'Lovely place you've got here, what we wouldn't give for a view like that,' Len the van driver says to Harry, having manfully carried the last of their boxes upstairs and stacked them in one of the spare bedrooms, the exception being the two labelled kitchen which having found the kettle, is allowing Ruth to make tea to go with the sandwiches she made before they left London for what by now is a later than planned lunch. The we being his small dog Rosie who looks remarkably like Harry's beloved Scarlet and by the expression on Harry's face he still misses, something which Ruth takes on board for the future rather than now when they have weeks of what she hopes will be organised turmoil ahead of them, until they are sitting at what had been Harry's table now theirs with a mixture of contentment, curiosity and as means of distraction she asks Len, 'how do you know Malcolm?'
'I went to school with him, which is hard to believe given that he works for some high-flying technical company, whilst I scrape a living by driving a van, but it hasn't stopped him looking out for me.'
'One of life's treasures our Malcolm, do help yourself to another sandwich,' Ruth tells him, with a glance in Harry's direction, without realising that Harry who is now giving the dog a biscuit, having picked up on the scraping a living statement is hoping that Len might be available, bearing in mind the raft of furniture that they need to buy as well as curtains for their bedroom, numerous cans of paint to source and rooms to paint which means that some extra muscle would come in handy, until he says, 'if you're not busy next week we could certainly do with your help?'
You're a soft touch and I love you, had been Ruth's response to Harry's offer, but only after Len had gone outside for the mattress which he and Rosie sleep on when the furniture he's delivering is so far away that he has to stay overnight, which now several hours later is tucked in the corner of the sitting room where Rosie having been for a short walk is asleep, whilst Harry and Len are going from room to room upstairs, leaving Ruth herself gazing at what she had planned for dinner which will now have to stretch to feed three. Made easier because after a struggle Harry had finally managed to light the fire which means that the house has taken on the warm feeling of being a home.
As it has to Harry who hadn't considered when he'd made his offer that Len who having been in hundreds of houses over the years has developed a knack when it comes to spotting the pluses and minuses and as such is full of ideas for their house, although not wanting to pressurize what is in every respect a quiet man into telling him exactly what they are, he leaves until the following morning when he is making their morning tea, at a time when Ruth with the ladies first policy and more so now that they have a stranger in the house is having a shower.
'Open fires are all very well but as you see they create dust as well as being inclined to go out, so my suggestion is that you install a wood burning stove, which believe it or not were popular as far back as the fifties in rural properties such as this. That and if you're looking for authenticity then rather than waste money on carpets maybe sand what are the original oak floorboards and bung down a few rugs.'
'Anything else?' Asks Harry ignoring the use of bung because authenticity although not being something he and Ruth have discussed is forming a pleasant picture in his head.
Only for Len to put the icing on the cake by saying, 'it's only a suggestion mind, but if it was me, I'd also ask your builder to put a larger window in your bedroom so that can both enjoy the view across the marshes first thing in the morning and last thing at night.'
Singing off the same hymn sheet which includes restoring authenticity where possible and loving the house as much as Harry does, means that Ruth can see the merits in what Len has suggested, so after having what had been a make do breakfast of toast and another cup of tea, the three of them climb into the van, Rosie sitting on Harry's lap of course and drive into Southwold. Where Harry still determined that he and Ruth are going to have a new bed and that one or other of the two remaining can be best utilised by putting them in the other bedrooms for times when they have guests, which of course makes perfect sense, means that after Len has advised them as to which of the numerous wood burners in 'We Fire You Up' will best suit the house, before leaving them in favour of a walk along the seafront, meeting up at lunchtime for a snack, sees them choosing from what are dozens that are spread across a complete floor in the one and only furniture shop, the bed which feels the most comfortable.
Surprising Ruth even further is Harry's visible show of pleasure which continues throughout the time it takes to choose from what are an alarming number of colours and shades of paint, a list of tools, paint brushes and a ladder all suggested by Len and finally the curtains and blinds for their windows. All of which once they have been loaded into Len's van, gives them with just enough time to have a restorative cup of coffee on their own and in Harry's case to surprise a less stubborn than she used to be Ruth that she will allow him to buy her an engagement ring as well as choosing wedding rings as in plural, something he had refused Jane.
That she says, 'yes Harry,' without hesitating reignites memories of the day when they had been standing on the roof terrace at Thames House and how during what had been a stuttering exchange he had asked her out to dinner and how her response of I'd love to have dinner - together had almost brought him to tears, the hell he'd had lived through believing she was lost to him forever, in no way comparing to hers with a man who had treated her as a plaything which he hadn't known about until her return, and yet here they are whole, well and doing what couples much younger than are take for granted, something he will never do.
.
Waking the following morning to hear rain lashing against the bedroom window and knowing that the fire will have died overnight, Harry reluctantly climbs out of bed, grabs a heavy sweater and with one last look at a sleeping Ruth who is buried beneath the duvet, pads downstairs. Only to discover that not only has Len beaten him to it, but by the way he is sorting out the items from the previous day's shopping suggests that not only at some time in his past when he had been offered work, the person in question hadn't taken into account that a strong cup of and a decent breakfast was not only the right way to treat people, but explained Len's belief that what he did for a living was less valuable than Malcolm's. All of which is in sharp contrast to how Harry himself who has always believed in horses for courses sees Len, not only as an asset who he intends to pay what he deserves but as someone who before they start their day is deserving of a breakfast that Ruth will no doubt both of them will add to their waistlines but hopefully with a smile attached.
Proven in every respect when four tiring days later Harry's reward as it has been every evening before they go to sleep is a massage by Ruth after a hot bath, in contrast Len who having stripped wallpaper and painted with accuracy and at a speed means that all three bedrooms and the room beyond the kitchen have been transformed and with a day to spare, wants nothing more than a morning walk across the marshes on what is a cold but sunny morning. A walk which allows them not only to appreciate the wildlife which inhabits what is an area stretching for miles, but enables them to see for the first time the long sandy beach that runs parallel with the high street and the other houses which are dotted along the coastline. Only turning for home because Len insists and they know better than to argue, that he wants to fit the curtain rails and blinds before he heads off the following morning.
Later and being at a loose end whilst Ruth is preparing dinner, yes providing I can start tomorrow, is the builder's response to Harry calling to ask if he could fit the new stove before Christmas, before adding if Harry can help him with the lifting and shifting, a change in his schedule means that he will also be able to fit their new kitchen and bathroom. All of which opens the door for a delighted Len to stay on and allows a relieved Harry who despite the impending disruption to visualize Christmas on their own and more importantly their wedding, which if Ian is available, can now be as early as the turn of the year.
Although what he hadn't taken into account, despite knowing Ruth better than he knows anyone else on earth is that the pragmatist in her having waited until the builder arrived the following morning, after which they had driven into Southwold and having chosen her engagement which she is wearing and their matching wedding rings which are tucked in his pocket are sitting in what is their preferred café off the high street, is for her to say and quite rightly, 'weddings are all about family Harry and whatever their reaction which we'll deal with it together, you need to tell your children that not only have you retired, but we as in both of us have not only bought a house in Suffolk but that we're getting married.'