Chapter 25
‘Where is everyone?’ Reece taps the microphone to make sure it’s working and the sound echoes around the empty car park. ‘Last week, they arrived an hour early because they couldn’t wait for the quiz night to get started.’
I try to ignore the flash of panic. What if word of my revelations yesterday has spread around the village and others aren’t as understanding as Lettie, Wilma and Madge were? What if everyone is boycotting us in protest at the dishonesty?
I’ve been feeling guilty all afternoon as I’ve noticed Reece has got less enthusiasm than usual as he’s carried down chairs and set up tables.
There’s a slump to his shoulders and he’s going through the motions without his usual spark.
He won’t admit it, but after yesterday, I think he’s slowly realised that restoring the pub has changed from being a difficult goal to being an impossible one, although every time I try to ask about it, he steals a kiss instead of answering.
I peer towards the road from the village, but there’s absolute quiet. Have we told them the wrong time or forgotten to put our clocks back or something?
Reece walks out to the path and looks up and down it too, and I’m moments away from confessing everything that happened after he left for the bank yesterday when the sound of a commotion reaches our ears, and Reece looks over at me in confusion.
I jump out of the van and go to the edge of the car park too. Usually the quiz nighters arrive in dribs and drabs – a few people here, a couple there, some coming along individually – but tonight, they are all arriving together.
I can’t quite believe what I’m seeing. Not just a few people, but seemingly the whole village, and others from further afield because Thimblenouth simply isn’t that big.
They’re like an army, marching together, enough feet on the ground to shake the very foundations of the road they’re walking up.
Lettie is at the front of the crowd, directing her husband, who’s carrying a huge wooden box with a slot in it, and looking like he’s struggling with it.
‘Can I help?’ Reece calls, looking baffled, and Lettie’s husband grunts a response that probably means he’s seconds away from dropping it. Reece dashes to assist, and under Lettie’s instructions, they carry it across the car park and put it down to one side of the steps.
‘What is that?’ Reece is breathing heavily from the unexpected effort.
‘It’s a donations box. We don’t expect you to keep hosting these quiz nights for free, you know.
It’s a lot of time and effort and expense and probably not what you envisioned doing when you bought the pub, so we’ve all agreed that everyone who comes will contribute a little something, even if they can’t afford much.
It’s the principle of the thing. We enjoy it – we pay for it. ’
‘Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly accept that—’ Reece looks horrified by the suggestion and then his face shifts as he realises what she said. ‘Wait, when I bought the pub?’
‘Oh, yes, dear. We know. We’ve always known.
’ Lettie waves away his question like it’s not a big deal.
‘When we cornered Dolly about it, she told us you had your reasons, but those are private to you and we respect that. These quiz nights have been so good that every team has agreed we’re happy to pay a small entrance fee – as it should be. ’
The timer for the oven in the van chooses that moment to start beeping, and I have to rush back to it before I burn the butterfly cakes, and Madge hurries after me, a tower of cake tins in her arms – the reinforcements I hoped were coming, because I’d need ten more vans to be able to cater to this many people.
Reece is still trying to argue with Lettie about payment when I hear his attention shift. ‘What the heck is that?’
I look up to see the man who works in the post office lugging a large can of something across the car park.
‘Woodworm treatment.’ He deposits the can at Reece’s feet proudly. ‘You’ll need to spray it on and vacate the premises for a few hours, but it’s strong stuff, it’ll sort the little blighters right out.’
‘I can’t accept this,’ Reece says again, sounding even more bewildered than he did just now.
Madge has joined me in the van and shoves herself in beside me so we can both look out of the serving hatch. She elbows me in the ribs, although I’m not sure whether it’s to get my attention or to get more space. ‘See? We told you that Yorkshire folk take care of their own.’
While all the new arrivals find seats at the tables, the bloke from the post office goes up to the pub to collect more chairs and Wilma starts taking notes of what everyone wants to order, and Madge stays put, her sharp elbows pushing me to do the same. Or trying to break a rib, one of the two.
Instead of sitting down at their rival table, her husband Arthur goes over to speak to Reece now too.
‘Back in the day, I was an electrician, lad. I’m retired now and haven’t still got my certification, but I’d be more than happy to do the job, and then you’d have to hire an inspector to certify my work.
Miles cheaper than hiring a working electrician, and it would do me good too – my wife’s always telling me I need to get off my backside and get out more! ’
Madge takes a bow in the serving hatch window, and the quiz attendees all clap for her. ‘And he works for nothing except tea and biscuits – not too many biscuits, mind!’
‘No, no, no.’ Reece is pacing, looking dazed. ‘I can’t accept any of this. You’re all being far too kind, but—’
‘But what?’ Wilma demands, sounding so scary that even the bravest soul wouldn’t dare to contradict her.
Reece looks over at me helplessly, and I give him an encouraging nod back. I knew they had something up their sleeves, but I didn’t think it would be anything like this, and I’m barely managing to hold back tears either.
Reece’s voice is shaking when he speaks. ‘But I’ve lied to you all. I’ve pretended to be someone else. I’m not a builder. I’m not working for a mysterious boss…’
‘Could’ve been Jake Gyllenhaal,’ Madge mutters beside me. It really will take her a long time to get over her disappointment on this one.
There’s silence for a moment. His face has gone pale and I can see him preparing for the worst. Anger, accusations and for the community he’s grown to love turning against him.
Instead, what happens is a round of applause. Lettie repeats what they explained to me yesterday, about knowing from the start and how recent events have forced their hand in revealing all rather than waiting for him to tell them himself.
Reece stares at Lettie in shock. ‘You’re not angry?’
‘Dear boy, why would we be angry? You’ve given us back our quiz nights, and you’ve been working yourself to death trying to fix up our pub. The only thing I’m slightly miffed about is that you felt like you couldn’t confide in us.’
‘But I closed the pub. I bought it and—’
‘You bought a building that was already in disrepair,’ the local vicar corrects. ‘After her husband passed, Mrs Patchett hadn’t maintained it properly for years. It was going to close anyway – you tried to save it.’
‘And you’ve been trying to fix it single-handedly ever since,’ Wilma chimes in. ‘Which, frankly, shows more dedication than sense. It’s a good effort, but you don’t have to do everything alone.’
A man I recognise as a café regular with a fondness for my lemon drizzle cake is next to step up.
‘Lad, can you nip up on the scaffolding and take some photos of the roof? My son-in-law’s a roofer and he owes me a favour.
Said he’d be delighted to do the job but he needs to know what it entails before he brings his team in.
He’d charge you for materials only, no labour costs. ’
‘Oh, God, no,’ Reece says. ‘That’s a job that’ll cost thousands. Believe me, I’ve had the quotes. He couldn’t possibly—’
‘Well, no one said materials will be cheap, but it’ll be a hell of a lot cheaper than your quotes.’
‘I can’t acce—’
‘You can and you bloody well will!’ Wilma instructs and then turns back to the tables. ‘Now, who said something about plumbing?’
‘I dabbled!’ a man I recognise calls out.
He regularly walks an Irish setter and has stopped for a chat after his dog has come for a sniff around the van.
‘I’m retiring next month, but it’ll do me good to keep my hand in.
Be happy to take a look at your pipes and whatnot.
The only charge will be a nice hefty slice of whatever the Marzipan Campervan is serving that day! ’
‘Done!’ I give him a salute out the window.
Reece looks around at the crowd of faces, all smiling at him with warmth and acceptance, and I can see him fighting an internal battle to keep his emotions in check. ‘I don’t understand. I thought you’d be furious with me.’
‘The two of you have brought our community together,’ Wilma says.
‘Something was missing from Thimblenouth. Somewhere to come together, to sit and watch the world go by and enjoy the simple things like watching the river with a nice piece of cake and a lovely cup of tea. And you’re the best quiz master we’ve ever had.
We’re just trying to ensure you don’t leave us anytime soon. ’
Another round of applause goes up, and I can see Reece losing the battle with not welling up in public.
‘There are tourism grants and community funding you can look into too. Now we know you want to re-open it as a pub, you might qualify for help that a private house wouldn’t have,’ the vicar says.
‘I don’t know what to say.’ Reece looks like he’s expecting to wake up at any second.
‘You don’t need to say anything. This isn’t just about you any more, is it? It’s about all of us. This place, these quiz nights, this wonderful café – it’s become the heart of our village. So say you’ll start the quiz and don’t go taking any photos of the bloody roof until daytime!’
‘Dolly, get that kettle on, lass!’ Lettie calls. ‘We’ve got to prove The Agatha Quizties are still the team to beat!’
‘In your dreams!’ calls out Wilma’s crush from the Quiztina Aguilera table, and suddenly the evening transforms from a sombre affair into something joyful and raucous and exactly what it should be.
I meet Reece’s eyes across the car park and give him a smile, and this time, his answering smile feels like the brightest one I’ve ever seen.
* * *
Two hours later, after the liveliest quiz night we’ve hosted so far, the collections box has been filled beyond capacity, and half a dozen more people have volunteered their skills to help with the pub renovation.
I’m cleaning up with Reece, who still hasn’t got his emotions under control.
I go over to slide my arms around his neck and pull him into a hug, and he lets out a long, shaky breath and curls around me, and after everything that’s happened this evening, it’s nice to have a moment to ourselves.
‘Did you know they were going to do that?’ he says, muffled into my shoulder.
‘Not a clue. They’re nothing if not full of surprises.’
‘Cake. They’re full of cake, they’ve eaten you out of house and home.’ Without breaking the hug, I feel him wave a hand over my shoulder, towards the campervan, and then he lets out another sigh as I run my hands up and down his back. ‘I can’t believe that happened.’
‘They saw you for you, Reece, no matter how much you didn’t want them to. They saw someone trying to do his best with the hand he ended up with, and that’s what matters to people around here.’
‘And you.’ He pulls back and gives me that playful smile that always makes my heart skip a beat. ‘You saw this place and these people and somehow knew exactly how to bring everyone together.’
‘I just found somewhere that felt like home, and I didn’t want to lose it again. I’ve spent so much time feeling like I didn’t belong in my own life, and that started to change from the moment I found this place.’ I glance up at him. ‘And met you.’
‘And met you,’ he repeats, his tongue wetting his lips as he leans down to kiss me.
I lose myself in his mouth, his aftershave and his strong arms holding me up, and I get a little shiver because we’ve made something wonderful here, together, and it seems like we’re both going to be able to keep it.
The future looks brighter than the glaring yellow of my little van, and that’s more than I could ever have imagined on the day I got in it and drove off all those months ago, without a clue of where I was going.
Somehow I ended up in exactly the right place, with exactly the right people, at exactly the right moment to be seen by them when I thought I needed to hide.
From an unfortunate collision in a car park to this moment of perfect rightness, in a place that’s become a home, full of people who have become like a family, and a beautiful man, who makes me feel like the luckiest person in all of Yorkshire.
Somehow we found each other in the unlikeliest circumstances.
There are probably easier ways to meet potential soulmates, but sometimes, running them over in a stolen vehicle works out better than expected.
* * *