Chapter 16
‘I love it!’ Milly declared, eyes shining when Saffy finished outlining her idea for the pop-up shop after we’d settled at a table in The Fox and Rabbit. ‘My only problem is I wouldn’t be able to fit in many shifts around my job but I’d do what I could. Do you have an empty shop in mind?’
‘Saffy did some research earlier,’ I said. ‘There are a few in Keswick at the moment but we’re not sure if they’ll be options.’
Saffy nodded. ‘One specified no pop-ups but I spoke to the other estate agents who said they’d look into it. One was fairly convinced it would be a no but the other sounded upbeat.’
We hadn’t long finished our meal when that estate agent rang Saffy back with the news that the landlord would only consider a pop-up lease if we could provide proof of previous success which was absurd when the whole point of many pop-up businesses was trying something new.
‘The best bet is to have a word with Veronica,’ Milly said.
‘She knows everyone so, even if she doesn’t have a direct contact, she’ll know someone who does.
Would Keswick be the best place for it? Maybe it’s just me but it feels like a village thing.
I know there wouldn’t be the same footfall as in a town but if you pick the right village – a pretty, popular one – and get the advertising right… ’
‘Are there any shops in this village?’ Saffy asked.
I shook my head. ‘A few, but no empty ones and I don’t think Pippinthwaite’s right anyway. Not enough visitors. Willowdale would be better.’
‘Oh, my gosh!’ Milly grabbed my arm. ‘There is an empty unit in Willowdale. It’s opposite Lakeside Inn, next to the village store. Used to be a gift shop but it closed down a few years back and has been empty ever since.’
‘Oh, yes! I know where you mean.’
Saffy looked up from her phone. ‘There’s no lease details online for it.’
‘Veronica!’ Milly and I said together.
I didn’t have Veronica’s phone number but Milly did. The phone signal was patchy in the corner where we were sitting so she nipped outside.
‘Ooh, it’s cold out!’ She rubbed her hands together when she returned. ‘She’ll be with us in five minutes with Laughlin and Lancelot. They’re on their way back from the vet’s.’
‘Is Lancelot okay?’ I asked, feeling concerned.
‘I don’t know any details but I’m assuming so. I don’t think they’d be joining us if there’d been a disaster.’
Veronica and Laughlin appeared five minutes later.
Lancelot had a bandaged front leg and was wearing a plastic recovery cone round his neck and looking very sorry for himself, although he hadn’t let the cone stop him from carrying Spud the red panda in his mouth.
Laughlin shared that Lancelot had cut his leg on a piece of broken glass during their morning walk but some idiot had parked across the bottom of Laughlin’s drive, blocking him in.
Veronica, who lived nearby, had thankfully been free to give him a lift.
They hadn’t eaten so they placed a lunch order and, while we waited for it, Saffy outlined the idea which was met with enthusiasm from both of them.
‘I’m not sure my creations are good enough to sell…’ Laughlin started and we all shouted him down.
‘Admittedly your early attempts at crocheting were a little… shall we say wobbly?’ Veronica said, her choice of word making us laugh. ‘You’ve perfected it now and those keyrings are adorable.’
‘And your pyrography is fantastic,’ Milly said, to which I added my wholehearted agreement.
‘Do you still have Noreen’s crafts?’ Veronica asked.
‘The garage is full of them. Noreen told me to clear them out but I didn’t know what to do with them. I didn’t think charity shops would be interested and there was no way I was going to throw them out after all the hours and care she’d put into them.’
‘Do you think you’d be up for selling them in our pop-up shop?’ Saffy asked him.
He nodded. ‘I think Noreen would have liked that.’
I didn’t miss the catch in his voice and the glisten of tears in his eyes.
If we got to that point, I’d offer to help him sort through everything as he might appreciate the support.
Clearing out a dead spouse’s belongings for whatever reason wasn’t easy.
I’d managed the garage but all Cliff’s clothes were still hanging in the wardrobe.
The conversation turned to the empty gift shop in Willowdale and Veronica was indeed in the know.
‘It’s a sad story, actually. A pair of sisters, Ava and Jocelyn, ran it for years but Jocelyn had an affair with Ava’s husband and they ran off together.
Ava closed the shop at Christmas three years ago, expecting to open again at Easter, but that became impossible after she discovered that Jocelyn had emptied the shop bank account and also kept the money that should have been paid to their suppliers for months previously.
The business owed thousands. Ava needed to remortgage her house to pay the debts and find another job to pay the mortgage. ’
‘That’s awful,’ I said. ‘Poor woman.’
Veronica nodded. ‘Fortunately, there was a light in the darkness. The solicitor who dealt with it all was an old school friend of hers and they fell in love. I don’t personally know either of them but a good friend of mine does and she says they’re incredibly happy together – far happier than Ava had ever been with her husband. ’
‘What happened to Jocelyn and the husband?’ Saffy asked.
‘They split up and he returned, begging Ava to take him back. Can you believe that? How he had the front to do that after he’d had an affair with her sister, of all people, and destroyed their business and—’ Veronica stopped abruptly and pressed her fingers to her lips.
‘I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I got on my high horse like that about people I don’t personally know.
Please forgive me for sounding like a terrible gossip, spilling out their private business. ’
‘You’re not a gossip,’ Milly assured her. ‘We specifically asked and you shared what you know.’
‘It wasn’t very charitable of me to do so.’
Laughlin lightly touched her arm. ‘I echo what Milly says. You are not a gossip. Gossips often share unconfirmed information and typically do it with unkind intentions or disapprovingly and that’s simply not you.’
As Veronica smiled at him with evident gratitude, I marvelled at how Laughlin didn’t say a lot but the things he said were so helpful and considered.
‘I know a bit about it too,’ Laughlin said, addressing the group.
‘Noreen was friends with Ava. The premises situation is complicated. Ava and Jocelyn both had daughters who were really close. There’s a flat above the shop and the intention was for the girls to move into it together when they were ready to leave home – a rent-free starter home for them both.
When everything went wrong, the girls fell out and have been at loggerheads ever since.
They won’t live together but each refuses to let the other live in the flat.
Jocelyn and her daughter want Ava to buy them out and, although Ava and her daughter would be willing to do that, they can’t agree on a price.
Jocelyn wants a 50:50 split and Ava wants more in compensation for the debts she had to settle so it’s been stalemate for quite some time. ’
‘So we’re going to have no chance of a pop-up shop there,’ Milly said.
‘Not necessarily,’ Veronica said, looking thoughtful. ‘If you’d been battling with your sister over an empty premises for three years and you had the chance to make some quick money for a few months, wouldn’t you lay down your arms? Leave it with me and I’ll put some feelers out next week.’
* * *
Laughlin wanted to get Lancelot home for some rest after his ordeal so Veronica drove them back to Willowdale and Milly joined Saffy and me at my house for a coffee.
The three of us started a new journal for our potential pop-up shop.
Saffy found the Facebook page for Willowdale Gifts and scrolled through dozens of photos of the inside, which gave us a good feel for the space and how the sisters had used it.
None of us knew whether the pop-up shop would happen, but it was exciting imagining what it could be.
Milly had a light bite with us for tea before heading home, and Saffy and I had just settled down to watch some television when a text came through.
From Paulette
It’s been a tough day. Setting off home now. Hope you and Saffy are OK
To Paulette
We’re both great. Sorry it’s been hard. Are you OK to drive? Saffy’s welcome to stay if you’re tired and want to book into a hotel overnight
Half an hour later, my phone rang and Paulette’s name flashed up. Given the content of her message and the fact she’d phoned me rather than Saffy, I slipped into the kitchen to answer it.
‘Can I take you up on your offer to have Saffy overnight?’ Paulette asked.
‘Of course. How did it go?’
‘It was bad.’ She sighed heavily. ‘I’m drained so I’ve taken your advice and pulled into some services. The hotel here has a room free but I wanted to check about Saffy before I book it.’
‘If she’s happy to stay here, she’s very welcome, but if she’d rather go home, I can drop her off – whatever she prefers. Do you want to speak to her yourself?’
‘I’ll check in and get settled first, then I’ll ring her.’
‘Okay. I’m here for you if you want to talk.’
‘Thanks. I’ll definitely take you up on that. It’s just a bit raw at the moment.’
‘Completely understand. You try to get some rest.’
Paulette rang Saffy shortly after and Saffy said she’d rather have the company overnight.
‘Grandma said she was too tired to talk about it,’ Saffy said as we drove to Willowdale so she could pack an overnight bag, ‘but I’m guessing it was bad. Did she say anything else to you?’
‘No, but I’m sure she’ll explain everything when she’s back tomorrow.’
‘I feel so guilty that she’s fallen out with Mum and Dad because of me.’
Her voice had a wobble and I hated how much pain this situation was causing Saffy and Paulette.
‘You do know that none of this is your fault, Saffy? I know your grandma would say the same if she was here.’
‘It’s one thing Mum having a strop with me, but why does she have to take it out on Grandma too? It’s not fair.’
‘No, it’s not, but your grandma was never going to stand back and let you take all the flack.
She’s a strong, caring woman who loves her family and wants to keep everyone happy and at peace, which means stepping in as a mediator if things get heated.
That’s a tough role and comes with some backlash, but your grandma’s made of sturdy stuff and she’ll bounce back from whatever happened today. She just needs some sleep first.’
Saffy didn’t speak but, out of my peripheral vision, I saw her nodding. When we arrived at Paulette’s house, I stayed in the car with the heater on while Saffy dashed inside. Five minutes later, she returned with a backpack.
‘Can we drive round to see the shop?’ she asked, brightness back in her voice. ‘I can’t picture where it is.’
I drove into the centre of the village and parked outside The White Willow.
We walked back on ourselves past the village green and across the road.
Several terraced properties – whitewashed with slate roofs and slate stonework round the windows – curved round the corner from the main road into a side street.
The small general store was on the corner, then Willowdale Gifts and the bakery.
‘Ooh! Pretty!’ Saffy declared. ‘Weird that they left that sign up.’
A sign was taped to the inside of a glass panel in the door.
Thank you for your custom. Taking our winter break. Open again at Easter.
‘Yeah, you’d think they’d have removed it by now,’ I agreed.
Saffy stood back and looked up at the building. ‘It’s bigger than I thought. It’s giving me all the vibes.’
I wasn’t sure what all the vibes were but I certainly had a good feeling about the shop and could see it being perfect for us.
There was a large bay window and I could picture a range of our crafts beautifully displayed in it.
Shutters across the back of the window prevented us from seeing into the shop itself and, even though Saffy activated the torch on her phone and shone it through the glass on the door, we still couldn’t see inside.
‘Best to come back in daylight,’ I said, ‘but at least you know where it is now.’
‘Yeah, that was really helpful, thanks. And thanks for what you said about Grandma earlier. I sometimes worry about her living on her own away from all the family but I get it now. Why would she want to move when she’s got good friends like you here?’
What a lovely thing to say! It was icy cold but Saffy’s comments gave me a warm glow as we walked back to the car.
This time last year, I could never have imagined I’d have a group of friends with whom I might be going into business, who confided in me, came to me for help and to whom I was going to open up about my past. Thank goodness I’d seen that Cake & Craft Club advert.