‘All the better for seeing you, my dear,’ he told her, staring around the shop with wide eyes. ‘Well, you have been busy whilst I’ve been otherwise engaged.’
‘Do you like it?’ asked Amber.
Stanley nodded. ‘Some lovely-looking apples, I see.’
‘All local,’ Josh told him, looking proud of himself.
‘And there’s local meat and dairy products too,’ added Amber. ‘Take a seat and I’ll make you a coffee, if you’d like.’
‘Thank you, my dear.’
Whilst he drank his coffee, they updated Stanley on all the recovery efforts after the flooding.
‘I hear you’re moving into one of the bungalows?’ asked Josh.
‘Unbelievable stroke of good fortune,’ Stanley said. ‘By the end of next week apparently. I shall miss my old home, but I shan’t miss the stairs, I must confess. Although Belle is doing a marvellous job of looking after me at the pub in the meantime.’ He looked a little teary as he looked at Josh. ‘And I must thank you for coming and finding me.’
‘That’s what neighbours are for,’ said Josh.
‘Good neighbours,’ said Stanley, in a firm tone of voice. ‘I am most grateful for your kindness. I hope you’ll let me buy you a drink at some point in the near future.’
‘Of course.’
After Stanley had finished his coffee, he put on his hat and scarf ready to leave. However, the front doorbell rang as the next customer came in. It was Frank, the newspaper owner.
‘Stanley! How are you?’ said Frank. ‘Heard you had to be rescued.’
‘Oh, it was nothing,’ said Stanley. ‘Just a little bit of excitement in my advancing years. Nice to run into you like this. I haven’t seen you for weeks.’
‘Ships that pass in the night,’ Frank told him.
‘A little rusty round the edges after all this rain,’ Stanley replied.
‘Are you in a rush?’ asked Frank. ‘Thought I’d treat myself to one of the coffees that everyone’s talking about.’
‘I’ll take a cup of tea,’ said Stanley. ‘We can take it outside where Amber’s put some lovely comfortable cushions on the benches and catch up.’
‘OK, I’ll get these,’ said Frank. ‘But if Arsenal beats Chelsea tonight, you can buy them tomorrow.’
‘You’re on,’ Stanley smiled.
A few minutes later, the elderly gentlemen were sitting on the bench outside, putting the world to rights and drinking their hot drinks.
‘I have a feeling they might never leave,’ said Josh.
‘Does it matter? Look how much happier they are. Besides, aren’t they a walking advert for our takeaway drinks?’ she told him, smiling.
Josh laughed and wandered away.
Amber realised that she felt so much stronger than she had ever felt before. Despite the awfulness of people being flooded out, she had handled it all and they had made it through. She had had to introduce herself to new people when they had been flooded out as well as speak to them. After all, their problems were far worse than hers. She was growing more confident. And she liked feeling that way at last.
‘Hiya,’ said Molly, coming into the shop. ‘Have you got any more biscuits or something to help Tom’s hangover?’
‘We probably should think about some pastries or something like that at some point,’ said Amber to Josh.
He nodded. ‘Need to find a baker somewhere. I’ll have a think. Anyway, I’m just going to drop this box into the church for the donations fund.’
As he wandered off, Molly grabbed one of the last packets of Jammie Dodgers. ‘That’ll have to do,’ she said, putting it on the counter. ‘He’s been like a bear with a sore head this morning.’
‘So why does he drink so heavily?’ asked Amber.
Molly glanced over her shoulder, but the shop was empty, apart from Josh who was in the far corner. ‘His wife left him about six months ago,’ she said in a whisper. ‘He’s heartbroken. He’s OK when he’s busy, but I think he struggles when everyone goes home. So I’m not sure him living over the pub is going to work out so well.’
‘Definitely not for his liver,’ said Amber, nodding.
The bell signalled the arrival of another customer just as Molly had finished paying and was turning to leave.
‘Hiya,’ Molly said brightly to the woman who had walked towards her. ‘I didn’t realise you came in here?’
‘First time for everything,’ snapped the dark-haired woman.
‘Then let me introduce Amber,’ said Molly, turning to her and smiling. ‘This is Kate Hooper, one of our journalists.’
‘Senior journalist,’ said the woman, fixing on a smile.
Amber’s smile froze on her face as she registered the woman’s name. Kate Hooper? As in Catherine Hooper?
As she stared into the stranger’s face she realised that her suspicion was right. It was the worst of her school bullies.
39
Kate Hooper stared at Amber critically, her head on one side.
‘Have we met? I recognise the name,’ she said, prowling up to the counter.
‘I-I…’ stammered Amber. She was completely stunned. All those years of comments and snide laughter were now fresh in her ears once more. The mocking and cruel jibes. It all came rushing back to her and she felt so anxious, she thought she might vomit.
Kate turned to Molly. ‘Is she a mute? I don’t do sign language.’
‘No,’ said Molly, turning to look at Amber in concern. ‘Are you OK? You’ve gone ever so pale. It must be lack of sleep. We’ve all been on the go for the last few days.’
But Amber could still feel Kate’s eyes burning into her. She gulped away her nausea and stared at the floor as she finally found the words. ‘St Winifred’s,’ she muttered. ‘Mrs Cole’s class.’
Kate peered at her for a moment. ‘Oh! School! I’d forgotten all about that place, to be honest. Of course, I left the area as soon as I could. This is only a temporary relocation.’
Molly frowned. ‘Actually, I think Tom’s quite set on staying here. He likes the village.’
‘He’s the only one who does,’ said Kate, with a sniff. She turned to look at Amber once more. ‘You were one of the quiet ones, yeah? I think I remember. Always had your head in a book.’
Amber nodded, still unable to speak any further for fear of retching.
‘Well, I’d have thought you were more suited to a library, but this is quite sweet, I suppose.’ She looked around the shop, her eyes scrutinising everything. ‘So you’re a shopkeeper now.’
Amber shook her head. ‘It’s not mine,’ she muttered.
‘Oh, so you’re just staff? How nice,’ said Kate, in a patronising tone. ‘I suppose you must be pleased to have some kind of career in any case. After all, you did always struggle so much at school, didn’t you?’
Amber felt a flare of anger at that point. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Kate how she’d worked in London and New York, but then Josh came over and the words failed her.
‘Hello!’ said Kate, suddenly breaking into a hundred-watt smile. ‘Are you just browsing as well or did you have something more sophisticated in mind?’
Josh gave a little start in surprise at her flirty nature but merely smiled. ‘If there’s a lack of sophistication in this place, you can blame me, seeing as I own it.’
‘Do you?’ Kate was all smiles and sweetness. ‘I was just saying how lovely it is.’
As she continued to flirt and laugh extravagantly at another of Josh’s quips, Molly leaned in to whisper to Amber. ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
Amber shook her head in response, not being able to find the words.
‘I’m just going to take Amber outside for a second,’ Molly said. ‘I need to ask her advice about something. Back soon!’
Then she grabbed Amber’s hand and dragged her past where Josh and Kate were still chatting and out onto the veranda. Molly kept walking quickly down the steps and along Riverside Lane to one of the benches by the river.
Then she sat down and pulled Amber onto the bench as well.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Molly, looking closely at her face. ‘What’s wrong?’
Amber was blinking away the tears that had suddenly formed in her eyes. She didn’t even realise that she was wringing her hands together over and over until Molly’s own hand came down on top of hers.
‘Steady,’ she told her, in a calm tone. ‘Take some deep breaths.’
‘Hiya. Is everything OK?’ said Belle, who was walking across the pedestrian bridge towards them. ‘I saw you both rush out of the shop. Is Amber ill?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Molly, still looking concerned.
They both looked at Amber once more, but she stayed quiet. It had always been her default mode of defence. To withdraw almost immediately upon any kind of criticism or bullying. Like a snail being poked with a stick, she would retreat under her shell and stay there until it was deemed safe.
Belle crouched down in front of her. ‘What is it?’ she said. ‘Tell me what happened.’
‘We were chatting and everything was fine,’ Molly explained. ‘Then Kate, you know, our journalist, she came into the shop and suddenly Amber looked ill.’
‘Don’t tell me,’ said Belle, with a groan. ‘She made some bitchy comment and upset her.’
Molly nodded. ‘Well, you know what she’s like. But, hang on, I think they went to school together. Is that right?’
Amber nodded, feeling Belle’s eyes boring into the top of her head as she stared down at the grassy bank beneath her trainers.
There was a short silence until Belle spoke, this time more softly than she had ever done before. ‘Was it bad? At school, I mean?’
Amber nodded again.
‘Oh no!’ Molly squeezed her hand as she continued to hold Amber’s with her own. ‘Girls are so awful sometimes,’ she said. ‘I always had my best friend to look out for me. She’s always been the mouthy one, so I hide behind her. Even now.’
‘And you can imagine what a name like Belle’s like at school,’ said Belle, rolling her eyes.
‘I loved Beauty and the Beast!’ said Molly, smiling.
‘Yeah except my happy ever after is more a screaming nightmare,’ said Belle.
‘Why?’ asked Molly.
‘That’s a tale for another time when we have lots of gin to drink,’ said Belle, briskly.
There was a sadness about her, thought Amber. Belle was a closed book but very friendly as well. Amber wondered how lonely Belle really was behind the strong, cynical façade.
‘So how are we going to deal with this Kate?’ asked Molly, whispering once more. ‘Could you tell her how you feel?’
Amber shook her head almost violently. ‘I can’t,’ she whispered. ‘I can’t face her. Not even after all this time. I know it’s not a big deal in the scheme of things. So many people have lost all their possessions in the floods. It’s just when I saw her, I felt about thirteen years old all over again.’
And all the pain and misery had returned as well, she thought.
‘We moved around a lot when I was young,’ Amber added. ‘Lots of different schools. It was hard, not having friends.’
‘Kids can be tough,’ said Belle.
Amber’s smile was tight as she nodded in agreement. ‘Then after I lost my job in New York, my parents suddenly retired early to New Zealand and I’m still looking for somewhere to call home.’
‘This is as good a place as any,’ said Belle, nodding thoughtfully. ‘Now, about the other problem. That bitchy Kate. There’s only two options as far as I can tell. One, I push her in the river.’
Molly giggled and even Amber managed to smile in response.
‘Or two, we can poison her with Aunty Angie’s cooking, which, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly unimaginable.’ Belle gave them both a winning smile.
Amber managed a small laugh and the release of emotion caused the tears to finally flow.
‘You’re OK,’ said Molly, giving her a hug and holding her tight. ‘We’ve got your back.’
‘And your front too,’ said Belle, squeezing her knee.
‘Thanks,’ said Amber, when she could finally speak again.
‘That’s what friends are for,’ Molly told her.
‘And I know I could do with a couple around here,’ said Belle. ‘You two are about the only women I know in my age group.’
‘Me too,’ said Amber.
‘Me three,’ added Molly, giving her another squeeze.
And so, for the first time in her life, Amber found that she had friends. And she found herself feeling a little stronger because of it.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of activity, for which Amber was grateful. But every time the shop bell rang out again, she gave a start. She found she was always glancing up nervously towards the front door, mainly in fear that Kate would return.
‘You OK?’ asked Josh later that day, looking at her. ‘You’ve been a bit quiet these last hours.’
It was true, she realised. The ease between them had been shattered once Kate had returned into her life. It was as if all her confidence had been eradicated in that one instance and she was back to the shy girl hiding behind the book once more.
‘I’m just tired,’ she told him, forcing a smile on her face.
‘I’m not surprised,’ he said. ‘It’s been a crazy time. Maybe you should take a day off.’
‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘I’ll just have an early night tonight and get some sleep.’
He nodded thoughtfully. ‘Good,’ he said.
But it wasn’t good, she knew. She missed their easy chats, the stolen moments.
Perhaps it was for the best, she told herself. Perhaps when she left it would hurt a little less if she kept her distance from now on.
The trouble was that she knew that she had fallen in love with Josh. But he hadn’t made a move since the night of the flood when they had kissed. Perhaps he regretted that too.
She had probably made a fool of herself, despite what Molly and Belle had said. Cranbridge wasn’t her home. And the shop wasn’t really hers, after all. It was time to leave. She would wait until Cathy returned and then she would fly, as she had originally planned, to stay with her parents in New Zealand.
She was trying to stay strong. But she knew deep down that leaving Josh and the village of Cranbridge in the next couple of weeks was going to be the hardest thing of all that she would have to face.
40
The river slowly receded back into its normal path. However, it was still running high and they all had one eye on the weather forecast at all times. Josh was out a lot of the time, helping with the big clean-up operation. The roads needed to be swept and hosed down. Trees needed to be cut and removed from lanes and roads. Fences had to be put back up. But with everyone pulling together, the work soon progressed.
Finally, the electricity was deemed safe enough to be returned to the flooded properties and the families moved out of the pub and back into their houses. They had all lost so much, but, thanks to everyone’s donations, which had taken over almost all of the floor space of the tiny church, at least they had the basics to take home with them and start again.
Josh had begun to venture further to other farms which stocked local meat and vegetables. Local eggs were now displayed at the shop, along with the local cheese and milk.
‘This is wonderful,’ said one customer as she handed over the payment for her purchases to Josh. ‘So nice to have all this on our doorstep. I had no idea.’
‘Thanks,’ he told her. ‘That’s good to know. Everyone seems very keen on the new layout of the shop.’
‘The food is great too,’ she told him, as she packed away her goods into the bags she had bought with her. ‘To know it’s local makes such a difference.’
‘It’s not hard when we’re surrounded by such great farms,’ he replied.
‘Well, I shall be doing all my Christmas food shopping in here. And passing off some of it as my o
wn as well,’ she told him with a wink.
‘I won’t tell a soul,’ he replied.
As she left, his smile faded a little as he remained deep in thought. It was almost the middle of November. Christmas was just around the corner and he needed to plan for what he hoped would be bumper sales.
‘I thought you’d be expensive,’ said another customer.
Josh shook his head. ‘Just the market value for good, local produce.’
The customer nodded. ‘Good idea. I hope you continue to flourish.’
‘So do I,’ said Josh with a sigh, after the customer had left the shop. ‘I’ve just heard they’ve reopened the road into Aldwych at last.’
Amber looked up at the concern in his voice. ‘I’m sure it’ll be OK,’ she told him.
Josh wasn’t so sure.
Despite the recent jump in sales, he felt miserable. Amber was subdued as well, he found. She kept telling him she was just tired, but perhaps he’d gone too far in getting so close to her. They had kissed the night of the flood. Maybe he’d pushed her too much when he should have left her alone. For that reason, he felt guilty, especially when it was because of her that they had achieved so much in the shop. But most of all, he missed her company. Their little chats and her soft laughter.
Kate, the journalist, had asked him out for a drink. But despite her best flirty efforts, it was no use. Despite Kate’s obvious charms, there was only room for one woman in his life. Amber had snuck into his heart when he had been least expecting it. And he had no idea what to do about it, especially as she had tentatively mentioned only the previous day about booking her onward flight. She was just waiting for confirmation from his mum as to when she was returning.
He wanted nothing more than to kiss her again. But it wasn’t fair on either of them. She would move on, leave the country and go and live with her parents in New Zealand. He would stay, and then what?
The thought of running the shop without Amber by his side brought him no joy. How would he decorate the seasons? He certainly didn’t have her eye for detail nor her talent for design. He could continue with all their tentative plans, but it all seemed quite pointless. Especially because, despite the increase in local customers, they were still running at a loss.
The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts Page 23