by Heidi Swain
‘A little something for the young lady with expensive taste,’ whispered a voice close to my ear.
‘Oh my goodness,’ I laughed, taking the prettily wrapped box from the man standing beside me. ‘Paul! I didn’t expect to see you again.’
‘Well keep your voice down,’ he said, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt down a little further, ‘I don’t want a fuss so I’m incognito, but I couldn’t leave town without saying goodbye, could I?’
‘Of course you could,’ I told him, ‘I’m sure everyone thinks you’ve left already. You could have just slipped away.’
‘Not really my style, dear lady,’ he said in a silly voice, ‘and besides I like this cloak and dagger stuff. I bet you anything you like there’s still a pap or two hanging around here somewhere. You can’t beat the thrill of the chase! Anyway I digress, what I wanted to say was thank you, Ruby.’
‘But I’m the one who should be thanking you,’ I told him.
Paul wouldn’t hear of it.
‘You know what,’ he said, sidling closer. ‘I think we both did each other a good turn. How about we call it even?’
‘Even it is then.’
‘Thank you for getting my career back on track,’ he said, stooping to lightly kiss my cheek.
‘And thank you for lighting up the town,’ I said, kissing him back and managing only a slight blush.
‘Well, you and everyone else are most welcome,’ he said, and then catching sight of the picture behind me, he began to smile. ‘Oh hello,’ he said, stepping around me to take a closer look. ‘I recognise that place.’
‘Do you?’ I asked, spinning round so we were both staring at it.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘it’s Agonda beach in Goa, isn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ I nodded, amazed that he recognised it.
‘I happen to know a couple who run a rather special bespoke little hotel just a stone’s throw up the coast from that very spot.’
‘You never do!’ I gasped, completely forgetting my manners.
‘I certainly do,’ he laughed.
‘Oh wow,’ I said dreamily, almost swooning at his feet. ‘That beach happens to be my number one dream travel destination.’
‘Are you planning a trip, Ruby?’
‘I am.’
‘Well in that case, you should look them up. The views are simply divine and the food isn’t bad either.’
‘Oh well, that’s quite something coming from the country’s number one celebrity chef!’ I laughed, happy to massage his ego under the circumstances. ‘But I’m afraid staying in your friends’ hotel or anywhere like it will be quite out of the question. Totally out of my league I’m sorry to say. I’ll be slumming it you see, I’m going to try and work my way around the world. No seven-star luxury for me!’
‘Well, they’re always looking for staff,’ he said, rummaging in his jeans pocket for his wallet. ‘Here,’ he said, passing me a rather smart business card. ‘Drop me a line when you know you’ll be there and I’ll help get some work lined up for you in advance.’
‘Oh I couldn’t,’ I said, shaking my head and trying to hand back the card.
‘Of course you could!’ he laughed, ‘it’s the least I can do.’
‘Wow, thank you.’ I grinned, my excitement cranking up a gear. ‘I have to say that really puts rather a different complexion on the whole trip.’
‘Ruby,’ he said, looking down at me, ‘I know people everywhere. You only have to drop me a line and I’ll help get you sorted.’
‘That really is incredibly generous of you.’
‘One good turn deserves another,’ he smiled, ‘now, I’d better be off,’ he added, nodding in Steve’s direction, ‘before I’m rumbled.’
I looked over at the Dempster stall. Steve couldn’t take his eyes off us.
‘OK,’ I said, tucking his card into my pocket and standing on tiptoe to kiss him goodbye, ‘and thank you again.’
‘Enjoy the Cristal!’ he yelled, pulling off his hood as he jogged over to where he had parked his car. ‘I know how much you enjoy a drop of the good stuff!’
Chapter 16
The town’s annual Christmas tree auction had been a part of Wynbridge history for far longer than I could remember. It happened every second Saturday in December and drew visitors from the furthest reaches of the county and beyond. Generations of families travelled to pick out their trees and a percentage of the profits from the sale were ploughed back into local charities and projects. As well as Christmas trees, mistletoe and holly, in fact anything green and growing and associated with Yule, was included in the auction and consequently far more people were involved in its planning than just the town market traders.
On entering The Mermaid for the meeting that Tuesday night it was immediately obvious that the popularity of the switch-on had had quite an impact, and practically everyone who was involved with the auction had turned out to see what could be done to liven up the tree sale as well.
‘Crikey,’ said Tom, puffing out his cheeks as he and Jemma joined me at the bar. ‘What a turnout!’
‘Pretty impressive, isn’t it?’ said Jemma. ‘At this rate you’re going to need another venue for these meetings, Tom.’
‘Don’t even think about it!’ piped up Evelyn, from her spot behind the pumps. ‘A night or two like this every year does our profit margin no end of good! We can pack everyone in, Jemma, don’t you worry about that.’
‘No sign of your dad tonight, Ruby,’ said Chris as he ambled over. He towered above practically everyone there and could take in who was and wasn’t present with one quick sweeping glance.
I felt my face redden and my mouth go dry as I thought of Dad sat in front of the fire at home, with his newspaper and highlighter poised for an evening of heady drama and excitement.
‘No need,’ butted in Tom, thankfully saving me from having to grapple for a response, ‘he’s handed all this over to me now, Chris, so he doesn’t have to be here and besides, he’s heading over to Huntingdon for a meeting early tomorrow and needs to prepare for that.’
Chris nodded, but didn’t say anything. He was obviously disappointed that his old sparring partner had bowed out and that he couldn’t get a rise out of his youthful replacement. Noting his frustration, I made a mental note to try and get to the bottom of his and Dad’s mutual loathing before I left town. Previously I had hoped that I might be able to help them move on if not make friends, but now, given everything that had passed between me and Steve, I didn’t much care whether they liked or loathed each other.
‘Let me buy you a drink,’ I said to Tom once Chris was out of earshot, ‘and you, Jemma. You should be celebrating the fact that you’ve made it out of the house and it isn’t even date night!’
‘I know,’ she laughed, ‘it was very kind of Lizzie and Ben to offer to babysit. Not that the kids are much bother any more. In fact,’ she added, ‘Ella even suggested she could stay home alone and watch Noah all by herself. Can you imagine?’
I shuddered at the thought.
‘I wonder what you would have gone home to!’
‘Carnage,’ said Tom, ‘and a gargantuan phone bill. That would doubtless be Ella’s revenge because we won’t let her have a mobile phone.’
‘But she’s only nine!’
‘I know,’ he sighed, ‘but apparently absolutely everyone in her class has one and she feels left out.’
‘Everyone?’ I gasped.
‘Everyone!’ said Jemma, mimicking her daughter’s theatrical American accent. ‘The latest cell is the new accessory!’
‘Oh good grief,’ I gaped, relieved that I didn’t have children to worry about who were growing up too fast. ‘Come on, Tom,’ I said, ‘shouldn’t you be making a start? I’ll get the drinks in while you kick things off.’
It soon became obvious that although everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas switch-on this year they had all turned up to hear what was in line next, rather than come up with any ideas themselves.
&
nbsp; Almost an hour later and the only new attractions that had been suggested and confirmed were carols sung by the local choral society members, who would be dressed in Victorian costumes borrowed from the theatre group, and more mulled wine which Marie agreed to take responsibility for once she had finished bidding on the greenery she wanted from the auction for her floristry business.
My own little idea was buzzing about in my head and as no one else had suggested anything like it I was itching to share, but didn’t want to put myself forward in case anyone thought I was being pushy. Had I thought the thing through properly, I would have handed it over to Bea to suggest as she was with me when inspiration had struck. Unfortunately, however, she hadn’t even made it to the meeting so that was now completely out of the question.
With the discussion drying up and the silences becoming longer, Tom suggested a twenty-minute break to give everyone the opportunity to refill their glasses and in the process hopefully also plunder their creative wells for some fresh designs as to how to make the auction even more appealing.
Everyone quickly headed over to the packed bar and I found myself standing in line next to Bob.
‘I thought you said you’d come up with something,’ he said, waving a twenty-pound note over the bar to try and attract Jim’s attention. ‘When we spoke before you said you’d been giving it some thought.’
‘I have,’ I told him. ‘I have got an idea, but I don’t want to come across as pushy and anyway it probably won’t even work. It isn’t exactly a simple set-up. It isn’t like the fun and games we had on the stalls at the switch-on last week.’
‘Well, whatever it is, if you don’t give it an airing we’ll never know, will we?’ he said wisely. ‘And I wouldn’t worry about how you come across. To be honest, I think people will be grateful for whatever you can suggest.’
‘Let’s see how the rest of the meeting goes,’ I said. ‘Someone might come up with an absolute gem now they’ve had a break and a bit longer to think.’
They didn’t, and Bob, knowing I had something up my sleeve, was not prepared to let the meeting drag on a second longer without plonking me very definitely back in the limelight.
‘Ruby Smith has an idea!’ he shouted out, causing everyone to stare in my direction. ‘She told me earlier in the week, but she’s too shy to speak up.’
‘Have you, Ruby?’ asked Tom.
‘I have thought of something,’ I mumbled. ‘But as I haven’t had time to run it by you, I thought . . .’
‘Never mind that,’ ushered Tom, ‘let’s just hear it now because time is pushing on.’
Reluctantly I stood up, took a deep breath and tried to think how to explain as simply as possible exactly what I had in mind.
‘OK,’ I began, ‘this will probably sound a bit bizarre and nothing like we’ve had in town before, so please just go with it and hear me out.’
‘Stand at the front next to Tom!’ yelled someone behind me. ‘We can’t hear you back here.’
I eased my way through the crowd to where Tom was standing and glared at Bob who gave me the thumbs up en route.
‘Right,’ I said, raising my voice a little and wondering where I should begin. ‘This isn’t exactly a new idea,’ I admitted, ‘but it would definitely be something new for Wynbridge.’
I looked around the pub at the sea of expectant faces, Steve’s included, and decided to just go for it. I would explain what I had in mind and then let Tom deal with the response, assuming there was one of course.
‘Last Sunday,’ I began, ‘the day after the switch-on, I was feeling pretty tired.’
‘I still am!’ put in Bob, in what he no doubt thought was a positive tone.
‘So,’ I continued, ‘I went round to a friend’s house and spent the day on the sofa watching cheesy American made-for-TV Christmas films.’
I didn’t mention all the chocolate and biscuits we had waded through as well.
‘Oh, I love those films,’ said Jude wistfully, ‘they’re always full of single parents looking for love or some hardworking soul looking to save Christmas.’
‘Exactly,’ I said, encouraged that at least one person might know what I was talking about, ‘just like we are, and they are also full of great ideas. The one I enjoyed most was all about,’ I paused to take a breath, ‘a community bake sale.’
Silence.
‘And I was wondering if it would be possible to run one here in the town at the same time as the tree auction.’
‘Where?’ asked Chris.
‘Well,’ I said, ‘I thought, if we could get the local schools on board and maybe even the WI ladies and the church, we could ask for donations of seasonal cakes and bakes to sell in the town hall and I know the hall has a decent catering kitchen installed, so I was wondering if it would be feasible to run some on-site baking sessions that day for anyone who was interested, but particularly for the local children.’
A slight murmur broke out.
‘The tree auction itself is lovely of course and an important Wynbridge tradition,’ I said quickly, ‘but there’s nothing going on to keep the young ones entertained after they’ve chosen their tree and if we opened up the hall, and sold teas and coffees along with the cakes and things, then there would be plenty on offer to keep people in town a bit longer.’
‘Perhaps Lizzie would be able to offer a couple of kids’ crafting sessions,’ said Jemma shyly, ‘even if it was just some glue and glitter colouring sheets or something, and I’d love to get involved with the baking element, assuming of course everyone else thinks it’s a good idea.’
‘So,’ said Tom, furiously scribbling away on his notepad, ‘you’re suggesting the tree auction goes ahead in the market square as always, Ruby, but that we open up the town hall for another auction of cakes and things and with some baking sessions and sales of refreshments happening at the same time.’
‘Yes,’ I said, relieved that he had got the gist of what I was suggesting, ‘it would be lovely to have things that everyone could be involved in, whether that would mean they baked a cake or served teas or just came along for a chat. I admit the film I watched was a bit cheesy, but the crux of the idea and the possibility to bring all generations of a community together was really lovely, and more important than ever at Christmas time.’
‘OK,’ said Tom as the noise level began to pick up, ‘I rather like the sound of this. Let’s have another break and then come back and put the idea to a vote. If there are enough votes in favour of the idea and enough offers of help to run it, then I’ll go back to the council tomorrow and put it forward as a formal suggestion.’
The noise level erupted as everyone began talking at once and from what I could make out no one thought I’d gone completely mad. Granted, we probably wouldn’t have a town covered in sparkling snow that Saturday and the heroine would certainly not be riding off with her heart’s desire in a horse-drawn sleigh, but in essence the suggestion was a good one and I hoped there were enough votes, and time, of course, to push it through for council approval.
‘Nice one,’ said Steve, as he walked over to where I was standing, ‘it’s a really good idea, Ruby.’
I looked at him, wondering why he thought, after all that had been said between us just days before, I would care if he had an opinion either way.
‘Perhaps we should tell everyone it was down to you really.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘had you not accused Dad of extortion I wouldn’t have ended up feeling rotten on Bea’s sofa flicking through the TV channels and found the film that inspired the idea, would I?’
‘Look,’ he said, trying to reach for my hand, ‘about that. I was just trying to point out—’
‘Forget it,’ I said, snatching my fingers out of his reach and taking a step back.
‘I can’t.’
‘Well try,’ I said, ‘because I have. This time next month I’ll be gone and you and Wynbridge will be just a distant memory.’
‘
Don’t say that,’ he sighed.
‘Why not?’ I shrugged. ‘It’s the truth, although to be fair, I’ll probably give more thought to the town than you.’
He looked deep into my eyes and for the first time since I’d been back I felt nothing. Not so much as a flicker. My stomach didn’t flip, my heart didn’t race, my palms stayed dry. I couldn’t believe it.
‘OK, folks!’ shouted Tom. ‘Let’s put this idea to a vote!’
‘I have to go,’ I said, looking right back at him. ‘I’ll see you around.’
It came as quite a shock to acknowledge that the candle with Steve Dempster’s name on it that had been burning in my heart for so long, had been well and truly snuffed out, but truth be told, it was also a relief. This time when I left the town I would be going free from all the emotional baggage that had tethered me during my time at university and stopped me moving on. Now the world was my oyster, and with Paul’s business card tucked away in my purse, it was looking like I might have bagged myself an even bigger pearl.
‘Right,’ said Tom as he looked at the sea of hands that had shot into the air when he asked who was in favour of the bake sale idea. ‘From what I can see that looks almost unanimous to me. Would anyone who isn’t in favour now raise their hands please?’
There were only three and one of those was lowered when nudged into submission by its nearest neighbour.
‘Great,’ said Tom, beaming over at me. ‘Now who would be willing to help out with serving teas and things and keep an eye on everything in the town hall?’
Again there were a great many hands in the air, although not quite as many as before, because lots of locals would be running their stalls or helping out at the tree auction.
‘I’m sure lots of mums will come forward if I ask to put some posters up at school,’ said Jemma.
