The Vintage Teacup Club

by Vanessa Greene

  Maggie laughed. ‘Yes, maybe. But I also think she could be great – she’s got a good eye, Ali. Anna’ll be covering the shop for me when I’m away in Italy and she could use another pair of hands. Might give Sophie something to keep her occupied during the holidays?’

  ‘I’m sure she’d love that,’ Alison said. ‘I’ll talk to her about it.’

  As I watched Ali and Maggie talking, I thought back to the start of the summer and the moment we’d met, how little we’d known each other then. Step by step we’d let each other in, and now it was hard to imagine that we hadn’t always been there for each other. These women were both so strong, had bounced back from life’s knocks and come out better for it. But then I suppose, somehow, with their help, I had done the same.

  The sky behind the old school house was streaked with pink, and as we approached it we all went quiet for a moment. It was as if the little Victorian building was suspended in time; the sunset cast it in a warm reddish light and the weathervane swung in the breeze. Fields lay all around, making it seem further away from town, and modern life, than it really was.

  Maggie parked up just outside. ‘This place really is gorgeous,’ she said. ‘Jen – you’ve got the key, haven’t you?’ she asked.

  I felt for it in my pocket, ‘Yes.’ I’d asked the caretaker if I could borrow it so we could start setting up early.

  ‘OK,’ Maggie continued. ‘Why don’t you open the place up, and Ali and I will unpack and bring the things in.’

  ‘Sure,’ I said, opening the car door. ‘See you in a sec.’

  The lock in the big wooden door was a little stiff – not surprising really as it had been years since the building was used regularly. A better-equipped primary school had opened up in Easton, our neighbouring village, and the kids, including Alison’s daughter Holly, had been transferred over there. The school house was such a local landmark however, that the community had come together to insist it wasn’t sold off, and it had become a centre for plays, concerts and the occasional private party. It hadn’t been used for a wedding reception before though, and as a venue it was still pretty rough around the edges – there was nowhere proper to serve drinks (hence Dad’s handmade bar) and on our first visit we saw they’d even left a few freestanding chalk boards around. Alison had spotted and fallen in love with them; so one of our plans for tonight was to make big coloured chalk signposts to the cloakroom and toilets.

  As the heavy wooden door creaked open, warm light spilled out from inside. Alison and Maggie were laughing together over at the car as they unpacked the boxes, but the school house itself was silent. Why was there light coming from inside? Had Dad come by earlier with another key? Surely not, he’d promised me he’d wait until I called him to say we’d arrived, so that we could all set up together.

  I opened the door all the way and looked inside. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but when they did I saw that each side of the room was lit with tealights, leading up to a central wooden table. The first surprise was seeing Dan, the second was registering that the table was laden with dozens of delicate, colourful teacups.

  ‘Dan, what the … How?’ I said, taking in the whole scene, from Dan’s beaming face to the cups and saucers that surrounded him, a smile spreading across my face.

  ‘Jen,’ Dan said, walking over to stand in front of me. I felt a rush of love for this man I was about to marry. ‘You’ve been working so hard organising everything; and I know I haven’t always done as much as I could. When the teacups got smashed I could see how upset you were, even though, in true Jen style, you tried to play it down. I wanted to help make everything perfect.’ He reached up to stroke my hair.

  I could hear the school door opening behind us, and Alison and Maggie’s voices as they stepped inside. As I looked over my shoulder at them they fell silent, staring open-mouthed at the laden table. ‘Oh,’ said Dan. ‘And by the way, while I’m here taking all the glory, Owen and Pete actually did quite a lot to help,’ Dan motioned for the two men to step out of the shadows, which they did, taking theatrical bows.

  Maggie and Alison had already hurried over to the teacups to take a closer look, and Dan and I went to join them.

  ‘But where did you find them all?’ I asked, picking up just one of the tiny cups to hold it, checking that all this was real. Dan looked more gorgeous than ever today, a modest smile on his face and his eyes crinkling a little.

  ‘Dan had us all up at five this morning,’ Owen said, feigning a yawn and giving Maggie a little wink. ‘Trawling the car boot sales, charity shops, everywhere. Pete gave Adam a ring and he’d found quite a few in Brighton for us so we drove down to collect those too.’

  ‘It was you – you were the early birds,’ I said, putting two and two together.

  ‘After today, I tell you,’ Pete said, ‘we started to understand how you three ended up such close friends. We bonded a little ourselves. I guess you might call us the Teacup Widowers.’

  I laughed, and hugged Dan close.

  ‘Dan, thank you,’ I whispered in his ear. He reached down to kiss me.

  The hall filled with wolf whistles as he swept me up into his arms.

  Epilogue

  Jenny

  Dear Alison and Maggie,

  Hello ladies. Here I am in a cosy little Irish B&B, in

  an enormous squishy bed with a view out over a beautiful lake …

  I looked out of the window at the sun on the water, taking in the beauty and calm of the green hills behind it, and put another pillow behind me to get comfy. Dan was snoring softly by my side.

  Yes, it really was all true. Who needed five-star hotels? I was in heaven. I went back to the letter and continued writing.

  It’s a pretty perfect start to the honeymoon, although the less romantic bit is that Dan is out for the count. After a few pints of Guinness watching a band in the pub down the road he’s now snoozing away. So I thought I’d take the opportunity to write to you, the old-fashioned way.

  When we left the wedding party was still in full swing and I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye properly (you know how I hate to leave a party early).

  The school house looked beautiful, and I have you both to thank for that. Ali, everyone loved the handmade bunting, and the teacups added something very special to the proceedings. Sophie and Holly did a sterling job as waitresses, too.

  But back to the party, and the dancing … Well. As much as I enjoyed my first dance with Dan, Ali, I don’t think it can match the moment I saw Pete lead you up to the dance floor when the swing band came on. The look of shock on your face was a picture as you two started to dance and you clicked that rather than stepping on your toes, Pete could step and twirl you with the best of them. He is such a fantastic dancer – who knew? In that sunshine-yellow dress and red shoes you looked stunning as he span you around.

  While you were up there Jamie confessed to me that for the past few weeks he had been giving Pete and your neighbour Sally some private dance lessons together, in secret, so that Pete could surprise you with his skills. How lovely is that? Jamie said Pete had really thrown himself into it, fitting classes around the new job in any spare time he could find. He needed a female partner to practise with and apparently Sally’s always wanted to learn, so they paired up. I hope you and Pete keep it going. You looked great up there.

  Maggie, thank you so much for your song – I couldn’t believe it when you got up on stage to join the band. How come you never let on that you had such a spectacular voice? ‘Say a Little Prayer’ was the perfect song to choose. I know you said afterwards that you were nervous, but it didn’t show at all – you’re a true professional. Owen looked really proud to see you up there. He said you’d found another local band to sing with regularly, is that right?

  It was incredible to have everyone we care about there in one room.

  I put my pen down for a moment and glanced over at the card on the window sill. I’d brought the lone pink envelope with me to Ireland, the only wedding car
d still untouched. When I finally opened it, I found a card with a happy cartoon couple standing on a wedding cake. Inside, in big, round handwriting, it said: Happy Wedding Day. I smiled, despite myself. With love from Mum and Nigel. At the start of the summer I could never have imagined receiving it, much less feeling the way I felt now, not angry anymore, not sad, perhaps even a bit warm. I hadn’t spoken to Chris properly yet about Mum, but it was time. Dad has forgiven her and now that Chris and I were adults, perhaps we should give her the chance to put things right too.

  I went back to the letter, feeling lighter somehow. With Chris on my mind, a memory came back to me and I continued writing:

  And did you see what was going on behind the DJ booth? I’m surprised Chris could even get through his set with Chloe snogging his face off like that. Hilarious. How did I not see that coming? I nearly dropped my champagne. My dad gave me a nudge, that sly old dog obviously knew all along. Anyway, they both seem smitten, and while I’m at a loss as to how someone could fancy my little brother, they’re actually a pretty good match, aren’t they?

  Dan and I have two long, blissful weeks ahead and we’re planning on doing absolutely nothing. After all the, er, excitement of the past few weeks I’m looking forward to relaxing. But the stress was absolutely worth it – it was the best day of our lives by far.

  Anyway, I can’t wait to see you both when I get back. I’m looking forward to your first Stitch ‘n’ Blitz session out in the café garden, Ali. Maggie, I’m sending a kiss to your still-secret bump.

  All my love,

  Your friend in teacup fondness,

  Jenny xx

  Do you want to know what happens next?

  Then pre-order Tuesdays at the Teacup Club today, an exclusive short story follow-up to The Vintage Teacup Club.

  Coming in October 2013 – but available to pre-order NOW!

  A lot can change in a year …

  The children’s books Jenny writes and illustrates from her countryside studio are doing well, and after a lifetime of looking after everyone else, she’s finally putting herself first. Meanwhile, Maggie’s ordered world is thrown into chaos when her baby son Leo arrives. Candlelit baths have made way for endless night feeds, and she and partner Owen are struggling to find any time for themselves. It’s been a long year of financial sacrifice, but working-mum Alison has fulfilled her dream at last - she is now the proud co-owner of a café and art gallery.

  But when Alison’s happiness is threatened and news from home shocks Jenny back to reality, the women must band together. Suddenly their friendship is more important than ever.

  In this digital-exclusive short story, Vanessa Greene revisits the characters we first fell in love with in The Vintage Teacup Club. This is a real treat for anyone who enjoys warm-hearted and sincere storytelling – and it’s best enjoyed with a nice cup of tea.