Summer at the Dog & Duck

by Jill Steeples

‘Bacon sandwich?’ I asked, pulling out the frying pan from the cupboard, as she nodded her eager response.

  ‘So how did the meeting go last night?’

  ‘Yeah, it was good. Well it was until your brother showed up and made a scene, but I think we’ll just gloss over that bit. Honestly, I think it’s going to be our best summer fair ever this year, we’ve got so many events lined up, culminating in an amazing masked summer ball at the manor in the evening. You’ll have to come, Katy, if you’re still here by then.’

  ‘Oh, I’ll definitely be here, well unless Max carries out his threat to put me on the first plane back to Spain, if I should go drinking again.’ She glanced across at me and gave a little giggle.

  ‘You know he doesn’t mean it?’

  She shrugged. ‘Well, I’ve told him, if he does, I’m getting the first plane straight back to England again.’

  I smiled, those two were more than an equal match for each other. I buttered four slices of bread and loaded the sizzling bacon evenly between them, squirting a generous dollop of tomato ketchup on top. Wedging the two halves together, I handed one plate over to Katy and took mine over to join her at the table.

  ‘I’ve been given the lovely job of finding a local celebrity to open the summer fair and to make an appearance as Guest of Honour at the ball. Trouble is we couldn’t come up with any suggestions as to who might be able to do it.’ Seduced by the smell of the frying bacon, the dogs had come flying in and were mooching beneath the table on the scrounge. ‘At this rate, I might have to make Digby the Guest of Honour for the night.’

  ‘Well you know who you should ask, don’t you?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘GG Williamson.’

  Katy was looking at me as though I should know exactly who she was talking about, but despite a very faint bell ringing in the back of my head, I had no idea.

  ‘You know, the writer!’ she cried, growing impatient with me. ‘I’ve read every single one of his books. I just love them and can’t wait for his next one to be released. That’s what he’s working on now. It’s coming out just before Christmas.’

  ‘Ah right, yes.’ It was coming to me now. Vaguely. ‘The one who writes those funny detective stories?’

  ‘Yes. There’s going to be a TV series next year as well.’

  Katy was clearly a super fan and if she had her choice of celebrity to open the summer fete then it would be this GG Williamson person. If it had been down to me it would have been George Clooney, but then we all have our dreams, don’t we?

  ‘Great,’ I said, half-heartedly, distracted by the thought of George Clooney now and, more seductively, the second half of my oozing sandwich.

  ‘So why don’t we ask him then?’

  ‘What? Oh, I think he lives in LA and has a villa on the Italian Lakes. Oh, and a beautiful wife too. I’m not sure the charms of Little Leyton are going to be enough to drag him away.’

  Katy looked at me blankly, her head dropping to one side, her expression questioning.

  ‘George Clooney? I was just thinking about…’

  ‘Nooooo. Not George Clooney. Have you been listening to a word I’ve said? GG Williamson! I bet he’d say yes if we asked him.’

  My mind snapped back to the moment. ‘Do we even know where he lives or how would we contact him?’

  Katy shook her head slowly. ‘Honestly, Ellie! Do you really not know? GG Williamson. He comes into your pub most nights. Dark blond hair, stubble, sits on the front table with his laptop and notebooks, and a pint of beer.’

  ‘Oh my god! You mean George! No. Surely not? George Williamson?’

  ‘Yes.’ Katy laughed. ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.’

  ‘Oh my goodness. He lives in my house, well my parents’ house. I had no idea what he was doing up there and I did wonder. I thought he was a bit of a loner. Someone who likes to keep himself to himself. I didn’t think. I didn’t know… He’s…’

  ‘Hot. Talented. Super cool.’ Katy was only too willing to fill in the blanks. ‘All of those things. The reason he’s been so quiet is that he’s been working to a deadline. That’s why he came to the village. To finish his latest book. His series of books are bestsellers and if he doesn’t produce his next book in time, then all his readers will be up in arms and he’ll get into trouble with his publishers. I recognised him in the pub and went over to talk to him, to tell him how much I admired his work. He was so lovely, he offered to sign all my books for me and he’s promised me a signed copy of his new one when it’s released.’

  ‘Crikey. Who would have thought it? Here we are searching for a celebrity and all the time we’ve had one in the village right under our noses.’

  ‘He said that’s why he chose Little Leyton because he didn’t know anyone here and he thought he’d be able to blend into the background without anyone recognising him.’

  I cringed inwardly thinking about the first time I’d met him, turning up unexpectedly on his doorstep with my cake wanting to stop for a long getting-to-know-us chat, when he’d been clearly desperate to get rid of me. Now I knew why!

  ‘Yes, but if he’s come to the village specifically to keep a low profile, I don’t suppose he’d be very keen on being our face of the summer fair, and being plastered all over the local newspaper.’

  ‘Well we won’t know until we ask him. I think his deadline should have passed now. He told me that once that was out of the way, he’d have a bit more time. He said he was going to be brainstorming ideas and planning out his next book.’

  ‘Right, well we should definitely ask him then,’ I said, grateful that my hunt for a celebrity might be solved as easily as that. If only all my other problems could be fixed quite so easily too. ‘Next time he’s in I’ll go and have a word with him.’

  At the back door, with Holly and Bella back on their leads, Katy leaned in to kiss me on the cheek, taking me by surprise. ‘Thanks for breakfast, and sorry for all the trouble I’m causing you,’ she said, looking genuinely contrite. ‘You will make it up with Max, won’t you?’

  Her dark, and oh-so familiar eyes, were flecked with concern, reaching me inside with their sincerity, but I wasn’t about to make any promises I couldn’t keep.

  ‘I’ll speak to him,’ I said, nodding. It was the only thing I could tell her.

  *

  After the high drama of yesterday, it came as a huge relief to know that today was my day off. To be honest, I’d not been terribly good in making use of my free days and usually just stayed at home, before getting roped into whatever was going on at the pub. Today I was determined not to let that happen.

  I knew my stress levels had been building, making me feel tired and out of sorts for the last few days now, and I couldn’t blame that entirely on Max Golding. If Mum was here she would have told me to slow down, to get a few early nights in and to look after myself properly. It was easy to forget those simple things without your mum gently chiding you with her concern.

  What advice would she be giving me now about Max?

  ‘Don't let him mess you around.’

  ‘If he’s not being straight with you then walk away.’

  ‘You don’t deserve to feel second best.’

  I could hear her voice in my head and would agree one hundred per cent with her sentiment, but I knew it wasn’t as straightforward as that. The events of yesterday played on my mind and I mulled them over, trying to see if I could make more sense of them now. Maybe I’d overreacted to Sasha’s news, feeling unnecessarily threatened by the unexpected discovery that she was pregnant, my shock only heightened by Katy’s presence, who had whipped up my confusion with her constant questions. Maybe I was building this up into something much bigger than it actually was. I just needed to take a step back from it all today.

  Upstairs, with my hair wrapped in a towel from my shower, I padded over towards the window and looked out over the beer garden. The sun filtered through the clouds casting a warm glow over the enclosed space. A few weeks ago, D
an, Rich, Andy and I had put in a mammoth cleaning up session. We’d pressure-washed the tables, chairs and benches, repainted the walls a warm cream colour, pulled up the weeds, trimmed the climbing bushes, installed some patio heaters and replaced all the cushions with new candy-striped ones. The blankets in the basket by the door to the garden, for those nights when there was a cold nip in the air, had been replaced with some new cosy ones too. A raised decking area had been installed at the back of the yard to provide more seating and with Polly’s beautiful hanging baskets and the tall ferns in the patio containers providing bold and striking relief, it made for a warm and welcoming space. The barn at the back of the patio, where we held our open-mic nights, and private parties, looked so pretty with the wooden boxes of bright red geraniums outside. I felt so proud of the wonderful space we’d created and relished the thought of how busy it would be soon with all our visitors over the summer. With it being totally empty and peaceful now though, and the warmth of the sun beckoning me outside, it seemed like an opportunity to good to miss.

  Quickly, I threw off my towel and gave my hair a quick blast with the hairdryer, before climbing into my clothes, and going downstairs. Making myself a mug of tea, I ventured outside with my book, surprised at how warm the sun was on my skin. I pulled out one of the big wooden chairs and sat down, stretching my legs out in front of me on to another chair, lifting my face to the sky, luxuriating in the warmth of the day. I delved into my book, and soon I was lost into another world, pleased to escape the realities of mine. It was only when a shadow fell over me and I looked up, squinting my eyes against the brightness of the sun, that I realised I’d been sitting there for over an hour.

  ‘Oh hi Dan!’

  ‘Feeling better today?’

  ‘Oh yes, all fine now, thank you,’ I said, brushing his concern away. ‘I reckon we did a good job out here, don’t you? It's such a beautiful space. You know, I might make it part of my daily routine to come out here for a quiet spell each morning.’

  ‘You should. You won’t get much chance when the punters start flooding in.’

  ‘I’ll be out today, Dan, but any problems and you can always call me on my mobile.’

  ‘Don’t worry. We’ll deal with them. Just go out and have a good day, and forget about the place for once.’

  ‘Thanks, Dan.’

  Knowing the pub was in safe hands, I left and went straight round to Polly’s shop. I found her behind her worktop surrounded by buckets of flowers, green foliage, cellophane and ribbons, a pencil behind her ear.

  ‘You look busy!’

  Her face lit up to see me.

  ‘Oh I am. Two big corporate orders have come in, plus the usual daily arrangements and bouquets. Mind you, I’m pleased for the distraction. It keeps me from dwelling on a certain Johnny Tay.’

  ‘I’ve told you, Polly, you need to put the man right out of your mind. That way lays madness.’

  ‘I know and it would be much easier to forget about him if he’d only stop texting and emailing me. Part of me wants to tell him to go and take a running jump, but there’s a part of me that loves seeing his name in my inbox.’

  ‘Oh, Polly!’ I sighed, rueing ever having encouraged the relationship in the first place.

  Just then the bell on the door rang, signalling the arrival of a new customer.

  ‘Look I’ll leave you to it, I’m off to see Josie now. She said if you’re free after work then to pop in for a glass of wine.’

  ‘You bet! That idea’s going to help me get through the rest of the day.’

  I wandered off down the road with Digby trotting along happily at my side. In the past few weeks a new energy had been breathed into the High Street. With the arrival of the warmer weather, a lot of the shops had opened up their doors and were displaying their wares outside in brightly coloured baskets. Enjoying my stroll in the sunshine, I put all thoughts of Max and Sasha out of my head, determined not to let those worries spoil my day. I arrived at Josie’s house a while later, and she opened the door to greet us, a big smile on her face and baby Stella in her arms.

  ‘I know you weren’t expecting me and Polly till later on, but I hope you don’t mind me inviting myself around now, do you? It’s just that my free days usually whiz past without me really doing anything and I thought this morning, now who would I most like to spend the day with, and of course there was only one possible answer to that question.’ I took Stella out of Josie’s arms and held her high up in the air, her little face gurgling happily at me.

  ‘What? Are you kidding? It’s never an inconvenient time as far you’re concerned. Come in. To be honest, I’ve been going a bit stir-crazy. I could do with some company.’

  ‘What’s up?’ I asked as we wandered through into the living room. Digby trotted ahead, sniffing all the way, on the lookout for any tidbits that Stella may have dropped, before I called him to my side and put him on his lead. I popped Stella down on her play mat and she immediately took off, on all fours, laughing at Digby, as she did.

  ‘Oh, just the normal stuff. Stella’s really grizzly, she’s teething I think, so I’m not getting much sleep at the moment. I know she can't help it, bless her, but I turn into a mummy monster if I don’t get my eight hours. You know, I sometimes wonder if I’m cut out for this motherhood lark.’

  ‘Don’t say that, Josie. You’re a brilliant mum.’

  She raised her eyebrows, and gave a wry smile. ‘Oh, take no notice of me. I didn’t know love like this until I had my little girl and I wouldn’t swap her for the world, but I guess I just didn’t realise how hard it can be at times.’

  ‘Oh Josie, of course it’s hard. Have you talked to Ethan about the way you’re feeling?’

  ‘Not really.’

  ‘Well it might help. And you could always talk to your doctor too if you needed to. I hate to think of you being unhappy.’

  ‘I’m fine. Really. And dad will be back soon. That will make everything seem so much better.’

  A wave of guilt washed over me. I saw Josie most days when she came in for her shifts at the pub, and sometimes she popped in for a coffee and a chat, but mostly those meetings were only fleeting. With everything else I’d had going on, I wondered if I’d been guilty of neglecting my oldest friend, at a time when she needed me most.

  ‘Do you fancy a walk?’ I asked her. ‘It’s so beautiful out there.’

  ‘Yes,’ she said, jumping up. ‘I could do with getting out. I’ll just go and grab Stella’s changing bag. I’ll bring some bread too in case we go down by the pond.’

  As we walked around the village, through the park and down the back lanes, with Digby leading the way and me pushing Stella’s buggy, we spoke about the christening and the likely numbers for the catering. Josie had decided to have the reception in the back barn at the pub, which was a lovely space for a small gathering. She reckoned on about forty people coming along and I’d offered to lay on the catering.

  ‘What do I need to bring?’ she asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘We’ll provide everything. Just bring yourselves and the star of the show, of course.’ I stopped for a moment to peer into the buggy. The star of the show was currently fast asleep and looking as cute as a button.

  ‘You’ll never guess who I bumped into yesterday?’ I said, a little while later, once we’d finished making plans for the christening. I dropped it in casually, as though it was just a small, inconsequential piece of news.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Sasha.’

  ‘Oh really? I meant to ask how she got on with Max and the cottage?’

  ‘Yep, she loved it apparently; she’s already moved in.’

  ‘Oh dear,’ said Josie, recognising my less than genuine response to this news. ‘So what, is she working with him again then?’

  ‘No. This is a personal move. She wants to make her home here.’ I paused, preparing myself to say the words aloud. ‘Now that she’s pregnant.’

  ‘What the…?’ Josie actually stopped dead in her
tracks, reached one hand out for the buggy as if to steady herself and turned to look at me, her face a picture of utter disbelief. ‘You are kidding me?’

  ‘No.’ I shook my head, slowly, purposefully. ‘I wish I was.’

  ‘Oh god! Is it Max’s baby then?’

  I’d been sounding Josie out, wanting to gauge her reaction. To see if I was being totally unreasonable in thinking the worst of Max. But instead my worst fears were being confirmed right here and now. I wasn’t being unreasonable after all. Or hormonal or overreacting. Max’s ex-girlfriend was pregnant and the natural assumption to make was that it was his baby.

  I shrugged my answer and made the mistake of glancing in Josie’s eyes, seeing the shock there.

  ‘What? I don’t believe it. What’s he said about it?’

  ‘That’s the thing. Absolutely nothing. I only found out when Katy and I were out shopping yesterday and we bumped into Sasha. There was no way she could have hidden the news. Max hasn’t mentioned anything to me. And in a way I wonder if that tells me everything.’ I sighed. ‘Sasha even said what a rock Max had been.’

  ‘Really? What’s that all about then?’

  ‘I honestly don’t know.’

  ‘Oh darling!’ Josie stopped and threw her arms around me, hugging me tight. ‘This is awful. You can’t have this hanging over you. You need to speak to him, find out exactly what’s going on.’

  Feeling the support and affection in Josie’s arms around me made me buckle. A huge swell of emotion lodged in my throat and tears filled my eyes. I blinked them away, cross with myself that I was reacting like this. I knew I’d have to have that conversation with Max, but I was scared. Scared of what I’d find out.

  A pain ripped through my stomach. What if it was his baby? Knowing Max, he’d want to be fully involved in his child’s life. Any decent man would, but would he want to rekindle his relationship with Sasha too to create a proper family environment? There’d be no place for me in that happy little scenario. How would I cope seeing Sasha and Max building a life together in the village? This was where I felt happy, secure and protected, but that peace would be shattered if I knew Max was starting a brand new life with someone else.