Chick Lit Box Set

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TEN

“Have you got the key?” yelled Coco, from across the parking lot.

Aggie lifted up the set of keys and dangled them above her head with a grin as she increased her pace toward Coco.

“Awesome!” Coco replied as they hugged before turning away from the car park and headed towards town.

“How are you feeling? Did you have a good time with Anthony?”

“I’m absolutely fine. No hangover whatsoever. And we had fun, but I didn’t stay over.”

“No? That’s not like you. What happened?”

“His ex-wife appeared with the kids after midnight. Can you believe it? She’s a nutcase, that one.”

“Blimey, that’s not good. How old are the kids?”

“Fourteen and ten. Little shits too. Needless to say, I left straight away. I think his ex is trying to get him back. Well, she can have him. I was only there for the s*x. Shame I didn’t b****y get any,” Coco moaned.

“I bet Anthony was furious.”

“Yeah he was. At her, then at the kids, and then at me for leaving him. They’re not my b****y kids,” Coco grumbled.

Aggie chuckled under her breath.

“It’s not funny,” Coco breathed, pulling her black fur-lined parka closer to her body.

“It is…just a little bit funny. Admit it,” she goaded.

Looking at each other’s faces, Coco started to laugh, “All right, all right, it would have made a good scene in a comedy. Happy now?”

Aggie nodded as they approached the beautiful old building on the corner of Pelican Street.

“Wow, it looks like a fabulous place,” Coco said, as they came to a halt across the road so they could admire it. “I had no idea it was this old or this impressive,” she added.

“To be honest, neither had I,” Aggie replied, a little dubious.

“What? You haven’t been here yet?”

“I didn’t see the point,” Aggie said, raising her eyebrows.

“You silly sod.”

“Yeah I know,” smiled Aggie. “But we’re here now. Come on. Let’s go and check it out.”

With shaky fingers, Aggie struggled to get the key in the hole. She grinned and turned to Coco as the key slotted inside. She then pushed the door open.

“Wow,” she exclaimed. “It’s incredible. And it’s much bigger than I’d imagined.”

“Hadn’t you even looked at the plans?” Coco asked.

Shaking her head, Aggie stood with her mouth open looking around at the impressive structure. Although dust had settled everywhere, and it was clear it hadn’t been in use for many years, it took her breath away. “I can’t quite believe all this is mine,” she whispered.

“Not only that, but look over here, Agg…” Coco squealed as she rushed over to the far corner of the room. It goes on even farther back here. And look…” she pointed round the corner, “stairs!”

“What? But I thought it was just on one floor,” Aggie asked as she looked around.

“It doesn’t look like it, honey. Come on, let’s go up and have a look.”

Following right behind her, Aggie’s heart was beating faster and faster with complete and utter excitement.

Sure enough, the stairs opened to yet another floor the same size as the one below.

“OMG, Aggie! It’s enormous. What’s round here?” she asked as she wandered off, leaving Aggie open-mouthed at the scale of it all.

“How am I going to be able to afford to stock this place?” she said more to herself than to anyone else.

“Err, Aggie. I think you’d better come here,” said the muffled sound of Coco’s voice.

“What is it?” she said as she followed the sound of her voice.

“It’s not just a shop, Aggie!” she squealed. “Look!” Coco was standing atop another set of stairs, beckoning her to follow. “Quick, come up, come up now.”

The excitement was beginning to get to Aggie and she started to come out in a little sweat as she bolted up the second set of stairs.

“What’s up there? What is it?” she yelled, trying to locate her best friend.

But Coco was quiet.

Walking the last two steps, Aggie gasped as she pushed open a door a little distance away from the stairs.

“It’s a flat, Aggie! You’ve got your own flat!”

“No, it can’t be. We must have the wrong building, Coco. This can’t possibly be mine. There must be a mistake. I need to speak to the solicitor. He must’ve given me the wrong key and the wrong address.”

Coco leaned against the wall and said nothing as Aggie pulled out her mobile phone and speed-dialed the solicitor who had handled Great Aunt Petunia’s will.

After a few moments, the secretary put her straight through to the man in question.

“Miss Trout, is everything all right? My secretary said you sounded a little panicked?” he asked.

Aggie turned away from Coco and began pacing back and forth as she spoke to the solicitor.

Coco tried to listen in to the conversation but she’d moved a little too far away and so she just stood still, waiting to hear the news. Was it really Aggie’s place?

After a few more minutes, Aggie turned around and dropped her arms down by her side. Her face was pale.

“Awww, honey. It was mistake, wasn’t it? Oh what a bummer. It would have been a b****y brilliant place to open the shop. Oh well. So where is it?”

“We’re standing in it, Coco. It’s mine. All of it. All four floors of it.”

Coco squealed and did a little dance before she rushed toward Aggie and hugged her in a tight bear hug.

“Wait a minute,” she stopped. “You said four floors?”

Aggie nodded, “There’s another floor. The shop runs over two floors and so does the flat. I…I can’t quite believe it. This whole place is mine, Coco. It’s all mine.”

Her knees buckled beneath her and Aggie crumpled to the floor.

Coco fell to her knees along with her and after a minute of silence, the two began to laugh. The sound of the two hysterical women became louder and louder.