‘Oh, he’s been doing that trick again, has he?’ Fen nodded sagely at Jake who’d thumped into the studio moments ago, ranting about having found his trainer in the litter tray.
Poppy, who had been arranging some of Rowan’s pots on the new display cubes, transferred her attention to the conversation.
‘It’s a natural feline instinct. He must think he needs to hide it from a predator,’ said Fen.
Jake snorted in disgust. ‘I’m not the predator. He is.’
‘He’s only a cat,’ said Fen patiently. ‘And you’ve invaded his territory – don’t forget that.’
‘It’s my house!’ Jake glared at Leo, who was lounging on a plinth as if he was the prize exhibit.
‘Archie’s house,’ Fen corrected.
‘Whatever. He still stole my shoe and used it to cover up his crap. He hates me. No, worse, he disrespects me. In fact, I’d go so far as to say he holds me in utter contempt. And that was after I bought him that hare and badger mush that costs twice as much as normal food. Well, he can make his own bloody hare and badger potage from now on or catch a mouse or something.’
‘Oh, Jake, don’t get upset. I’m sure Leo loves you deep down and he’s only doing what cats do. As for a mouse, he’s never been one for dragging in live catches and what’s all this about you giving him strange cat food with badger in it? You know he only likes the Rabbit and Tuna Select.’
‘It looked like hare and badger to me. I’m sure I spotted bits of bristle and an ear. There might even have been a stripe in there.’
It was no good. Poppy exploded with laughter. Her sides were hurting and tears streamed down her face.
Jake glared at her, then he laughed too. ‘I suppose it is quite funny. When it’s not your trainers.’
‘It’s h-hilarious.’ Poppy dragged a tissue from her jeans pocket to wipe her eyes.
Jake was smiling and put his arm around Fen. ‘I’m only joking,’ he said. ‘Sort of, but Leo definitely doesn’t love me. He only loves you and Grandpa. And Poppy …’
Fen sighed. ‘You can’t be loved instantly by everyone, Jake. You’ll have to work a bit harder to win Leo over. He probably senses you don’t like him, so no wonder he hid his business from you.’
‘I’ll try to understand him more.’ Jake crossed his heart sarcastically then dodged out of the way as Fen flicked her duster at him.
Poppy giggled as Fen chased Jake with the duster. Although he’d ranted about Leo, he’d soon seen the funny side and his sense of humour was catching. Dan would have gone berserk if any cat had put one of his precious trainers in a litter tray and would probably have tried to have Leo rehomed.
After the joke had been stretched as far as it could, Fen shared more tales of Leo’s escapades while they worked, with Jake adding a few stories of his own from his wildlife trips. The laughter and banter were a welcome interlude and Poppy felt more optimistic about her future than she’d done for months. Finally, she felt as if she might actually make a go of a move that had seemed madness even a few days ago.
Her optimistic mood grew over the weekend and well into the following week, as the studio gradually started to turn from chrysalis to butterfly. By Friday afternoon it was a sparkling, whitewashed version of the dingy space that had, just over a week before, made her want to get straight back on the ferry to the mainland. With Jake and Fen’s help, she’d prepared and repainted all the gallery walls.
Earlier in the week, she had taken a brief break from the work to go to St Mary’s with Kelly who had a working boat for her business. Kelly had introduced her to the small DIY merchant on St Mary’s and she’d bought a few essentials from there, but she had to manage her small budget carefully, so she decided to renovate the display plinths and shelving units herself.
Most people on the islands tended to keep unwanted items in sheds and outbuildings in case they were needed by their own family or neighbours at a later date. Fen and Jake invited Poppy to root through the ‘junk’ stores behind the cottage and Poppy managed to find a few bits and pieces that way, as well as on the isles’ online ‘swap’ site. Some upended old fish boxes, once ‘repurposed’ with a tasteful pale green paint, had proved ideal for displaying smaller items such as cards and as plinths for larger items.
The existing plinths had been repaired by Kelly who’d also carried out more minor work on some of the windows and the door too. The local electrician had also removed the harsh strip lighting and fitted new lighting that bathed the artwork in a soft, flattering light.
Maisie had sent over the roofer who’d been working for the Gull Island Trust to make a few repairs to the roof. In return, Poppy had promised to set up a website for the roofer and to help redesign the builder’s merchant site in return for free delivery of the materials. It was such a different way of working to the cut-throat world she’d been used to, where everything was costed and analysed to the tiniest margins. Profit was far less important than simple survival, and she soon realised exactly why you couldn’t manage out here without help from your neighbours and helping them in turn.
The smell of new paint was still strong, but at least the whiff of damp had almost gone. Archie’s paintings had been rehung on the walls and the colours of his seascapes really popped against the white backdrop. Poppy had also arranged some of the existing pieces on the new plinths just to give a flavour of how the gallery would look.
She’d decided to open every day from the launch until October half-term to make the most of the holiday season. After that, the gallery would be closed, apart from by appointment, until the following February half-term, so she’d have to make enough money to tide her over the winter months.
With the gallery shaping up, she set up meetings with potential artists and continued to spread the word about the launch, which was now less than two weeks away.
Fen admitted that Minty’s jewellery used to be on show in what was now a dusty and cracked glass case, so Poppy had the broken panel reglazed and polished the glass until it gleamed. She found some driftwood and pebbles from the beach and arranged a couple of pieces from other artists around the natural materials.
‘That looks beautiful.’ Fen stood beside Poppy as she fiddled with the display.
‘Do you think so? It’s not too twee with the pebbles and wood?’
Fen tutted. ‘It’s perfect. Too good for that Minty.’
Poppy turned in surprise. ‘You’re not a fan of hers?’
‘Her jewellery is very pretty – I’ll give her that. It used to fly off the shelves until custom waned, but she has an inflated opinion of her own talents. You met her, dear. You must have formed an impression.’
‘I didn’t really spend that much time with her to be honest.’
Fen raised an eyebrow. ‘Lucky you.’
‘I admit she was slightly intimidating.’ Poppy had to hide her glee at Fen’s blunt assessment of Minty. ‘But she is a great lure for customers and she’s coming around next Friday to see how we’re getting on with the “space”. Several of the other artists are coming too.’
‘Oh gosh. Not all together I hope?’
‘No. Rowan’s booked in first, with the others later that day. I thought everyone would prefer individual attention and grovelling, so Kay Baverstock is due after lunch and Minty around four. Why?’
Fen sighed in relief. ‘Thank goodness for that. Minty likes to be queen bee and she can’t stand Kay … Nor most of the other artists in the gallery. The female ones anyway.’
‘Ouch.’
‘And have you warned Jake?’ said Fen.
‘What about?’
‘Minty descending on us, of course.’
‘Do I need to?’ asked Poppy, slightly alarmed.
‘It might be a good idea.’ Fen lowered her voice as if she expected Jake to burst in on them at any moment. ‘Before he met Harriet, they had a thing, you know …’
‘They? You mean Jake and Minty?’
Fen pursed her lips and nodded theatrically.
‘Wow. That’s … surprised me. Um … this “thing” … was it serious?’
‘Depends what you mean by serious. Minty thought so, but I’m not sure how Jake felt. He broke more than a few hearts on these islands, I can tell you, before he met Harriet.’ Fen gazed at one of Archie’s paintings on the wall. ‘Then again, it seems to run in the family.’