About ten minutes later, with just a couple of checks left, she became aware of a presence.
‘Hello, Mr Townsend. It is Mr Martin Townsend, isn’t it?’
Maddie thought she recognised the voice. Her concentration was interrupted and her irritation level rapidly began to rise. Her feet, clad in her favourite and most comfortable pumps, were sticking out from under the car. Beside them was another pair of feet, definitely male and clad in heavy black safety boots. She sighed, tucked the spanner in her overalls pocket and slid herself out.
‘It’s Maddie Townsend, actually. Short for Madeleine.’ Her tone was more cutting than she intended.
The man smiled. ‘I guess the flowery pumps did kind of give that away. I’m Simon Walker. We competed against each other last year, if you remember.’
‘Yup. I also remember that you took first place to my second.’ She crossed her arms, stood her ground and stared at him, wondering what was coming next.
‘That’s true, but you and your dad didn’t exactly make it easy for me and my co-driver. Surely you realised that at the time?’
Maddie shrugged. ‘Maybe.’ She rocked back and leaned against the car. ‘This year I’ll be even more difficult to beat.’ She raised her left eyebrow in challenge.
Simon smiled. ‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘And your dad? Is he driving or navigating this year?’
Maddie let her bravado slip a little. She tidied a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. ‘Unfortunately, Dad can’t be here this year. He’s not too well at the moment and he’s… umm…’ She bit back the tears that always appeared when her father was in her mind. ‘He’s got to take things easy for a while. So, umm… I will be driving for both days of the tour.’ She blurted out the last statement and looked her competitor straight in the eye.
Simon nodded. ‘Well, may the best driver win.’
‘I will,’ she stated. Having regained control of her composure she realised the paddock was almost silent and significantly fuller than earlier. A train pulled out of the station and Maddie noticed Simon was now looking past her. She turned. Strutting towards the paddock was a tall, willowy brunette in tight white jeans, with a dusky pink blouse cinched in at the waist, wheeling a lilac suitcase behind her. As the woman sashayed between the cars, all work on engines, bodywork or tyres stopped. Dozens of pairs of eyes followed her route until she halted at Maddie’s parking space.
‘Hi, I’m Raychelle Decoursey,’ she said, addressing Simon, her right hand proffered for him to shake.
Maddie cleared her throat. ‘My navigator,’ she explained.
Simon nodded and shook Raych’s hand. ‘Simon. And may the best team win.’
When her fellow competitor was out of earshot, Maddie turned to her companion.
‘Could you really have been any more obvious, Raych?’
Raych ran her hand through her flowing and perfectly coiffed locks and smiled knowingly. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Her dark brown eyes were open wide in mock wonderment. ‘I’m a free agent now, he was gorgeous, and it was an opportunity not to be missed.’ She tossed her hair back over her shoulder.
Maddie sighed.
‘Oh… Umm, I haven’t stamped on the beginning of a beautiful – ?’
‘No. Hell, no.’ Maddie rifled in her pocket for the spanner. ‘He’s nobody. Just the guy I’ve got to beat this year, that’s all.’
Raych gave her friend a questioning look. ‘But you don’t deny he’s gorgeous, then?’
Maddie dropped down onto her trolley and disappeared under the car. ‘Hadn’t even noticed.’
‘Really, is that so? Well you don’t fool me, Madeleine Townsend, so just get yourself back out from under that damn car and tell me all about him.’
‘Raych. Ouch! Damn it.’ Maddie emerged from her hiding place, her left hand cradling her temple, which was now sporting a greasy splodge over the beginnings of a lump. Upright again, she wiped her grubby hands on an equally grubby cloth that she kept in her pocket.
‘You may think he’s cute or whatever, but I can’t afford to be distracted. I’ve got a rally to win, Raych, and I need your help to do that. So cute or not, Simon is off the menu.’
Raych gave her friend a who-do-you-think-you’re-kidding look.
Maddie let her guard down and, hands shoved deep in her pockets, she let out an exasperated sigh. ‘OK, you win. Be my guest, but at least wait until the tour is over and that trophy is in the bag for my dad.’ She could feel a tear beginning to well in the corner of her right eye.
‘It’s OK. I get it.’ Raych reached out and gently squeezed her friend’s upper arm. Unable to be serious for long, she let a broad smile spread across her face. ‘And as for Simon, well, now you’re talking. And it’s an absolute promise – no hanky-panky until we cross that finish line on Sunday afternoon.’
They both broke into spontaneous laughter. ‘Deal. Now we need to get organised. The officials’ table is over there, so take your suitcase to the hotel and dig out only what you’ll need tonight.’ Maddie had booked rooms for them both at The Old Grange in Asby. ‘When you get back here, we need to sign on and get the Tour Road Book and Time Cards, and the sooner you get to grips with the paperwork, the better.’
Raych saluted and grinned. ‘Aye, aye, Captain.’ Gaudy case in tow, she resumed her sashay across the remainder of the paddock, followed by yet more pairs of male eyes.
Maddie moved to the front of the car and unstrapped the bonnet. She was once again lost in her world of grease and oil and engine components. The only place she ever really felt completely at ease. Here she could happily lose herself and put off having to deal with the rest of life’s more difficult stresses and strains.
*
With no more than a few minutes to go, Maddie pulled on her father’s coat and fastened it from top to bottom. Helmet on and goggles sitting on top of her head, she climbed into the driver’s seat.
‘Where’s your cagoule or raincoat or whatever?’
‘It’s July! It’s a beautiful and bright sunny day. I won’t need a coat.’ Raych examined her carefully painted nails.
‘We’re on a tour of Yorkshire. It rains a lot here. Especially up in the Dales.’ Maddie put the car in gear.
‘Well if it rains we can stop and put the hood up, can’t we?’
Maddie looked behind as she reversed out of her parking spot. ‘This car has all the up-to-the-minute technology of a vehicle of its age. An electrically operated hardtop wasn’t part of the design.’
Raych drove a modern convertible, and the idea that other cars were not as comfortable as her own would never have occurred to her.
The first course car left, followed by Simon and his co-driver, James, in their Delahaye135. On the signal from the marshal, Maddie trundled down the exit route from the paddock and onto Station Road. At the end of the road she followed the other cars round to the right and along a lane that crossed the rails and ran behind the station. In her rear-view mirror – an old one her dad had rescued from a slightly younger model of a Morgan – she noticed the green Bugatti that had come third the previous year. The driver, who was too close for comfort, had a smug look on his face.
And you can eat my smoke, mister, Maddie promised him as she blipped the accelerator. The resulting throaty hum from the Morgan’s engine brought a satisfying smile to her face.
‘Oh, what lovely properties.’ Raych tossed the road book in the footwell. ‘I bet they’ve got a fabulous view over the valley. I wonder how much these places cost?’
Maddie glanced across at her. ‘Raych, I know this isn’t really your thing and I am grateful to you for joining in, but I need you to concentrate. At the moment I do know where I’m going, because I checked the route to the formal start as soon as I got here yesterday.’ She halted at the junction, checked both left and right, shifted into first and crossed onto Ingleborough Lane. Each side of the lane was lined by local spectators, with marshals at regular intervals.
‘I’m ready for my c
lose-up now, Mr DeMille.’ Raych plumped her hair and posed as the car passed a serious photographer with a camera on a tripod.
Maddie followed the Delahaye through a pedestrian precinct, cordoned off for spectators only, and into a small car park that was being used as the second paddock and the formal start. The ten cars lined up beside each other. Maddie pulled on the brake and switched off the engine.
‘We’ve got speeches for about twenty minutes now, so it’s a good opportunity for us to go through the first few pages of notes for the route and –’
The passenger door slammed shut and Raych was already on her way across to Simon’s car.
Maddie sighed. So much for having an agreement. She reached down for the paperwork. Flipping open the first few pages, she realised Raych hadn’t even looked through the route. She grabbed the Ordnance Survey map and began to align the tulip diagrams to it, jotting down occasional notes in the road book. Glancing across at Raych, she shook her head in disbelief. Her navigator was perched on the bonnet of the Delahaye, surrounded by other competitors, and as always, she was enjoying the attention.
A small rostrum for the dignitaries had been erected at one side of the parking area. The Mayor tapped on the microphone to draw everyone’s attention to the fact that the formal proceedings were about to begin.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this, the twelfth visit to our little town of The Yorkshire Oldies’ Tour of the Dales. We are delighted to host the start of this prestigious event and to have the privilege of holding the gala dance and awards presentation here in Haven Bridge on Sunday evening. I hope you’ve all got your tickets.’ The Mayor let out a deep baritone laugh, which wasn’t echoed by anyone else. Pulling his robes further up his shoulders and straightening his chain of office, he continued, his voice clear and his vowels deep and Yorkshire.
‘And now it gives me great pleasure to declare this event open and to call on my very special guest to take on the role of Celebrity Start Official for the first ten cars.’ He turned to the elderly, white-haired lady who was sitting on his right. ‘Miss Moonshine, owner of Miss Moonshine’s Wonderful Emporium here on Market Street.’
To rousing applause, Miss Moonshine stood, adjusted her fur stole and tucked her dog further under her arm. In two elegant strides she took the Mayor’s place at the microphone.
‘I’m so pleased to have been granted this great honour on behalf of our town. Napoleon and I feel blessed that we have been chosen…’
‘Who’s that?’ whispered Raych. ‘And hasn’t she got gorgeous skin? Wonder what products she uses. That fox stole wouldn’t be my choice, of course, but with that fabulous 1940s dress, it looks absolutely perfect on her.’
‘Raych, shush. She’s a really nice lady and she is always really kind to my dad when we have an event here.’
‘And I love her little dog. So cute.’
‘Raych, be quiet and get in the bloody car.’
‘… and so, I’m just here to do what the lovely man in the yellow jacket tells me to.’ Miss Moonshine tickled Napoleon’s ear. ‘And darling Napoleon is going to help me, aren’t you, dear?’ The dog directed his sad brown eyes towards his owner and delivered a low two-tone moan from the back of his throat.
‘OK Raych, you need to concentrate now. Here’s the road book and you just follow the tulip diagrams and call out the instructions.’ Maddie started the car.
Raych looked at the page in front of her, a deep frown on her face. ‘Tulips? Why do we need pictures of tulips?’
‘Just follow the diagrams. An arrow is a direction either left, right or straight on, and a circle is a roundabout.’ Maddie nosed the car forward.
Raych searched through the first half-dozen pages and then turned back to the first. ‘So, this bent arrow is what?’ She shoved the page in front of Maddie’s face and pointed.
‘That’s a tulip diagram and it means we’re turning right out of the start paddock and the next diagram means that we are then turning left at the junction just ahead of us. Got it?’
‘Funny-looking tulips to me. If a guy presented me with tulips looking like that, I’d send him packing.’
‘OK, it’s us, Raych.’ Maddie pulled forward to where the marshal stood, stopwatch in hand.
Miss Moonshine circled the car. ‘Maddie Townsend, how lovely to see you here again. I think you will do well today and tomorrow. Good luck to you, Raychelle.’
Raych frowned and was about to ask a question when Miss Moonshine looked from one to the other and then gently rested her hand on Maddie’s shoulder. ‘Nothing is ever as bad as it seems, my dear. And take this,’ she added, holding a small pink stone in the palm of her hand. ‘Rose quartz. It will bring inner calm for the difficult days ahead and is good for the heart.’
Maddie looked at the object glinting in the sunshine. ‘Thank you, that’s very kind, but I don’t –’
‘Yes, you do, my dear.’
Miss Moonshine’s eyes twinkled, and without being fully aware why, Maddie took the stone and dropped it into the top pocket of her coat.
‘That’s right, dear. Keep it close to the heart, where it can do most good.’
‘And five seconds and counting.’ The marshal held up his left hand and in unison with Miss Moonshine counted down. ‘…three… two… one… and go!’
Maddie’s attention snapped back to the race. She let out the clutch and the car rolled forward and they turned right onto the street. At the junction she turned left.
She shouted above the roar of the engine. ‘At the lights we take another left. I’ll be concentrating on the traffic and my driving, so you need to call out the notes. So, the next call is, “traffic lights left”. OK?’
‘Got that, but there’s no need to shout.’
The lights were at red and Maddie stopped. When the lights changed, she set off immediately. ‘Where was the call, Raych?’
‘Sorry, I forgot. I was trying to work out –’
‘Raych, I have to make every second count to beat those guys. I had to check the road book myself because you hadn’t. It’s your job to call out the instructions for every turn, junction, roundabout, OK?’ She looked at Raych, who nodded. ‘OK, so what’s the next call?’
Raych studied the page. ‘I think I need a pen so I can strike out the diagrams as I make the calls.’ She began foraging in her handbag.
Maddie pulled up at a T-junction. ‘Raych, where am I going? What’s the call?’
‘Well, the arrow’s pointing that way,’ she said, indicating right. ‘So that’s a left.’
Maddie moved the car around the corner and picked up speed on the long, straight road. ‘And that was actually a right.’ Maddie accelerated up the gentle climb.
‘Well, I always do have problems remembering which is which.’
And you also have a driving licence. Maddie filed away the thought without verbalising it. ‘Just a suggestion, but maybe you should put a capital L and R at the top of each page of notes, just in case you get it wrong again.’ Maddie stole a look at her friend.
‘Great idea. Good to know you’re still the sensible and practical one.’ Raych started scrawling letters in each corner of the notes. The required calls for the next few junctions were never made.
*
The first time-control and check-in on the tour was at a pub on one side of the village of Kirkgrove. Maddie was directed to a parking spot in the small car park at the side of the building. Carrying the road book and the maps, the girls went into the pub. The crew from the Delahaye were both sitting at the bar.
‘You made it in one piece, then?’ James, Simon’s navigator, grinned and took another sip of his pint. Maddie scowled. Her only reply was to ask for two coffees. Raych went straight to the Ladies to do something about her wind-blown hair and smudged make-up.
Alone at a corner table, Maddie checked her phone for messages. There were plenty of supportive texts from friends and customers of the garage waiting in her inbox, but the one she really wanted to see wasn
’t there. She scrolled through her contacts list until she found the number she wanted. The call connected almost immediately, but the tone at the other end indicated the switchboard was busy. Maddie shoved the phone in the top pocket of her overalls as Raych took a seat opposite and tried the insipid-looking liquid in front of her.
‘Ugh. This coffee most definitely is not Arabica.’ Raych dumped the cup back on the saucer with a clatter.
Maddie was poring over the maps and the tulip diagrams.
‘Are you OK?’ Raych asked.
‘Yup, I guess so.’ Maddie slumped back in her chair. ‘I wanted to know the result for this first leg, but the guy at the time-control said they won’t advise drivers of anything until all competitors have been through.’
‘That’s as clear as a foreign language to me.’ Raych regarded her friend for a moment. ‘But that’s not what’s really bothering you, is it?’
Maddie shook her head. ‘I can’t get through to the hospital.’ She scraped her thumb and forefinger across her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
‘Any missed calls?’
‘Nope.’
‘And I suppose they told you they would be in touch if there was any change, didn’t they?’
‘Yup.’
‘And you do know that your dad is in the best place with the right people who can help him, don’t you?’
‘Yup.’
‘And if you were there instead of here, what would you be doing?’
‘Climbing the walls, probably.’
‘So, we’ve got this rally thing to win and you need to help me with all of this.’ Raych dropped her hand and started shuffling the maps and pages of notes around.
‘You’re right.’ Looking at the sea of paper on the table, Maddie began to gather it into some sort of order. ‘Pull that next table across, will you? I need more space.’
A few moments later, the two coffees discarded and tepid, Maddie was her intense and focused self again.
Miss Moonshine's Emporium of Happy Endings: A feel-good collection of heartwarming stories Page 17