The assorted groans and sullen mutterings of “Jammy bastard!” were encouraging. Oscar was still hovering. “Erm, could I tell Tam that you might have some work for her too?” He glanced uncertainly at Izzie.

“Would she want to? I got the impression she thought the whole thing was too trivial for words.”

“Oh, no. Tamz is dead keen, only she . . . she doesn’t like to ask. She’s been cutting out all the stuff in the papers about you and Mrs. . . . Maddy. And she’s stopped dying her hair.” He trailed off. “She’d kill me if she knew I’d told you that . . .”

“Don’t worry, Oz.” She glanced at him mischievously. “It’ll be our secret!”

So along with themselves, Oscar and Tamasin, Lillian half on

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