Author's note: Longer chapter this time. Hope you enjoy. Keep the comments coming. It's always good to get feedback.
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Tom woke slowly. Some wise part of his brain knew that it was a Sunday and that he didn't have to get up for work. That selfless act of vigilance by a tiny part of his consciousness allowed the rest of him to relax, free from care, and gradually emerge from slumber.
As his cognitive faculties booted up, he became aware of the sunlight streaming through the window and the birds singing outside. But a nagging feeling began to stir in the back of his head. Something was missing wasn't it? Sitting up, Tom looked around. Same old bedroom. Nothing amiss here.
Rising slowly to his feet, Tom stretched out his back and drew back the curtains. The sight of Nikki's flat across the road instantly brought memories flooding back. A sly smile crept to his lips as he remembered the sight she had put on for him the previous night. But when he realised that it was her presence in his bed that he'd missed when he woke up, he slapped himself on the forehead.
"Get a grip of yourself Tommy-boy. You've only just met the girl." He muttered out loud. "Don't start turning into some soppy idiot."
Still shaking his head, he hit the shower. When he ambled back into his bedroom, still towelling himself dry, he noticed that it was ten o'clock -- fairly late by his standards. Still, his day was now looking pretty empty since his plans to take Nikki out to lunch were obviously stymied by the arrival of her parents. Tom was just contemplating what to do with the unexpected free time when the doorbell rang.
Wrapping the large towel around his waist, he scrambled downstairs and opened the door. He was careful to keep one hand on the towel to avoid any accidental exposure. It was just as well he did because it was Barbara at the door. It probably wouldn't have made the best of impressions on Nikki's family if he'd flashed her mother. She seemed a bit flustered at his state of undress as it was.
"Sorry, just got out of the shower." Tom explained.
"Oh, sorry to disturb you." She replied. "Ted and I just wanted to invite you to lunch. We're taking Nikki out and thought it would be nice to treat you too. As thanks for helping out."
"That's very kind. No thanks necessary, really. But, since food is involved, how can I say no?"
Barbara smiled. "I thought you wouldn't say no to food. We're going for Sunday roast at the pub round the corner. What's it called? The Fox and Hounds? Is it any good?"
"Mmm, if you don't mind a slightly longer walk, The Hare's better. It's just at the top of the high street. You might have to book though, it gets pretty busy for Sunday lunch. It's up to you though."
"OK, I'll try to book at the Hare then. Either way, we'll call on you on the way. Shall we say twelve thirty?"
"Sounds good to me, I'll try to put some clothes on next time you call!" Tom said. "See you later."
Barbara waved goodbye and headed back to Nikki's flat.
-
Tom pottered around for the rest of the morning. He was surprisingly nervous. He spent most of his time shaking his head at how silly he was being. Like some kind of love-struck teenager.
He was just telling himself to man-up for about the tenth time when the doorbell rang. He checked his watch: bang on twelve thirty as promised.
This time, the three of them were there. They briefly reminded Tom of a group of Trick-or-Treaters.
"Mornin' all." Tom greeted them. "Where are we going then?"
"The Hare." Barbara replied. "Looks like we got the last table so that was lucky."
"I hope it doesn't disappoint then." Tom glanced at Nikki as they started walking. "How are you feeling today Nikki?"
"Much better thanks. Pretty much back to normal now. A good night's sleep seems to have sorted me out. I wasn't sure I'd sleep well after all of that sleeping during the day but I got off pretty quickly."
Tom's eyes snapped to her face at that comment and, although she didn't meet his look, her subtle smile told him that her innuendo was entirely intended. Tom had to suppress a smile of his own.
-
The food and conversation were both good and Tom enjoyed himself thoroughly. Tom was pushing a last piece of apple crumble around in its bowl, trying to decide if he could manage to fit it into his straining stomach.
"What time are you going to have to head off?" Nikki's question was directed to her parents.
"Well, we don't want to leave it too late." Ted replied. "I've got work in the morning and I've got a few bits and pieces to sort out at home. So I guess we'll head back around three." He looked across at Barbara who nodded in agreement.
"What do you do for a living Tom?" She asked, shifting the conversation towards him.
"I'm a programmer." He said. "Very geeky I'm afraid."
"Wow, you must be pretty clever to do all that computer stuff. I can't even get my emails without help!"
Nikki rolled her eyes at Tom and said: "She's not joking. It's painful to watch."
Tom laughed. Then he realised that he hadn't asked Nikki's profession.
"What do you do Nikki?" He enquired.
The change in atmosphere was noticeable; this was clearly an uncomfortable topic and Tom instantly wished he hadn't asked.
When Nikki didn't answer, Barbara replied for her: "She makes jewellery, don't you darling." She prompted. "Until the end of the week, yeah." She mumbled.
Tom's puzzlement must have been written all over his face because Barbara felt the need to explain.
"The place where she rents workshop space is re-developing and they won't have room for her in their new set-up. She's got to be out on Friday."
"Can't you find anywhere else?" Tom asked.
"Not that I can afford." Nikki picked up the tale. "It's a tough market for independents like me. I can't afford to rent a whole unit in a business park and I only need space for my workbench and a few tools. That's why my current place was so good. They just rented me out a corner of a workshop that was being used by carpenters. But now they're making it into houses or something. I'd just started making some breakthroughs too. I was asked to make some pieces for a cat-walk show and that's just the kind of break that can get me the publicity I need to hit the big-time. I guess I'll have to turn them down now."
Tom's brain was lurching into action. "So, let me get this straight: you need to find somewhere that's cheap and you only need enough space for a workbench and a few tools. Something like a single-garage in size?"
Nikki looked interested. "That would be perfect."
"So, if you knew someone who lived, say, opposite you who had a workshop in his garden that he never uses because he's too much of a geek to know how to use tools then that might be of interest?"
Nikki was smiling broadly now. "That would certainly be of interest -- if the price was right of course."
"You are turning out to be quite the find Tom." Ted said, also smiling.
"Well, don't get carried away, I do have some dark, dark secrets too. For example, we'll have to clear out all the bodies I've got in freezers in there before Nikki will be able to get her bench in. Plus I'll have to tell Big Tony that I won't be able to cook up his Crystal Meth in there any more. But he seems like the kind of guy that won't hold a grudge so we should be fine."
The four of them chuckled away until Tom's stomach reminded him of how full he was and he had to stop before his food made an unfortunate re-appearance.
After Ted paid for the meal, they waddled back home. Tom said his goodbyes to Ted and Barbara in the street and Nikki promised to call around to check out the workshop after they had set off home.
-
For the third time today, Tom's doorbell rang. This time, it was just Nikki, as expected. She was practically bouncing with excitement to see his workshop. Tom found her enthusiasm infectious, especially in contrast to how subdued she'd been after her seizure.
He lead the way through the house into the garden.
"I hope you're not disappointed. I don't like being your only hope!" Tom said. "Well, I can't be any worse off than I was this morning. Is that it?" She added, seeing the workshop. "Oh, that'll be perfect."
Tom wasn't much of a gardener but he kept the lawn tidy and the few trees he had didn't need too much maintenance. At the bottom of the lawn was the wooden workshop. The previous owners of the house had obviously used it as some shrine to manliness with god knows what sort of power-tools and equipment. There were a few power sockets and decent lighting in there but Tom wasn't joking about being useless with tools. He used it mainly as a dumping ground for odds and ends as well as for storing the lawn-mower and a few garden tools.
"We'll have to clear it out. There's a lot of junk in there that I've been meaning to get rid of for while. There's even a lock on the door so your stuff should be pretty safe in there. I've got a spare key you can have and there's access down the side of the house."
The lock was a little stiff but it opened without too much forcing. Nikki was like a kid in a sweet shop. Tom was right about the junk; there were a few piles of stuff ling around and some rickety old book-cases loaded with junk. But Nikki was already eyeing up the space thinking about where she was going to put her stuff. She seemed very pleased about the natural light that the two windows provided.
"How much of this stuff are you going to get rid of and how much space can I have?" She asked.
"As long as I've got a corner to put the lawn-mower and garden stuff in, you can pretty much have the rest. It's all junk as I said. Is it what you are looking for?"
In reply she grabbed Tom in a bear hug. Now that she was back to full health, she was surprisingly strong.
Tom wheezed: "I'll take that as a yes then."
Nikki relaxed her grip on him enough that she could look him in the eyes. Tom was surprised to see that hers were slightly wet, the emotion in them clear to see.
"You've no idea what this means to me." She almost whispered. "I really didn't know what I was going to do. Thank you Tom."
