Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
ANDY
A ndy came to a halt outside the bakery. Turning to face back down the hill, he took a deep breath that morphed into a yawn halfway through. Staring out across the marshes beyond Crumbleton, a broad smile appeared on his face. It was his favourite time of day.
The sun was just coming up and the little town was quiet in a way that never happened at any other time of day. The tourists were all still in bed, worn out from an overdose of sunshine and sweets the day before. Geraldine, who owned the antique shop at the top of town, would have finished her midnight delivery and re-stocking mission by now, so he’d be safe from her battered van trundling up and down the high street.
With any luck, Andy would have a couple of hours to work on this stretch of cobbles without being bothered by vehicles or flying cola cubes. He had no idea why the back of his head had recently become the target of choice for the local youngsters—maybe it was just karma from when he and his mates used to plague old Geordie Jones when they were kids! Perhaps it just came with the job. Still, it certainly made him grateful for his hard hat!
Sucking in another deep breath of fresh morning air, Andy stretched his neck this way and that, still admiring the sky over the marshes as the sun-streaked it with buttercup-gold. It was going to be a good day. He loved being outdoors—and there was nothing better than working in the ancient town where he’d lived all his life.
Andy knew this made him appear unadventurous to some people. He’d been accused of having no ambition… but was that such a bad thing, when he was already living a life he loved?
Some people certainly thought so!
Andy shrugged. Frankly, some people could go take a running jump. He knew how lucky he was. After all, how many people could genuinely say they were happy every single day? He was who he was, and he wasn’t about to apologise for enjoying the simple things life had to offer.
Speaking of simple things… today was going to be an extra-special kind of good day. He was going to be working right outside the bakery for the next few hours, and the scent coming from the ovens inside was already making his stomach growl. Hot sugar, cinnamon, allspice and fruit mixed with fresh bread.
Heaven on earth!
Of course, it did help that his sister owned the bakery. Heather was almost guaranteed to bring him something fresh from the oven for a second breakfast a little bit later on. With any luck, it would be one of her fruit slices. They were Andy’s favourites—rich and delicious and drizzled with icing. She only made them on certain days… but as luck would have it, today was one of them.
It was going to be the perfect day—he could feel it in his bones!
Just the thought of the impending sweet treat had his mouth watering… but first, he needed to get on with the job he’d come to do.
With one last glance out across the marshes, Andy turned to the wheelbarrow he always had with him when he was working. It was the perfect way to cart around all the basic tools he needed to do his job—levelling up and repairing the town’s acres of ancient cobblestones.
The old barrow might not look like much, but it was far less of a nuisance than trying to find somewhere to park a van on the high street while he worked.
Grabbing his stack of orange traffic cones, Andy swiftly set them out around the patch of pavement right outside the bakery window. The stones had become loose and raised, and were “a lawsuit waiting to happen,” according to the town council. They were always grumbling about the impracticality of the old cobbles, but Andy loved them—and not just because they meant he had a steady supply of work. To him, they were something ancient and beautiful that simply needed a bit of care and attention to help them last another several hundred years.
‘Hey, little brother! Come to hang out with me today, have you?’
Andy glanced up from his crouched position, only to find Heather beaming down at him as she wiped flour from her hands with a checked tea towel.
‘Yep—gotta sort out this little lot,’ he said, nodding at the patch of raised stones. ‘And FYI, I’ve got plenty of greys in this lot now,’ he added, lifting his hard hat and running his hand over his thick mop of hair. ‘I’m not sure you can call me little brother anymore!’
‘Give over, you’ll always be my annoying little brother,’ said Heather with a wink. ‘Anyway, do you reckon you’ll be finished by the time I open?’
‘I’ll do my best,’ said Andy.
‘No rush,’ said Heather with a shrug. ‘I was just gauging when to bring you a fruit slice.’
‘Any time is a good time for a fruit slice,’ said Andy. He might have had breakfast less than half an hour ago, but his stomach growled in anticipation of the promised treat.
‘I’ll be as quick as I can,’ said Heather. ‘We’ve got to keep you well fuelled, considering you single-handedly keep this town in one piece.’
‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ chuckled Andy.
‘Let’s face it, there probably isn’t a single part of Crumbleton you haven’t had to repair over the years!’ said Heather.
‘Well, some things deserve a bit of TLC,’ he said, giving the cobbles a friendly pat. ‘I mean, even with the limited traffic allowed up here, these poor old things get a serious battering. Did you know some of them date as far back as the thirteen hundreds? The ones up by the museum are—’
Andy broke off and rolled his eyes at Heather, who was busily executing an exaggerated yawn.
‘Oi!’ he laughed. ‘Some people have no soul.’
‘Not when there’s bread to be baked and fruit slices to ice and you want to give me a history lesson about cobblestones… again!’
‘Fine, you win!’ said Andy. ‘I’m just saying, it’d be a real shame if the council got their way and tarmacked over the whole lot.’
‘They wouldn’t?!’ gasped Heather.
‘They’ve definitely talked about it,’ said Andy. ‘The subject usually comes up whenever the utility companies leave a mess behind them and the town has to pay me extra to put it right.’
‘But… you’re way cheaper than pouring tarmac down the entire hill!’ said Heather, looking horrified.
‘I am,’ said Andy with a nod. ‘Besides, I think the tourist draw of our pretty cobblestones will always win them over. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.’
‘Yeah, that and the fact that Crumbleton is so steep, the tarmac would probably ooze down into a great big puddle near the City Gates,’ laughed Heather. ‘I’m sure it’d make a horrible mess of the oldest ones up by the museum first, though!’
‘Mean!’ gasped Andy.
Heather grinned at him.
‘Speaking of the museum, have you met the new person yet?’ he said. ‘The who’s taken on the curation job? I thought she was meant to be arriving soon.’
‘She’s already here,’ said Heather.
Andy frowned. ‘Why exactly did you point at the sky when you said that?’
‘Because,’ said Heather, ‘she moved into Oli’s flat last night.’
‘Then we’ve probably just woken the poor woman up!’ said Andy, dropping his voice to a stage whisper.
‘Nah,’ said Heather.
‘How’d you know that?’ he said in surprise.
‘Because I saw her leave the flat and wander off up the hill about five minutes before you appeared.’
‘This morning?’ said Andy, raising his eyebrows as he glanced down at his battered old watch. ‘As in… before six in the morning?’
‘Uh huh,’ said Heather, looking unperturbed.
‘You do realise that’s not normal behaviour?’ said Andy. ‘I mean… for anyone other than us two!’
‘Andy love, if you think it’s normal to get up this early just to fix twelfth-century cobbles…’
‘Actually, this little patch is probably a replacement that happened somewhere around the late seventeen hundreds,’ said Andy.
‘ Definitely not normal!’ chuckled Heather, shaking her head. ‘And anyway, maybe our new curator is just keen.’
‘Let’s see how long that lasts when she gets to the museum and sees the state of the place,’ said Andy, pulling a face. ‘I heard that she took the job without even coming down for a look around.’
‘Ouch!’ said Heather.
‘Yeah,’ sighed Andy.
He had a feeling the new arrival was in for a bit of a shock—unless Ruth from the council had been scrupulously honest with her… which he somehow doubted.
The castle with its attached museum building needed some serious repairs—but it wasn’t just what was going on with the outside that might put her off. Inside, the place was piled high with the detritus of decades.
‘Well… let’s just hope she sticks around,’ said Heather. ‘Anyway, I’d better head back inside if you want your fruit slice before lunchtime!’
‘Erm sis… isn’t that your phone?’ said Andy.
They both paused and cocked their heads.
‘It is!’ said Heather. ‘Who on earth’s calling at this time of day?’
Andy shrugged, but the question had obviously been rhetorical as Heather had already dashed inside to answer it.
Grabbing his bucket of sand from the wheelbarrow, Andy started to set out his tools so that he wouldn’t have to keep clambering to his feet every five minutes. He was just about to get stuck in when Heather reappeared with the phone clutched in her hand.
‘What’s up?’ he said in surprise.
‘It’s for you,’ said Heather.