I hold the phone, staring at the computer, waiting for an okay from Miles to call. He should be up.
It's been a long night with coffee...lots of coffee. Romeo has really delivered and every coffee has been as good as the last: Black, intense and strong. My supply needs major topping up though as I'm running out. . .
The phone rings giving me a fright. I fumble with it for a moment before pushing the button.
"Miles?" I chirp with a grin. There's a brief silence.
"Yeeees." he says back slowly and curiously.
"Oh good! I was hoping you'd be up. Sleeping okay?" I jump up and start heading through the house towards the kitchen.
"Kind of. How are you?"
"What do you mean kind of? You can't kind of sleep. You're either sleeping or you're not."
There's a silence and I hear him laugh ever so slightly.
"How many coffee's have you had? You're talking very fast."
"Am I?" I frown, going through the cupboards. He chuckles again.
"Yes. I'm not complaining. You sound well."
"Uhhhh, yeah. I'm okay. Been up all night doing stuff."
"That doesn't sound promising." he says in a concerned tone. I pull out a packet of biscuits triumphantly and rip them open with my teeth.
"It's not as bad as it sounds. So...back to the topic at hand?" I wait for a reply and all I get is silence for a while.
"Sorry, Nina, my brain isn't working quite as fast as yours; what was the topic?"
"What do you mean kind of?" I ask, mouth full. I'll be surprised if he can translate it actually.
"Oh, that." he grunts. I mentally tip my hat at him and swallow my mouthful.
"Yes, that."
"I slept fine..."
"Fine? That's not a very passionate statement Miles."
I hear him laugh a little and sigh.
"Grief, you're intense when your on coffee." he mumbles. I smile at this and pop the other half a biscuit in my mouth.
"Well?"
"Okay...you won't get angry at me?" he asks.
"Did you have a massive party or something or have some...lady friend over or..."
"No." he says straight away, "No, this is me your talking to."
"What then?"
He sighs and he clears his throat.
"I haven't heard from you since the fire and I was, uh..." he falters slightly and I close my eyes in dread of what's to come.
"If you say 'worried', I swear I will kill you."
"Okay. I was 'fine' then." he replies. I let out an annoyed sigh and throw my head back.
"Miles...why do you do this? I'm fine...I've been fine."
"Fine? Not very passionate words." he says back as lightly as possible.
"No. Don't you dare use my own words against me. Argh, why do you do it?"
"Because I'm on the other side of the planet and the only way I know if your okay is by talking to you on the phone. The phone you keep taking off the hook. Do you have any idea how agonizing that is?" his voice has raised slightly and he stops himself. I release the breath I've been holding and I close my eyes.
"I'm sorry. I promised you I wouldn't make you argue...that's my fault."
I hear him sigh. He must hate himself right now and now I hate myself for pushing his buttons.
"No, sorry. You're okay though?" he asks gently. I smile and release the tension in my shoulders.
"Yes. I've been up all night...as well..."
"Mmm, I bet you were actually getting something accomplished though."
"Yep." I smile, pulling out another biscuit.
"What was it then?"
"Right, well, I was compiling a list of how to make the shop better and how to redesign it. Which reminds me, Joe has been doing this table for the café with Adriana's Corner carved into it. I can't wait to see it finished, though I did burst out crying when I saw it but that's a whole other story..."
"Wait...what? You burst into tears?"
"A little." I mutter, guiltily. There's a pause and I roll my eyes. "Stop worrying about me. It was inevitable...wow...that is a hard word to say on six cups of coffee, anyway..."
"Six cups Nina?"
"You seem to be repeating me a lot this morning. Do we need to have this conversation when you're a little less worried about me?"
He laughs loudly at this and sighs.
"I so miss this Nina. My life was so boring before I met you."
"Thank you... I think."
He laughs again and clears his throat.
"So...you were telling me about this table."
"Ah yes," I chirp, sitting down and pulling up my legs, "It's specifically for her corner in the café where she always sat, so that got me thinking about the rest of the shop. The kitchen and the back are pretty badly damaged so we basically get to re-design it. Yet to know where to go with it but Tulla and Ella, the owners of that restaurant we went to, to find a chef? Remember? They gave us...not only the best muffins I have ever tasted, no offence to your café...but they also gave us the number of this builder/restorer type person."
"Nice."
"Yeah. So I'll see what he says about the place. I probably should have waited till after he saw it but I just can't wait to see it all get under way."
"Let me know if you need a painter."
I raise a curious eyebrow.
"You paint?" I ask surprised, biting into another biscuit.
"Yes. I did for quite a while...qualified and everything."
"Really? Since when? You don't tell me a lot about yourself do you?"
He laughs a little though it doesn't sound as genuine as the others.
"These things don't generally get bought up. Um...remember I told you about the old girlfriend of mine..."
"The one who got you involved in bad stuff?"
"Yeah. She pulled me out of what I was doing with my dad and got me a job with her Uncle as a painter. That was before the bad stuff."
"How bad?" I ask wearily. I don't know what kind of ground I'm treading on here and I don't want to upset him.
"Uhhh...pretty bad." he replies after a while.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I say, just in case.
"No it's fine. It just all came with the scene I was in. She told me I could sing and threw me up on the stage and once that was up and going, all the other things that come with music and bars and gigs soon followed..."
"Alcohol?" I ask, mouthful.
"No...drugs."
My eyes widen and I open my mouth to say something in response. Nothing comes out. I wasn't expecting that. He's the last person I expected to have gotten into drugs.
"Still think I'm too good for you?" he asks. I clear my throat and shake the shock away.
"Sorry, I just...you don't come across as...uh...wow." Is all I manage to get out. I was hoping to say something a little more cohesive.
"Yeah. Not the proudest moment of my life as you can imagine."
"How long were you caught up with all that?"
"The drugs were only a six month stint, then I met this guy who got me out of that but then again he was into other things himself and I ended up pulling him out of trouble too many times. In the end I just decided to stay away from people in general. I've been dragged into all sorts of messes and all because I was too weak to say no to people. I'm a lot better now..."
I look down and scoff, feeling guilty.
"Yes, all you have to deal with now is getting no sleep because of some crazy lady on the other side of the world having a crisis. Big improvement."
"It's not like that Nina. You're...you're different."
"Yeah but I still feel like I take you for granted though...like all those other people."
"No, trust me, you're nothing like them...your different."
"You said that already." I point out.
"I know, I know. I'm not explaining this very well but I can't over the phone. You don't suck me dry like they did and...it's hard to explain but I'll talk to you about it another time. Not over the phone."
"Right." I frown, confused.
"I'm serious Nina, you're not like them. You're...you're my only friend, your the only person who takes me seriously, who...I'll explain it when I see you next. I'm making a mess of explaining it now."
"Yep." I nod in agreement, "Which is weird considering you're always the one who knows how to word things." He laughs a little and I sit there wondering how to show I'm not horrified or put off by this new piece of information. It couldn't have been easy telling me about the drugs. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only person he's told.
"I really didn't see that coming." I end up telling him in all honesty.
"Mmm" comes his unsure reply.
"I mean...a musician-yes, a coffee maker- sure, but a painter? I can honestly say that shocked me..." I hear a sigh from Miles and he laughs. "What?" I ask with a smile.
"Nothing." he chuckles. "I just...I should have known you wouldn't treat me any different once you found out."
"Oh I will. Having a friend who's a painter when my café has just burnt down? Prepare to be sucked up to. What else don't I know about you?"
"You don't have to pretend I didn't mention the drugs, Nina. You're being way to nice about it."
I look at the floor and shrug.
"You got out of it. That's a good thing. I'm...I'm jealous."
There's a pause from Miles and I look at my fingers, anxiously. This has bought up weird feelings of my own. I put the biscuit down, all of a sudden not hungry.
"Jealous?" he eventually asks.
"Yeah...I mean, everything you've been dragged through you've had the tenacity to pull yourself out of it. I knew my job was screwing over my life but I didn't have the guts to get out of it. Honestly Miles, I really respect you for that...for getting out of it. Not everyone is strong enough to do that. I wasn't."
"Drugs are different though..."
"I agree. It's even harder. Ending my job would have only taken one small move and it's done. Getting out of drugs and that scene would take a whole lot more. Don't try and down play what you've accomplished Miles. You should be proud of yourself."
"Right." he says, sounding anything but proud.
"Seriously; Joe said to me yesterday that when something bad happens we see ourselves as worthless and put ourselves in a horrible light and it's true. That...that was your past and although not pretty, you're out of it. That's the bit you need to focus on just like I have to focus on what I'm trying to do because of Adriana now, not what I didn't do for her at the beginning."
"Aha...and is this the counsel that has you in such a good mood?"
"Yep. A golden nugget of wisdom from someone who usually just tells me to call my pommy friend."
Miles laughs at this.
"Good...well it's nice to get the receiving end of a pep talk."
"Mmm, weird role change." I nod with a frown.
"Yeah. So tell me about the café. I want to hear it all."
I smile and settle back into the chair again.
Its been a while since Miles and I have talked this long and I'm going to try and milk it as much as possible. So often when we talk I feel like a wreck and fall asleep so I want to keep this good humor going as long as possible.
***
Miles and I have been talking for three hours and counting. Nothing negative has been bought up. It has just been . . .I don't even know. We seem to have spent the time talking about nothing but everything. I had breakfast and talked him through what is happening with the garden, he talked me through the kind of music he plays and writes...yes writes! This man is getting ridiculous and he seems serious about helping with the painting. He's offered to come over after his sisters wedding for a while, which I haven't tried to talk him out of. It will be good to see him again. It's annoying doing things over the phone. He was hard enough to read face to face let alone when he's on the other side of the planet.
Just as I'm finishing the last mouthful of my tea (Miles wouldn't let me have another coffee), there's a knock at the door. He's been on speaker for the last hour of our chat as my arm was getting sore, therefore when he hears the knock, he stops mid-story and lets me get the door.
"Hold that thought." I say, putting the mug in the sink and going to it. I open the door to a very excitable Taffy who looks as though she's about burst out of her skin.
"Morning." she says as I let her in.
"Hi. Coffee?" I ask.
"No. I'm jumpy enough as it is." she smiles. "I have news..."
"Hey Nina?" I hear Miles call out. "I'll let you go..."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were busy. Though Miles, you might want to hear this. Save Nina telling you about it in half an hour." I look at Taffy intrigued and gesture to a stool by the phone and the kitchen. I go to the kettle and stay quiet.
"Right." she starts, her eyes wide, "I just got a call from Corrine. Now Corrine is one of the lawyers from next door. Not an owner, but a very good lawyer."
"This is the place that burnt down?" Miles asks.
"Yep. She's usually in and out of the Oxford constantly so I know her quite well. She called me all in a tizzy because...get this: they found out who lit the fire."
"So it was deliberate?" I ask.
"Yes."
"That was quick." Miles adds.
"Ah yes and here's why. You may not know this but the street we work on gets frequented by boy racers and teenagers at night. They have been a problem down our street for years. They graffiti and leave tire marks, bottles and everything else..."
"Arson is quite a step up." Miles pipes up.
"Oh no, they didn't do it." Taffy says, her eyes wide again. I refrain from asking who as I'm doubting it will get us to the answer any quicker. "Because of them, we've all been trying to get speed bumps or camera's or something to stop them coming up our street and because the counsel are cheap pigs its taken this long for them to do something. A couple of weeks ago, just as everything was going belly up for us, they put up camera's. Two, one either end of the street."
"Ahhh." I nod, seeing where she's going with this.
"Exactly. Caught the person red handed in no time. None of us knew the camera's had been put up...again because the counsel don't bother telling us these things."
"Who was it then?" I give in and ask. She looks at me giving me the impression I'll know the person.
"The owner of the lawyers office. Apparently they were in debt and wanted the insurance money."
"Seriously?" I ask, wide eyed.
"Did he not cover himself at all?" Miles asks, "Even if he didn't know there were camera's, surely, you'd wear a hoodie or something."
"And it was broad daylight too." I point out "How stupid is he?"
"She." Taffy corrects. "It was the lady. She did it early in the morning, like. Early early. Went in to set it up then took off but it didn't didn't light properly. It just sat there and burned a hole through the floor. They reckon it caught on damp timber and just burned slowly under there for ages, smouldering away. Nobody was even on that end of the building so nobody smelt anything or noticed anything for ages and she did cover herself up but she has an, um...how do I put it? Unforgettable shape..."
"Is she fat?" I ask bluntly. Taffy nods a little.
"Massive. Anyway, the cops showed the footage from the camera to the workers and they all immediately picked her out."
"Those poor people. She's lucky nobody was killed really."
"Yeah. They're all seething about it. So Corrine rang me to ask if we needed a lawyer, which we will, and she's willing to help us to suck them dry. Her work colleague is going to help the florist on the other side of the lawyers office sue the owners."
"Shoot." is all I can say as I slump onto a stool.
"The only problem with that is if they were in debt, what's the likelihood of you all getting compensation?"
This query from Miles is answered by silence. Taffy and I look at each other with screwed up faces. He raises a point. An annoying one. I let out a sigh.
"I guess that's where the lawyers come in." I point out.
"Mm." is all Taffy says, "Oh and I called um...Daniel Palmer- the builder guy..."
"Oh right. What did he say?" I ask, sliding a tea towards her.
"He'll be in town this afternoon. The others on his team, the interior designer and the historic building guy are finishing a place at the moment which is usually where he ends up out of jobs so he said he'd meet us there just after lunch. I just thought we should figure out exactly how much will have to be ripped out before we go on."
"No. Good thinking." I yawn and give a frown to the phone. "Miiiiilllles?" I ask in as much of a pathetic voice as I can manage.
"Mm?"
"Can I have a coffee now?" I hear him laugh a little.
"You can do what you like."
"Are you sure?" I ask as I turn it on.
"You've already made it haven't you?" he asks.
"Not yet."
He laughs again and yawns himself.
"I don't care Nina. I'll be going to bed soon anyway. Someone else will have to try and translate your Olympic speed talking."
"Okay. Yeah, I'll let you go."
I pick up the phone and take it off speaker.
"Thanks for the chat." he says, "It was good."
"I agree. I'll let you know how the builder and lawyer go okay?"
"Thanks and thanks for being so good about my past and...all that."
"Ah yes. The past. Are you as good a painter as you are a singer?"
"Mm, no comment. Bye Nina." he says softly.
"Bye. Get some sleep." I order before hanging up.
I get back into the kitchen and begin the coffee, before turning to Taffy. She gives a smile.
"So, if Miles is just a friend, how are things going with Joe?" she asks. I laugh, shaking my head.
"Grief, not you too." I mumble. She shrugs.
"Lauren and Alyssa seem pretty keen for you two to work...not that it looks like you need the help." she smiles slightly. I smile back and pull out the biscuits.
"He's a nice guy and that's all I have to say on the matter your Honor."
Taffy laughs a little and gives up on the subject, continuing to sip at her tea. I chuckle a little also, shaking my head.
Hearing Taffy ask about my personal life is interesting. Since we've met, our friendship, (friendship is a strong word) has been completely work and Adriana related. Last night, when she was here for dinner, I learnt a bit more about her. Things I didn't know like that she lives with her parents and works to help them out. Her dad isn't well and neither is her mother so she pays the bills and everything else.
This has just made me more determined to make sure this café is up and working better than ever, in fact it was probably the root cause of me being up all night planning regardless of what I know about the place and what will have to be pulled down. I should have waited really but enthusiasm and determination got the best of me.
***
Taffy has driven us to Adriana's Corner as I don't trust myself to with no sleep. Upon arriving, we see a white van with the words Al and Co. Designers on the side. Leaning on the van and looking at our building is a well build, VERY strapping blonde man maybe in his early thirties. Maybe Daniel Palmer couldn't make it so they sent an actor. One of those ones that look photo-shopped.
"I like him already." I mumble to Taffy as we get out of the car. She laughs and goes red as we make our way over to him.
Seeing the place now in a new light, and knowing how it all happened makes me even sadder. The only thing left standing of the lawyers office is the outer brick walls but even most of them have fallen down. I shake my head at it all and put on a smile for the builder.
He stands up properly when he sees us coming and gives a nod.
"Afternoon." I smile. He smiles back and puts out his hand.
"G'day; I'm Danny." Taffy and I shake his hand and introduce ourselves before we all look back at the building.
"Front's in pretty alright nick." Danny says nodding his amiable head in it's direction.
"Yes, thank goodness." I say back.
"Vinny will be stoked about that." he says almost to himself. This is met with a bewildered look. He looks at me and smiles.
What a lovely smile.
"I'm one third of the business. Al..." he says, tapping the name on his van "...was the founder then he trained up Milla. He retired and handed it over to us. She does the interior designing side. Her husband knows historical buildings and heritage and all that stuff and I ...I just do as I'm told. They're doing all the fiddly stuff at the moment so you've just got me today, sorry."
I look at Taffy, letting her answer this one but she's silent so I keep going.
"Uh...no that's good. At the moment we just need to know what structural damage has been done and what needs to be replaced so..."
"Ah, yep, that's me."
"This is a historical place is it?" I ask. He screws up his face and wavers.
"1920's maybe, so not particularly. Vinny will know but a lot of the heritage and charm of older places are in the front. Especially these art Deco ones. Most people have the rest replaced."
"Oh." I nod.
"But as I said. That's Vinny's stuff. What's the inside like?"
I look at Taffy who is silent and red. I nudge her.
"Key." I say.
"Right!" she snaps out of the trance and pulls out the keys shakily. I suppress a chuckle and lead Danny to the door.
Once inside, we just let him go around and look at the place himself without us hanging over his shoulder. Taffy and I take a seat in the corner and I rest my head on my hand with a yawn.
"What's happened to you?" I ask Taffy. She frowns and looks down.
"I'm not very good at talking to guys." she admits quietly. "Particularly good looking ones."
"Not even good looking married ones?"
"He's married?" she asks quietly. I smile.
"Got a ring on."
Taffy smiles a little and looks down blushing.
Danny comes out of what was the office and looks towards us.
"How bad is it?" I ask, worried about the answer.
"Hm?" He clicks out of his thoughts and looks at me properly.
"Oh, she's not too badly damaged. I've seen worse...next door for instance."
"Good point." I mumble and get up.
"Even then..." he interrupts as I walk over, Taffy following timidly behind. "This would be a piece of cake compared to what had to be done to Tulla's place. That was..." he shakes his head at the memory, "Yeah...never again but this, this will be easy enough I reckon."
"What's the damage?" I ask.
"Uh, right! Your entire back wall will need replacing as will about half of this wall as it copped most of the fire. Most of the roof will need to go as will a lot of the support beams. The floor all over the place is damaged but I won't know how bad it is until we rip into it, you know? I can't guarantee there won't be hidden damage."
"Right." I nod.
"And cost?" Taffy asks quietly.
"Too early to tell and it depends what you want done. With that back section out and the majority of that left wall coming down you have quite a bit of space to play with...kind of. Still not a huge place is it?"
"Mmm..." I say, mentally looking through the wall. A brilliant idea begins to slowly bloom in my mind and I grin.
I look at Taffy with this grin.
"What?" she asks with a worried expression.
"I wonder what the plan for the shell next door is..." I muse.
"What do you mean?"
"Miles said that trying to get money out of them will be ridiculous right?"
"Mmm."
I look at the wall again.
"What about their property?"
Taffy's surprised eyes stare back at me.
"Be easy enough." Danny says. "The walls next door will have to come down anyway. Be easy enough to join the two if the owners sold up."
"They have no choice. They set the place alight due to debt. We'd get it for a steal"
"Ahhh." he nods. Taffy continues to look at me wide eyed.
"You're serious?" she asks.
"Yes! Why not? The one thing that annoys me and others about this café is the size. Most people come here, buy their coffee and lunch and take it away, right?" She gives a numb nod in reply.
"Right well, think of the lost opportunities. People wonder what chutney or meat was used in the meal and they're somewhere else so can't ask. If they're here, we get to sell them the product. Make the shop and the café separate so there's room for more product in the shop and more room for customers to eat in..." By now my heart is beating loudly with enthusiasm and excitement. Why didn't I think of this earlier?
"You have the...you know...money to do that?" she asks timidly. I nod.
"Yes. We can afford it." I then turn to Danny and point a finger. "Don't you dare take advantage of that Mr." I warn. He puts his hands up in surrender,
"We aren't here to suck you dry, don't worry." he says in defence.
"Good." I frown then look back at Taffy, "So...thoughts?"
"Uhhhh..." is all she manages to get out for a while. "I suppose we'd have to see what Corrine says; see if we can legally do it."
"You're on board though? This is your business too Taffy. You have to be in one hundred percent before we do anything."
"It makes sense. The size of this place has always been an issue. I just wouldn't have thought to do that. . .could we?" she asks again.
"He thinks so." I say nodding my head in Danny's direction. "But if we call some brains together...lawyer, you, me, maybe Joe, then we can get thoughts."
She nods.
"Yeah. That might be better. I'm just wondering if we'll need the interior designer though..."
"You'll be surprised." Danny pipes up. "She's the brains behind everything we do. It isn't just color coordination and curtain picking." There's a silence from us both. "Next time you need us to come I'll bring her. She can throw a few ideas around...guaranteed she'll have you sold by the end. Six years working with her and I still don't know where she gets her idea's."
"Worth a shot?" I ask Taffy.
"Yeah. " she shrugs. I turn to the good looking married man and smile.
"We will definitely be in contact with you." I tell him.
"Good and, something else to think about. If you have relatives or friends who are willing to pitch in and do some of the labor, it saves us having to get contractors in ourselves which will save you money and us time having to find reliable workers. We don't have a pack of loyal dogs bodies on hand. If you can't, that's fine, we'll rally some in from somewhere but there's only a few of us on the team and we don't usually do burnt out shells and massive clean ups."
I nod at this, folding my arms in thought.
"Should be able to find some aye? See if the team want in. Eli might want some work or something."
"Joe?" Taffy asks.
"He already has a job to go back to and he's working on something for the shop already."
"What?"
I raise an eyebrow in reply and look at Danny again.
"Thank you again good sir, we'll give you a call later in the week maybe."
"Cheers." he nods and heads out. This leaves Taffy and I in the café to talk about the gritty, important stuff.
"I wonder if those coffee beans are still good. I just ran out..."