When Lucky Snow-Warren last came to our house to play with Brendan he was not alone; his older brother Benedict accompanied him. He hadn't been to Butterglove House for a few years so I wondered what had prompted this particular visit. It transpired that he was actually here to see me.
"Hey, Mister B," he said once Lucky had left to go to Brendan's room. "I bet you're wondering why I'm here. Well, I won't keep you in suspense. My dad's birthday is coming up and we figured we'd do something special. Do something about his life. And you were his best pal at school."
True enough. Clarence Snow-Warren and I shared a school desk, often worked on projects together and our personalities complemented each other. We'd spend time together outside of school hours - sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with his young brother Chris tagging along. Clary was popular with the girls but at that age he found that tiresome. (I touched upon that in the story "Couples".) We would make up games - similar to Lucky and Brendan, but not as involved - and young Chris would sometimes join in. Our escapades seemed exciting, but in retrospect they were a little tame. In any case it created a solid friendship between us all.
Benedict wondered if I could supply some amusing stories about our schooldays and I agreed to give it some thought. He left, quite satisfied that he'd succeeded in gaining my support. I watched him go, thinking it was amazing to see how the lad had developed, especially considering the first time I'd seen him.
I was transported back to that time. Cecile and I had visited Clary and Lettuce's house to see their newborn baby. He was so tiny and it made us think - one day we'd have our own little child. At that time we has been married just over a year.
o 0 O 0 o
Baby Benedict wasn't the only matter that caught Cecile's attention. She was attracted to the room's novel wallpaper design with its motif of tiny green rabbit heads. She remarked upon it to Lettuce, the proud new mum.
"The wallpaper?" Lettuce said, tearing her eyes away from the cute, unfocused gaze of her baby. "Yes. Clary rushed to have the decorating done so that we wouldn't be inconvenienced when our little bundle arrived. Do you like it?"
"I do," said Cecile. "I wouldn't mind something similar. Maybe a different colour. We've been looking to re-wallpaper the living room once we can afford it, haven't we, Jack?"
To be honest, I'd not been looking into it with much enthusiasm. We didn't have much to spare with our finances. During the period Cecile and I had been courting, I had left my job at Henry-Lloyd Construction and become a full-time songwriter with Chris Snow-Warren. To invest in our joint career I had used a chunk of my savings to buy a decent piano. Granted, we'd had some luck with an agency that brought us work writing advertising jingles. Our tiny song for the makers of Rodentene toothpaste was the most lucrative, playing on the radio and gaining popularity. But we were far from rich.
Decorating the living room hadn't been a concern and as far as I was concerned it wasn't a priority. However, I did appreciate that Cecile needed something to help demonstrate that it was more than my inherited family home; it was our home. I answered accordingly. Besides, I had to admit that the wallpaper was indeed a nice design.
"We can certainly investigate the option, my love," I said, smiling.
"I'll give you the name of the designer," said Lettuce.
Designer? Oh dear.
o 0 O 0 o
The designer was William Roomis and we discovered that he was in Mellowdene splitting his time between Ryan Forrester's paper works and at Oakwood's Decor on Columbine Road. The former were implementing his designs and the latter were to be the local retail outlet. We further discovered that he was staying temporarily at Bassett's Boarding House whilst he had business here.
Bassett's Boarding House is a longstanding fixture in Mellowdene. I've mentioned it in passing within previous tales but hadn't highlighted its significance. It sits on Reed Avenue close to the main docks entrance but now also has a further entrance on Dock Road itself. Visitors to Mellowdene, both new and returning, are assured of a warm welcome from the Bassetts. Comfortable rooms and excellent service provide a lasting impression. One couldn’t ask for better ambassadors for our village.
It wasn't originally owned by the Bassett family but has been as far as most people remember. As the number of visitors to Mellowdene increased they made the decision to expand their capacity so it became more of a hotel than a boarding house - but the name remains. This may be because of tradition but it might be because the older buildings still offer the facility for long term boarders.
When Bassett's Boarding House expanded onto Dock Lane to add more buildings and more rooms, it also added an area for room holders and visitors to congregate. This area has also been used for events such as wedding receptions. It is known as The Lounge.
It was here that we caught up with William Roomis to discuss his wallpaper creations.
o 0 O 0 o
"The green bunny design?" he said. "Yes. Happily, Ollie Oakwood thinks it will be popular and he has some in stock. I have a range of designs with small critter motifs in the pipeline and I'm hoping Ollie will stock them should my first few designs prove popular."
Cecile gave me a sideways glance before addressing the effusive kangaroo. "Yes. Well, as I said, having seen it in our friends' house I thought something similar might suit our living room. I love the design..."
"Wonderful! Ollie will be glad of the business."
"I'm sure he would," Cecile said, not wanting to be diverted, "but when I said 'something similar' I was speaking about the colour. Our furniture and soft fittings might clash with the green..."
"Clash?"
"Yes, unfortunately. Our colour scheme is... how can I put it... more autumnal, and your delightful bunny design is more spring-like. I was thinking of something more towards the red end of the spectrum - printed on a warm cream.'
Roomis regarded Cecile with interest. "Well, you seem a lady who knows her mind. Red, though? Wouldn't that be a tad overwhelming?"
"I was thinking of a more subdued rusty red."
"For a feature wall?"
"No. The entire living room."
"No, no. That would be too much."
Although I wasn't certain we needed a custom design, I thought Cecile would welcome some support.
"Except it wouldn't be for the full height of the room," I said. "We have wood paneling on the lower part of the wall."
Cecile beamed at me. "Like my husband said, we have paneling. The warm cream and the rusty red bunnies should look well against the wood."
"Hmm," said Roomis. "I'm intrigued. I'd need to see the room. If I was to arrange for Forrester's to create a special print run with the new colours I need to see the potential."
o 0 O 0 o
Roomis had a good look at our living room. I heard him mutter, "yes, a clash," when regarding the coral sofa Cecile had brought into the house, but he showed more interest when he saw my piano. "That's a rather splendid instrument. Is someone a musician?"
Cecile responded before I had a chance. "Jackson is a professional songwriter."
"Really? Will I have heard any of your songs?"
"Unlikely," I said, ignoring Cecile's pointed expression, "as we're currently working with an advertising company. Jingles for products like Brisbane's banana butter and Tommy's Tinned Tomatoes. Oh, and Rodentene."
"Rodentene? That's one of yours? That is a catchy tune."
"It's not high art but our contact in the advertising agency seems pleased. It brought us much needed income."
Cecile's eyes widened. Maybe she didn't want to share our financial limitations.
"Ah, money," said Roomis. "I suppose we should discuss that."
"Makes sense," I said. "We're practical people. I know Cecile has a vision for redecorating this room but, if anything, she's more practical than me. We don't want to waste your time if the cost would exceed our reserves."
"Jackson!" hissed Cecile,
Roomis laughed. "Ah, don't worry too much. Of course, a new colour palette for my bunny design would incur a cost but I wouldn't want to pass that on. Having seen this room I can see the potential of creating a wallpaper with a cream and rusty red colour scheme. I could add it to our existing line."
"That's very generous, isn't it Jackson?" said Cecile, still a little miffed with my bluntness. I nodded.
Once again Roomis looked around at the walls. "I'm impressed with your vision, Mrs Butterglove. I'd like to see how it turns out. Now to practicalities. I'll be returning to Calico New City in a couple of days but I can put things in motion. Forrester's will create samples that we both can see. Thereafter, you can make a final decision whether or not you wish to proceed."
I didn't want to irritate Cecile further so kept my mouth shut. Perhaps Roomis realised my discomfort as he hesitantly continued.
"As for the price of the wallpaper, I've had a thought. I'd be happy to barter to avoid any monetary issues."
"Barter?" I repeated.
"Yes. I'm currently working on a wallpaper design for an opera house in the city. I want a musical stave effect following a repeated wave design. I was thinking of employing a musician to specify the notes to place on the stave, taking short extracts from assorted arias."
"Are you suggesting I could do that for you?"
"You're a songwriter. Perhaps you can do better than that. Maybe you could combine those extracts into a medley. Create an operatic jingle I can have printed on my wavy stave."
It did sound interesting.
"Now, if we can do that to our mutual satisfaction, I'd be happy to supply your rusty bunny wallpaper even before it becomes available in Oakwood's shop. In fact, I'd also be prepared to pay your decorator to hang the wallpaper. How does that sound?"
This time, Cecile's eyes were shining with hope. I could make but one reply.
"I think we have a deal, Mister Roomis."
"Call me William."
o 0 O 0 o
We've had this wallpaper for most of our married life. The bunny ears have borne witness to the birth of our family. I admit I love it as much as Cecile. It may have been her concept but I helped finance it with my songwriting skills. It was good to reminisce how that came to be - all because of a visit to see a tiny Benedict Snow-Warren.
o 0 O 0 o
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