{"id":12566,"date":"2024-11-26T19:38:17","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T18:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=12566"},"modified":"2024-11-26T20:43:22","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T19:43:22","slug":"daisys-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=12566","title":{"rendered":"Daisy&#8217;s Place"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Flower-One-e1732646229564.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"782\" \/><br \/><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">Image: \u00a9 Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A scramble of hairpins, then a wedge of smooth sea. Down the coast, the Costa del something. High-rise hotels, Dan said, and street fights. But out here, he said, it was a different world. No bars, not on this trip, eating in and he\u2019d cook, and anyway, everyone had such good things to say about the apartment. Paradise, they reckoned, a huge terrace and the sea, the golden pebbles of five-star reviews.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The gate was open; the key poked from the front-door lock. The flat was airy and larger than it had looked online. The bathroom stank of drains. She made jasmine tea which they drank on the terrace while Dan went through the laminated information sheet. A couple of small boats slid the fold between sea and sky. Across the gulley, a villa with battered shutters; flaking hoardings on the scrub land behind promising new housing. Bertie lolled on the tiles and Dan said it looked as though everything was in order and he couldn\u2019t see why they wouldn\u2019t have a good time at this one. She\u2019d done well, he said, considering, and it was nice, that kind of praise for a change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then a car scrunched to a halt in the gravelly pull-in and there was a girl hustling down the steps and then, behind, a woman who was waving and she must be the host, Daisy. Taller than expected, graceful rather than chintzy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daisy paused to make a fuss of Bertie. Her English was good. She also had a dog and two cats, she said; food waste needed to go in the yellow tub and she was happy to help if they needed anything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Daisy had gone, Keri collected the teacups. \u2018She seems a good host,\u2019 she said. And she\u2019d make a good friend, too, definitely a good friend; the connection, momentary, was a loss when it was gone. \u2018It\u2019s an idyllic life for the children. I think they\u2019re German.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Daisy\u2019s not a German name.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No, well, that\u2019s what the reviews had said, she was sure, German definitely, but not worth pushing, and something about scuba diving which had obviously reminded her of that week in France and all the trouble but she wasn\u2019t going to rake that up either.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018About our age, wouldn\u2019t you think, Dan?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kids, though, which was nice. Two of them it said in the blurb.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018A hundred odd quid a night, what is it, a hundred and twenty \u2013 of course it\u2019s idyllic,\u2019 Dan said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And a great complexion. Fresh, the word that came to mind. Fresh as a Daisy, which was corny and made her smile. Bright cheeks, though, an easy relaxed air: all that would come with the lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following morning, she laid breakfast on the terrace and Dan did one of his platters. Slithers of ham and a gnarly goat\u2019s cheese, bread, olive oil, a pink jam, oranges and almonds, sweet biscuits and it was all very well, but it hadn\u2019t brightened his mood, not one bit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018The gas rings are a joke. The weediest flame ever. And the coffee machine\u2019s broken.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018I saw that. Don\u2019t worry \u2013 I\u2019ll put it in the review.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sea spangled, little boats blinking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Well make sure you mention the pillows. It\u2019s not our disappointment that matters, Ker, so much as other people\u2019s expectations. Transactions on these platforms rely on honesty and\u00a0 \u0336 \u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She had to hush him. Daisy was climbing the steps, wearing a red woolly hat with a pompom and a thick brown coat, stylish even so, and close enough to hear them. Bertie sprang up, his paws on the terrace wall. Daisy\u2019s dog stopped and stared. It was called Faustus, Daisy said. No sign that she\u2019d heard them discussing disappointments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After breakfast, Dan proposed a walk into town.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018We should get some fish,\u2019 he said. \u2018There\u2019s a decent frying pan, at least.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She didn\u2019t much fancy fish. She\u2019d sit here instead, much better, and watch the sea and wait for Daisy to come home from her walk, and they might chat for a while, and then the morning would just pass and be quietly gone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dan handed her the dog lead and called Bertie. There was a stony path, mostly the sea again and the scratchy hills, a disused windmill, one or two elegant villas. She looked for Daisy, or for Faustus scampering, but they must have taken a different direction and it was only birds making the scrub shiver. Dan\u2019s shoe was nipping, he said, how could it be nipping and he showed her the rub of raw toe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They returned to the flat with two large squid. She laid the table on the terrace. The sun was strong; the morning breeze had died. Dan was hobbling on account of the blisters. She should have packed the salve, he said; he couldn\u2019t believe she hadn\u2019t packed the salve. It would be better if she learnt from her mistakes, he said, rather than repeating them. Daisy came up from below as they were eating. She\u2019d tied her hair up and looked chic in black jeans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The afternoon clouded, turning chilly. They\u2019d been promised a fireplace and a supply of logs but the hearth was musty with soot and cobwebs; there was no sign of any wood. Dan said she\u2019d fallen for marketing hype and it would have to go in the review.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Puffery,\u2019 he said. \u2018Honestly, all this place has is location. The terrace and the sea, that\u2019s all, the view obviously. Otherwise it\u2019s just smelly. Things falling apart or stuck together. Like that shower head, Keri \u2013 I showed you.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So instead of the log fire, they used the gas heater, which wheezed fumes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After dinner, they took what remained of the wine onto the terrace. It was a cloud-free night, the moon a low yellow scoop in a starry sky. She kicked off her slippers and lay back on the sofa with her feet on the low wall. The tide washed quietly on the rocks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At some point, late, she saw Daisy head out in the dark. Faustus was wearing a sparkling lime-green night collar which scudded back and forth across the headland. She traced the spit of it like a blip of radar as they dipped across the gulley and in front of the empty villa, moving without a sound.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next thing was a man, striding away from Daisy\u2019s place early next morning, just as she came back with Bertie. Stamping through the scrub towards the empty building site, he hardly glanced at her, but she felt uneasy, couldn\u2019t help it, and then Dan said:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018I saw the husband while you were out.\u2019 He was peeling an orange. \u2018Well, heard him mostly. There was an argument. Then he stormed off.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Shortish and a bit stocky? Overalls and work boots?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Yes, that\u2019s him. It was all, you know, voices down, don\u2019t scare the natives, but definitely an argument. Just below the terrace. Not the kind of thing we want.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Is he German then? Did they speak German?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018I don\u2019t know. It didn\u2019t sound German. Spanish, I think. But it was all hush-hush and whispers.\u2019 Sighing. \u2018I think you\u2019ve missed the point, Keri.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So then, the husband wasn\u2019t at home, obviously, she\u2019d worked that out, and that was one thing, him taking a job elsewhere, especially during the winter when things were dead, or visiting family, a sick mother, in Germany, say. But this new guy, out of the blue, not even the husband and angry, and a storming off at dawn, that was a bad sign. Daisy caught unawares most likely, Faustus whining for his walk and this man bearing down on her, shouting. Or whispering, like Dan had said, and that was worse, spitting through closed teeth. She swept her hand through her hair the way Daisy had done, her fingers stiff with the cold.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018That man this morning,\u2019 she said to Dan later, as they were walking down to one of the coves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Which man?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018You know, you said, the argument. He\u2019s not the husband. You were right about them speaking Spanish. He\u2019s doing some work for her, odd jobs, that sort of thing. And builders, you know \u2013 no wonder there\u2019s a row.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018We can do without that kind of atmosphere first thing in the morning.\u2019 Dan let Bertie off the lead to run down the gravelly path to the sea.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018But most likely he\u2019s not doing what he said he would. What they\u2019d agreed. He\u2019s trying it on.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They picked through the stony foreshore and spent a while throwing sticks. At least she\u2019d settled the issue with the Spanish builder. That outhouse round the back wasn\u2019t even half finished, his tools lying around, bags of cement. He needed badgering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They took the path towards town but the views were disappointing; a misty cloud had slunk in from the sea like a silence. She kept an eye out for Daisy, just in case, and again, later, around the time of the school run, but the terrace, the house and garden, the sea, the entire place, was hushed and grey. Frankly, she wasn\u2019t surprised. Early morning arguments had that effect. Look at the way Dan was wound up now, tense and snarky. They couldn\u2019t discuss supper plans with any civility, picking at an uninspiring cold plate in the end, pulling up the stools to the kitchen counter and tending their phones, much like that time in Italy which had soured the hilltop monastery the next day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And that was when the music started, a piano, just a few notes and hesitant. Clear enough, close by, but only a snatch of tune, and then again, the same phrase repeated with greater confidence but then breaking up and everything falling quiet. Perhaps the sea pleating against the rocks at the end of the garden but that was all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dan said nothing, so probably it didn\u2019t matter. She finished wiping the sink and settled on the flabby couch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But next time, it couldn\u2019t be ignored. A long loud refrain, fluent and catchy; then another, a tune now, definitely, which meant there\u2019d be questions and some kind of accusation, best headed off if she could. She sat up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Behind that door,\u2019 she said. \u2018There.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dan didn\u2019t move.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018I hadn\u2019t noticed it before. There, in the corner of the kitchen. Padlocked.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was recessed from the bank of kitchen units and painted the same dusty beige as the walls, the cluster of recycling bins stacked in front. She went over and ran her fingers down the frame, as if she might feel the notes vibrating. Directly into the top floor of Daisy\u2019s place, she reckoned; it must be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dan didn\u2019t look up. Didn\u2019t say a word. Which must have taken some doing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A minute or so, that was all, and then silence. She didn\u2019t know about music and Dan said she was tone deaf but still, the tune had stopped in the wrong place, surely, like a switch had been flicked by mistake. She waited for it to start again but the usual compact quiet held out. That was something. The trouble was, she was expecting noise, a bar or two, couldn\u2019t help it, all the time she was sorting Bertie and cleaning her teeth, and Dan would be mad about the music even if he still hadn\u2019t said anything, especially because he hadn\u2019t said anything and for the rest of the night she lay stiffly on her back without sleeping.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next day, no visitors or arguments; nothing from the other side of the door. Just Daisy passing a couple of times to walk Faustus or take the daughter to school. They strolled on the headland, bought a coffee in town and returned to eat on the terrace overlooking the sea. Dan cooked something with olives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, in the middle of the night she woke to a skitter of notes and Dan scrambling out of the flat. She caught up with him on the terrace, the tiles stinging cold through her socks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018It\u2019s OK, Dan, it\u2019s the piano.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She took a step back. He had that look about him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Like before. It\u2019s OK, Dan, really. It\u2019s just behind that door.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Half a moon sloped above the sea. The night was calm and quiet. Only the music reached them, but softer here, already distant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He growled the sleep from his throat. \u2018It\u2019s a bloody nuisance, Ker, that\u2019s what. A bloody nuisance. We need to tell them. Tell them: it\u2019s not acceptable, no way acceptable. It\u2019s nearly two in the morning.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The piano fell silent again leaving his voice clattering in the dark. About five minutes, that was all the music had been, in all the hours they\u2019d spent there. A few bars and ill-judged timing more than anything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Put it in the review,\u2019 he was saying. \u2018It needs to go in. The woman, what\u2019s she called, giving recitals at all hours. God, can\u2019t you ever get these bookings right, Keri? I\u2019ve been through it with you. And every time \u2013\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Daisy. Her name\u2019s Daisy.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it wasn\u2019t Daisy playing. Daisy was cleaning or catching up on admin, even at this hour, no, not admin; getting ahead with meal prep for the following day, that would be it, peeling and slicing carrots.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eventually, he went inside. She stood looking out on the black rippling sea, wrapped in the earthy scent of chopped vegetables.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The packing was still to be done, but she took her book onto the terrace, lying on the sofa in the sun with her trousers rolled to her knees and her blouse unbuttoned. A car drew up and then the gate squeaked open. It wasn\u2019t Daisy\u2019s usual time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She swung her legs round in time to see a boy making his way stiffly down the steps. Gaunt, bald, eyes too big and pained.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inside, Dan was packing the box of dog treats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018I\u2019ve seen the son; he\u2019s got cancer.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He straightened. \u2018Have you found Bertie\u2019s green bone?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018It\u2019s been him playing the piano.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He threw a screwed wrapper towards the bin. \u2018Bone, Ker? We need to find it, you know. And you\u2019re going to make sure you mention the noise in the review?\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018How can I, if he\u2019s got cancer?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Quite easily. We\u2019re reviewing our visit completely objectively for the benefit of other travellers. We can\u2019t go speculating on other stuff. Does the boy\u2019s illness change our experience?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Surely it makes a difference.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Why? What would happen if ratings were dependent on how tough a time the host\u2019s having? Think about it. Recently bereaved? Oh, that\u2019ll be five stars \u2013 best overlook the drive-by shooting. Tricky divorce? That\u2019s five stars, too; ignore the filthy bathroom and the oven catching fire. Nasty headache? Better be four stars. You understand where that leads us, don\u2019t you?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018But if you\u2019d seen him, Dan. I\u2019ve never seen a boy look so sick. Imagine what it\u2019s like for her, poor Daisy.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018OK. Fine. So consider this &#8211; what if he\u2019s not even the son? What if he doesn\u2019t live here at all? We have absolutely no proof. Think about it \u2013 what if it\u2019s someone she\u2019s drafted in? It\u2019s a bit of a coincidence: we have a disturbed night, noise at all hours, obvious consequences for our rating, and low and behold, some boy raises his sickly head just as we\u2019re logging into the review page. If he\u2019s not some stooge then where\u2019s he been all week?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lying in bed next door, right next door, while they were messing about. Wasn\u2019t it obvious? It was all obvious. Everything Daisy had on her plate, her husband out of the picture, the son too much for him most likely, too hard, and the builder causing trouble and trying to keep the holiday flat going and this cancer, the worst, but she\u2019d do the review anyway, the pillows and the cooking facilities and the noise, everything, that would be enough to knock it down to three stars and she\u2019d leave the boy out of it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supper (light), a draft of the review, packing, washing, sorting photos, everything ready to be off in the morning and he was probably there, all this time, slumped on the piano stool just the other side of the door, his hands heavy on the keys. She felt him there, his presence anyway. She\u2019d have touched him on the shoulder and it would be all right, she\u2019d have said. Honestly, it would be all right. And he\u2019d be hardly more than bones beneath her hand, just bones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That was when Dan said she was moping, why was she moping.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Just tired,\u2019 she said. Which was true enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Exactly,\u2019 he said. \u2018Up half the night <\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on account of the piano party. I\u2019m not surprised you\u2019re tired.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And still three more places to come on this trip, a couple more countries, Dan\u2019s blisters again, all the things she\u2019d struggle to get right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The light was fading. She had to take Faustus for a quick stroll before bed. The dog hauled himself from the sofa so she could attach the lead. What he needed for their late walks was one of those luminous collars. She had one somewhere, didn\u2019t she?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They went down the steps, walking across the headland to the soft beat of the sea. Looking back, she could make out the lights in the house; the holiday flat was dark but she\u2019d have to find guests again soon, there was no choice the way the bills were. She pressed on through the still night, her steps soundless on the dry ground and then she heard her boy at the piano again, the notes slipping by like someone else\u2019s wish and then the music faltered and stopped.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>____<\/p>\n<p><em>Jacqueline Yallop is the author of three works of literary fiction, including Obedience\u00a0(Atlantic Books) which was nominated for the Man Booker Prize. Jacqueline also writes creative non-fiction: she published a personal exploration of darkness in November 2023 with Icon Books, called Into the Dark.\u00a0Her short fiction has so far appeared in Stand Magazine and Short Fiction; another of her stories was shortlisted for the V.S Pritchett Short Story Award.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image: \u00a9 Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester A scramble of hairpins, then a wedge of smooth sea. Down the coast, the Costa del something. High-rise hotels, Dan said, and street fights. But out here, he said, it was a different world. No bars, not on this trip, eating in and he\u2019d cook, and anyway, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[376,426,407,425],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.2.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Daisy&#039;s Place - The Manchester Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themanchesterreview.co.uk\/?p=12566\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Daisy&#039;s Place - The Manchester Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Image: \u00a9 Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester A scramble of hairpins, then a wedge of smooth sea. Down the coast, the Costa del something. High-rise hotels, Dan said, and street fights. But out here, he said, it was a different world. 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