At least his new light bulbs were low energy and the heating came from a wood-burning stove, of which there was a plentiful supply nearby of fuel. But the rest of it? He had no idea.
But, in truth, it wasn’t that which was keeping him awake at night. It was the thought of Amber leaving him to decide all this for himself. He was enjoying keeping her counsel and her companionship. To his astonishment, they were making quite a team and he was actually beginning to enjoy himself.
Del tried and failed to flirt with her when he worked on the new lights. She smiled at his jokes, but there was clearly no attraction there. At least that’s what Josh was hoping. Because he could feel a growing attraction to her himself that was becoming harder to deny. The trouble was that he had no idea if she felt the same way.
23
Amber was finding the redecoration of the shop a lot more fun than even she had imagined.
She had thought she had bitten off more than she could chew initially, but it was actually quite interesting working out where everything should go and the layout of the whole shop.
It all appeared so much bigger now that the space was beginning to get cleared. Once she had told herself that it was really just a big shop window, it had started to click inside her brain that she was up to the task.
Thankfully, Josh had mostly gone along with her ideas, although he was still not convinced about leaving the tractor in the middle of the shop.
‘At least you’ve covered it up,’ he’d said, when he saw that Amber had placed a cloth over it.
Luckily, he never thought to peek underneath at any point as Amber had begun to think of the tractor as her secret project. In the evenings, whenever Josh headed over to the pub for his pint of beer, she used the time to continue to transform the tractor. She buffed and polished the silver lights and used leather wax to clean up the interior. She had also begun to prepare the main body of the tractor for its final coat of new colour. She just hoped Josh would like the finished result when she finally revealed it to him.
In the meantime, they were both busy getting on with the renovation. The new white paint on both the ceilings and walls had certainly given the place a fresher feel. And despite her concerns about the quality of Dodgy Del’s electrical skills, the new lights were also brighter. The whole shop felt less turgid and yellow and far more modern.
They finished cleaning up the oak shelving units and placed them back against the wall. Amber was pleased to see that they looked more in keeping with the new feel of the shop. It would be far easier to display all the goods now that the customers could actually see what they were buying.
Their idea of splitting items into appropriate sections was certainly a good one, she thought. Thus one part of the wall next to the fireplace held all the food, as well as the tall refrigerators, which had been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected so that they gleamed white once more. On the opposite side was the household section, which displayed the toilet rolls and cleaning products. Towards the back of the shop were the DIY goods, such as the string, screwdrivers and various sized nails and fixings. Finally, nearest to the till was a wide range of goods that didn’t come under any kind of section, such as greeting cards and rolls of material.
As the shelves began to fill, Amber realised that the shop had begun to get a little bit busier as word got out of the revamp.
Belle had popped in for some bread but upon seeing the greeting cards and string, she ended up buying those as well. ‘I only came in for a nose around the place,’ she said, nodding her approval. ‘It’s much better. Maybe I’ll get Aunty and Uncle in to see what ideas we can steal for redecorating the pub.’ Then she laughed. ‘I know. Not a chance, I reckon.’
Stanley said that he had been looking for his screwdriver for ages and that the replacement one would work very well.
Another customer had paid for their bread before spotting the rolls of material and had promptly bought the whole roll of flowery cotton to make some cushion covers with.
‘Maybe this could work,’ said Josh, nodding thoughtfully. ‘Everyone can see more of the stock now.’
‘Of course it will work,’ said Grandma Tilly, who had been coming into the shop on a daily basis. She had said it was to check on progress, but Amber thought that she actually enjoyed sitting on the chair behind the till and chatting to customers.
In fact, Amber was also enjoying talking to everyone who came into the shop. It was still early days for her and she was not used to talking to many strangers, but she was beginning to find a small amount of confidence. In a way, her senses were enlivened as she began to communicate once more with people.
She realised she had almost forgotten how to talk to people in New York. In fact, how to even be with other people. She could slowly feel herself coming back to life again and she felt more connected than she had felt in years.
One afternoon, Amber walked slowly around the shop, wondering what was missing. The trouble was that even when the goods were reorganised, it still felt a little sterile in there.
She stared at the fire burning bright inside the fireplace stove. On yet another dark and wet day, it helped make the place feel much more cosy. But it needed more.
‘Hey,’ said Josh, coming in through the back room.
He’d been out at the cash and carry and had left Amber at the shop. Not that Amber had wanted to return there. It had been a pretty soulless experience. And that was what Cranbridge Stores was still missing. Soul and heart too, she realised.
And pumpkins, apparently. She watched as Josh placed the three pumpkins he was holding onto the counter.
‘Is it Halloween already?’ she asked, with a smile.
‘Not quite,’ he told her. ‘But they were on special offer and I figured what the hell. Somebody might ask for them. I’ve got a small crate full out the back as well.’
She drew her hand down the smooth side of one of the pumpkins, her mind wandering.
‘I wonder if I should change the windows to a Halloween display at some point,’ she said, nodding thoughtfully.
‘If you have the time,’ he told her, gesturing at the still empty spaces in quite a few of the shelves. ‘There’s still a fair bit of restocking to be done.’
‘But the place needs something else,’ she blurted out.
‘Besides the tractor?’ said Josh, laughing.
She looked at the top of the shelves and realised there was quite a bit of space on top of each cabinet. And then there was the mantelpiece above the fireplace. An idea began to form in her mind.
‘I was just wondering how you felt about a few fairy lights and some autumnal touches inside the shop,’ she carried on, feeling brave. ‘You know, to match the window.’
‘That sounds lovely,’ said Grandma Tilly, nodding her approval.
To Amber’s relief, Josh shrugged his shoulders. ‘Knock yourself out,’ he told her. ‘As long as you’re not planning on redecorating me as well, then go ahead. I trust you.’
His words gave her confidence a mighty boost, she found. And as the afternoon wore on, she began to make similar strings of dried autumnal leaves and fairy lights as she had done for the window displays. Then she draped them along the top of the shelving units and across the mantelpiece, along with some conkers and pine cones that she had sprayed silver. In addition, she grabbed some white candles that they had found in a box and placed them at either end of the mantelpiece in a bunch.
Once she had finished, she nodded her approval to herself.
And she wasn’t the only one who liked the autumnal display.
‘This is lovely,’ said Belle when she came in to buy some tinned tomatoes. ‘Really pretty.’
Amber noticed how she warmed her hands up in front of the fire and saw Josh had noticed as well. They locked eyes before he gave her a nod as if to say, yeah, you were right about the fire.
‘Don’t get too smug,’ he muttered as he walked by. But she spotted his wink before he headed out the back.
The doorbe
ll rang out once more and the vicar came in.
‘Good morning,’ said Glenda, looking amazed at the difference inside the shop. ‘Goodness me,’ she added. ‘I hardly recognise the place.’
‘It’s really nice, isn’t it?’ said Belle.
‘Absolutely,’ said Glenda, looking around and smiling. ‘Now, what did I come in for?’
Amber spotted Noah the Labrador tied up outside and wondered if she should place a bowl of water outside for dogs. After all, she had spotted quite a few passing by on their daily walks. Perhaps if the dogs stopped to have a drink, then their owners would be tempted inside.
As the vicar and Belle chatted away, Amber was suddenly struck by how important the shop was to people who lived alone.
Keeping the shop open and in business suddenly wasn’t just about profit and loss to Amber. It was about the villagers as well. Somewhere for them to talk and to meet.
With that in mind, she wandered out to see Josh after both the customers had left.
‘You know those old benches in the lane out there? I was wondering whether you would mind if we moved them to the front porch,’ she asked. ‘One on either side.’
He looked surprised. ‘Whatever for?’
‘It was just an idea I had,’ she told him. ‘I thought it would frame the windows better. And the new display I’ve got for the porch.’
‘The porch is getting a display now?’ He frowned. ‘Aren’t we going to end up looking like Disneyland?’
She shook her head. ‘We’re dressing the shop, remember? I think it could work.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘OK,’ he said, to her relief. ‘It’s not like they’re getting any use stuck out there. But let me check them both first to make sure that they’re safe if somebody decides to sit on them. We haven’t got the money if we get sued if somebody comes a cropper on them.’
‘And the veranda could do with a new lick of paint as well,’ said Amber, ducking out of the room before he could protest.
In fact, Josh was kept busy fixing the hole in the roof of the veranda before coating it in wood preservative. It looked much better afterwards, especially when the benches were coated in the same oak colouring. Once Josh had declared them both safe and dry, he and Amber carried them round to the front porch and placed one underneath each front window.
After Josh had disappeared back inside, Amber stood on the steps and decided that they needed a couple of comfy cushions. Maybe even a rug.
Or a blanket, she realised, making a note to ask Grandma Tilly to knit a couple of autumnal-coloured ones next.
Although with all the rain that was pouring down day after day, maybe life jackets would be a better idea, she thought. And then she realised that they also needed a hat and umbrella stand somewhere. And thought she’d seen one out the back as well.
In fact, the back room was a gold mine of odds and ends that she could reuse. There were a couple of shabby yet perfectly functional hurricane lamps, which just needed a clean before she placed them either side of the front door with fairy lights in them. Then she stole one of Josh’s pumpkins and placed that next to one of the lamps. An old wicker basket was quickly filled with logs that she could easily get to in order to keep the fire going.
Last, she made an autumnal wreath for the front door, made out of the berries and leaves that were down by the river.
Feeling nervous, she showed Josh her work.
‘Looks good,’ said Josh, nodding slowly. ‘Looks really good, in fact.’
Filled with enthusiasm, Amber told him some more of her ideas. ‘I thought I could cut out some black cats on cardboard for Halloween. As well as lighting some pumpkins that have been carved, of course.’
‘Of course,’ he repeated, smiling at her excitement.
‘Then, in December, we could have a Christmas tree at both ends of the porch,’ she carried on. ‘As well as one inside.’
‘Only if you come back and decorate them,’ he said, laughing.
She was bemused. ‘Where am I going?’ she asked.
‘To New Zealand,’ he told her. ‘Remember?’
That brought Amber up short. She had completely forgotten that she wasn’t there for very long.
‘Oh. Well, I’m sure even you can decorate a Christmas tree!’ she said, fixing a smile on her face to hide her muddled feelings.
‘You’re kidding,’ said Josh, with a grimace. ‘Have you seen my artistic skills?’
As he walked away, she realised that deep down it wasn’t just the shop that she would be sad to leave behind.
24
As Amber walked out onto the porch the following morning, the air was chilly and damp once more. The whole village was encased in low cloud and drizzle.
It was almost the end of October and it certainly felt as if autumn had finally arrived.
She shivered and placed the long cushions onto the benches. She had discovered them in a corner of the back room and figured that nobody would mind if she recovered both cushions with her favourite red and white gingham checked material. She stepped back and ran her critical eye over the two benches. They certainly gave a more welcoming feel to the place, along with the newly placed hurricane lamps and various decorations.
Grandma Tilly was hard at work knitting a couple of blankets. Amber had even dug out an old porcelain bowl and placed a small sign next to it so that any passing dog owners could take advantage of a canine water break.
Her gaze drifted inside to where her decorations were almost finished. The shop was transformed from one week earlier now that it was decorated and sorted. She just had one final finishing touch that she had hoped Josh would approve of. But for now, the tractor remained hidden beneath some tarpaulin.
She was just considering some other decorations when Del’s dilapidated coach pulled up in the lane alongside the shop.
She had been expecting it to be empty as it was only just past eleven o’clock in the morning. Upon hearing a clamour inside, however, she watched as a group of people clambered down the steps, all carrying bags and boxes.
‘Morning!’ said a pretty blonde-haired woman. ‘We’re the Cranbridge Times! We’re moving in next door!’
Amber smiled. ‘Oh, we heard you were coming. Hi. I’m Amber.’
‘I’m Molly,’ said the woman, reaching out to wave with one hand whilst clutching on to a box which appeared to be filled with files with the other. ‘Gosh! What a lovely setting! Hopefully we won’t be too noisy for you.’
She was in her early twenties with a sweet, friendly nature.
‘Rubbish,’ said a man appearing next to her, who was holding two laptops and a keyboard under his arms. ‘We’ll bring a bit of life to the place.’ He glanced over to The Black Swan. ‘Glad to see there’s a pub within staggering distance.’
Molly rolled her eyes. ‘The idea was that we’ll get more work done here in the peaceful countryside, not drink more alcohol.’
‘A man can’t live on coffee alone,’ he drawled, before nodding at Amber. ‘Tom Addison, editor and chief of this rabble.’
He was in his late thirties and had an attractive but careworn face with large bags under his eyes.
‘I’m Amber,’ she replied. ‘And Josh, the owner, is inside somewhere.’
‘What a pretty-looking place,’ said Molly, peering around the veranda. ‘Have you just moved in as well?’
Amber shook her head. ‘No, but we’re in the middle of renovating the place.’
‘Excellent,’ said Tom, also looking past her and into the shop. ‘I hope you’ve got a coffee machine in there. Our kettle broke. You could make a fortune from us lot.’
‘It’s yet to be unpacked,’ Amber told him, thinking quickly. ‘I think it’s out the back somewhere.’
‘Then I should make that today’s priority if I were you,’ said Tom, glancing up as Del helped another man carry a desk down the steps of the coach. ‘We’re going to need caffeine and lots of it. Right, let’s get inside. Who’s got the front door keys?’
<
br /> ‘You have,’ called out Molly.
‘Have I?’ said Tom, walking to the next-door shop and patting the pockets of his jeans. Finally and with a wiggle of the keys and a heavy nudge to the front door with his shoulder, Tom headed inside.
‘Where are the bloody lights?’ she heard him shout out.
Molly gave Amber a smile. ‘He can be a bit sarcastic sometimes, but he only ever means it as a joke. He’s really the nicest boss. Ever so kind and such a good writer,’ she whispered.
‘And you’re a journalist too?’ asked Amber.
Molly shook her head. ‘Oh no! I’m not talented enough for that. I’m the receptionist, telephone operator, bit of everything really. Kate is the real journalist. She’s always out and about though. Then there’s a couple of part-time staff as well. I’m sure I’ll be in often enough for the coffee run, in any case.’
‘Talking of which, I’d better see where it is,’ said Amber. ‘See you soon.’
‘Absolutely. We’ll be desperate for lunch at some point.’ Molly headed out into the rain. ‘Ugh. Will it ever stop raining?’
Amber had to agree with Molly. The weather continued to be cold and miserable. The river was certainly looking higher than when she had first arrived. It was almost up to the bank and was flowing faster than she had ever seen it.
Amber headed back indoors, where Josh was just coming out of the back room.
‘What’s going on out there?’ he asked.
‘The local newspaper are moving in next door,’ she told him. ‘They’ve just turned up in Del’s coach.’
Josh nodded thoughtfully. ‘I did hear a rumour in the pub that they were moving in soon. Well, hopefully that means a few more customers, eh?’
She hesitated. ‘Talking of which, they were asking about a coffee machine.’
He laughed. ‘Yeah, we’d all like one of those.’
‘So I sort of lied and said we had one.’ Seeing his face drop, she quickly added, ‘But I was thinking that it might not be a bad idea. Everyone likes a takeaway coffee these days.’
The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts Page 15