There were a few murmurs of assent but Connor ploughed on regardless of whether people were ready or not.
‘Question one, who is the Prime Minister of New Zealand?’
‘What’s her name? Oh it’s Jacinda, Jacinda something,’ Willow said, desperately trying to find the name in the depths of her memory.
‘Jacinda Ardern,’ Andrew supplied helpfully.
‘That’s it.’ Willow quickly wrote it down.
‘Question two, continuing on with the head of countries theme, who is the King of Belgium?’
‘That’s King Philippe,’ Andrew muttered.
‘Are you sure?’ Willow asked, pen poised over the page. He nodded and she quickly wrote it down.
‘Question three, who is the Prime Minister of Canada?’ Connor went on.
‘Oh, I know this one,’ Willow said. ‘Justin Trudeau.’
‘Are you sure?’ Andrew said, a smile playing on his lips and she knew he was teasing her.
‘OK smart-arse, I’m sorry for doubting you over the King of Belgium question.’
‘You’re forgiven.’
‘That Justin Trudeau is a hot bit of stuff, isn’t he?’ Dorothy said. ‘Clever too, he knows stuff about quantum technology that would blow your mind. I always think intelligence is a highly attractive attribute, don’t you?’
Dorothy gave Willow a look and then gave a not-so-subtle nod towards Andrew, as if Willow would find him attractive simply because he’d answered two questions, well one and a half.
Willow turned her attention back to Andrew. He was an attractive man, there was no denying that, but she wasn’t going to leap into a relationship with someone just because they had a lovely smile, strong arms and incredible eyes. And she meant what she’d said to Dorothy and Ruby: she wanted time to just find herself again and to find what made her happy.
Four
Willow stepped outside the pub and stared up at the starlit sky. It had been a good night during which she’d gotten to know Andrew and Dorothy a bit better. Even Roger and Liz had come over to say hello during the break.
As predicted, Andrew had known the answer to almost every question, even some of the most bizarre ones. Willow had known the answer to many of them but she had nowhere near the general knowledge that Andrew had. And Dorothy had been right, the fact that he was so smart was an attractive feature. He had a playful sense of humour too, which she really liked.
And despite his earlier protests, she had a feeling he quite liked her as well. The way he had stared at her as they had talked over the last few hours had been almost a bit… intense. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her all night except to write down some answers on the sheet. There had also been quite a number of times when he’d glanced down at her mouth as she talked instead of into her eyes and she’d wondered if he was thinking about kissing her, which seemed a bit forward considering they’d only just met a few hours before. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted that. He seemed nice, sweet, and yes there were certain things she found very attractive, they got on well too, but she really wasn’t looking for a relationship right now, with anyone.
Halfway through the last round of questions, an elderly man who Andrew had called Joseph had arrived in the pub, clearly in a bit of a state, and hurried over to Andrew to tell him of a leaky ceiling. It had been close to ten o’clock, Andrew had just bought himself another pint and still he’d rushed off to help poor Joseph as if he was a doctor attending a medical emergency. There had been no sign of frustration or annoyance from Andrew that his evening had been disturbed and she liked that too. He was clearly a very patient man.
She turned down the little lane heading back towards her cottage. Within a few minutes, the lights of the main part of the village fell away and she found herself walking in almost complete darkness, the only illumination coming from the moon. It picked out the houses, silhouetted in the darkness, a few of them with warm golden light pouring from the windows.
The trees swallowed her, the glow from the moon going out completely, and she fumbled in her pocket for her mobile phone, switched on the flashlight app and shone it around so she could find her way.
Dorothy had told her that there were fifteen people, including herself, who had grown up in the village and had spent their entire lives there. The other thirty-odd people had all moved there later on in their lives, but most of the villagers had been there while Rupert had been the lord of the castle, before it had all gone wrong. But they had stayed there regardless, this was their home. Although at some point along the way, they had stopped caring. The owners of the village hadn’t cared for them or the houses and so the villagers hadn’t cared either. They had withdrawn from the community way of life. Willow wanted to be able to give them back the village they fell in love with but she couldn’t do that alone. The villagers had to start caring again and she wasn’t sure what she could do to make that happen.
She cleared the trees and could see her little cottage on the cliff tops, the twinkly black sea behind it, seemingly stretching out for miles. Little solar stars and dragonflies dotted the bushes and trees around her house glowing gold in the darkness. It looked magical. This was her home now too, she wasn’t going to leave because it hadn’t turned out how she’d imagined in her rose-tinted view of the world. If she wanted it to be rose-tinted, then she was going to have to make it that way.
* * *
Willow woke the next morning to sunshine sparkling on her face. She got out of bed and went to the window. The sea stretched out in front of her before disappearing into an early morning pinky haze on the horizon. The water was an inky blue today, crested with gold. She could stare at that view forever.
She quickly brushed her teeth, got dressed and then gathered her shampoo and toiletries together so she could go and have a shower at Andrew’s house. She felt like she had a lot to do today.
She walked up the track and waved cheerily to Joseph. He was tending to his garden, bending over to prune the bushes, and as he straightened up to wave, he stretched his back out to ease the discomfort from all the bending.
She passed another house and stopped, noticing that it had been painted all the way round the outside but obviously only as far as whoever lived there could reach. There was easily three foot of wall above the new paint that hadn’t been painted, leaving the house looking like it was stripy. The top part of the new paint wasn’t even in a straight line, it was wobbly and there were different levels to it. Willow almost wanted to laugh except it was just a little sad that someone had tried to paint their home but made such a bad job of it.
She carried on to Andrew’s house and knocked on the door. There was no answer. She waited a moment or two then knocked again. Still no answer. She opened the door and called out to him but the house seemed to be utterly silent.
She hesitated for a moment, but he had said that if he wasn’t there she was welcome to let herself in and use his shower. She walked upstairs to where there were only two doors. One was obviously the bedroom as she could see the bed, so the other closed door must be the bathroom.
She went into the bedroom and undressed, leaving her clothes on the bed. The bedroom was neat and tidy and smelt of his wonderful scent. There was a large photo of the aurora borealis on the wall over a snowy mountain range. It looked beautiful.
There was another photo in a frame on top of a chest of drawers and she moved to pick it up. It was of Andrew and a small girl of about five who had her face painted like a butterfly. They were both laughing with big grins on their faces.
She put the frame down just as there was a movement near the door. She looked up to see Andrew stark naked staring at her in shock. She registered a stunning phoenix tattoo in yellow, orange and red with hints of blue and purple flying over his chest and shoulder. It looked magnificent. She also noticed how strong his arms were and how broad his chest was. Her eyes drifted lower before she remembered they were both standing there naked. She yelped and turned away, clamping her hands over her eyes for
good measure before realising she was now giving him a fabulous view of her arse. She dived onto the floor behind the bed.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Willow said, but there was no answer.
She heard him moving around and she peeked up over the bed. She watched him, still naked, pick up two small flesh-coloured bullet-shaped objects from the top of the bedside drawers. He saw her watching and scowled so she quickly ducked back down below the height of the bed. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment. A few moments later she felt him lean over the bed.
‘Here, put this on.’
She looked up and saw that he had placed a hoody on the bed for her to wear. She quickly slipped it on and peered over the bed again to check that he was now suitably attired. He was wearing a pair of knee-length cargo shorts although his fabulous chest and tattoo were still on display.
He didn’t look happy at all.
‘I’m so sorry, I did knock twice and I called out to you. Did you not hear me?’ Willow said as she stood up, the hoody coming down to almost her knees.
‘I was in the shower,’ he muttered. ‘I wasn’t expecting you so early.’
‘I thought you were out. I’m really sorry.’
He still seemed pissed off, which hardly seemed fair. ‘You did say to just come in and help myself if you were out.’
‘I know.’
She frowned. They had chatted for hours the night before, but now he could barely look at her. Why was he being all weird?
She scooped up her clothes and grabbed her soap bag. ‘I think I’ll leave the shower.’
She walked out of the room and down the stairs. She’d got as far as the front door when she heard Andrew running after her.
‘Wait, just wait a moment,’ he said, slamming the door shut just as she opened it.
She turned round to face him and he was right there in her space as he leaned against the door.
He stepped back and pushed his hair from his face. It was wet and curly and stuck out at all angles but it just made him look cute and dishevelled.
He sighed. ‘I didn’t hear you knock or call out because… I didn’t have my hearing aids in.’
She stared at him. She hadn’t been expecting that. ‘You’re deaf?’
‘Yes, not completely. I can hear fairly well with my hearing aids in but without them I’m pretty much next to useless.’
‘You’re not useless,’ Willow said, defensively.
‘No, you’re right. That’s the wrong word. My therapist would crucify me if she heard me say that.’
‘Your therapist?’
He stared at her for a moment as if deciding whether to talk to her about this.
‘Yes, I had a therapist when I was a kid just because I was deaf. Or maybe she was some kind of motivational life coach, I don’t know. She was supposed to convince me that I was just like everyone else, that I could do anything that all the other children could do. The ironic thing was I’d always thought I was just like everyone else, until I wasn’t allowed to play outside with my friends every Saturday because I had to sit in my therapy sessions and listen to how my condition shouldn’t hold me back. What kind of weird twisted logic was that?’
‘It doesn’t seem like the best way to convince you,’ Willow said.
‘My mum knew that there was a very good chance I would be deaf as her sister was, so she had me tested at a very early age and I had hearing aids fitted even before I could talk. I think having it diagnosed so early helped my speech to develop almost at the same rate as other children my age.’
He chewed on his fingernail for a moment and Willow realised that he wasn’t exactly comfortable talking about this.
‘You don’t like people to know,’ she said.
He shook his head. ‘This special needs label followed me throughout all my education no matter what, so when I left school I decided I wouldn’t tell anyone I was deaf. I can hear just fine with my hearing aids in and they are very discreet so there was never any need for anyone to know. Of course people find out and when they do they speak louder, enunciate their words, they try to mouth what they are saying more clearly so I can lip-read, when in fact that always makes it harder. Inevitably a lot of the people that find out always treat me like I’m stupid and I hate that.’
‘You are far from stupid, you knew so much in that pub quiz.’
‘I read a lot. You don’t need to be able to hear to enjoy a book. I can take as much time as I need with a book and I don’t need to be able to concentrate to keep up like I do with a conversation.’
‘Books don’t judge you.’
He smiled slightly. ‘No. Look, I’m sorry. I’ve been here three months and no one knows and I was annoyed that you’ve not been here twenty-four hours and you’ve found out already.’
‘I didn’t find out, you told me.’
‘You saw me pick up my hearing aids, you shouted out for me and I didn’t hear you – you would have figured it out. Besides, I wanted to tell you because I was annoyed at the situation, not at you. This isn’t your fault. I’m sorry if I was an arse up there.’
‘You weren’t.’
‘No?’
‘Well, maybe a little.’
He smiled slightly.
‘Look, I’m not going to tell anyone. Why should anyone be defined by the things we can’t do? Your secret stays here,’ Willow said.
‘Thank you. I really appreciate that.’
She glanced down at the phoenix tattoo again and suddenly it made sense. He’d felt like he had to fight to prove he was good enough. The phoenix had risen from the ashes and Andrew must have felt that he’d done the same, that he’d fought to be something, to be accepted.
‘I like this.’ Willow gently touched the phoenix.
He stared at her and she watched his eyes cast down to her lips again.
A sudden realisation hit her, making her cheeks flame red. ‘Oh god, you can read lips can’t you?’
‘Yes I can. I find myself studying people’s lips when they talk even though I can hear perfectly well with my hearing aids in.’
Willow laughed in embarrassment.
‘What?’
‘Oh nothing.’
‘I’ve just told you my secret, I think you can share yours.’
Willow sighed. ‘Last night you kept looking at my lips and I thought…’
He smiled. ‘That I wanted to kiss you.’
‘Yes.’
Andrew grinned and looked down for a moment. ‘There might have been an element of that.’
Oh god. Her heart leapt as the chemistry sparked between them, until he took another step back away from her.
‘Please, go and have a shower. I promise, I’ll stay down here the whole time,’ Andrew said.
‘With your hands over your eyes?’
‘Yes, that too. And I’ll even make you breakfast to sweeten the deal. How does a bacon sandwich sound?’
‘Now that sounds like a plan.’
Five
Andrew had left Willow to finish off her breakfast with the excuse that he had work to do. It wasn’t a lie, he had a list a mile long of things he needed to do to help turn the village around and a very short time to do it all. But mainly he’d left because Willow clearly wanted to talk some more about being deaf and he didn’t want to go into that.
Willow was incredibly easy to talk to. He hadn’t talked about his struggles with growing up deaf with anyone, preferring to leave that part of his life behind. He knew a lot of deaf people who would berate him, saying he shouldn’t be ashamed of his hearing loss, and he wasn’t, but he didn’t exactly want to make a big deal of it either. It was a part of him, not who he was. He was someone who was deaf, not the deaf kid, which was how he’d always been labelled at school. To him, there was a big difference. But he’d known Willow less than twenty-four hours and already he’d found himself opening his heart to her, telling her about his childhood. And that bothered him a bit. While there was something lovely about being able to share that with
someone, he had now closed that box back up. He didn’t want her sympathy, didn’t want her to think of him as different. He didn’t want to give that vulnerable side of him to her, or to anyone.
But he liked that she had treated him exactly the same after she had found out he was deaf as she had before. She had chatted to him as normal over breakfast about the village, the different villagers and about Kitty and Ken. She had not made her voice louder or tried to mouth the words more clearly like a lot of people did.
He really liked Willow, there was something about her that made him feel warm inside and he hadn’t felt like that in a very long time.
He had a feeling life was about to change in the little village of Happiness.
* * *
After Willow had left Andrew’s, she wandered into the village to explore some more. She felt a bit happier about it all now. The village might be in a state of disrepair and over half the houses empty, the locals might prefer to keep themselves to themselves and her candlemaking skills might not be totally appreciated by the villagers, but waking up every morning to the incredible view she saw from her bedroom today was going to be hard to top. She mentally started ticking off all the positives. Having the beach right on her doorstep was something she had dreamed about all her life. She now lived in a beautiful part of the world with rolling hills and pretty meadows as far as the eye could see. The villagers she had met – Dorothy, Liz and Roger – seemed nice. And then there was Andrew. He seemed to deserve a tick box all of his own. He was… lovely and he made her smile a lot. And although she stood by not wanting to have a relationship right now, she did think they could become very good friends.
But she had decided that if she wanted the village of Happiness to change then she was going to have to be that change. And while she could hardly renovate a whole village, she knew there must be something she could do to help make the village shine.
The Little Village of Happiness: A gorgeous uplifting romantic comedy to escape with this summer Page 3