Chapter 15
Willow
Willow watched as Lucas walked away from her van.
She had been so pleased that he had come out today, her first day, and tasted one of her matcha drinks – but she still hated the awkwardness between them.
It was like there was an invisible wall built up around him that she couldn’t penetrate, and she wasn’t sure why.
There seemed to be sadness surrounding him too, like a cloud hanging over him, weighing him down.
He hadn’t been like this before. Yes, she knew they hadn’t been close in the end, but Willow had always kept watch on him from afar.
She had loved how his quiet confidence could fill a room, how he made people relax easily with his charm and good humor.
Now, it felt like he was stilted, or holding back some of what he used to be.
It was like he was a shadow of who he used to be.
Macguire walked over and handed her his empty cup. A little annoying as she had placed a garbage can just inches away from the van itself. She wondered why he couldn’t use it like everyone else.
‘Take no notice,’ he told her. ‘That man hasn’t been the same since Mel died.’
Willow nodded. She understood that. Loss took its toll. She had buried hers, pretending that she could cope with the death of her grandma. Only being here again was reminding her how much Willow missed her. Lucas faced this every day. It was not something he could easily escape.
‘You must miss her too,’ she said softly.
Macguire’s eyes misted over. He had started dating Mel while Willow and Lucas were all still in high school – it had been no secret. Nor had it been a secret that Lucas hated it and seemed to resent Macguire’s presence in their lives.
‘It’s been hard,’ he replied quietly. ‘I try not to get too sad, because Mel would have hated that. She wanted us to power through, you know …’ His gaze drifted towards The Diner.
‘She asked me to keep an eye on Lucas and I do, as much as I can, but I know he’s not fond of me.
He needs people around him that care for him. ’
‘I’m sure he is fond of you,’ Willow lied. ‘He just finds it hard to show his feelings, doesn’t he?’
‘Yeah, maybe …’ Macguire seemed to be considering this.
‘And at least he has Greg looking out for him? And Rachel?’
‘Yes, and they are good folk. They try their best.’ He smiled weakly. ‘I don’t know, maybe a fresh influence is what he needs. I’m not sure he listens that much to his friends now. I know you two used to be close when you were kids. Mel used to talk about it.’
Willow felt heat in her face and tried to busy herself cleaning the surfaces. ‘Yes, long ago – until we were thirteen or so. I guess high school changed things for us. We found new groups of friends.’
‘People can come back to each other though, can’t they?’ Macguire touched the side of the wagon gently, as if stroking it. ‘I think he could use a good friend again, that’s all. Somebody who could remind him of the person he once was. I hate to see a person losing their way.’
He walked away before Willow could find the words to answer him. Because what could she say really?
How could she help somebody who clearly didn’t want to be helped?
And how could she help him find his way, when she had lost hers too?
The first day passed quickly. Willow was reintroduced once again to the annoying Parker twins (how could she ever forget them), who returned to the wagon and spent five minutes arguing about the color of their drinks and whether or not matcha was a fad or something that was here to stay.
It was a pretty uneventful day. It wasn’t that she was expecting to sell loads on her opening day, but she had secretly hoped that the buzz of the van might have created more excitement in the town.
She stared at her sales now, and a trickle of anxiety chilled her bones.
Lucas had warned her that Honey Springs was different now.
She was going to struggle to make it work if things carried on like this.
She thought of Jake and how he had not been able to understand her decisions; she also knew in her heart that he would sneer at her for not succeeding.
There would be a lot of ‘I told you so’ and ‘Didn’t we leave that place for a reason?
I never understood why you wanted to go back’.
Willow needed to make this work. Not just for herself but to prove to others that it was possible. She was convinced deep in her heart that the town needed something like this.
But she couldn’t prove that if she was only making a few bucks a day. She could hardly go back now. She and Jake were over. Honey Springs really was her new start.
In desperation, Willow messaged Toby. Apart from Jenn and Esmae, he had been one of the few that hadn’t been sneering about her decision and his enthusiasm often buoyed her back up again.
Slow day. – she wrote – A few locals visited but that’s it. I’m going to hand out flyers around town tonight. Hit things the old-fashioned way. I really need things to pick up soon.
Toby wrote back within seconds. Willow smiled as she thought of him sitting at his desk messaging her.
It was late afternoon; he was bound to be working hard with hours still to go yet.
They had worked long hours in marketing, especially when focused on a campaign.
Some days she had barely seen sunlight. That was something she certainly didn’t miss.
Hey! It’s early days, don’t panic! Good news though!
I’ve been contacting a few influencers and Sapphire wants to come and see your wagon!
That’ll be great for audience growth and hopefully drive engagement.
She’ll contact you tomorrow to arrange dates/times.
Keep posting, Willow. Don’t forget those marketing tricks.
You need to bring more people to Honey Springs.
Willow stared at the screen in amazement. Sapphire was a big deal. She had millions of followers and specialized in food and drink posts, usually in pretty locations. If she could encourage people to come to Honey Springs – and even better the matcha wagon, that could be huge!
Toby, you are a star! I owe you a thousand matchas!
He replied straight away.
I’ll take you up on that. As soon as this campaign is over – I’m there. I think I’ll need a break from strong coffee …
She grinned. The one positive thing that had come out of working in that job was meeting Toby.
Yeah, she had thought he was kind of annoying in the early days and a bit too eager, but now she could see that his enthusiasm was just commitment and a willingness to help others.
Toby deserved to do well because he worked hard and loved his job.
She felt a sudden rush of warmth just thinking about his cute little face and how thrilled he must have been to have secured Sapphire for her.
A year ago, he wouldn’t have even dared contact her.
However, a year or so ago, she wouldn’t have needed Toby at all.
She would have been going through her contacts list herself and reaching out to others, knowing exactly who the right person would be to speak to, and how best to win their attention.
Now the whole idea of marketing and selling her business seemed scary and alien to her.
Willow shook her head sadly as she closed her cash register and set about locking up the wagon.
She wasn’t sure why she had lost so much confidence in herself; it was probably the burnout that had made her lose sight of what she was good at.
But Toby was right; she did still have skills and she needed to use them again. Even if it was at a much-reduced level.
Stepping outside the wagon, Willow started to take some photos of her new business. The late-afternoon light made the colors glow around the van, causing them to pop. Tentatively, she posted a couple of the images with the following typed words:
Now she rests, but tomorrow the journey really begins.
Come and visit Willow’s Matcha Wagon in Honey Springs to experience a taste like no other in a unique and breathtaking setting.
Not been to Honey Springs? You truly haven’t peaked.
Not tried Willow’s matcha? You truly haven’t ascended.
This spring, venture to the Springs.
Willow then added another image of the powerful backdrop of the mountains.
Tomorrow, she decided, she would do a vlog outlining her business in more detail.
She would also reach out to Esmae and see if she could post something positive.
She may have lost lots of followers, but that woman still had some influence and as she was focusing now on well-being, she was totally on brand for Willow.
But right now, Willow had other things to accomplish. She picked up the small box that she had brought with her outside the van and shifted it under her arm.
Tonight, she was going to hand out flyers the old-school way.
She had always thought of Honey Springs as being small; certainly, as a teenager it had felt like a place where the walls were slowly closing in.
But delivering flyers house to house on foot, the town felt crazy huge, and by the time Willow reached the Watering Hole, her feet were killing her and her back was stinging with pain.
Distributing flyers was not for the fainthearted.
As soon as Willow walked into the bar, her throat was dry with thirst. Like everywhere else, it was quiet inside.
Greg was serving Rachel, and Lucas was sitting next to her.
The three of them were kind of huddled together.
The couple that came to Willow’s van earlier in the day, the Henrys, were sitting in the far corner, and they waved as Willow walked in.
Old Ernie was nursing a beer on the other side and completely ignored her – but he had always been that way, even when she was little.
He was a very quiet, almost mysterious old man.