Meet Me at Willow Hall

by Carla Burgess

  ‘Don’t be silly! It’s only half past six. You’ve got to eat, love.’

  So we went out for dinner, even though I wasn’t remotely interested in eating. I felt so miserable. I just wanted to lie in bed and sob, but instead I found myself in a busy country pub with my parents, telling them all about how beautiful Willow Hall was and how Elena and Daniel were going to be getting married there.

  ‘I can’t wait to see it! And how’s Anthony doing now? I always liked Anthony. He was such a lovely man.’ Mum always went a bit pink when she talked about him. I exchanged a look with my dad who rolled his eyes at me.

  ‘He’s fine.’

  ‘Really? No aftereffects from the surgery?’

  ‘Not that I know of. He looks fine to me and he’s back at work, apparently.’

  ‘Do you think you’ll get back together?’

  ‘No!’ Picking up my glass, I took a large gulp of red wine. ‘Why would I get back together with my commitment-phobic ex-boyfriend, who dumped me by letter and banned me from the hospital?’

  ‘Oh, well, when you put it like that…’ Mum sighed. ‘It’s a shame, though. He was lovely.’

  ‘Well, yes, he’s still lovely. But we both want different things so there’s no point.’

  ‘Plenty more fish in the sea,’ Dad said cheerfully, cutting into his roast beef. I’d barely eaten and had merely pushed my food around the plate so that the potatoes, gravy and broccoli resembled an unappetising, congealed mess. I reached for my wine again.

  ‘Not for me,’ I said miserably.

  ‘Nonsense! A pretty girl like you should have no problem finding a man.’

  My lip curled as I thought about some of the men I’d dated over the past year. There had only been a couple and I’d only gone out with them after being badgered by Bobbi and Elena. They’d been nice guys, but the spark wasn’t there. Not like it was with Anthony. There was no one quite like Anthony.

  Sighing, I took a giant slug of wine, closely followed by another.

  ‘Would you like another one, love?’ Dad asked, getting up and patting his pockets for his wallet.

  ‘Oh, go on. Thank you.’

  Wine always made me sleepy, so, despite all the upset, I had no problem getting to sleep that night. I awoke the next morning feeling half-dead and dragged myself into work. It was another beautiful morning, and the sun sparkled on the river as I crossed the bridge to get to the shop. It was only a short walk from my house. I doubted that our new premises, wherever they might be, would be quite so convenient to get to. I used to drive to work, but since investing in a van to deliver the flowers to our clients, there was nowhere to park. I paused to watch a heron swoop in and land on the riverbank. It was still only half past six, so there weren’t many people around, just the odd delivery truck rumbling across the bridge. I walked on up the road to my shop, passing the fifteenth-century timber-framed pub with its hanging baskets full of flowers. Should I tell Bobbi today? I supposed she should know as soon as possible. I was dreading telling her.

  The bell tinkled as I opened the door and I stood for a moment, just savouring the sound in the early morning silence. How many times had I heard that bell? Thousands upon thousands, no doubt. Gently, I closed the door behind me and removed my dark sunglasses to look around, trying to commit every last detail to memory. The flowers on the shelves in their cast-iron vases, the birdcages full of trailing ivy and flowers, the scented candles on the whitewashed Welsh dresser and potted orchids behind the till. The pale sunlight slanting through the windows cast a magical glow over it all and my heart ached that it was going to end.

  How could I have lost this beautiful shop? I wanted to weep.

  But I couldn’t weep. I had work to do and weeping wasn’t going to solve anything. I had to be practical and businesslike, and we needed to move to somewhere more cost-effective. Positive thinking, that was what was needed. Especially when I had to break the news to Bobbi.

  Walking through to the back, I hung up my jacket on the hook and fired up the computer to check for online orders.

  The tinkle of the door opening sent me rushing back into the front of the shop. Why hadn’t I locked it? Who on earth was in the shop at this time in the morning?

  ‘Anthony?’

  ‘Morning!’ he said cheerfully, closing the door behind him. He was holding two takeaway cups of coffee and held one out to me as he walked slowly towards me.

  ‘Thank you. But what are you doing here?’

  He shrugged. ‘I was working in Chester and thought I’d pop in and say hello.’

  ‘At this time in the morning?’ I could barely look at him. He looked too handsome in his navy suit and pale-blue tie. His hair was combed neatly to one side and he was all clean-shaven and neat.

  ‘Well…’ He looked around him as though he was going to choose a bunch of flowers. ‘I thought you might need a coffee. You sounded quite drunk on that phone call you made to me last night.’

  ‘Phone call? What phone call?’

  ‘The phone call you made to me at…’ He pulled his mobile phone from his jacket pocket and glanced at the screen. ‘Ten fifty-seven p.m.’

  ‘What? I didn’t phone you last night.’ My voice trailed off as he turned his phone to face me so I could see my name clearly displayed in the received phone calls list. ‘Oh!’

  ‘You did sound quite drunk.’

  I frowned. ‘Did I just leave a message or did I speak to you?’

  ‘Oh, no, you spoke to me all right. We had quite the conversation.’

  ‘Err?’ I shuffled backwards away from him as fragments of last night started to come back to me. I’d had a couple of glasses of wine when eating dinner with my parents, but when I’d got home, I’d carried on drinking and I couldn’t actually remember going to bed. Oh, no, what did I say? Should I ask or should I just try to bluff my way out of it?

  ‘I’m sorry you’re losing the shop.’ He looked around him at the rows of flowers.

  ‘Did I tell you that?’

  ‘Yes. Are you all right this morning? You were very upset on the phone.’

  Oh, no, had I cried down the phone at him? My stomach turned over and I felt sick. ‘I’m okay. Just a bit of a headache, that’s all. I went out with my mum and dad and…’

  ‘I always said those two were bad influences!’

  I laughed awkwardly. ‘Yes, they’re terrible. Plying me with drink all night.’

  ‘I was concerned because it wasn’t even that late. I thought you must have been drinking on your own.’

  ‘No. We’d been out for a carvery.’ I didn’t mention the bottle of wine I’d drunk after they’d dropped me off. Christ, I couldn’t believe I’d phoned him and had no recollection of it this morning. How drunk had I been last night? ‘What did I say?’

  Anthony’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You really don’t remember?’

  I shook my head, feeling hot and panicky. I had a horrible feeling I might have poured my heart out to him and told him things I didn’t want him to know.

  ‘You said you were closing the shop, but I didn’t catch why. I presume you’ll just move premises like you said last week on the boat rather than go out of business altogether?’

  ‘Yes.’ I scratched my head, sighing heavily. ‘I haven’t even told Bobbi yet.’

  ‘Are you sure you didn’t phone her last night?’

  I winced. ‘Hope not. She deserves better than me phoning her up drunk. How bad would that be?’

  Anthony laughed. ‘I should check your phone if I were you.’

  I laughed weakly and sipped the hot coffee. I couldn’t believe I’d phoned him. Why would I do that? Anthony was looking at me closely, as though trying to figure something out.

  ‘What? Do I have something on my face?’

  ‘No. Why?’

  ‘You’re staring at me strangely.’

  ‘Sorry. You’ve gone a funny colour, that’s all. Kind of… puce.’

  ‘Oh, great!’ I backed away and slid behind the c
ounter.

  ‘Are you sure you’re feeling all right?’

  ‘I’m fine. Just horrified by the thought of phoning you, that’s all.’ Flustered, I put the coffee down and started rearranging the cards on the rotating rack next to the till. He laughed as he leaned one hand on the counter, slipping his phone into his inside breast pocket with the other. As his jacket parted, my eyes were involuntarily drawn to the body harness beneath. I tore them away and tried to concentrate on the cards.

  ‘It’s not a problem. I just didn’t like to hear you so upset.’

  I shook my head. ‘Honestly, I’m fine. It’s sad but it has to be done. I’m sure I’ll find somewhere cheaper and be just as happy there. I thought I might check out some rental properties on the Internet today.’

  ‘I was thinking, actually… we’ve got an old Brew House in our grounds that we were thinking of converting into offices. You could use that as a base if you thought it would work.’

  ‘Brew House?’ I stared at him, astonished. ‘Oh, err, thank you, but it’s… a bit far? I don’t know.’

  He smiled. ‘You don’t have to decide anything now. I just thought it might be an option, that’s all.’ He checked his watch. ‘Right, I’d better go. I’ll see you soon.’

  ‘Okay, bye. Thanks for the coffee and sorry again for phoning you last night.’ I ran a hand through my hair self-consciously. ‘I don’t know why I did that.’

  ‘No problem. It’s always nice to hear someone loves you.’ He flashed a grin as he opened the door and stepped outside. ‘See you soon.’

  The door banged shut behind him and I stared after him in horror. What? Surely not! I would never have betrayed myself like that, even paralytic. No, he must have been trying to wind me up. He’d succeeded too. All day I wracked my brain, trying to remember what I’d said to him on the phone, but nothing would come. The most worrying thing of all was that when I checked my own phone, it had logged the duration of the call as ten minutes.

  Ten minutes!

  What could I have been talking about for that length of time?

  I was definitely never drinking again.

  ***

  ‘So, what do you think this Brew House would be like?’ Mum asked later that day, when I called round after work.

  ‘I have no idea. I didn’t see it when he showed us round.’ I opened up the newspaper and turned to the property section. ‘He said it needed renovating, so it probably wouldn’t be ready for ages. Besides, it’s too far away.’

  ‘Well, if a lot of the wedding flower business is generated by Willow Hall, then maybe it makes sense to move down there anyway.’

  I gave her a look. ‘And what if their wedding business doesn’t take off? They only have four weddings booked in so far, and one of them is Elena and Daniel’s.’

  ‘I bet they’ll get more, though.’ Mum sat down on the sofa next to me. ‘From what you said, it sounds like a magical place.’

  ‘Well, it is lovely, but it’s not Narnia! It’s down to Anthony and Julian but they’re hardly experts. I suppose Liz has a background in event management, but I still think it’s going to be difficult for them.’

  ‘Oh, well, I do hope they succeed. It would be terrible if they had to sell their family home.’ She glanced fondly at the framed photograph of me and Anthony that sat on the fireplace.

  I shook my head. ‘I can’t believe you’ve still got that photograph up.’ It had been a source of contention between us since Anthony and I had broken up. She’d refused to take it down, saying it wouldn’t be right when he was so poorly in hospital. It had then stayed up all year, pride of place, as though we were still together. I was sick of complaining about it. She never took any notice anyway. All she said was that it was a lovely photograph of me, when I knew it was because it was a lovely photograph of Anthony. I thought it very disloyal of her.

  ‘I’d love to see him again,’ she said, ignoring me completely. ‘Such a charming man. Ooh, perhaps we could go and look at this Brew House together? That would be exciting.’

  I rolled my eyes. ‘How would being stuck in the middle of the countryside help our business? There would be no passing trade. No one would be able to find us.’

  ‘But passing trade is dying off anyway. You could concentrate on Internet orders and wedding flowers and flower-arranging workshops. How much would our overheads be? Did he talk about the financial side?’

  ‘No. He only mentioned it in passing. I doubt he’s even serious.’

  I sighed heavily, wishing he’d never mentioned it at all. Now my head was full of all kinds of possibilities about working at Willow Hall and seeing Anthony every day, but I knew it wasn’t practical. I had to prepare myself for disappointment. ‘I was thinking about a little shop just outside of Chester, in a village somewhere. We could look in North Wales too.’

  ‘Have you seen anything in the paper?’

  ‘No.’ I folded it back up and placed it on the side table next to me. ‘I had a look on the Internet too, but the only thing I found were industrial units.’ I shuddered. ‘I hate the thought of working in one of them after our lovely shop.’

  ‘I know, but beggars can’t be choosers.’

  I rolled my eyes again. ‘Well, it’s worth waiting for the right place, surely. It’s not like we’re going bankrupt.’

  ‘Well, not yet, but it makes good business sense to move now before we do start to struggle. Come on, Rachel. We went through this last night.’

  ‘I know, I know! But like I said, we need to find the right place.’

  The door opened and my dad came in, dressed in his golfing gear. ‘Hi, Dad.’

  ‘Hello, love.’

  ‘Rachel’s seen Anthony this morning,’ Mum blurted before he’d even taken off his jacket. ‘And he’s got a Brew House he says might be suitable for the flower business.’

  ‘Really?’ Dad scratched his chin thoughtfully before shrugging off his jacket and hanging it on a peg. ‘That sounds interesting.’

  My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe it! Surely my dad could see that moving to a country estate an hour’s drive away wasn’t the cleverest idea in the world.

  ‘What’s it like?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ I said, picking the newspaper back up and shaking it out. ‘He said it needs renovating so it’s probably derelict.’

  ‘Do you have his number? Phone him and ask.’

  I frowned. Did they even realise how insensitive they were being? ‘You do realise he’s my ex-boyfriend?’ I snapped. ‘With the emphasis on the ex! Why do you think this is a good idea?’

  Dad shrugged. ‘I’m not asking you to get back with him, am I? But if you’re already involved in doing wedding flowers for Willow Hall, it might turn out to be a great location.’

  ‘I’ve just had this conversation with Mum! What if their wedding business doesn’t take off? They could fail and take me with them.’ Realising I sounded horribly negative, I added: ‘I hope they don’t fail, obviously. I’d hate for them to lose the hall, but the fact is they’re just starting out and we’re in a precarious position ourselves.’

  ‘We’re not that precarious. We’re making money and we have orders in the pipeline. We just need to cut our overheads as soon as possible. I’m only saying this building might be worth having a look at it.’ Dad sat down in the armchair opposite and eased his feet into his slippers. ‘Besides, if it doesn’t work out, you’d just move on again. As simple as that. Did you tell Bobbi today? What did she say?’

  ‘No, she phoned in sick. She’s got a sickness bug.’

  ‘Oh dear, poor Bobbi.’ He rolled his eyes and sighed. ‘So, have you seen anywhere else that might be suitable?’

  ‘Not yet.’

  ‘Well, go on then, give Anthony a ring.’

  ‘What about a market stall?’

  ‘Ring Anthony.’

  With a stroppy sigh, I got up from my seat and went to get my phone from my bag. My face felt hot and my hands were shaking with nerves. Clearing my throat,
I found his name in my contacts list and pressed the call button. Realising my parents were watching me, I walked through to the kitchen and closed the door behind me. The phone rang twice before he answered.

  ‘Rachel.’

  His voice, soft and low, sent such a flood of emotion through me my knees went weak and I sank down on to the chair next to me.

  ‘Hello, I just mentioned your Brew House to my parents and they’d like to take a look if that’s possible.’ The words tumbled from my mouth too fast and I cringed at myself. Luckily, he didn’t seem to have any difficulty understanding what I’d said.

  ‘Of course. I’m heading home now if you want to come tonight?’

  ‘Erm, I’m not sure about tonight. Dad’s just come in from playing golf and Mum’s got a pie in the oven.’ Cringing again, I unclipped my hair and let it fall around my neck. Running my hands through it, I stood back up and went to the window to look out at the back garden. A blackbird was pulling a worm from the lawn and I could just make out the hollow wooden notes of the bamboo wind chimes hanging by the backdoor.

  ‘Well, when would it suit you to come?’

  ‘I’m not sure. Are you working?’

  ‘I’m off tomorrow. But even if I’m not here, Julian would show you around.’

  I laughed and lowered my voice. ‘I think my mum would like to see you again, actually. Hold on, I’ll see if they’re free tomorrow. I’ll be working, obviously, but I think they’d be able to find it on their own.’

  ‘Hold on, don’t you need to come too?’

  ‘I already know it’s unsuitable, Anthony. I thought I’d let them see for themselves.’

  ‘How do you know it’s unsuitable? You haven’t seen it.’

  ‘Well, it’s an hour away, it’s in the middle of nowhere, there’s no shopfront, it needs renovating… oh, and it just happens to be owned by my ex.’

  ‘Your ex’s family, actually,’ he corrected. ‘Not just me. Well, if you feel like that I won’t waste my time showing your parents round. Bye.’

  ‘No, hold on,’ I said, quickly. ‘They really do want to see it. And Mum would love to see you again.’

  ‘Why? So she can kick me in the balls?’