Chapter 36
THIRTY-SIX
Florrie had barely slept a wink all night, the knot of nerves in her stomach apparently determined to keep her awake with all their twisting and turning, in cahoots with Storm Maida who’d raged on, letting vent to her fury.
It was still dark outside as Florrie pushed her duvet back and tiptoed over to the window of her childhood bedroom, disappointed to see the rain showed no sign of abating and that the streetlights were off, the electricity still not restored.
She flopped back down on the bed and picked up her phone, checking the time and to see if she’d heard from Ed – though she wasn’t sure on the etiquette, or superstition of bride and groom communication on the morning of the wedding before they got to the place they were to be married.
Not that she wanted to tempt fate, especially with the rocky road they’d had to get to this day over the last few weeks.
It was still early, not even six a.m. and, much as she felt restless, she knew there was nothing she could do right now but sit and wait until she heard her parents moving about.
With a restless sigh, she reached for her Kindle, hoping to lose herself in the virtual pages of her latest book.
She’d only been reading for a couple of minutes when she was startled to hear the tinkling ring of her mobile phone.
She snatched it up to see the landlady from the Jolly’s number illuminated on the screen.
Florrie’s heart swooped; a call from Mandy at this hour wasn’t going to be good news, especially since the Jolly was where she and Ed were having their wedding reception.
She swiped to accept the call. ‘Hi, Mandy, is everything okay?’ Her heart was thumping, her stomach churning as she registered the sound of sloshing water in the background.
‘Florrie, I’m so sorry for calling this early, I didn’t know what else to do and I don’t know how to tell you this, but the pub’s flooded and—’
‘Flooded? Oh no!’ Florrie didn’t need Mandy to tell her anything else; the implications were clear as day.
‘You wouldn’t believe it down here. A combination of the storm and the high spring tide has meant the sea levels are ridiculous – we’re wading through about two and a half feet of seawater; can barely see what we’re doing.
’ Mandy’s words were coming out in a torrent, stress evident in her voice.
‘The bottom prom’s flooded, too, water’s reached some of the houses in Old Micklewick.
No one’s getting down here any time soon. I’m so sorry, love.’
Florrie’s mind shot to Lark whose cottage wasn’t far from the Jolly, hoping it hadn’t reached Mariners Row. ‘It’s not your fault, Mandy. I’m sorry to hear you’re having to deal with all of that. It must be a nightmare.’
A weary sigh travelled down the phone. ‘You have no idea. As fast as we sluice it out, it flows straight back in. There’s just no stopping it.’
‘Sounds awful. Is there anything we can do to help?’ Florrie’s heart went out to her.
‘Thanks for the offer, but all we can do is wait for the tide to go out and the rain to ease up. Hopefully we should see a difference in the next hour or so. Mind, even when that happens, everything’s too saturated for you to have your reception here.
We’re going to have to get some industrial dryers in, change the carpets and the covers on the seats.
And then there’s the electrics to consider…
It’ll be too dangerous. Again, I’m so sorry. ’
‘Hey, it’s not your fault. Thanks for letting me know, Mandy. I hope you get sorted soon.’
‘You too, love.’
Florrie had just ended the call, her mind racing, when there was a tap at her bedroom door and her mum’s head appeared. ‘You okay, lovey?’ From the concerned tone of her voice, Florrie guessed her mum had caught the gist of her conversation with Mandy.
Paula padded over the carpet in her pyjamas, slipping onto the bed beside her daughter.
Florrie rubbed her hand across her mouth, hardly able to believe what she was about to say.
‘The Jolly’s flooded, Mum. Mandy says we can’t have the reception there.
’ Her bottom lip quivered and her eyes swam with tears.
‘Honestly, it’s just been one thing after another, what with all the hassle from Ed’s mum, Dad ending up in hospital and now this. ’
Paula slipped her arm around Florrie’s shoulders.
‘Oh, lovey, come here. Try not to fret, we’ll think of a solution.
It’s only early, you’re not getting married till twelve and the reception wasn’t due to start until two; we’ve got time to get a plan in place.
’ Paula sat quiet for a moment, and Florrie could almost hear the cogs of her mind whirring.
‘What about the tearoom? You could have your reception there. It’s the perfect solution,’ her mum said, brightening.
With the staff being guests at the wedding, it made sense for the bookshop to close for the day, which meant the tearoom had to close, too.
‘But what would we do about food and drink? And how can we cook anything without electricity? More to the point, we haven’t got any food to cook even if the electricity was on.
Everything for the roast dinner’s down at the Jolly and Mandy said the bottom prom’s not passable so we wouldn’t be able to go and collect it.
’ The word ‘disaster’ was on the tip of her tongue, but she held back from saying it.
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear Dawn and Luella had jinxed this day.
‘Right then’ – Paula patted her hands on her thighs – ‘I reckon we should head downstairs, lovey, have a cup of tea and a good think about what to do. Don’t you worry, your dad and me will make sure you and Ed have the wedding day you’d hoped for.
I just need to get my thinking cap on and work out what we can do about feeding everyone.
And thank goodness you and Ed kept guest numbers low – it makes it easier to resolve. ’
Florrie gave her mum a grateful smile, resting her head on her shoulder.
‘Thanks, Mum.’ Nothing ever defeated Paula Appleton, she was a fixer through and through.
And Florrie didn’t doubt her mum would come up with a solution, though she couldn’t begin to imagine what shape that would take right now.
At just gone eight forty-five, the electricity pinged on and a cheer could be heard running around the street where Florrie’s parents lived.
‘Oh, thank goodness for that,’ said Paula, clapping her hands to her face. ‘Why don’t you go and get yourself in the shower now the electric’s back on, lovey? I’ll see what I can sort out about the food.’
Florrie went to protest and say that she wanted to help, but Paula was having none of it. ‘I’m on it, you go and have yourself a nice shower, leave the fretting to me. I reckon I’ll have a plan in place by the time you come back downstairs.’
‘Best not argue with your mother, lass, you know what she’s like when she’s on a mission,’ her dad said, giving her a knowing look.
‘Okay,’ she said reluctantly, feeling guilty leaving the pressure on her mum to come up with a solution.
Florrie had already spoken to Maggie, who had a bird’s-eye view of the bottom prom from Clifftop Cottage.
On seeing the tide washing over the road, she’d called Florrie to reassure her they’d get Ed to the church on time and would drive the long way round.
During the call, Florrie had declined the offer of having a quick chat with him, superstition kicking in and not wanting to tempt fate any further.
As she made her way downstairs, Florrie could hear her mum talking to someone in the kitchen, and from her tone, she guessed it wasn’t her dad. She walked into the room, catching her dad’s eye. He gave her a wink and a smile, igniting a small glimmer of hope inside her.
‘That’s brilliant, thanks so much, Mandy.
And best of luck with everything. Bye, lovey.
’ Paula ended the call and set her phone down on the countertop then turned around to Florrie, a wide smile on her face.
‘All sorted, lovey. Your reception’s going ahead and everyone’ll be getting their roast dinner. ’
Relief spread through Florrie along with a surge of love for her mum. ‘How? I mean, where will it be? And how can we get a roast dinner sorted in time? All the food’s down at the Jolly.’
‘The venue is the bookshop tearoom and I’ve organised a last-minute shopping spree to grab the ingredients; we’re going to make sure there’ll still be a roast dinner and lovely pud for your wedding guests.
I’ve been on to the butcher’s, told them what we need as far as joints of beef are concerned, and I’ve called the greengrocer’s, explained the situation to them and they’re putting veggies in boxes as we speak, ready for us to pick up – I spoke to Mandy at the Jolly and she told me all the quantities for everything which was really helpful.
Jazz’s mum and dad and Stella’s mum and Rhys are meeting me in town to collect everything and drop it off at the bookshop.
That call was just Mandy confirming she’s organised for the chef and staff who’d be working at the Jolly for your reception to be at the bookshop tearoom instead.
I just need to ring round the guests and let them know the change of venue.
’ Paula beamed a huge smile at her daughter.
‘Oh – how could I forget? – Jazz has come up trumps with the pudding. She’s taken a couple of trays of chocolate brownie out of the freezer so they can start defrosting.
She says they can be served with custard, cream or ice cream, which I know there’s plenty of in the bookshop’s tearoom. ’
‘Have you met your mother the tornado?’ Charlie asked, chuckling as he hugged his mug of tea.
Florrie felt her anxiety trickle away. ‘Mum, you’re amazing! Thank you!’ She rushed over to her and flung her arms around her neck, battling the tears that were now blurring her vision.
‘I knew we’d get it sorted, lovey. And no more tears now, you don’t want your eyes all puffy for your wedding day, do you?’ Paula stepped back and kissed her daughter on the cheek.
Florrie shook her head, emotion threatening to overwhelm her. ‘No, you’re right,’ she said in a wobbly voice.
‘And look, it’s stopped raining and the sky’s clearing. I think we might be treated to a bit of sunshine by the time you set off for church.’