Chapter 8
Last night’s goodbye between Cath and Will had ended up being a muted affair.
The promise of the day, starting with that flirty fun in the kitchen with Mr Let’s Get Ready to Crumble, dissolved into him being Mr Cautious once more.
A careful hug, a kiss on the cheek, and she was left with an unresolved longing.
A stark contrast to the loud and jolly farewells from the Fab Four – Dan, Andreas, Nikki and Lily.
With a spell of early autumn sunshine upon them, and needing a distraction to keep those confusing thoughts of Will at bay – would he call her, or should she call him, or was it back to being ‘friends’?
– Cath made the most of the fine weather by doing a spot of weeding in the cottage garden.
Digging and turning the rich, brown earth beneath the established shrubs, she pulled out dandelions with their long, skinny parsnip-style roots, and strands of stray grass.
Then, she began trimming the border edges.
In old jeans and a long-sleeved black T, her hair pulled up in a high ponytail, she felt quite at home here tending her patch of Northumberland earth, garden fork to hand.
Her resident robin, Robbie – as she’d decided to name him – was back hopping around beside her, ready to take advantage of the newly revealed worms and insects.
Her summer busy lizzie pots were beginning to fade, so she made a mental note to go and buy some tulip bulbs, which would be lovely to herald the spring in several months’ time.
She could hear the bleating of the sheep from the fields in the valley beyond the garden, and the odd car trundling its way through the village.
All this toil was working up a thirst, and beginning to nag at the base of her back if she were honest; a cup of tea was calling.
Perhaps, after all that hard work, a little treat wouldn’t go amiss either.
And she knew exactly the place to find one.
*
Still in her gardening clothes, but with scrubbed hands, and a freshen-up of her peachy-pink lipstick, she set off for the stores. Well, you never knew who you might bump into in the village … especially on his bicycle. Dammit, Will was never far from her thoughts these days.
Cath spotted her elderly neighbours, Mary and John, and stopped to say a quick hello, asking how they were keeping.
They told her they were fine, and off to do a spot of shopping over in Kirkton to get a few bits in, as they were looking forward to their daughter coming to visit tomorrow.
It would be lovely to have a bit of company, they said.
And oh, that seed of an idea from last night came to Cath’s mind again.
It stayed with her all the way to the shop.
Dan, sporting a blue-and-white floral short-sleeved shirt, greeted her with his usual warmth from behind the counter. ‘Hello, lovely, and thanks so much for a fabulous evening.’
‘Ah, you’re very welcome.’
‘And how are you today? No niggly hangover, I hope, unlike our Andreas here. Went in a little heavy on the red wine, I do believe.’
‘No, thankfully, I’m good.’ She’d gone steady on the booze on purpose, wanting to keep her wits about her as hostess, and also around Will. ‘What a gorgeous morning, I’ve been making the most of it, out in the garden.’
‘Oh, sat with a good book and a cup of coffee, I hope.’
‘Hah, no, with a border fork and a pair of secateurs, actually.’
‘The work’s never done, is it.’ He smiled.
‘Keeps me out of mischief, I suppose,’ she added.
And talking of mischief, Andreas appeared in the shop then. ‘Morning, petal.’
‘Hi, Andreas, and how are you?’ she asked with a smile, giving Dan a knowing look.
‘I’m fine … ah, if a little jaded. I think I enjoyed myself a bit too well last night.’ He did in fact look rather pale.
Cath was stood browsing the cakes and pastries, wondering which delight to select to go with her morning coffee.
The shop’s jingly bell announced a new arrival, and with that, dear old Kenneth arrived, looking for a couple of tins of soup, some bread, milk and butter, and of course his cup of complimentary tea and a chat with the lads and whoever else might pop in.
Watching Dan and Kenneth chat, Cath’s germ of an idea from last night began to sprout.
A Christmas event, something to perk up this village over the festive season and get people together.
Along with Mary and John, Kenneth was exactly the kind of person who Cath felt might need a little extra light in their lives.
It was time to spread some festive joy. A sprinkling of festive fairy dust was needed over Tilldale.
Cath just had to work out how best to do that.
*
Sitting in her garden, mulling the Christmas event idea over a coffee with a slice of Dan’s delicious chocolate-orange cake, Cath’s thoughts were interrupted by a message coming through on her phone. It was Will.
Oh, she couldn’t help but feel a buzz of excitement as she opened the text to find out more. It went up a further notch as she read:
Brunch on the beach tomorrow? And a walk? Weather looks to be fine for another day or so. Let’s make the most of it.
So, the going slow wasn’t to be too slow then. Phew. She was warmed by a huge inner smile.
Instead of messaging back, she dialled his number. Yes, he might be at work, but she’d take a chance. She’d really love to hear his voice, with that warm Northumbrian lilt.
‘Hi,’ Cath started when he picked up.
‘Hey.’
‘Yes, that sounds wonderful: the walk, the beach, brunch. Thanks.’
‘Ah, great.’ There was a hint of nervousness in his tone. This was still evidently a big deal for them both.
‘Umm, can I bring anything? Help with the food, perhaps?’
‘Nope, I have it all worked out.’ He sounded adamant. She could hear a smile breaking through in his voice.
‘Perfect. So, what time are you thinking?’
‘Leave at ten-ish, if that works for you? It’s a Sunday, so I’m a free agent.’
‘Great. The lads don’t need me to help in the shop this week.
’ Cath had been helping out in the stores on the odd Sunday morning, giving Andreas and Dan a well-earned break, as well as helping her slightly stretched finances.
‘And my first tuition isn’t until early evening, so I have all day too. Uhm, can I drive us to the beach?’
‘Ah, well I imagined I would, but yeah if you’d like to.’
‘Yep, the Mini could do with a little action. Haven’t been far lately. The battery’ll be getting flat.’ It was more than the Mini that had been out of action for a while, she thought. ‘I’ll pick you up at ten then – look forward to it.’
‘Me, too. See you in the morning.’
Ah, that was lovely. Her anxiety settled a smidge.
Since last night, she’d been wondering if he wanted to see her again, or how things might develop.
This later-in-life dating came with the same level of angst as the teenage stuff, she’d realised.
Putting yourself out there again was hard, even if it was lovely, too.
Laying your emotions on the line again took a huge leap of faith, especially when you’d recently had them steamrollered.
All she could hope was that they weren’t about to get flattened again.