A Pretty Beach Wish by Polly Babbington (scary books to read TXT) 📗

It’s looking like it’s threatening rain out there.’

‘Morning, Juliette, yep not looking as warm as it’s been. Can I get you a brew?’

Juliette looked at her watch. She just had time for a cup of tea before she had to get to the surgery for her shift at work.

‘I’d love one, Michael. Thanks.’

Juliette sat in the tiny room with the mini-fridge, kettle, and a few mugs and chatted to Michael about his weekend just gone when he’d spent most of it fishing. Juliette couldn’t think of anything more mind-numbingly boring than fishing, but Michael spent every bit of spare time he had on the side of a riverbank with a fishing rod in his hand.

After listening to how many fish he’d caught, how many had to go back in, and helping herself to three chocolate biscuits, Juliette started to relay to him her plans for the afternoon once she’d finished at the surgery and before she picked Maggie up from Jeremy’s mum’s.

‘I’ve got the Orangery for the afternoon. I’m going to do some simple shots in there of my latest lot of stock that came in from that listing on eBay in Australia I told you about. Then I’m going to do my first shoot in the teepee.’

‘Teepee?’ Michael said, his eyes raised in question.

‘Yes. Remember Maggie’s birthday and those pictures I showed you? Luke made it for me from poles.’

‘Ach, I’m losing my marbles, Jools! Yes, I do remember now you’ve jogged my memory.’

‘I’m going to do it up in a Christmas theme and get some content for my website and social media channels for Christmas in July. I’m cutting it really fine timewise, but I should just about make it if I get my act together.’

‘You should do a video on your phone.’

‘I’m not sure I’ve got the skills for that, Michael.’

‘If I can do it, anyone can. I did one for my fishing account at the weekend. All done on my phone, added some music, fitted it all together and bingo, Bob’s your uncle. It looked really good too, well good if you’re into fish.’

‘You know what, I might just have a go at that.’

Juliette walked all the way down the brightly lit corridor, opened the door to her unit, flicked on the light switch and spent fifteen minutes gathering all the vintage baubles and decorations that had arrived from Australia. Everything in the unit was tagged and logged so it was easy to find. She’d learnt the hard way once her shop had really started to take off. Now with it all labelled and tallying up to a spreadsheet on her phone, she firstly, always knew her stock levels, and secondly, anyone could go in there and find things, if and when she ever had anyone to help.

She finished putting the baubles in the plastic tub, walked back out, said goodbye to Michael, and drove back home to Pretty Beach and parked up outside Pretty Beach Surgery, everything ready for the photographs later in the back of her car.

***

Juliette finished up at the Orangery, made sure she’d locked up properly, and heaved the box of decorations back into her car. The photos had ended up turning out really well in the Orangery and she was on a roll. She just had enough time to head home and take a few more in the teepee in the garden.

She pulled up in Mermaid Lane, lugged the box down the path, and opened her front door. She walked all the way through to the kitchen with the huge plastic tub in her arms and looked out the window to the garden. The teepee was tucked up at the back exactly where she’d asked Luke to put it before he’d left for work. To the left, it was backed by the old Victorian wall and behind the pale pink shed.

She lugged the box all the way to the end of the garden, went back inside to get fairy lights, and an hour later had draped thousands of fairy lights all over the teepee.

The fading light and dark grey skies had done the opposite to what she had thought and provided the perfect backdrop, and the exquisite lighting for the photos and everything was beginning to look sparkly and festive. Almost as if it was Christmas itself and not a teepee in the middle of her back garden.

Inside the teepee, she placed faux fir Christmas trees at the back, covered the grass with soft white fur throws, and hung garlands of rosemary from each of the bamboo poles.

She’d placed two white vintage chairs right to the back and draped them with red tartan rugs, and a pair of vintage leather ice skates were perched next to an old-fashioned sled.

‘Christmas in June!’ Luke said, as he poked his head around the door of the teepee.

‘Oh! You frightened the life out of me. Hello! I thought you were working this afternoon?’ Juliette said, putting down her handful of vintage baubles and draping her arms around Luke’s neck.

‘What a lovely welcome. Pleased to see me?’

‘Of course. It’s so nice to have you home, feels like we’ve been ships passing in the night lately.’

‘Well, now I’ve got you all to myself in a little sparkly tent I think I might have to lay you down on a white fur throw and have you do lovely things to me.’

‘Not sure I’ve got time for that!’

‘I’m sure you can fit me in Juliette. And make all my Christmases come at once.’

Chapter 11

Juliette sat in her car outside the school and checked her website. Lots of sales for A Christmas Sparkle - the content had done really well. The pictures of the tent with all the fairy lights had ended up looking even better once she’d put on a filter. The images made customers want to put up their Christmas tree, snuggle up on the sofa, and drink a hot chocolate with Bing.

She opened her emails and opened one from someone named Lucian McIntyre.

Hi Juliette,

Not sure if