The Little Village of Happiness: A gorgeous uplifting romantic comedy to escape with this summer

by Martin, Holly

  Willow couldn’t help smiling as she sat next to Andrew. This was really going to work.

  Twenty-Nine

  Willow sat on her sofa that evening unpacking some supplies she had ordered for the shop. Ruby had gone out to see a comedy act she’d seen advertised and, while Willow had thought about going with her, apparently Jacob wanted to see the comedy act too and Willow hadn’t wanted to play the third wheel if something did happen between them. She hadn’t seen Andrew for the rest of the day. During all the furore of organising the villagers’ gifts for the open day, he had kissed her on the cheek and told her he had to get back to work and that he’d probably be working late that night to try to finish one of the houses off, but to come by his house later if she wanted. The open day was coming round far too quickly now and she knew Andrew was starting to worry about getting everything finished on time. She was probably a bit of a distraction too.

  Willow had eaten dinner alone, which had actually been quite nice as she’d got to spend the time reading a book. She hadn’t decided whether to go and see Andrew that night, he might prefer an early night. He had been working so hard lately and he certainly wasn’t getting a lot of sleep in the evenings he was with her.

  Willow thought she might watch a little TV, have a bath and then have an early night herself. Although after the big declarations of love earlier that day, she’d quite like to curl up and fall asleep in Andrew’s arms if nothing else.

  She unpacked some gift baskets and a large spool of satin ribbon. She remembered what he’d said the night before about her turning up at his house naked wearing only a bow and she grinned at the thought of surprising him in that way.

  She quickly undressed and then unwound the ribbon from the spool. How should she go about wrapping herself in a ribbon? It was not something she had ever contemplated before. She tied it round her waist, but if she was going for the gift-wrapped-present look, then she hadn’t quite achieved that. She slipped one length over her shoulder and the other between her legs, hoping that wouldn’t chafe too much on the walk to Andrew’s house, twisted the two lengths together round her back and tied it in a big bow round her belly.

  She looked down at herself. It wasn’t quite the sexy look she was going for but she thought Andrew might get a big kick out of it. Although there was no way she was walking up the lane dressed only in a ribbon. She grabbed her coat and pulled that on, buttoning it up to the collar, which frankly looked ridiculous in this warm weather.

  She quickly left the house before she changed her mind.

  Willow was hopeful she might be able to make the short distance to Andrew’s house without meeting someone, although that hope was dashed when she saw Dorothy and Joseph walking towards her. To her delight she realised they were holding hands. She was so happy with this turn of events and the thought that she might have played some small role in it that she momentarily forgot that she was completely stark naked underneath her coat and hurried over to say hello to them.

  ‘Hello, where are you two off to?’ Willow asked, unable to stop smiling at their joined hands.

  ‘We thought we’d go for a sunset walk along the cliffs,’ Joseph said. ‘It’s such a beautiful night.’

  ‘Yes it is,’ Willow agreed, dying to ask if they were actually dating now.

  ‘So why are you wearing a coat?’ Dorothy asked, eyeing Willow’s bare legs with interest.

  ‘Oh, I just thought it might be a bit chilly later when I’m walking home,’ Willow said, pulling the coat down a bit. It was quite a bit shorter than she’d realised.

  Dorothy smirked as if she didn’t believe a word of it. ‘Yes dear, of course. Well, we better let you get on.’

  They walked away with Dorothy giggling like a schoolgirl. Willow smiled as she watched them go but the ribbon really was starting to chafe a bit now and she wanted to get to Andrew’s house before she met anyone else.

  She hurried up his path and knocked on his door.

  He opened it and his face lit up in a huge smile when he saw her. She quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She was aware that the TV was on in the lounge, so obviously he’d just been chilling out before she got there.

  ‘I’m so glad you’re here—’

  She stepped up and put a finger on his lips. ‘I have a surprise for you.’

  He frowned in confusion and she quickly unbuttoned her coat and let it fall to the floor.

  His eyes bulged and he swore softly under his breath.

  Suddenly there was a puppy standing in the doorway, yapping excitedly at the new visitor.

  ‘Andrew?’ came the sound of a woman’s voice followed by footsteps from the lounge.

  Willow looked at Andrew in confusion.

  ‘My sister, quick in here,’ Andrew muttered, opening the pantry door and bundling her inside before slamming it closed and plunging her into darkness.

  ‘I thought someone was at the door,’ said the woman’s voice. His sister, Lottie.

  ‘There was, it’s nothing,’ Andrew said.

  ‘Oh, I thought we were going to meet the wonderful Willow then,’ Lottie said.

  Christ, no. The first time she was going to meet his sister and she was standing in the pantry wearing nothing more than a squashed and battered ribbon, the end of which had got trapped in the door. She didn’t even have her coat to hide her dignity as that was somewhere in the hall. She looked around the darkened pantry for something to cover herself up but it was filled with food. There was a potato sack at the bottom of the pantry, filled with filthy potatoes. She wasn’t sure if meeting his sister for the first time dressed in a potato sack would actually be worse than what she was wearing now.

  Her cheeks flooded with embarrassment.

  OK, it was fine. Lottie had no idea she was there and Andrew would hopefully be able to get rid of his family as quick as possible or at least smuggle her upstairs without them knowing. It wasn’t like she would be here for hours with a ribbon stuck between her bum cheeks.

  ‘Are you coming in, we’re just about to put Tangled on,’ Lottie said.

  ‘Umm…’ Andrew said.

  ‘Poppy has been so looking forward to watching it with you. It’s her new favourite.’

  Through the tiny crack in the door Willow saw a little girl, presumably Poppy, come out and sign something to Andrew. He signed back and she took his hand and led him off to the lounge.

  Crap. She would be here for hours.

  OK, she just had to wait for the movie to start and then sneak out. Her coat would probably still be in the hall and she could put it on and get out the house without anyone noticing. It was going to be fine.

  She noticed movement outside the door and she held her breath, not daring to move at all. She realised it was the puppy and that to her horror he had found the end of the ribbon and was pulling at it with all his might, yapping and growling at it as the ribbon between her legs started getting tighter. She tried to pull it back but the dog’s barking and growling got louder as he put up the fight of his life.

  ‘Max, what on earth are you doing?’ Lottie was back.

  Oh god.

  ‘What have you got there?’ Lottie said. Removing the ribbon from Max’s mouth, she opened the pantry door to see what it was attached to.

  For the longest moment no one moved, no one said anything. They just stared at each other.

  The next thing Poppy came running out of the lounge. Lottie slammed the pantry door shut but Poppy had already seen her.

  Willow wanted to curl up and die.

  Through the crack in the door, she saw Poppy sign something to her mum.

  Lottie signed back while speaking at the same time, probably for Willow’s benefit. ‘No honey, I have no idea why there is a naked woman in your uncle Andrew’s pantry. Why don’t we ask him?’

  Andrew came running out into the hall looking stressed. For a moment it was clear he didn’t know what to say but then decided on some honesty.

  ‘The woman in the pantry is
Willow, she came round to surprise me and didn’t realise you’d be here.’

  ‘Evidently,’ Lottie said, dryly. ‘Well, why don’t me and Poppy go in the lounge and you can let her out the pantry. Then she can go upstairs and put some clothes on and we can meet her properly?’

  Really? She had to endure meeting Andrew’s sister and niece after all this? Couldn’t she just run away and hide?

  Lottie and Poppy moved away and Andrew opened the door for her.

  She put her face in her hands, her cheeks burning with shame, and Andrew moved forward and hugged her.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered. ‘I had no idea they’d be here tonight.’

  She looked up at him. ‘I’ll just go home, I’ll meet them properly tomorrow.’

  He shook his head. ‘Come and meet them now. I’ve told Lottie all about you. Just go and grab some of my clothes and come down and say hello. You might as well get the embarrassment over with now.’

  Willow groaned and quickly ran upstairs. She ripped the stupid bow off, grabbed one of Andrew’s shirts and pulled that on, then found a pair of his shorts. They were way too big but she used one of his belts to cinch them in at the waist. She looked ridiculous but at least it was a step up from wearing nothing.

  She quickly washed her face to make some of the redness calm down, took a deep breath and went back downstairs.

  Andrew was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs and took her hand, leading her into the lounge. Lottie and Poppy were sitting on the sofa, Poppy clutching a doll with one eye, while Max was curled up fast asleep after he had exhausted himself with outing her.

  ‘This is my lovely sister Lottie and my niece Poppy,’ Andrew said, signing at the same time for Poppy’s benefit. ‘And this is my girlfriend Willow.’

  ‘Hi Lottie, nice to meet you,’ Willow said.

  Lottie smiled but she didn’t seem too thrilled. So much for first impressions.

  ‘Hello Poppy,’ Willow tried with Andrew’s niece but, unless she could lip-read, she probably didn’t understand what Willow had said.

  Andrew signed for Willow and Poppy signed back. Andrew laughed. ‘She says, why were you naked?’

  Willow blushed. Whereas she and Lottie were steadfastly trying not to address the nudity, Poppy had no such scruples.

  ‘I was… playing a silly joke on Andrew,’ Willow explained lamely.

  Andrew signed for Poppy what Willow had said and Poppy just stared unblinking at Willow.

  Eventually she signed something back. Andrew laughed again. ‘She says she doesn’t think the joke was very funny.’

  ‘I agree,’ Lottie said, quietly.

  Willow wanted to say something else, anything that might make Poppy laugh, but she felt so woefully inadequate right then. She knew no sign language, not even enough to say hello.

  ‘Well, shall we put the movie on?’ Lottie said, turning her attention to the TV.

  ‘I should go,’ Willow muttered to Andrew.

  ‘No stay, watch Tangled with us.’

  Right then, Willow couldn’t think of anything she’d like to do less.

  But Andrew sat down and pulled Willow down on the sofa next to him. Poppy immediately climbed up on Andrew’s lap and she signed something at Willow, clearly expecting her to understand.

  ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand sign language.’

  ‘You’re going out with a man who’s deaf and you can’t be bothered to learn any sign language?’ Lottie said, her tone as disapproving as her words. ‘What will you do when he loses his hearing altogether?’

  ‘Lottie!’ Andrew said.

  Willow blushed. She felt awful. Even though just over a week wasn’t enough time to have learned much sign language – and Andrew had hardly tried to teach her – she had to admit that she’d totally taken for granted that Andrew could hear her when he was wearing his hearing aids. But what about the times he wasn’t? And what did Lottie mean, “when he loses his hearing altogether”? Of course she should learn sign language so she could communicate with him at all times and with his niece too. She felt embarrassed that she hadn’t thought of it.

  Even Poppy’s one-eyed doll seemed to be looking at Willow judgementally.

  Andrew turned his attention back to Poppy and signed to her. ‘What did you say to Willow honey, I missed it.’

  Poppy signed the same gestures she’d signed before.

  ‘She wants to know who your favourite Tangled character is,’ Andrew said.

  ‘Oh, I’ve never seen Tangled before,’ Willow said and Andrew signed her answer back.

  Poppy stared at her as if she had three heads. In Poppy’s mind not having seen Tangled was clearly a hell of a lot worse than not knowing any sign language.

  Andrew put the movie on and Poppy made herself comfortable with her back against Andrew’s chest, watching the screen avidly as subtitles played along the bottom of the film.

  ‘How’s Morgan doing?’ Lottie said. ‘It was so nice to see her again today.’

  ‘She’s fine,’ Andrew snapped.

  ‘I like Morgan, such a lovely girl. I always thought you two were so good together.’

  ‘We were never together, not in that sense. We had a fling, that was it,’ Andrew said.

  Poppy was watching the film with wide eyes, clearly with no idea about the conversation that was happening over her head.

  ‘Oh, it was so much more than that, anyone could see the chemistry you two had,’ Lottie went on from the other side of Andrew. ‘I really thought you were going to marry her.’

  ‘Stop it,’ Andrew said. ‘I love you, I love seeing you and spending time with Poppy, but don’t come in here and try to ruin what I have with Willow. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You’re being a bitch and that’s not who you are.’

  That shut Lottie up. Willow had no idea what to say to make this awful awkward situation better. She decided she would just focus on the movie, just in case Poppy asked her questions about it later. She stared at the screen, not really taking in any of it, but after a few moments, Andrew slipped his hand into hers and they stayed like that throughout the whole film.

  Thirty

  The film finally finished and Lottie started gathering her things ready to go.

  ‘We’re staying at the pub for a few days so we’ll see you tomorrow,’ Lottie said, deliberately not looking at Andrew or Willow. She was clearly still upset by what Andrew had said to her earlier.

  ‘I have to work for a few hours tomorrow morning but maybe between me and Jacob we could take Poppy for a bit tomorrow afternoon,’ Andrew said.

  ‘I’m sure she’d like that, thank you,’ Lottie said, giving him a weak smile.

  Andrew got down on his knees to address Poppy. ‘Goodnight beautiful, I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he signed.

  Poppy signed something back and he gave her a hug.

  ‘It was nice to meet you,’ Willow said to Lottie.

  ‘No it wasn’t,’ Lottie said. ‘I was a complete cow and I’m sorry.’

  Willow was surprised by this sudden about-turn. ‘It’s OK, we didn’t exactly meet under the best circumstances. Maybe we can try again tomorrow.’

  Lottie nodded. ‘I’d like that.’

  Willow turned her attention back to Poppy. ‘It was lovely meeting you too.’

  Lottie signed what Willow had said.

  Poppy’s hands flashed at an incredible speed as she spoke.

  ‘She wants to know who your favourite character in Tangled was,’ Lottie said.

  ‘Oh, the horse,’ Willow tried as she hadn’t really paid attention to much of the film.

  Lottie signed her answer and, to Willow’s surprise, Poppy launched herself at Willow for a hug.

  ‘Good answer,’ Lottie said, ‘Maximus is her favourite too. The dog is named after him.’

  Little Max gave a bark of approval at hearing his own name.

  Lottie gave Andrew a hug and with a little wave from Poppy they all left.

 
Andrew turned to her and let out a big sigh of relief.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said as he pulled her into a big hug. She held him tight, stroking down his back.

  ‘For what?’

  He pulled back. ‘Are you kidding? For my sister’s terrible behaviour, for your embarrassing introduction to my family. For being forced to watch Tangled for the last two hours. For not being able to ravish you as soon as you walked through the door, which believe me was what I would much rather have spent my night doing.’

  ‘It’s OK.’ She stroked his face; he looked exhausted. ‘Let’s go to bed.’

  Andrew nodded and took her hand, leading her up to his bedroom. He got undressed and into bed and Willow did the same, snuggling into his side. He wrapped an arm round her shoulders and she slid her arm across his stomach.

  ‘You looked amazing tonight, best present ever,’ Andrew said, yawning.

  It was quite clear there would be no ravishing tonight. Willow smiled because cuddling Andrew in bed was more than enough.

  They were quiet for a while and she looked up at him to find he was staring at the ceiling.

  ‘What did Lottie mean when she said about you losing your hearing completely?’

  He frowned. ‘Nothing, she’s just being a drama queen.’

  She bit her lip. He really didn’t want to share that part of his life with her and she didn’t know how to feel about that. She couldn’t say that their relationship was surface level because they had talked in depth about many things, but if he wouldn’t share something that was such a big part of him, did they really have a future together? If she couldn’t be that person for him, was she really the right woman for him?

  She lay in silence for a while but Andrew broke it.

  ‘Poppy’s dad walked out on them about a year ago.’

  Willow looked up in shock. ‘What?’

  ‘Things hadn’t been great between them for a long time. Alex got a job offer in New York and he took it. Just told them he was going and a week later he was gone.’

  ‘So he doesn’t have any part in Poppy’s life any more?’