He raised his eyebrows. ‘Seriously?’
‘I thought that perhaps if we could diversify a bit.’
‘We’ve got a tractor in the shop. How much different do you want it to be?’ But his smile softened his words and he blew out a sigh as he thought hard. ‘I’m supposed to be buying some more stock.’
‘We’ve got all the stock we need,’ she told him. ‘We can barely move for it. But perhaps getting them in through the door with the lure of a coffee might get them to start browsing our many varied goods that are already here. And there’s a lovely big gap on the table behind the counter where it could go.’
He nodded thoughtfully. ‘I’ll think about it,’ he told her.
‘OK, but if they come in and ask for a coffee later today…?’ she asked.
‘Tell them it’s being serviced and to come back tomorrow,’ he told her, rolling his eyes. ‘I said I’ll think about it, OK?’
‘Well, maybe not for too long,’ she urged him. ‘Otherwise they might buy one for themselves.’
‘I doubt it,’ he said. ‘From what I’ve heard, the newspaper is in as much trouble as our shop is.’
As she went back towards the till, Amber smiled to herself. Josh had said ‘our’, she realised. Perhaps he was talking about his mum and himself, she reminded herself. But it certainly felt nice to be part of a team for once. She hadn’t had that in her jobs before. She had always felt isolated. But then she had always been stuck in the back or front window. Here she was talking to customers and liaising with people. She had thought that she would hate it. But she was finding she actually quite liked it.
‘By the way, what’s happening with this?’
She spun round to find Josh standing next to the tractor, which was still covered with a heavy cloth.
‘It’s a surprise,’ she told him. She continued to look at him with hope in her eyes.
He sighed at her silent question. ‘Fine,’ he said eventually. ‘Do what you want. At least I don’t have to look at it.’
Amber gave a small whoop of joy. She had been desperate to make a display of the tractor and finally he was allowing her to do so. And she knew exactly what colour it was going to be painted in.
‘Red!’ exclaimed Josh later that day when she opened up the can of paint and showed it to him. ‘I didn’t realise you were serious when you coloured it bright red on your bit of paper.’
‘Isn’t it wonderful? Like a real postbox red,’ said Amber, beaming.
But Josh was looking even more alarmed than before. ‘I thought the idea would be to try and camouflage it, not highlight it.’
‘Why would you want to hide it?’ she asked. ‘It’s a display.’
Josh shuddered and quickly walked away. ‘I’m not staying around the scene of the crime. I’m off to the pub.’
Amber was quite glad in a way that he was going out again as she wanted to surprise him with the transformation, despite his less than enthusiastic response. With all the metal and leather already buffed and polished, all she had to do was paint the bodywork.
After a couple of hard hours’ work, she stepped back and nodded to herself. She knew it had been right to trust her instinct. It looked amazing. Almost like a large toy tractor. She still had the vision of Grandma Tilly’s photograph burning in her mind. And she could just see it surrounded by wooden crates full of brightly coloured fruit and vegetables. Maybe even some blackboard signs with prices on.
Clapping her hands in glee, she headed into the back room and had just finished cleaning her hands when Josh came through the door.
‘Is it safe to come in?’ he asked, peering through a gap in his fingers.
‘Let me show you,’ she said, leading him into the main shop.
Josh was looking quite relaxed until he saw the bright red tractor and stopped dead in his tracks.
‘Well?’ she said, watching his reaction. ‘What do you think?’
But Josh appeared to be lost for words as he began to move slowly towards the tractor, his eyes wide as he took in the polished metal and bright red colour. He had held out his hand as if to stroke the metal but quickly withdrew it.
‘Don’t touch the paint,’ she warned him. ‘It’s still not dry.’
He slowly walked the whole way around it as if in a daze until he came to stand next to Amber.
‘Well?’ she asked again, starting to feel really worried.
She had expected anger or even mockery but what she hadn’t expected were the tears that she saw appear in his eyes. He obviously absolutely hated it.
‘Oh, Josh!’ she whispered. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Why?’ he said, his voice hoarse.
‘You hate it, don’t you?’ She was horrified. She had never meant to upset him. That was the last thing she wanted.
But he smiled through his tears and shook his head. ‘No. I think I actually love it.’
‘You do?’ She couldn’t believe it.
‘I’m staggered. Speechless, in fact.’ He looked at her with blazing eyes. ‘Mum will love it as well.’
‘You really think so?’
He nodded. ‘I know so.’ He paused. ‘And my dad would have loved it as well. I think this was just how he had imagined it could look.’ He laughed. ‘Except with it working and being outside of course.’
They both looked at the tractor for a moment in silence. Amber hesitated, but seeing that Josh was still upset, she felt compelled to slip her hand into his and give it a small squeeze.
‘I think it might be good to have something so special of your dad’s inside the shop,’ she said, in a soft tone. ‘Like a good-luck token or something.’
‘I do too.’ He nodded and squeezed her hand back. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome,’ she told him.
But as she let go of his hand, Amber had a sudden urge to draw him in closer and give him a hug. But she held back. He was just emotional over losing his dad, that was all. This was absolutely nothing to do with something between them. Because there was nothing between them.
At least, from his point of view.
Hers was more muddled. Because, right there, right at that moment, she desperately wanted to kiss him and hold him. She wanted to take all of his pain away forever.
But she dismissed the notion as a result of the unexpected emotion of the moment. That was all.
Wasn’t it?
25
Amber had assumed that Josh had dismissed the coffee machine idea that she had mentioned the previous day as he hadn’t brought it up since. But, to her amazement, Belle staggered into the shop the following morning with a massive box in her hands.
‘Where do you want it?’ said Belle, handing it over to Josh before rubbing her sore arms.
‘What on earth is that?’ asked Amber, clearing the counter to make space.
‘You wanted a coffee machine and your wish is my command,’ Josh told her, putting it down onto the counter with a grunt.
‘Really?’ Amber peered into the top of the open box. ‘It’s enormous,’ she said, looking down at the silver and black machine.
It appeared to have several buttons on the front and a small screen. On top of the machine were various plastic canisters which were discoloured and dusty.
‘It’s filthy,’ he told her, with a grimace, before looking up at Belle.
Belle held up her hands. ‘You had the conversation with my uncle about needing a coffee machine. I’m just the delivery girl. Nobody said anything about cleaning the thing.’
‘Are there any instructions?’ asked Amber.
‘In the box,’ said Belle. ‘It was quite simple, from what I remember. It’s just it’s barely been used, to be honest. Nobody ever comes into the pub for a coffee.’
Josh brought out his wallet and handed Belle fifty pounds in notes. ‘Payment as agreed,’ he said.
‘Does it work?’ asked Amber, looking at the machine once more.
‘I’ll have my fifty quid back if it doesn’t,’ said Josh
with a pointed look at Belle. ‘Anyway, it’s all yours,’ he told Amber. ‘I expect the shop to be full of customers once the aroma of freshly brewed coffee starts drifting out into the lane.’
With the ghost of a wink, he headed out.
Amber giggled to herself before she realised Belle was still standing there watching her. ‘You two make a cute couple,’ said Belle, looking at her.
‘Oh no,’ said Amber, violently shaking her head. ‘I’m just an old friend of the family.’
‘So not cousins or anything?’
‘No,’ said Amber, tucking her hair behind her ear.
‘Excellent. So it’s all legal. So what are you waiting for?’ asked Belle, giving her a wink before she turned to leave. ‘The tractor looks much better, by the way.’
Still blushing, Amber decided to concentrate on getting hold of the instructions for the coffee machine and reading them through. It took her almost the remainder of the morning to clean out the whole machine, especially the empty canisters, which were terribly tarnished. But after some hard scrubbing, the machine was gleaming. She filled up one of the canisters with some filter coffee from a packet in the shop, she plugged it into a socket in the wall and, after sending up a brief prayer as she placed a mug underneath, switched it on.
She went to stand on the other side of the counter whilst it made various dubious noises but soon, to her surprise, it was bubbling away and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee was in the air.
The bell above the door rang as Frank stepped into the shop.
‘Good afternoon,’ he said, stopping briefly after shutting the door behind him. ‘My word!’ He stared in amazement at the tractor gleaming red in the middle of the shop.
‘What do you think?’ asked Amber.
‘What a stunning colour,’ said Frank, before sniffing the air. ‘What’s that lovely smell?’
‘Hopefully it’s coffee rather than paint and fumes,’ Amber told him. ‘We have a new coffee machine,’ she added, pointing at the large silver machine behind the till. ‘Just installed and ready for its trial run.’
‘Well, that’s a welcome sight. How much is a cup of coffee?’ he asked.
‘One pound,’ she told him, off the top of her head. After all, it was only coffee and water.
‘Excellent,’ he said with a smile. ‘I shall have to bring my thermos mug across. I do miss having a decent coffee now that I’m retired.’
‘Doesn’t mean that you’ll get any here though,’ said Josh, walking in.
‘Nonsense,’ said Frank. ‘They’ll be lining up the street, I’m sure. Especially when I tell my workers next door about it.’
Frank’s prediction of how popular the coffee machine would be turned out to be almost true as the staff from the newspaper offices began to head over for a coffee.
‘Fill her up,’ said Tom, the editor, holding out a large mug. ‘I need something to offset that disgusting house wine at the Mucky Duck last night.’
‘Mucky Duck?’ asked Amber, trying to work out what he meant.
‘Let’s face it, The Black Swan is far too elegant a name for that place,’ said Tom.
‘You drank the house wine at the pub?’ asked Josh, his eyes raised.
Tom grimaced. ‘Never again. Thanks,’ he added as Amber handed over the coffee. ‘How drunk was I that I don’t recall a large red tractor in the middle of this place yesterday?’ he carried on, before taking a welcome sip of his drink.
‘It was covered up until last night,’ said Amber. ‘What do you think?’
‘It’s, er, different,’ he said, with a smile.
Josh gave Amber a look but said nothing.
Molly rushed into the shop next. ‘Oooh! I heard there was coffee in here!’ she said before stopping dead. ‘Nice tractor! What a lovely colour!’
‘Go on then,’ said Tom, with a dramatic sigh. ‘This drink’s on me.’
‘Thanks, boss,’ said Molly, smiling, holding out her mug.
Amber filled it up and handed it back to Molly.
‘Where are the doughnuts?’ asked Tom, looking around. ‘Buns? Anything bread-based? I need carbs to mop up my headache.’
Amber shook her head. ‘Sorry. No bakery-type things apart from bread. We’ve got some boxes of biscuits on special offer though.’ She pointed to where they had made a display on one of the shelves.
Tom headed over and picked up a box. ‘That’ll do,’ he said.
‘Mmm, Jammie Dodgers,’ said Molly, looking at the list of biscuits on the box.
‘Oi! Get your own,’ snapped Tom, before putting down some coins on the counter. But Amber saw him give Molly a friendly nudge with his elbow before he headed out of the shop.
On his way out, Tom passed Belle on the veranda. ‘Is the coffee machine working?’ she asked, coming inside and closing the door. ‘I thought I’d better check that it hadn’t blown up or anything.’
‘It’s brilliant,’ Amber told her.
‘Great,’ said Belle, before looking at Molly. ‘My aunt and uncle run the pub and want to throw everyone from the newspaper a party on Friday night to welcome you all to the village.’
‘Really?’ Molly looked thrilled. ‘How lovely.’
‘I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much,’ Belle told her with a grimace. ‘And you might want to eat before you get there.’
They watched as Josh staggered into the shop carrying another pile of pumpkins that he had bought and placed them next to the till.
‘We can make it a Halloween party!’ said Molly, clapping her hands excitedly.
Belle raised her eyebrows. ‘To be honest, it would certainly match the whole mood of the pub, so what the hell.’
‘We’ll have to think about what to wear. I’ve got some great outfits,’ said Molly, looking at Amber. ‘What about you?’
Amber shook her head. ‘I’m not sure I’ve got anything suitable,’ she muttered, blushing. Parties always made her feel a bit on edge as to the sheer amount of people in them, let alone dressing up in a strange outfit.
‘You can borrow something of mine,’ Molly told her.
She was ever so young and sweet, thought Amber as she thanked her. But filled with so much more confidence than Amber could ever hope to have.
‘Thanks for the coffee,’ said Molly. ‘See you later.’
She waved goodbye and walked out of the shop with Belle, chatting excitedly as they left.
Amber heard a noise and looked up to see Josh watching her.
She raised her eyebrows in question to him.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ he drawled. ‘You were right about the coffee machine. You have a talent, by the way. For sales, I mean.’
‘I don’t know about that,’ she told him, blushing.
‘I do,’ said Josh. ‘You’ve already upped our takings today thanks to the coffees and a large box of biscuits as well.’
‘I’m not sure it’ll make that much of a difference,’ she told him.
‘Maybe not,’ he replied. ‘But it’s nice to have a tiny bit of positivity around here.’
She nodded, still wondering whether she could bail out at the last minute. ‘Will you go to the party? It’s fancy dress apparently,’ she told him.
‘I will if you will,’ he said.
Amber was surprised. ‘And you’re going to dress up?’
‘Absolutely,’ he told her. ‘I’m going as an impoverished shop owner.’
‘Humph,’ she said. ‘Molly was thinking that we could dress up properly.’
‘Yeah, you enjoy that. I’ll be at the bar with my pint,’ he said, nodding at the pumpkins. ‘You’d better get carving then.’
‘Aren’t you going to help?’ she asked.
‘You’re the artistic one,’ he told her.
Amber looked around at the whole shop. ‘I guess we should decorate the whole place for Halloween as it’s the 31st on Saturday,’ she said, tapping her chin as she thought of what could be done.
‘That’s your department,’ he told her.
Amber decided to put the problem of what to wear to the fancy dress party to one side whilst she decorated the shop. Carving the pumpkins was quite easy, thanks to a YouTube tutorial. She placed three pumpkins on both sides of the door and on the side of the step, as well as some tiny squashes which she carved and placed in the window display.
‘I hope you’re going to pay for all that stock,’ said Josh.
‘You can take it from my marketing budget,’ she told him, to which he laughed.
‘Here are the blankets,’ said Grandma Tilly later that day, carrying in two beautiful orange and red-coloured knitted throws.
She had only just finished the Christmas ones for Amber the previous week so she must have started on the new blankets straight away.
‘They’re lovely,’ Amber gushed, reaching out to stroke one of the little tassels that Grandma Tilly had added. ‘Thank you so much.’
‘It’s nice to feel useful,’ Tilly told her. ‘If only for a short while.’
‘Why don’t you stay for a coffee?’ asked Amber. ‘Or I can do you a hot chocolate?’
Grandma Tilly looked pleased. ‘A hot chocolate would be lovely,’ she replied, heading over to have a look at the coffee machine.
As the coffee machine gurgled into life, Amber suddenly had an idea. ‘Now, how do you feel about knitting us a couple of pumpkins?’
Grandma Tilly looked astonished. ‘Pumpkins?’
‘Maybe not just pumpkins. A few squashes as well,’ said Amber.
‘I’m a little muddled,’ said Grandma Tilly, looking confused.
‘Sorry,’ said Amber. ‘I should have explained. I was wondering how you felt about knitting me, well, us, a few pumpkins and squashes. To dot around the shop.’
‘Have you been at the punch again?’ asked Josh, who came over to raise an eyebrow at her.
Amber blushed. ‘No. But you’re going to sell all the real pumpkins hopefully and they look so pretty in the shop. I thought if Grandma Tilly could knit us a few then they’d be a more permanent feature until we dress the shop for Christmas.’
‘Oh! I see!’ Grandma Tilly went over to peer inside the box that contained all the balls of wool. ‘Well, they’re the right colours in any case.’ She broke into a winning smile. ‘That’ll keep me busy for a few days.’
The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts Page 16