11 Ladysmile Lane – Episode 47


So Jason was staying, Georgia reflected as she measured and tacked and tucked. That was one less office to find a new tenant for, because she still wasn’t being exactly inundated with enquiries, even with her phone number added to the Offices to Let sign.

No-one seemed to want office space in this part of town. The big new business park – that was the place to be.

Neil’s offer popped back into her head. It was a good one. Should she accept it?

“Are you listening, Georgia?” Amy’s voice clearly suggested she knew perfectly well that Georgia, lost in her thoughts, wasn’t.

“Sorry, I was miles away, wondering about something.”

“What?”

“Whether or not to take a particular course of action,” Georgia replied vaguely, aware that Amy was probably expecting more but not wanting to say anything else.

Amy frowned, then started laughing again.

“Maybe an omen will appear to point you in the right direction!”

When they at last finished, she offered Amy a lift home. But it turned out her dad was still around to take her. Georgia noted Alex didn’t pop by to say goodbye to her, or maybe invite her to have supper with them, which she was sure he once would have done.

She hung around to make sure they’d gone, not wanting to risk Amy sensing the awkwardness that there now was between her and Alex.

* * * *

As it turned out, that was just as well, because Jason wasn’t going to be her last visitor of the evening.

“You in there, Georgie?” Her grandad’s voice accompanied another knock on her door.

“Hello,” she greeted him. “You’re becoming a regular visitor. Are you on your way to see . . . Barbara, is it?”

“No, I wanted a word with you.” His attention was then briefly diverted as he examined the progress with Amy’s dress. “It’s coming on. You haven’t lost the knack, Georgie. But I’ll need to see the finished article before finally passing it.”

“I’ll make sure you do, then!”

“Anyway, look, I phoned your mum,” he continued, “and she said you were still here. The thing is, what we were talking about the other day – how you’d considered turning Number Eleven into a house?”

“Which you don’t think would work, the same as everyone else I’ve ever asked.”

“Well, no, I can’t see it at all. But if you’re thinking you’d like a home of your own – and I can understand that – why don’t you sell this and use the money to buy somewhere nice? I wouldn’t mind, honestly. They’re building some new ones near me, and you like it up there.”

Georgia stared at him, mouth open in amazement. He wouldn’t mind if she sold Number 11! Could this count as the omen she’d been looking for?

Abigail Phillips

Abbie is the newest member of the fiction team at the "Friend." She loves how varied the role is - every day is different and there is always a new story to read. She is keen to work closely with established writers and discover new writers, too.