Willow moved through the stalls admiring the different gifts and stopped at Dorothy’s stall, picking up one of the hand-painted postcards Dorothy had painted of the village itself. Some of them were very similar to the poster that had brought Willow to the village in the first place, but this time there was nothing misleading about the picture. Thanks to all the work that Andrew, Jacob, and Jack and his team had done over the last two weeks, the village now shone. They had managed to complete twelve houses, inside and out, and repainted all the others. Willow had worked her magic by painting flowers, butterflies and other things around all the doors and painted all the shop signs too in preparation for their new owners. Willow was excited to see the visitors’ reactions.
‘These look fab,’ she said, picking up one of the postcards that was of the beach.
‘Thank you. I hope the visitors like them,’ Dorothy said and it was clear she was anxious.
‘They will love them.’
Dorothy let out a big sigh. ‘Do you think it will work, all of this?’ she gestured to the stands. ‘Everyone is so nervous.’
Willow looked around as the villagers added the last touches to their stalls. They all wanted this to work as much as she did.
‘I really do,’ Willow said. ‘I think the visitors will see the cute houses, the pretty flowers, but most importantly the amazing people who live here and this wonderful community spirit, and I think they will fall in love with the place. Everyone has come together and they will see that and hopefully want to be a part of it.’
Dorothy nodded. ‘I hope you’re right.’
Willow smiled and made a move to walk away.
‘Thank you for my cake by the way,’ Dorothy said.
Willow turned back. The last of the mystery gifts had been delivered the night before and she and Andrew had decided to be open about it, giving the presents to the villagers directly and finally letting them in on the secret, even though many of them had suspected her all along. People had been coming up to her and Andrew all morning and thanking them, although Willow had been quick to point out that they hadn’t been the sole gift-givers in all of this.
‘I hope you weren’t too disappointed that it wasn’t Joseph after all,’ Willow said.
Dorothy looked over at Joseph, who had a stand a little further down, and he gave her a little wave. Dorothy visibly blushed. Their relationship had really blossomed over the last week or so and there was even talk that Joseph might pop the question soon. Mainly that talk had been from Dorothy herself, but she’d said she would say yes if he asked because ‘When you find the one, why wait?’ Willow completely understood that sentiment. It was probably a bit too soon for her and Andrew to be thinking of marriage just yet, but in her heart she knew that what they had was forever.
‘The gift-giving brought us together, regardless of who sent the gifts, so no, I’m not disappointed at all. Thank you for what you did, Willow. I think you brought us all together.’
Willow smiled; Dorothy had finally got her name right. ‘It was my pleasure.’
Willow moved on to Ruby’s stand. ‘Thank you for doing this.’
‘Oh, no worries. Besides, as this is going to be my new home, at least for a year, I want to help if I can.’
Willow was beyond excited that Ruby had made that decision. She couldn’t wait for Ruby to move in properly, but she had to wait for her own house in St Octavia to sell first.
‘Well you know, Jacob is thinking of moving here too,’ Willow said and watched Ruby’s face light up briefly before it closed down.
‘Well that will be nice for Andrew to have his brother closer,’ Ruby shrugged, trying to pull off an air of nonchalance that she didn’t quite achieve.
‘I think he might be coming to see the fireworks tonight,’ Willow tried again. Jacob had taken off the week before because he had an exhibition of his work in St Ives. Both Ruby and Jacob had insisted to her and Andrew that it had just been a one-night stand between them, well actually a two-night stand as it turned out, but Willow had the feeling that it had been more than that for both of them, though Andrew didn’t agree.
‘Is he?’ Ruby said, clearly trying to suppress a smile as she focussed her attention on rearranging the baubles on her stall.
Willow smiled. ‘Well I’ll send him your way if I see him.’
‘If he wants to see me, I’m sure he’ll find me, the village isn’t that big. But I won’t hold my breath.’
Willow sighed. She wanted someone lovely for Ruby but she had to remember that not everyone was looking for the rose-tinted happy ending. Ruby seemed very happy without a man and just because Willow had found her happy ending didn’t mean that her friend needed or wanted that particular conventional happy ending for herself.
She moved on to the start of the main high street and looked down the hill at the little whitewashed houses and the smartly painted shops. The gardening team had done a fabulous job of providing hanging baskets and troughs filled with overflowing flowers and, coupled with the fairy lights that were strewn across the street, the place looked magical.
She heard a vehicle trundle round the grassy slopes and she turned to see who it was. All the cars from the visitors were going to park in the large car park behind the castle but she smiled to see the words ‘The Big Bang’ emblazoned onto the side. This was the fireworks team and Andrew’s friend Leo.
The van pulled to a stop by her side and a man with dark hair and a huge smile wound down the window.
‘Hey, any idea where we’re supposed to go with the fireworks?’ the man asked. ‘Andrew was supposed to be here to meet us but he’s probably off somewhere with his new girlfriend.’
‘Well, I’m the new girlfriend and he’s not here. I think he might be round the back sorting out signs for the car park. Leo, right?’
His smile grew wider. ‘Yes. So you’re the mystery Willow, we’ve been dying to meet you.’
Leo got out and a woman climbed out the passenger side who was so heavily pregnant it looked like she was going to pop at any second. She was followed by a small, overexcited boy.
‘This is my wife Isla and my son Elliot,’ Leo said and to Willow’s surprise, Isla immediately enveloped her in a big hug.
‘We’re so pleased to meet you,’ Isla said. ‘We’ve heard so much about you. Now that Andrew has finished most of the work here, you’ll have to come round for dinner one night.’
‘I’d like that.’ She turned her attention to Elliot. ‘Are you looking forward to seeing the fireworks tonight?’
‘Yes and Daddy Leo says I can help set it all up today,’ Elliot said, bouncing on the spot.
‘Wow, that is exciting.’
‘And the baby likes the fireworks too,’ Elliot said.
‘Yes, she wriggles constantly, but the only time she is still is when the fireworks are going off,’ Isla said. ‘I think I’ll have to play firework noises in the nursery to get her off to sleep.’
Willow laughed.
‘Look, we better get down there and get everything set up,’ Leo said. ‘Can you point us in the right direction?’
‘Sure, just follow the road down to the very end and we were going to have the fireworks on the edge of the cliffs. But you set it up wherever you think is suitable.’
‘Great. We’ll catch up with you later.’
Willow waved them off. It was nice to meet some of Andrew’s friends. She turned around and her eyes fell on Morgan. The screens had been finished two days before but Morgan had been tweaking tiny bits here and there and she was still there now, touching up one of the horses. She was definitely a perfectionist. Even Willow had to agree that the screens looked amazing.
Willow hadn’t really spoken to her since the day she’d had that blazing row with Andrew. Not in any deliberately hostile way – there had been so much going on with the last-minute preparations for the open day, making her little candle gifts, making the lanterns for the parade that night and finishing off all the painting that there hadn’t bee
n any time, and Willow hadn’t felt particularly inclined to seek her out anyway. She wasn’t sure if Andrew had talked to Morgan about more than work, but she knew he wasn’t happy with her.
But life was too short for bitter grudges and Andrew and Morgan had so much history. She didn’t want him to walk away from that so easily.
Willow took a deep breath and walked over to talk to her.
Morgan climbed down the ladder as she approached and stepped back to look at her work.
‘Looks fantastic,’ Willow said.
Morgan turned round to look at her. She didn’t say anything for the longest time and then she nodded. ‘Thanks.’
They were silent for a while as Morgan wiped her hands. ‘I’m sorry.’
Willow felt her eyebrows shoot up, she hadn’t been expecting that. ‘For what? For teaching me to sign to Andrew that he had a small penis which I accidentally signed to Poppy instead? Or for trying to cause trouble between us from the moment you arrived in the village?’
‘Yeah, both of those things.’
At that moment Andrew appeared from the car park round the back of the castle. Willow hadn’t seen him for most of the morning and at some point he had clearly gone home and changed into a suit. He looked sexy and suave.
She let out an ear-piercing wolf whistle and he looked over and laughed when he saw it was her.
She carefully signed. ‘You look hot.’
He laughed again and signed back. ‘Elephant shoes.’
Her heart filled with love for him.
‘Elephant shoes?’ Morgan said, in confusion.
Willow smiled, not taking her eyes off him as he took up his place near the gate. ‘It’s kind of our thing.’
Morgan was quiet for a while and then she spoke. ‘You’re good for him. I literally have never seen him so happy as he is when he’s with you.’
‘He’s good for me too.’
Morgan sighed. ‘I always thought we would end up together some day. Not in the kind of way where I was head over heels in love with him. I just thought… we fitted. When I heard he had a serious girlfriend, someone he had shared things with that he’d never shared with me, I was jealous. I suppose I was jealous that I was never that person for him.’
Willow smiled. ‘I was jealous of you too, the history you had shared, the friendship. The fact that you are fluent in sign language.’
‘I haven’t been much of a friend to him lately. But I want him to be happy. And he’s found that with you.’
Andrew suddenly let out a whistle and Willow looked over.
‘They’re coming,’ he shouted.
‘I better go,’ Willow said.
Morgan nodded as she quickly packed away her things and Willow raced over to her candle table. There was a last-minute flurry as everyone straightened their wares on their tables, and then suddenly the first car was pulling up at the gates.
Willow watched Andrew hand over a Happiness gift voucher to all the occupants of the car and then direct them towards the car park. As the car trundled off, it was replaced by another.
Willow took a deep breath and crossed her fingers behind her back. After everything they had done, this had to work.
* * *
Willow couldn’t help but smile as she passed out the lanterns she had made to the visitors and they started making their way towards the end of the village. There was an excited buzz about the firework display from the visitors, many of whom had stayed the whole day.
The open day had been a big success. There had been quite a few visitors to the castle who had loved exploring the ruins and watching the jousting entertainment and most of them had then gone to investigate the village. But there had been almost two hundred people that had come to specifically look at the village itself. A few people had even reserved houses there and then. Kitty and Ken had been rushed off their feet taking down details from interested parties. Many of them might go away and decide Happiness was not for them but Willow was quietly confident the village would at least be half filled in a few months’ time.
Everyone had been charmed by the little village and most of all its people who had made the guests feel very welcome, chatting to them and giving them their little gifts. The visitors were thrilled with their presents and it really helped to show Happiness in its best light.
She watched people walk past, the villagers mingling with the visitors, everyone happily chatting to each other. They had achieved something wonderful and really put Happiness back on the map.
Across the street, Willow could see Ruby and Jacob talking, standing very close to one another as the sea of visitors and villagers swarmed around them. Jacob whispered something in her ear and she smiled and nodded. Then he took her hand and together they marched off towards the pub. It seemed that they might miss the fireworks and Ruby didn’t seem to care.
Willow smiled. She didn’t know what the future held for the two of them but as long as her friend was happy, then Willow was happy for her.
Kitty and Ken approached and she gave them a lantern. There didn’t seem to be anyone else coming down the high street towards them as all the visitors were already making their way to the cliff tops, so she grabbed one of the last lanterns for herself and joined them on the walk down.
‘I think the day has gone off with a bang,’ Willow said.
‘It really has,’ Kitty said, linking arms with her. ‘All thanks to you.’
‘Oh god no, everyone has worked so hard for today, you guys have been rushed off your feet and so much work has gone into getting the village ready. And the presents that everyone has made, I can’t take credit for any of that.’
‘But it was your idea,’ Ken said.
‘But it took the whole village to make it work. How many houses did you manage to fill today?’ Willow said, quickly deflecting the attention away from her.
‘Eight definites and six more that are going to let me know on Monday. But there were lots more that were really interested so we may hear from them once they’ve had time to think about it,’ Ken said.
‘It will be lovely to have some new faces here and some new shops too,’ Willow said.
Just then she saw Andrew moving towards them through the crowds, a big smile on his face.
‘Sorry,’ he said, signing it at the same time. ‘Just helping Leo make sure everything is ready for the fireworks.’
She watched his hands as he spoke and smiled. The biggest change in the village over the last week or so had been Andrew’s attitude to his deafness. He had started teaching her sign language straight away and, although she was a long way off being able to sign whole sentences, she knew many key words now. He had started to sign almost every time he spoke so she would get used to it and that meant he would sign to her in the pub, out on the street, in her shop, where everyone could see it. The villagers had been interested in this change, of course, Willow had seen them watching him on several occasions, but beyond that no one had treated him any differently and they had quickly got used to it. As Dorothy said, most of the elderly villagers were deaf or hearing impaired too and there had been talk of offering a sign language class to the whole village which a lot of people were interested in. Even Ruby had said she wanted to learn it, which Willow liked after all the fuss she had made about finding out both Poppy and Andrew were deaf.
Because Willow didn’t yet know the signs for ‘Don’t worry’ or ‘No problem’ she leaned up and kissed him instead. Sometimes actions spoke louder than words.
They followed the golden glow of the lanterns out of the village and past the old ruined houses until they came to where hundreds of people were standing against the temporary barricade. It had been erected so no one could get too close to the fireworks but Andrew lifted the rope for her and tugged her underneath.
‘Aren’t we supposed to stay that side?’ Willow said, looking back at the crowds who were watching them disappear into the darkness as they approached the cliff edge. She could see all the fireworks were ready to go i
n tubes pointing out towards the sea and Leo running around doing last-minute checks.
To Willow’s surprise, Andrew led her to the top of the steps leading down to the beach.
‘I thought we could watch the fireworks from down here, it’s a better view without all the crowds,’ he said.
‘Oh, that’s a lovely idea,’ Willow said as they started picking their way down the steps. She was glad of the lantern she was carrying but it didn’t throw out too much light and, as they stepped away from the lights of the rest of the village, Andrew pulled his mobile phone from his pocket and turned on the torch too.
When they reached the bottom, Willow could see the tide was out and there was a picnic blanket laid out on the sand, surrounded by tiny little solar lights.
‘Oh, this is why you were late?’ Willow laughed and Andrew grinned at her over his shoulder.
The picnic blanket was laid out with a hamper to one side and a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket.
‘This is lovely, thank you for doing this,’ Willow said, sitting down on the blanket and using the sign for ‘Thank you’ as she spoke.
‘It’s my pleasure. I’ve been so busy over the last few weeks and I want to spend some quality time with you,’ Andrew said, uncorking the champagne and pouring out two glasses. He passed one to her and sat down next to her. ‘It was here on this beach, as you ran off with my clothes and I could barely breathe I was laughing so much, that I knew I was going to marry you one day. I think I loved you even then, though I didn’t want to admit it to myself. You have turned my life around and I love you so much.’
She smiled and leaned forward and kissed him. ‘I love you too,’ she whispered against his lips before kissing him again.
She put her champagne glass down in the sand and lay down on the blanket, staring up at the stars twinkling above them. Andrew lay down by her side and held her hand. They listened to the sounds of the waves for a while and beyond that there was silence. She had never felt so completely and utterly blissfully content in her whole life as she felt then lying next to the man she loved.
The Little Village of Happiness: A gorgeous uplifting romantic comedy to escape with this summer Page 27