The Fairy Godmother Part 51

There was a roaring fire lit in Jim’s living room, that is when I realised how cold and dreary the weather it was. I had seen the place in the summer and somehow it hadn’t crossed my mind that it wouldn’t be summer any more.

“Come in,” said Jim ushering us through to the fire. “You should get out of those wet clothes,” he added looking as if he was not entirely sure how he was going to organise that.

“It’s OK,” I said waving my wand and moving the water outside somewhere, leaving our clothes and hair dry, if slightly dishevelled.

“Would you like a drink?” he asked.

“A cup of tea would be very nice,” said Enid sounding very prim and proper.

“That would be very kind of you,” I smiled.

“Right, I’ll get it sorted,” he said. “Make yourself at home, I shan’t be long.”

“If I wasn’t taking leave, I might have something to say about your use of the wand,” said Enid after Jim had disappeared from sight.

“But you have,” I replied.

“What do you mean?” snapped Enid.

“You commented, which means that you don’t approve,” I replied.

“If you are going to be like that, it wasn’t necessary for you to remove the water like that,” hissed Enid.

“Why not, he knows I can do things like that and he didn’t look as if he knew how to sort out dry clothes for us, but was too polite to say. Lastly, we were making a mess of his living room dripping like that,” I replied. “It was a necessary use of the wand.”

“If you say so,” Enid replied with a sniff.

“Are you sure a brandy wouldn’t be an idea, it is quite chilly outside and we don’t want you coming down with a cold,” said Jim, walking in with a tray of tea things, which included a plate of rather nice looking scones.

“Thank-you, but I will be fine with a restorative cup of tea and a scone,” said Enid.

“If you are certain,” Jim smiled. “Shall I pour the tea?”

“That would be very good of you,” said Enid.

After the tea things were washed and tidied away we sat down again in front the the fire.

“I don’t know what you know about the hotel,” said Jim.

“I haven’t heard anything since I left you,” I replied. “Someone has been keeping me very busy.”

“You had come to the notice of the Fairy Council, what with your excessive use of the wand and you unorthodox methods,” said Enid.

“We saw what happened down on the beach,” said Jim.

“The bucket of ice cubes?” I asked.

“We were wondering how she found them, the ice maker hadn’t been working in ages,” Jim replied. “And the supplier took away the last of the ice buckets a long time before, according to Derek.”

“You used your wand?” I said looking at Enid.

“I deemed it necessary,” she said, having the grace to look uncomfortable.

“So what happened after I left?” I asked.

“First things first, we set about trying to work out a plan of action,” said Jim. “That is where things started to fall down.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We couldn’t work out where to start,” said Jim. “I suggested that we start by opening up the bar and restaurant, there was plenty of alcohol there, it seemed like a good way to get some money in so that we could sort out the rest of the building.”

“He didn’t agree?” Enid asked.

“He thought it was a great idea, we got things ready for a grand opening on Burns night,” Jim said with a sigh.

“What went wrong?” I asked.

“We got quite a crowd in, unfortunately they started arguing, some said that we weren’t Scottish, so we shouldn’t celebrate Burns night, even if we did get a haggis and bagpipes to do it. Others wanted to know if we were doing anything for Australia day, we hadn’t thought about it, but it was the next day and they said if you are going to do one you should do them all. We were quite happy to go along with the idea, but by then there was a fight going on, bottles were being hurled and when I looked round for Derek to say we aught to close up before things got out of hand, he’d legged it into the cellar and shut the trap door. I sent the bar staff home and then made a quick exit out the back way,” said Jim.

“That would explain the bar full of broken bottles,” I said.

“We were outnumbered,” said Jim. “I’ve been in tough situations before, but there was only one outcome that I could see if we hung around and it wasn’t pretty.”

“And Derek?” I asked.

“He was safe enough in the cellar, nothing they had would have made any impression on the trap door,” Jim replied.

“Sounds like they came prepared for trouble,” I said.

“Put that way, yes they did,” said Jim.

“So who have you upset?” I asked.

“Why should he have upset anyone?” asked Enid.

“They were trying to make a go of the hotel, it sounds like someone didn’t want them to,” I replied.

“Don’t you think you are jumping to conclusions?” said Enid. “I mean, have you or Derek had anyone try to buy the hotel or make any sort of deals that involved you not reopening?” she asked Jim.

“See the big house on the cliff top,” said Jim pointing out of the window, just in time for the scene to be illuminated by a flash of lightening.

“They don’t like you being here?” I asked.

“Of course they don’t,” snapped Enid. “Why would they want to see a tip like that from their windows?”

“They aren’t the problem, they have been encouraging us. No, the problem is there is a company trying to buy the whole area up, they know they can’t buy the people from the big house out, but if they get this place then the development they build will spoil the view from that house to such an extent that the people there will eventually have to sell out,” said Jim.

“They are attacking you as the easier target,” I said.

“Exactly,” Jim sighed.

“And what has Derek done about it?” Enid asked.

“He’s spent the last few months in the cellar,” Jim replied.

“That can’t be good for him,” I said.

“I’ve tried to get him to come out, I’ve done a few jobs round the place to get him to come out and help,” Jim sighed.

“I saw the gardening stuff,” I said.

“He was really getting into it, but some thugs came and started getting nasty, Derek ran to the cellar and hasn’t come out since then,” he said. “I don’t know what to do next for the best. I’m beginning to think that selling the place up and moving away from here would be the best solution.”

“What does Derek think?” Enid asked.

“I’m not sure if he’s thinking at all,” sighed Jim.

“Why isn’t he here with you?” I asked.

“He wont come out of the place,” said Derek.

“Then we must go and talk to him there,” I replied.

“But how do we get there without them seeing us?” Jim asked as I waved my wand, the room disappeared and was replaced by the hotel basement.

“How did you get here?” asked Derek rushing towards the nearest door and then stopping when he realised who we were.

“You remember me,” I said smiling. “I am the Fairy Godmother and I can get where I want to go with the wave of my wand.

“So you didn’t come in through the door?” he asked.

“I did that earlier and then left when I thought there was no one here,” I said.

“Did they follow you?” he asked.

“They may have,” I replied. “I didn’t realise there was any reason to be careful.”

“They may have gotten into the gatehouse,” said Derek. “We need to get there, but I can’t leave here.”

Enid waved her wand and we were back in the gatehouse, only it was surrounded by some rather nasty looking people. She waved her wand again and they vanished, as did everything else outside.

By Janice Nye © 2020