All Wrapped Up, page 5
‘All right,’ I announced the moment she looked at me and before I became distracted by the stunning artwork on the walls or potentially lost my nerve. ‘I’ll do it.’
She looked confused for a moment, but then the penny dropped.
‘The festival!’ she gasped, her hands clasped, as she abandoned the squares of fabric she had been piling together. ‘You’ll run it?’
‘I will,’ I confirmed. ‘But only if no one truly minds that I never knew Moses and if I’ve got some proper help to pull off whatever I turn his idea into, because obviously I won’t be able to manage it entirely on my own, especially as we’re now even more pressed for time.’
I was hoping that, with Ash onboard as a willing deputy, I wouldn’t feel quite so overwhelmed by the extra-large leap of faith I was taking. It was just days ago that I had been reminding myself not to go all in, but the lure of an autumn celebration had ultimately proved impossible to resist.
‘Oh wow!’ Lizzie squealed as she clapped ecstatically.
‘I know Ash has said he’ll deputise if someone else oversees it, because he stopped by the cottage and mentioned it,’ I stated, ‘so as long as he’s still keen… you’re on. And so’s the festival!’
‘I don’t believe it!’ Lizzie laughed and clapped again. ‘But are you sure you’ve got time? I know you aren’t working at the moment, but you did nonetheless say that you were too busy before.’
‘Let’s just say that I’ve moved a few things around.’ I shrugged, glossing over the excuse slash fib I’d previously cited without further explanation.
‘In that case, thank you!’ she gushed. ‘Thank you. Thank you so much, Clemmie. Everyone is going to be thrilled.’
‘I do hope so,’ I said, biting my lip and feeling a twinge of apprehension.
I was delighted to already have plenty of autumn-based ideas to offer, but how the locals, who had never even met me, were going to receive them, was a concern. They might not think that what I had in mind was going to marry up with the initial idea Moses had dreamt up.
‘Like I said the day we met,’ Lizzie insisted, ‘you’re more than qualified to do it and everyone is going to be putty in your hands. Not that they’ll know how capable you are,’ she quickly added, ‘because I haven’t said a word to a soul about your Insta, but as soon as you start talking about autumn, they’ll know you’re the woman for the job.’
‘Well,’ I swallowed, hoping her knowledge of my ability to create a pretty grid online hadn’t meant she’d overestimated my capabilities in the real world, ‘let’s hope you’re right.’
‘I am right,’ she said emphatically, then chuckled. ‘So,’ she smiled, ‘you and Ash.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Me and Ash. Two reasonably new locals stepping up to run the festival and potentially becoming friends in the process.’
She laughed at the emphasis I put on the platonic description.
‘He’s already told me how frustrated he got with Joanne trying to set him up,’ I warned her, ‘so I hope you haven’t got any silly ideas about us, Lizzie.’
‘Me?’ she gasped as if butter wouldn’t melt.
‘Because you know, neither of us is looking for a partner.’
‘But you are single?’
‘I am,’ I clarified. ‘And I have absolutely no desire for that to change.’
‘Well, don’t panic,’ she grinned. ‘Jemma and I have already told Joanne to butt out and I’ll be telling her again now because the last thing I want is her upsetting the autumn aficionado and her sidekick.’
‘That’s all right then.’ I nodded graciously.
With any luck that would be the end of that.
‘Now, come on,’ Lizzie then suggested. ‘Let’s go to the pub to celebrate!’
I hadn’t been to The Mermaid before and a trip to the pub hadn’t been on my radar when I left the cottage to tell Lizzie what I had decided, but in the spirit of embracing rejoining the human race and knowing I would be meeting lots of locals in the weeks to come, I decided to go with the flow and rather nervously walked with her across the square.
‘What can I get you?’ she asked, as we crossed the threshold of the surprisingly busy, traditional looking pub.
‘A lemonade with ice, please,’ I requested, as I took in more of the place and its customers. ‘I’ve got to drive home in a bit.’
‘I think I’ll join you,’ Lizzie agreed. ‘The workshop this afternoon was really hard work and if I have a gin now, I’ll be asleep by dinnertime.’
We walked over to the bar and Lizzie introduced me to the woman serving.
‘Clemmie, this is Jeanie, Jeanie, this is town newcomer, Clemmie.’
‘I’m pleased to meet you.’ Jeanie smiled at me. ‘Welcome to Wynbridge. How are you finding it so far?’
‘So far, so good.’ I smiled back. ‘I haven’t explored all that much of it yet, but what I’ve seen is lovely.’
‘Clemmie has been renovating Rowan Cottage,’ Lizzie elaborated.
‘That’s the place down Lark Drove, isn’t it?’ Jeanie frowned.
‘That’s right,’ I confirmed.
‘But that’s been getting done up for ages,’ Jeanie commented, looking quizzically at me. ‘How come you’re only just finding your way into the pub now?’
‘Because she’s been completely focused on doing it up,’ Lizzie said on my behalf.
I wasn’t surprised that Jeanie was curious. I had been locked in my self-imposed purdah for a year and a half, so my sudden appearance and people finding out where I lived, was bound to raise a few eyebrows. I needed to prepare myself for that.
‘Fair enough,’ said Jeanie, accepting Lizzie’s answer while pouring our drinks.
‘And now she’s finished transforming the cottage,’ Lizzie further explained, ‘she’s not quite so occupied and is going to have a think about whether there’s enough time to help us put on the autumn festival that Moses had been so keen to develop.’
A gasp from further along the bar met my ears and I appreciated that Lizzie hadn’t announced my decision as a fait accompli. I didn’t know whether that was because she was waiting for Ash to confirm that he could still help or because she was offering me a get out of jail free card if I changed my mind, but I was happy to go along with how she’d put it.
‘Are you really?’ the woman who had gasped, breathlessly asked.
‘This is Bella,’ said Jeanie, with a nod. ‘She’s keen on the festival idea, too.’
Knowing Bella must also share my love of the season, I looked at her with interest.
‘Lots of us are keen, Jeanie,’ she said enthusiastically. ‘There have been quite a few of us thinking about what Moses had in mind and how we might expand upon it. I’m guessing,’ she added, turning properly to me again, ‘that you must be the new addition to the area that Lizzie was alluding to the other night when she suggested some fresh blood could take the project on?’
‘Got it in one,’ Lizzie confirmed as I nodded.
‘I’m very pleased to meet you, Bella,’ I then responded as I realised Lizzie hadn’t specified exactly who she had been talking to that night. ‘I might ask to pick your brains if I get stuck for ideas while I’m mulling it all over.’
‘Oh, you won’t find much in there,’ Jeanie teased and Bella gave her a look. ‘Her head’s too full of fairy folk in the run up to Christmas.’
‘Yes,’ laughed Lizzie. ‘She’s away with the fairies all right!’
‘What they mean,’ Bella explained for my benefit, ‘is that I’m a fairy maker and my little enterprise is called Away With the Fairies. I’m just heading into my busiest time of the year, which is why I couldn’t take on the festival planning myself.’
‘It’s not that little an enterprise,’ Jeanie said.
‘No,’ frowned Bella. ‘You’re right. It isn’t now, is it? I really do have to try harder to own the success I’ve made of it, don’t I?’
‘Yes!’ Lizzie and Jeanie said together.
‘Well, it looks absolutely wonderful,’ I said, as Lizzie quickly showed me Bella’s website on her phone and scrolled through the images of pretty fabric fairies. ‘What a wonderful job you’ve got! I guess Christmas must be full-on for you.’
It was no wonder she hadn’t volunteered to take on the role of festival coordinator with so many fairies to make.
‘And for lots of other people around here, too,’ she said, confirming what Lizzie had said about Wynbridge being big on Christmas the day we met.
If I made a success of the new venture, the town would hopefully be known going forward as being big on autumn, too. By this time next September, we could have almost a third of the year wrapped up in seasonal celebrations!
‘Do you think you might possibly be able to spare just a little time to pitch in if it becomes certain that the festival will go ahead?’ I asked Bella.
‘I’ll certainly try,’ she evasively said. ‘All along I’ve had my heart set on there being at least an autumn themed market day or two, so I could perhaps help out with that. I have this whole bolt of tiny leaf patterned fabric and I’m already turning it into fairy clothes. I’ll be adding autumn fairies to my website, but selling them here in town would be great, too.’
I rather liked the sound of the fabric and the market. That gorgeous scene in You’ve Got Mail where Tom Hanks takes his young relatives around the autumn fair was one of my favourites in the entire film.
‘Don’t talk to Clemmie about autumn fabric,’ Lizzie then laughed. ‘Because she’ll be pinching it to put up in Rowan Cottage.’
‘You’re a proper fan of the season then?’ Bella asked and I watched Lizzie turn red.
‘Well, of course she is,’ said Jeanie as she moved our drinks across the bar, ‘otherwise she wouldn’t be thinking about taking the festival on, would she?’
‘I’m sorry,’ Lizzie groaned, once she’d paid and we had sat down. ‘In my excitement, I let my mouth run away with me a bit there. I promise I won’t let it happen again.’
‘No harm done,’ I charitably said, because I could see she was genuinely upset. I clinked my glass against hers. ‘Let’s forget about it. Here’s to the festival.’
‘To the festival,’ Lizzie echoed, ‘and to you and Ash making a huge success of it.’
‘I’m pleased you’ve mentioned him,’ I said, having taken a drink, ‘because we really need to let him know that his offer to deputise is about to be taken up, don’t we?’
‘I’m going to leave that to you,’ Lizzie said, reaching for her phone. ‘I’ll give you his number and you can call him. Consider that your first task as event organiser.’
‘Don’t you think it will be better coming from you?’ I asked, even though it did appeal to my organised nature to be able to tick something off the to-do list so quickly.
‘Your circus,’ Lizzie said mischievously as she showed me her phone screen with Ash’s number lit up. ‘Your monkeys.’
‘That sounds like chaos already,’ I tutted and she laughed.
While I keyed his number into my mobile, Lizzie went back to the bar to talk to an older woman who had joined Jeanie.
‘That’s Evelyn,’ Lizzie said, when she came back again and I had put my phone away with Ash’s number added to my contacts list. ‘Jeanie’s aunt. She owns this place with her husband, Jim.’ I looked over at her and she waved, so I waved back. ‘She’s said we can meet in here Wednesday night to rally the troops and officially launch the idea.’
I let out a long breath. The wheels were properly in motion now. It was really happening and not just in my head.
‘That’s just four days away,’ I breathlessly said as I counted the days off on my fingers.
‘It would have been sooner, but we wanted to give you some time to prepare,’ Lizzie kindly said. ‘And Evelyn knew that a few of the people who I’m hoping will come onboard aren’t available to get together before then, either.’
‘It’ll already be the third of September on Wednesday,’ I puffed, feeling slightly panicked.
‘Don’t worry,’ she soothingly said. ‘It’ll be fine. You just come up with some ideas that will involve more than pumpkins and the general idea Moses had and I’ll make sure this place is packed out to hear them. I have every faith in you, Clemmie, and I reckon by the end of the meeting you’ll have more volunteers than you know what to do with and the festival schedule will be halfway complete.’
I hoped her faith in me was going to be proved right, because having now become more familiar with the market square I could easily imagine it decked out in autumn hues, with the smell of pumpkin spice filling the air. I was determined to take the idea that Moses had come up with and make it even grander.
‘Not exclusively my circus then,’ I smiled, feeling very appreciative of the fact that it didn’t sound like Lizzie was going to leave me and Ash entirely alone to get on with it.
‘I’ll help crack the whip until you’ve met everyone and you’re feeling ready to wear the ring-mistress outfit,’ she winked.
‘Great,’ I laughed. ‘I’ve always wondered how I’d look in a top hat.’
That evening, I lit one of my favourite autumn scented candles, draped a fleecy blanket over my lap and cracked the spine on a brand-new notebook. I had tried calling Ash, but he hadn’t picked up, so I whiled away the time listing ideas because what I had to tell him felt far too important to send in a text. By the time I went to bed, I had a healthy-looking list of festival possibilities, but it was nowhere near enough to fill the whole of the season.
I had floated the idea of a long weekend of events set around the school half term and Halloween when I was in the pub, but Lizzie, Bella and Jeanie had all wrinkled their noses and said that wasn’t what they envisaged for the festival at all. Like me, they’d clearly got bigger aspirations than what Moses initially had in mind, too.
It had been on the tip of my tongue to ask them to precisely describe what they had all imagined, but decided to save that question for the meeting the following week. I would doubtless be nervous, and opening the floor up for everyone to chip in would mean I’d hopefully have to talk less.
* * *
‘Hello?’
The voice that answered the last of my many calls to Ash on Monday morning, sounded husky and thick with sleep, even though it was well after nine.
‘Ash?’
‘Yeah. Who’s this?’
‘It’s Clemmie. Clemmie Bennett from Rowan Cottage.’
The line went quiet, aside from some rustling and I wondered if the call was about to be cut off. I had discovered that both Wi-Fi and phone signal could be a bit temperamental and patchy in certain parts of the windswept Fens if the mood took it.
‘Clemmie,’ Ash then said, sounding marginally more alert as he cleared his throat. ‘Sorry, I didn’t know this was your number, and I can see now that you’ve called loads. Is everything okay?’
‘Yes,’ I said, feeling embarrassed to have already rung so many times, but I had been keen to have him confirm his commitment before I got too carried away. ‘I’m fine. Are you?’
‘Yeah,’ he sighed. ‘Well, sort of. I was on call over the weekend and had an emergency to deal with both nights, so I’m a bit tired today.’
‘And now I’ve rung and disturbed your sleep.’ I grimaced, then imagined him in bed and went hot. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘You’re fine,’ he kindly said. ‘I needed to get up to see to Pixie anyway. She’s patiently waiting to be let out and for me to get her breakfast.’
I imagined the little dog with crossed legs.
‘In that case, I’ll let you get on.’
As keen as I was to tell him about my involvement in the festival which would hopefully secure his, I didn’t want to ruin his opportunity to catch up on some sleep, or keep Pixie waiting longer than she already had been.
‘No, you’re fine,’ he insisted. ‘You must have had a reason for ringing.’
‘I did, I do, but honestly, it’ll keep. I’ll catch you later. Go and see to Pixie.’
‘All right,’ he said, sounding disappointed. ‘I’ll be in touch and I promise I’ll be more awake when we talk again.’
We ended the call and I fell to wondering if Ash was really going to have any spare time to help out with the festival after all. His work was clearly full-on and then there was his house-hunting. And Pixie, of course.
‘You might end up flying solo after all, Clemmie,’ I sighed, as another event idea landed and I eagerly jotted it down.
Chapter 5
By the end of Monday afternoon, I had developed the festival ideas list even further and was feeling extremely pleased with what I had come up with. There were some very obvious suggestions it would have been ridiculous not to include, such as loads of things to do with the pumpkins that had inspired Moses to come up with the festival idea in the first place. Given the reputation the Wynbridge area of the Fens had for successfully growing them, they had to take centre stage, but there were also lots of other things that I’d now added to the plan, some of which were a little more unusual.
As I set about steaming some salmon and making a late summer salad for dinner, I hoped all of the ideas were going to be well-received as there wouldn’t be much time to come up with more. Lizzie seemed resolute that I was going to be seen as a situation saver, rather than an interfering interloper, but time would tell and whatever folk thought, I really was going to need at least a little help to pull it all off. And talking of help…
‘Just a sec!’ I shouted, jumping almost as high as the kitchen ceiling as someone knocked loudly on the cottage front door and I quickly turned down the steamer on the hob.
As a result of Lizzie’s visit, I felt rather tentative about welcoming anyone in, but when I saw who it was, I had a feeling my Insta secret would remain safe. Not that I was prone to making assumptions about my followers, but I didn’t think my current visitor would be an AutumnEverything devotee.
‘Ash,’ I smiled, thinking his timing was impeccable. ‘Hello.’
