by Helen Mcginn
‘Sound of what?’ Another voice called across to them.
‘Susie! You made it… but where are the kids?’ Flora jumped up from her swing to offer it to her friend.
Susie gestured to her car. ‘I’ve given them my phone. I need ten minutes without fielding questions from small people.’ She rolled her eyes.
They’d first met Susie a few years before, standing at the school gates. She was terrifyingly immaculate, as were each of her four children, but she was also terrific fun. Before long Flora and Tilda had been invited over to Susie’s house one evening for drinks. Of course, they’d both jumped at the invitation because, more than anything, they had wanted to see what the inside of their new friend’s house – tall and imposing with its pale stone Georgian front – was like.
Susie was funny, whip-smart and – as Flora and Tilda found out that evening – married to a fairly unpleasant man. Her husband, Julian, appeared in the kitchen at one point to ask when dinner would be ready. He barely acknowledged them sitting around the kitchen table. Susie jumped up. ‘Julian, this is Tilda… and this is Flora. They’ve got kids at school, too.’ Susie’s face lit up with a hopeful smile. ‘We’re just having a quick glass before dinner.’
‘Yes, hi!’ Tilda raised her glass. ‘We won’t be long.’ She laughed, a little too loudly judging by the look on Julian’s face.
‘Yeah, hi.’ He glanced across at them briefly before opening the fridge. He looked inside. ‘We’re almost out of beer.’ He took a bottle from the fridge door and left the room.
‘Sorry, I meant to get some today. I’ll go tomorrow…’ Susie called after him, but he was gone before she could finish her sentence. An awkward silence followed. ‘He’s not normally… He’s a bit stressed at work at the moment.’ Susie looked mortified.
‘Don’t you apologise…’ Flora wanted to ask if he was always so rude. Also, why didn’t he buy his own beer if he was so worried about running out? Instead, she bit her tongue.
‘God, don’t you worry. Pete’s a nightmare when he comes back from work. Honestly, he can barely string a sentence together.’ Tilda felt bad giving her husband such bad press when, actually, while he was a bit annoying sometimes, he was hardly a nightmare.
After that night the three of them barely spoke about Julian again, other than the odd passing reference. If ever Flora or Tilda brought his name up in the hope of encouraging their friend to talk about him a bit more, Susie would quickly steer the conversation away to some other topic.
Now, taking the vacated seat on the swing next to Tilda, Susie began to gently swing back and forth, her feet on the floor. ‘So, how was your weekend?’
‘Eventful, actually.’ Flora laughed. She brought Susie up to speed on Johnny’s redundancy, on her near redundancy and the plans to take over the shop. Susie listened intently.
‘And the best thing is,’ Tilda grinned at Susie, ‘that we get to help organise the launch party, and get free wine.’
‘Oh, now that is exciting.’ Susie’s eyes lit up.
‘Hang on, we’re not there yet!’ Flora didn’t dare tempt fate. ‘And I don’t think I ever said free wine.’
‘Look, you worry about getting the shop ready, leave the party to us,’ said Tilda. ‘We’ll get all the mums in from school…’
‘We could start a monthly wine club! Oh my gosh, that would be so fun.’ Susie practically whooped at the thought.
‘That sounds a little too serious for me. I’d rather just be able to come along and drink it,’ said Tilda, laughing.
‘Well, no, it wouldn’t have to be like super serious, would it, Flo?’ Susie turned to Flora.
‘No, of course not. It could be more like a monthly wine social, you know? More like an open-pour event so you can… Hang on, stop!’ Flora held up her hands. ‘I honestly don’t want to get ahead of myself. It might not happen and then, well, I’ll probably have to give up wine altogether and do something else.’
‘Thank goodness Johnny is a glass-half-full person.’ Tilda threw her friend a look.
‘I know, sorry. I can’t help it. I just don’t want to jinx anything. OK, fine. You two start thinking of ideas. But don’t get carried away, deal?’
Susie and Tilda exchanged solemn looks then nodded at Flora, before bursting out laughing.
Later that night Flora lay on the sofa, feet up on Johnny’s lap and a thick wine textbook lying open flat on her stomach. Johnny’s gaze moved between the television and his laptop, balanced on the arm of the sofa, his glasses perched on the end of his nose.
‘How’s it looking?’ Flora could see a spreadsheet on the screen in front of him.
‘Hmm?’ Johnny continued tapping at the keyboard.
‘That. How’s it looking?’
‘Well, I need to get a look at the current books but I’ll go and see Mack tomorrow. It might take me a week or so but, with a bit of luck, if I can sort them into some sort of order I can get in to see the bank next week. Then we’ll know if it’s a goer or not.’
‘What do you reckon our chances are? I mean, fifty-fifty? Or less?’
‘I think we’ve got a pretty good chance.’ He rubbed her foot through her thick fluffy socks with one hand. ‘We’ll just have to wait and see. We’ll need to make an offer, agree our terms, factor in business rates… but if it comes together we might just have a new business on our hands next month.’ He closed his laptop.
After the meeting at the bank, they tried to forget about the prospective business on which their future depended for a few weeks, but Flora’s heart jumped every time she heard the clatter of the letterbox. In the meantime, she and Mack continued running the shop, avoiding the subject for fear of having to face the reality that it simply might not happen. As each day passed without news, so her hopes faded a little more.
Then, three weeks to the day that Johnny had gone to the bank, a letter arrived confirming them as the named leaseholders on the building.
Flora and Johnny went straight to the shop to tell Mack the good news and then Flora messaged Billy, who was predictably over the moon for them. Later that day a huge bunch of flowers arrived for them, along with a box of brightly coloured, beautifully decorated cupcakes spelling out the name of the shop. When Flora messaged to say thank you, Billy confessed the cakes had been Ruby’s idea. Flora replied, saying she was thrilled to hear they were back together even if Ruby was clearly too good for him, and that he shouldn’t do anything to piss her off ever again. He promised to do his best, signing off with two kisses and a winking face emoji.
9
Kate sat at one end of the kitchen table, buttering a piece of toast. At the other end Robin slowly turned the pages of the newspaper spread out in front of him. Light flooded into the large kitchen. Outside, beyond the French doors, lay a sweeping lawn bordered by flower beds filled with tulips in full bloom. A gap in the hedge gave way to a glimpse of the river that ran along the bottom.
‘Are you listening to this?’ Kate reached across to the portable radio on the table.
‘Not really. Turn it off if you like.’ Robin didn’t look up from his paper.
‘Pass the marmalade, please, darling.’ Kate gestured with her hand.
‘Hmm?’ Still Robin didn’t look up.
‘Marmalade, please. I can’t reach from here.’
‘Yes, sorry, darling.’ Robin stood up from his chair, reaching for the jar and opening it for her.
‘Thank you.’ Kate took it. ‘So, what did Flora say when she called yesterday?’
‘Well, she just wanted to fill us in on the shop. Such good news, don’t you think?’
‘Well, yes, absolutely. I’m just not sure exactly what’s happening because obviously she spoke to you about it and not me.’
‘That’s only because I happened to answer the phone, darling.’ Robin looked up at Kate. ‘I did tell you what she said.’
‘Oh, I know. I’m not… It’s just… she never seems to want to speak to me.’
‘You were at th
e other end of the garden. You could have called her back.’ Robin returned to his paper, sensing a small confrontation coming over the horizon.
‘I just think she doesn’t really want to talk to me. At least not like she talks to you.’
‘Kate, she was calling to tell us her news. How could she know who was going to answer?’ Robin tried to alter the course of the conversation before it was too late to avoid a row. ‘She asked if you could go and see her in the shop. She wanted your advice on something. To do with the décor, I assume.’
Kate had, for many years, worked at a glossy interiors magazine.
‘Interior decoration, darling, not décor.’ Kate took a small bite of her toast, the sound of the crunch as brittle as her words.
‘Sorry, you know that’s what I meant. Anyway, she said that they plan to give the place a good clean, spruce it up a bit. Then the idea is to have a launch party a few weeks after that for customers and friends to, you know, spread the word.’
Kate finished chewing, hand to her mouth. ‘Are we invited?’
‘Of course! She said she’d confirm the date as soon as possible. You can ask her when you call her back.’ He closed the paper and folded it in half, placing it neatly on the table. ‘Well, I’d better get going.’
‘Where are you off to?’ Kate sounded surprised.
‘I did tell you, darling. I’m helping Mick with the boat this morning.’ Mick was their neighbour, and had been for years. Robin and Mick always had some sort of project on the go but this particular one – restoring an abandoned old wooden boat – had gone on far longer than most. ‘The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can go fishing.’
Kate forced a smile. ‘Yes, I remember now. Well, I’d better get on anyway. Lots on.’
Robin kissed her on her head as he walked behind her. ‘Right, I’ll see you later. I’ve got lunch.’ He raised a Tupperware box as he left the room.
Kate was left at the table. The dog, a long-haired dachshund, sat at her feet looking up at her hopefully. ‘Are you interested in what I’m doing today, Monty?’ She stroked his head. ‘No one else seems to be.’ Monty tentatively lifted his paws onto her lap. ‘Oh, come on, then, up you come.’ She scooped him up and he settled into her lap. Then she reached for her phone and dialled her daughter’s number.
Flora stood in the middle of the shop, surrounded by boxes. Mack was at the counter with a pile of large hard-backed notebooks in front of him and behind him sat Johnny, perched on the stairs, balancing his laptop on his knees.
‘Right, I’ve started moving the stocktake to here,’ Johnny pointed at the screen, ‘and I think we need to sort out what we’re going to put into the bin-end sale if we’re going to make room for some new stuff.’
‘Which is all over here…’ Flora pointed to a stack of boxes behind her. ‘Mack, if I get this lot set up, shall we taste through them together later this week?’
‘Yes, good idea.’ Mack turned to Johnny. ‘Where are we moving the fine wine range to?’
‘Over there, along the back wall, I thought. Less chance of it getting nicked if it’s there where we can see it.’
‘Fair enough.’ Mack guessed Johnny would have spotted the small hole in the fine wine accounts, but if he thought it had anything to do with Mack, Johnny had obviously decided to keep it to himself. ‘And do you want to keep it merchandised by country? Or should we do it by price?’
‘I think stick to country. At least then you have more of a chance to get customers to trade up and spend a bit more, don’t you think?’ Johnny looked at them both.
‘Definitely.’ Flora nodded. ‘OK, so I’m thinking we have New World stuff down this side,’ she pointed at the wall furthest away from the counter, ‘and Old World either side of the counter. Then spirits behind. What do you think?’
The phone rang. Mack picked it up. ‘Hello, Ten Green Bottles…’
‘I’m going to start moving this lot,’ Flora whispered to Johnny, putting her hand on the pile of boxes in front of her.
‘Yes, of course Mrs… Kate, of course… very kind.’ Mack held the phone out to Flora. ‘It’s your mother.’
Flora carefully picked her way across the floor and took the phone. ‘Mum, hi… I spoke to Dad, did you get my message? I just wondered if you could pop by the shop today. We’re just rearranging stuff but we need to make it look good on a shoestring. I thought you might have some good ideas… You will? Brilliant.’ Flora gave a thumbs up to Johnny and Mack. ‘Yes, any time before three – I’ve got to leave to get the kids by then… Great. Thanks, see you in a bit. Bye.’
‘What time is she coming?’ Johnny asked.
‘She said she’d leave straight away so she should be here in half an hour or so.’
‘Mack, you’re in for a treat.’ Johnny raised an eyebrow at the other man.
‘Hey, that’s my mother you’re talking about.’ Flora looked at Johnny in mock disapproval. ‘She’s not that bad, Mack, honestly. Just a bit, well…’
‘I’m only joking, you know that. She’s lovely really, Mack, just a little, um… challenging sometimes. Maybe?’ Johnny looked at Flora.
‘Yeah, I guess. She means well but,’ Flora sighed, ‘she’s got this slight “poor me” thing going on. And everything is about her.’ Flora caught herself. ‘God, I’m so sorry, Mack. I’m sure the last thing you want to know about is my slightly complicated relationship with my mother.’ She laughed a little. ‘I love her really.’
‘Oh, no, don’t you worry. I’m sure you do,’ said Mack, nodding sagely. ‘Right, let’s get these wines off the shelves.’
‘No, Johnny and I can do that. You take down the point-of-sale cards…’
Just then the door opened. Mack looked up to see a tall, dark-haired woman smiling at him. ‘I’m sorry but we’re not open yet.’
‘Oh, no, I’m not here to buy wine. I just thought you might want an extra pair of hands.’
‘Susie! What are you doing here?’ Flora went to give her friend a hug.
‘Well, I thought the least I could do was come and help you, given that it’s very much in my interest that you’re open for business as soon as possible.’ She laughed, pulling her long hair into a ponytail. ‘Hi, Johnny.’
‘Mack, this is my friend Susie. She lives just at the top of the high street.’ Flora grinned. ‘This is really kind of you but, honestly, you really don’t have to—’
‘I want to, seriously. Gets me out of the house.’ She winked at Flora.
‘That’s brilliant, thank you.’ Johnny came over, handing her a coffee cup. ‘You’ll need this before we get going.’
Before long the shop floor was covered in bottles and Flora, Johnny and Susie were wiping the empty shelves. Mack was busy setting more bottles up on a long table in the room at the back of the shop, ready to be tasted. The doorbell went again and there stood Kate, hair piled up on her head, sporting a leopard-print tabard.
‘Mum! What on earth are you wearing?’ Flora burst out laughing.
‘I’ve just bought it in the hardware store next door, along with this.’ Her mother gestured to the mop and bucket in hand. ‘What do you think?’ Kate did a half-twirl and a curtsy for the crowd.
‘You look ridiculous. But thank you.’ Flora got up and went to kiss her mother. ‘We really appreciate it.’
‘Hi, Kate!’ Johnny waved from the back of the shop, still on his knees beside the shelves.
‘Hello, darling, how are you?’ Kate turned to Susie. ‘I don’t believe we’ve met, I’m Kate, Flora’s mum.’ Kate extended her hand.
‘I’m Susie, very nice to meet you. Gosh, you look so alike.’
‘Do we really? Flora won’t like that, will you, darling?’ Kate laughed, looking at her daughter.
‘It’s a great compliment, Mum.’ Flora managed a smile despite her mother’s response annoying her. Not because she didn’t think they looked alike – they undoubtedly did – but the inference that Flora wouldn’t like it irritated her. Every. Single. Time.
‘Anyway, I thought I might as well come and make myself as useful as possible.’ She looked towards the back of the shop. ‘So where is the famous Mack?’
‘He’ll be through in a minute. He’s just out the back.’ Flora took the mop and bucket from her mother.
‘So what were you thinking in terms of the space?’ Kate glanced about the shop. ‘The exposed brick is beautiful and the shelves…’ she touched the nearest one, built by Mack all those years ago, ‘… lovely. But you could brighten the space up by giving the ceiling a fresh coat of paint.’ Kate looked over to the counter. ‘And you could top that with something like copper to give it a slightly more up-to-date look.’ She peered over the counter at the stairs. ‘And a runner on those stairs wouldn’t go amiss.’
‘Good idea, but we’ve got the tiniest of budgets to do this place up so…’ Flora glanced at Johnny.
‘Don’t worry, darling,’ said Kate. ‘I can sort that out. Leave the paint to me, too. Not the actual painting, obviously. But I can get the right colour for you, a lightish grey, I think. I’ll have a look.’
‘Thanks, Mum, that would be amazing. And what about an area with a tasting table, given we’ve not got much space?’
‘Well, let’s see. You could…’ Kate stepped carefully across the floor towards the back of the shop, ‘… have a bench along this wall, one that folds down so you can put it up when you’re not using it. And a table that comes down from this wall,’ she pointed, ‘topped to match the counter.’
‘Like Flora said, we’re on a tight budget.’ Johnny stood up.
‘Leave that with me, too, Johnny.’ Kate threw him a smile. He knew her well enough to know she was on a mission and the best course of action, for now, was to let her get on with it. They could argue over numbers later.
‘Thank you, Kate, that’s great.’
‘So this must be your mother, Flora!’ Mack appeared from the back of the shop. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
Kate shook Mack’s proffered hand. ‘And you’re Mack!’ She laughed, gesturing to her tabard. ‘Do excuse the get-up.’