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  Chapter 07 – Piece Seven – The Flat

  I finished the project on schedule the following Friday and took the train to London on Saturday. Sunday I rode with Omar down to Oxford and spent the following week scraping, cleaning, painting and furnishing our flat.

  We decided to move out of college and last spring found a large dormer flat located about 3 km from college. It was, however, only really affordable for four students not two. This was not an issue for O since his parents provide him with a very generous allowance, but it was for me. O offered to chip in three quarters of the rent, but I wasn’t going to go along with that. In the end we decided to add a third roommate. O would take one bedroom and pay half the rent, I’d get a flat mate and we’d split the other half between us. We put the word out amongst our friends and Foggy Phelps, a serious, quiet, astronomy student expressed an interest, so we signed him on as our third flatmate.

  The flat has a large front room used as a sitting/dining room plus a decent kitchen. It is a flat you can entertain in, which was its main appeal to O. You entered from the stairwell through a small foyer that opens to the long room stretching across the front of the house. A good sized kitchen borders the first half of the room with a breakfast bar divider, then a hallway leading to the lav and the two bedrooms in the back. Beyond the hallway door, the room continues for another three meters or so with an old fireplace converted to electricity on the outside wall. The room is lit by two large dormer windows, with the outside edge of the room sloping under the roof, making it cosy in O’s words.

  The flat was not (too) shabby. Quite suitable for students, but O does nothing in a minor way and had grand ideas for its renovation. O has a wide variety of friends with a wide variety of interests whom he can call on for any occasion. On this occasion he talked our two artist friends, Millie Rue and Chris Dolely Dolelan, into acting as our ‘consulting interior designers.’ Why he “hired” both I’m not quite sure, likely to avoid choosing one over the other. Early in September the three of them had begun planning the project. I was in Scotland at the time, but I gather the term ‘hammer out’ is an accurate description of the process. Millie is always cheerful and you’d have a hard time finding someone more quiet and mild mannered than Dolely, but when it comes to art, design and style they have opinions – strong ones – and when you toss in O who has opinions about everything as well, the process, I gather, involved a very lively exchange of views. Though I’ve become much more interested in the varied aspects of style since I’ve been at Oxford and met all sorts of people, I’m glad I missed those discussions, judging from the minor storms over minor issues throughout the renovation. I kept my head down, my opinions to myself, and kept painting.

  Once the plan was agreed on and cleared with the landlord, work began. It involved painting all the walls and trim one shade of white or another, including all the kitchen cabinets inside and out. For me, the upside of all these white walls, is that you can project a screen on any wall from anyplace in the flat and get your work done from any chair in the flat. (You just have to dodge all the paintings...) We also had to rip out all the existing carpets and renew and then wash the underlying wood floors with white stain. In short, a week of hard work, backaches and bitching while camping out on inflated mattresses on the floor and eating take away.

  Tuesday evening, three weeks ago

  We were sitting around on the floor of our half-painted flat, eating Chinese take away and looking ahead to the next step in the process, furnishing the digs.

  'You're out of your mind!'

  'Quality Leather club chairs are not inexpensive, Giz.'

  I gave Omar a hard look. I knew his opening figure for our furnishing budget was only meant to start the discussion at a price point high enough to allow him to graciously agree to a compromise and still not scrimp. But still.

  He added, ‘I'll pay half. Only fair. You know I've plenty of loose change to cover these expenses. Just relax and take advantage of my parents' generosity.'

  'We’ve already agreed to split the furniture budget equally, O. And we don’t need leather chairs. What do you say, Foggy?'

  'Ah, as I understand O's idea,' began Foggy, 'we're looking to make the Sunday dinner something along the lines of a classical salon, so an abundance of comfortable furnishings would be desirable. I'm all for comfortable chairs and sofas and such. I like to sit down on softer things than the floor as much as anyone. However, I do think that we should remember that we are, after all mere students. Moreover, I should point out that some of our friends – and flat mates (with a glance at me) – entertain rather left wing views and might look askance at student digs looking like a St James club... All in all, I'd think most of our friends would feel more comfortable in a battered and wobbly chair from some second hand shop than a new leather one...'

  'At a thousand quid apiece.' I added.

  'Exactly,' said Foggy. 'And I agree with Giz that we should share and share alike for furnishings since we'll all be using them. Besides, that system makes for the most comfortable rooming relationship – neither Giz nor I care to feel like second class flatmates, or freeloaders. So, all in all, I believe Giz is right, your proposed budget is rather on the high side.' Foggy concluded.

  'Really O,’ I added. ‘There are many times that I wonder how you can claim to be a Light-lifer with a straight face.' I said, repeating his figure. 'That's a virtual orgy of consumption!'

  'You wound me, comrade Giz. You know there's lot more to Light-living than mere anti-consumerism as the big box press would have us believe. It's all about the responsible use of resources, about buying locally produced products and supporting locally owned businesses whenever possible. Buying quality English crafted leather furniture that will last a lifetime – or more – is classic littlism. Buying junky chairs churned out on the far side of the world which will fall apart and end up in pieces on the kerb when we move out in two years is not using resources wisely. My proposal, though initially expensive, is based squarely on classic Light-life doctrine.'

  'It still looks like an orgy of consumption to me. But then you have always struck me more of, well, sort of a party boss type of Light-lifer...'

  'I know it's an excess Light-living fever that causes you to level these hurtful charges, Comrade Giz, so I shan’t bother to continue this argument. Once you have mastered your hot temper we can discuss this further.'

  'Oh cut the crap, O. I know you’re just gaming our furnishing budget at a higher level than if we’d started with a figure I'd propose. What do you say Foggy? Come up with a figure you can readily afford. O knows quite well about what I’m willing to spend, so give us your honest figure and we’ll work with that. And be sure to mentally include the inevitable cost overrun involved in projects like this when you state it.'

  Foggy considered his budget.

  ‘Seriously Giz, Foggy, I can cover our expenses and would be glad to do so. I, or rather, my folks, are not short of loot. And I'm serious about buying the type of furnishings that will last. Good quality is well worth it,' O said earnestly.

  'I'll grant you that, but I'm sure we can do without leather... And Foggy's right about not being too pretentious. Matter of principle and all that. Besides I can’t believe we'll have to compromise all that much if we stay within a budget the three of us can afford.'

  'And what would that be?'

  I looked to Foggy as I did the math in my head, subtracted 30% for the inevitable cost overrun and waited for Foggy's figure. I don't know Foggy's financial condition, but I didn’t think he was as flush as O.

  Foggy gave his figure with a bit of hemming and hawing, and since it was within my range, I seconded him.

  Omar smiled. 'I guess we can scrape by with that, if we must.'

  Damn. I mentally slashed the 30% contingency allowance I'd allowed to 15%.

  O continued, 'Fortunately Dolely’s extended family is in the home furnishing business, so he knows pieces, prices and manufacturers. He says we’ll be ab
le to get the family discounts as well.’

  The weird thing is that after spending several evenings visiting the various shops of Dolely’s relatives between Oxford and Northern London with our consulting interior decorators we ended up buying not leather club chairs but plastic chairs and tables... Or rather “resin” chairs and tables. However, despite being plastic, O assures me, that they’re very Light-living. They’re big pieces, solid, heavy and richly coloured. (We carried them up the two long flights of stairs, so I know for despite being light-living, they’re not light.) They’re made in the EU from recycled resin, and actually seem stylish with a 21st century flair, so that they might avoid being recycled again for several generations. We opted for a four-piece sectional and two club chairs just to make moving them up the stairs easier. One handy feature is that each piece or section has a cushion that can be taken off, unfolded and used on the floor as mattresses to accommodate overnight guests. Having opted for resin chairs it was decided to go all the way, adding two large resin coffee tables and several resin end tables as well. The neat thing about the coffee tables is that their legs can be extended to convert them into card tables allowing us to use them for our Sunday dinners without having to buy a separate table or two for that purpose.

  In payment for Millie’s and Dolely’s design services, O offered our walls as an informal gallery which they and their friends could use to display their work. Seeing how O often has guests over and who they are, his boast that the future movers and shakers of Britain would be exposed to their work was not entirely B.S. Luckily Millie and Dolely are both very talented artists so that having their paintings and sculptures on our walls and around us is a definite plus. The agreement also gives them the right to bring around works from their friends which might be a bit iffy, but we’ll just have to take the rough with the smooth.

  Between the furniture, carpets, and art, the whole effect is eclectic and colourful with a definite 21st century edge to it. I could see it in a magazine, which is what our design committee was shooting for, I suppose. And amazingly enough, everyone remained friends throughout the process, though both Millie and Dolely claim that they’ll never – ever – do interior design again because of all the stress in dealing with opinionated clients.

  Foggy and I furnished our bedroom more simply, two futons on platforms with drawers underneath them and a long narrow table as a dresser/desk, all from the flat box big store.

  ‘Well, Foggy, it’s pretty sparse. Nothing here to embarrass a monk,’ I said looking about our bright, but sparsely furnished room.

  ‘True, Giz. And I can’t help but find that a little sad. The monk part, you know.’

  He was right.

  I sighed. ‘Damn.’

  ‘Yah.’

  The following Saturday

  The weekend we were finishing up the painting – that is two weeks ago – I got a call from Moss.

  'What are you doing next weekend?'

  'I’ll be working to finish up several papers. Why, what's up?'

  'Next Saturday’s the annual Cavendish Chess Club picnic, and as a member, you are, of course, invited.'

  'The Cavendish Chess Club... I don't seem to recall becoming a member of that organization...'

  'Don't be dense, Gallagher. You joined several weeks ago.'

  'Ah...'

  'Yes. The club pays for the whole binge out of our ill-gotten gains. We invite our friends and lovers along but the true nature of the club must remain a secret – you know why. You'll be along as a guest of mine since the chess club would have a hard time explain your membership. Some of us plan to bike out to the riverside park at St Neots. It’s something like 25km – you can either rent a bike and ride out with us or catch a ride with the non-bikers... After the picnic the chess club members spend the evening and early morning hours playing chess, which is to say, duelling in Terratana worlds, so what do you say?'

  I hesitated, thinking hard. ‘Thanks for inviting me, it sounds like fun but...'

  'If you're worried about breaking the terms of your parole, you needn't. Noste has already invited Beri and she begged off. She'll be in London all weekend.'

  'Well, in that case, I think I can fit it in, but I’ll need to head back as early as I can on Sunday. I really have to finish those papers...’

  ‘A second point, are you up for some house guests next week?’

  ‘Sure, I’d love to have you down. What’s up?’

  Bill Foster and I are planning a bike trip of a couple of days to clear our minds. I was thinking we could swing by Oxford, pay you a visit and if you could put us up for a night that’d be great.’

  ‘Sounds great. When can I expect you?’

  ‘We’d do the Cambridge to Oxford stretch on Monday next, stay overnight and then head out on Tuesday. Bring your bike along on Saturday and you can join us if you want.’

  ‘I think I’ll pass on that this time. Living my tinkerer’s life this summer, I haven’t been on my bike except for a few turns around town this whole summer...’ We went on to sketch out a few plans and talk biking a bit.

  ‘And by the way, Gallagher, have you been reading my emails?’

  ‘You mean all those alarming emails about how friendly Noste is getting with Beri?’

  ‘Noste’s plainly smitten and between the Hot Club and Darneby’s special project they’re both on, he’s going to have plenty of opportunities. Don’t sell Noste short. He’s a determined fellow.

  ‘Thanks for your concern, and even more the fact that you’re staying the hell out of it. Trust me, I’ve already kidded Selina about it and Beri’s an old hand at keeping suitors at bay. At Oxford she was notorious for giving them the short and sharp if they dared more than a casual acquaintance. Noste doesn’t worry me. Not her type, math and the fiddle playing notwithstanding. Besides even on my short acquaintance with Noste, I think it’s unlikely that he’d be able to write and deliver a speech expressing, in exhausting detail, his multitude of emotions in anything short of a term or two...’

  ‘Perhaps, but remember his Terratana avatar, Fiddler Green. You saw how fast he can think and act when needed. I have to believe it’s easier for Fiddler Green to play the pedantic professor than for a pedantic professor to play Fiddler Green. I’d not underestimate Noste, lad.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know Noste well enough to say one way or the other. What I can say is that if you want to stay in Beri’s good graces, you just continue to stay out of it. And since I can’t do anything from here in Oxford, I’ll just have to trust my rather remarkable luck.’

  ‘Well, you’ve been warned.’

  ‘Yes, Moss I have. I’ll email a confirmation of that if you’d like.’

  Chapter 08 – Piece Eight – Two Weekends