Page 82 of Be Less Panda
Nancy headed outside and knocked on the cottage door, then stood back.
The door opened, and a few seconds later Clive emerged, holding a paint pot lid in each hand.
‘Left or right?’ He asked.
‘Do you mean your left or my left?’
‘My left.’
‘In that case, your left.’
‘The blood red one? Are you sure?’
‘Absolutely. We’re going for strong colours now, not the wishy-washy ones we’ve had for years. And blood red can be an engaging wall colour.’
He didn’t look happy. ‘Alright. As long as you’re ok with it because it will take me a good few coats of paint to cover it up if you don’t like it.’
‘I am 100% sure,’ Nancy said.
‘I guess it will be practical if you have a serial killer come to stay,’ he muttered as he went back inside.
‘So that’s my in-person human interaction for the day,’ Nancy said to herself as she headed back to the main house.
Stop wallowing in self-pity, Nancy Smith. Draw up a lockdown plan.
Nancy finished drinking her tea, then made a fresh mug and took it into her study. She took a blank piece of paper out of the printer and put it on the desk. In the centre, she wrote PROJECTS TO COMPLETE DURING LOCKDOWN then she sat back and stared at it, waiting for inspiration to strike.
Nancy was still staring at the almost blank sheet of paper ten minutes later. How many things had she thought of doing over the years but dismissed them because she hadn’t got time? Now she had all the time in the world nothing seemed important enough to bother with any more.
The doorbell rang.
Clive again, no doubt. Probably still fretting over that red paint. She got up and headed for the front door.
39
‘Stop pacing! It’s really distracting.’ Lucy was sitting at her dining table, trying to work on her laptop.
Mark leaned on the kitchen counter, tapping his fingers on the work surface. ‘I know why caged lions do it now.’
‘Could you be less lion and more panda?’
‘What? Sit around all day munching bamboo and refusing to shag you?’
‘Fair point. Be less panda - just the sitting around element would be perfect. We’re fresh out of bamboo shoots, anyway, and I can’t get a supermarket delivery slot at all.’
‘I spent most of yesterday sitting down,’ Mark complained.
‘If you’re fidgety, why don’t you go for a walk?’ She could do with the flat to herself so she could finish off this report. She’d promised her client it would be in his inbox before noon, and there was still a chunk left to write.
‘I’ve done my one hour outside today already.’
‘I can’t imagine anyone’s going to arrest you if you set foot outside the door again. How will they know?’
‘Cruella next door will know. She monitors my every move.’
‘No one will take any notice of her. She’s monitored the comings and goings of everyone in this building ever sinceI’ve lived here. I guess it’s cheaper than a Netflix subscription.’
‘Hmm.‘ Mark didn’t sound convinced. ‘I suppose I could go and feed Colin.’