A Last Goodbye

These flowers are gone, and so is the wallpaper. I just realised that I took this photo the day before I hung the new paper over the old. I was reminded of how I came to acquire this wallpaper many years ago.

I was working for an interior designer who was a bit shifty, but he always paid me for work I did for him and we got along alright. He always had some kind of deal going on the side and never seemed to concentrate on one thing. He had a design studio in Surrey and supplied such things as window treatments, wall coverings, and art, for his clients.

I had just finished a large paperhanging job for him in a show home on Fraser Heights and when it came time to pay, he told me he was in financial trouble and he would be declaring bankruptcy. By his tone of voice and demeanor, I knew he had more to tell me. He asked me to order something for my home that would be of equal value and he would give it to me in payment for the work I had done. I took sample books home and after choosing paper for most of our house, I also measured our windows on the upper floor for louvre blinds.

I gave him the order and told him I would pay the difference because I knew that what we had ordered was worth a lot more than what he owed me.

When the order came in, I picked it up from his house as his studio was already closed. I was prepared to pay the extra but he insisted that I take the whole order, window treatments and all, and we would call it square. I told him I could not do it as it was too much, he was being too generous. He told me he could not return and if I did not take it and get out of there it was going in the garbage. I took it.

I suspect he ordered it from his suppliers and never paid them. He was that kind of guy. I never saw him again.