Chapter 6
Chapter Six
A fter tapping on the door to the bookshop, Fleur stood back and waited as she listened to Bea rushing around inside. After a few minutes, the door eventually opened, and Bea joined her on the path.
‘Sorry, I had to find my homework from last week.’ Bea hooked her fingers around the word ‘ homework ’, before pulling a stack of papers she was holding beneath her arm and shoving them into her handbag.
‘Homework?’ Fleur grimaced. She’d forgotten something, hadn’t she? Everyone was always telling her she’d forget her head if it wasn’t screwed on and they were right.
‘Ah, the homework Gregory set us, remember?’ Bea locked the door before slipping her arm through Fleur’s as they began walking across the cobbles in the direction of the town hall. “Do you need to go back to the flower shop and pick it up? We’ll have time if we hurry.’
‘Nope. I forgot about it, as in completely forgot about it. I’ve not even done it.’ Fleur shrugged. ‘What was it again? Just so I know what I’m pretending I’ve left behind.’
‘Erm…’ Bea pulled out the papers from her bag again. ‘It was to design some posters for the Valentine’s Dance at the town hall. Gregory wanted us to bring them to show him before we stuck them up in our shops.’
‘Yuck. How could I have forgotten?’ Fleur slapped her hand on her forehead.
‘Well, you have had a lot going on recently, what with Matty coming back and all.’
‘Don’t remind me.’ Even just the mere mention of his name made her mouth turn dry. She’d spent the day with her eyes glued to the window just to make sure she’d have enough time to duck behind the counter if he stopped by again.
‘Anyway, don’t worry about it. I’ve done a couple. Take one of mine and tell him you did it.’ Bea took one of the papers and held it out towards Fleur.
‘You’ve a lifesaver, you know that, Bea?’ Taking the paper, Fleur looked down at Bea’s handiwork and laughed. ‘The only problem is he’ll know it’s yours as there are a ton of books drawn on it.’
‘Oh, I’d forgotten about that.’ Bea sighed as she held out the other poster she’d designed.
‘So does that one.’
‘Hmm… sorry. He’d asked us to make it obvious our particular shop was endorsing the dance. When we get there you can just change the books into flowers or something.’
‘I don’t think that’ll work too well.’ Fleur grinned as she held the poster out for her.
‘Sorry, I should have reminded you. I just did it straight after the last meeting and then forgot about them until I heard you knock or else I’d have made sure to check you’d done yours.’ Bea took the poster back and rolled them both up before slipping them back into her bag.
‘No worries. I’ll tell him I’ve got one ready to go back at the shop.’ Fleur sighed. That was the trouble with Gregory, the owner of the grocery store. He thought the whole town worked for him and he could order them around. Just because his family had been running the grocery store for generations, it didn’t mean he had the right to tell everyone else how to run their shops, but it was easier this way. The shopkeepers of Nettleford turned up to the town retail meetings, nodded whilst not particularly listening too well and Gregory got on with stuff. To be fair, he was the one who organised most of the events in the town and without him, more would be delegated, and they’d all have more to do on their plates. Yes, he was annoying, but he did have the best interests of the Nettleford community at heart.
‘Okay. At least we know we shouldn’t have any nasty surprises during this meeting. All he’ll be talking about is the upcoming Valentine’s Dance and that speed dating event at Ruby’s.’
‘Yep. Although I have a horrible feeling that being as he’s finally found love he’s going to be super sickly about it all.’
‘Maybe, but I reckon he’ll be more mellow about the Valentine’s Dance than he was last year because he’ll want to enjoy it with his lady friend.’ Bea giggled. ‘I do wish he’d just introduce us all to her, or at least tell us her name. The phrase ‘lady friend’ makes my skin crawl.’
‘Haha, me too. I wonder if he ever will.’ Reaching the town hall, Fleur pulled open the large door and began walking across the wooden floor towards a small room at the back of the hall. ‘Although I guess he might at the dance, although I’m half-expecting he’ll makes an excuse for her.’
‘Well, I’m going to be the optimist out of the two of us for once.’ Bea grinned.
‘Good luck with that once we get inside.’ Fleur laughed. It was true, however much of a good day someone could have had, spend two minutes in Gregory’s company and they’ll be questioning the very reason they were so happy.
‘Come on fix that smile and think positively.’ Bea glanced at her before pulling the door open.
Stepping into the smaller room, the tables were set out in rows much like they had been during Fleur’s time at Nettleford Comprehensive and Gregory did a fine impression of her old headteacher too.
‘Good evening, ladies. I see you’re my first arrivals for once.’ Gregory settled behind the table at the front of the room, teacher-style, and peered at them over the rim of his glasses. ‘Eager to get started?’
‘Uh-huh.’ Fleur nodded as she led the way to the desk at the back in the corner before placing her bag on the desk and sitting down. She waited until Bea had settled beside her before holding her hand in front of her mouth and hissing, ‘Why are we early? We’re never early.’
Bea shrugged as she laid her notebook and pen on the desk in front of her. ‘I don’t know. I thought we were running late.’
‘Umm, he’s not changed the time of the meeting and told everyone but us, has he?’
‘I mean, quite possibly. I certainly wouldn’t put it past him. He knows we’re almost always the last to arrive so maybe this is his way of teaching us a lesson?’ Bea shrugged.
‘Yuck, I could have finished my coffee.’ Fleur stifled a yawn, her sleepless night finally catching up with her.
‘Or made a poster.’ Bea flicked through to the end of her notebook before pulling out a page and sliding it across the table towards where Fleur’s bag was still sitting. ‘Although you could make a start on one now before the meeting gets started.’
Looking across at Bea, Fleur pulled a face. She knew Bea was right. It would be better to have something to show the almighty Gregory, even if it was a half-ditched attempt, but she’d always been the one to rebel at school and she wasn’t about to toe the line and bow down to Gregory just because he happened to have been born into a family of self-important grocers. She picked up the pen Bea had passed across to her before pulling her hair back into a messy bun and securing it with the pen.
Bea rolled her eyes and laughed at her. ‘That was for you to draw or write something on the paper, it wasn’t meant as a hair accessory.’
Fleur grinned at her friend as she covered her mouth to yawn again.
‘Why are you so tired? You’ve been yawning since we began walking down here?’ Bea leaned back in her chair and eyed Fleur. ‘Is this about the Nettleford’s newest visitor?’
‘Shh.’ Fleur glanced across towards Gregory. The last thing she needed was for him to be reminded of her and Matty’s past. If anyone, he’d be the one to start stirring.
‘Sorry.’ Bea lowered her voice. ‘But, is it? Is he the reason you can’t sleep? You can talk to me.’
‘I know I can.’ Fleur smiled at her. They may have only known each other for just over a year since Bea moved to Nettleford to open her bookshop, but the amount of time they spent together and the amount they talked, people would be forgiven if they thought they’d known each other their entire lives. ‘There’s just nothing to say. Yes, seeing him again stirred up all sorts of emotions that I might not have dealt with as well as I thought I had, but it was ten years ago now. That’s a long time.’
‘There’s no time limit on a broken heart, you know?’ Bea raised her eyebrows.
Fleur nodded. Bea knew her too well. ‘I know, but there’s also no point in going over past events and reliving all the what-ifs. I just want to forget it all. He’s probably just here to visit his parents and hopefully that won’t be for long.’
‘You’re not tempted to speak to him?’
Fleur pulled the pen from her messy bun, letting her hair cascade down her back again, and shook her head. ‘Not in the slightest. My plan is to stir clear of him the best I can. Live and let live, so to speak.’
‘Hmmm, if this morning and him coming into your shop to ask to see you is anything to go by, then I don’t think he’s had the memo.’
Fleur began chewing her thumbnail. That was precisely what she was worried about. That, and the fact she’d caught him standing in the street at 4am staring at the shop facade too.
‘Stop. That was your New Year’s resolution this year, to stop chewing your nails, remember?’ Bea pulled Fleur’s hand away from her mouth.
‘Yep, sorry, I forgot.’ Sitting on her hands so she wasn’t tempted to chew her nails again, Fleur lowered her forehead to the table and groaned. ‘I really don’t want to see him again.’
‘Hey, it’s going to be okay.’ Bea rubbed Fleur’s back, the slow circular movements going some way to help soothe her. ‘He’ll just be visiting like you said. A few days, a week at most and then he’ll be gone, and normal life will resume.’
‘That’s what I’m hoping.’ Fleur closed her eyes. That’s what she wanted. She just wanted him to be gone so she could go back to pretending what had happened between them hadn’t, so why did she have that urge to run around to his parents’ house and hammer the door down until she could just catch a glimpse of him? Just one glimpse.
‘It will.’