Chapter Nine
Saskia
Saskia’s heart sunk when Kivi Chadwick appeared behind the smiling owner of Beachy Blooms. She could see mirrored dismay in Kivi’s eyes, before quickly being replaced by a professional smile. She quickly donned one of her own, and slid her attention to the other woman.
“Miss Savchenko, isn’t it?” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Saskia Saltmarshe.”
“Please, call me Anastasia,” Anastasia said, shaking her hand. “How can I help?”
Saskia launched into her spiel about being a journalist from British Living and having a few questions, but in the corner of her eye she was watching Kivi.
The woman had no escape, as Anastasia was positioned directly in front of the counter flap, thus blocking her exit.
Eventually, Anastasia followed her gaze, and stepped aside to let Kivi out.
“I’ll be off, then,” Kivi said, when Saskia paused for breath. “Anastasia, it was great to talk to you, thank you. I’ll talk to Eva and we’ll be in touch.”
Anastasia waved to Kivi, and then gave Saskia a kind smile, perhaps sensing her discomfort. “Come on around the back. I’ll answer your questions.”
And answer them she did. Saskia felt immediately more at ease with her than she had been with Martine, the owner of the boutique, who had reminded her of her mother in a highly-polished go-getter sort of way.
Anastasia told her all about herself – how she had moved from Ukraine when she was eighteen to become a nurse, then moved down here and bought the florist two years ago.
The florist had been on the verge of closing, but with re-decoration, re-branding and a strong online presence, she had turned it around.
“The fact that it is a Ukrainian-owned business helps too, of course,” she said.
“The people of this village have been wonderfully supportive.”
That got her going about the people in Miltree.
“They were so incredibly friendly when I moved here,” she said.
“Bar one or two. I bucked their attention for a while, because I was so focused on the business. But then I found my girlfriend, Victoria, last year… and that was sort of my entry-way into the social side of this village. She introduced me to Petra, her deputy, who has a spouse called Jean… and then they introduced us to Cass and Felicia, another Sapphic couple in the village… and then they knew other people. Etcetera, etcetera. Now I’m fully integrated in the village, and the business had shot from strength to strength.
Highly unusual in a cost-of-living crisis, I think you’d agree! ”
“I would,” Saskia said. This was the complete opposite of Martine at the boutique, who had confessed that her business was struggling, despite having a flourishing Instagram account and website.
Privately, Saskia thought that the astronomical prices of her clothes were mostly to blame.
It had given her something to write for the fashion article, though.
While she had a receptive interviewee, she decided to touch on some of the other topics.
“What is there down here, in terms of events?”
“Events?” Anastasia frowned. “Honestly, not much, in Miltree at least. The main events of the year are based at the school – their summer fete, and their Christmas celebration. That’s when the whole village gets together.
Stalls, games, a performance from the village choir, that sort of thing. My girlfriend is the headmistress.”
“Scary Miss Berry?” Saskia said without thinking. Martine had mentioned the headmistress by that name, and it had amused her. Anastasia rolled her eyes.
“Yes, some people do call her that,” she said. “But she’s less scary when you get to know her. Actually… who am I kidding? She is scary. Intimidating. In an ice-queen-fashionista sort of way. That’s why she’s so well-known in the village. But she’s always polite. Never deliberately rude.”
“A bit like me, then,” Saskia said, and they both laughed. “Well, thank you for talking to me today. I’ve spoken to all the businesses down here except the pub, and that was only because it was shut until this evening. I’ll go back there another day and talk to the owner.”
“Good luck with Veronica,” Anastasia grimaced, and Saskia’s ears pricked up. This woman didn’t seem the type to harbour animosity, so…
“How come?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing. You’d be safe from her. She doesn’t like me and Victoria. Or Petra and Jean. Or Cass and Felicia. She’s… not a fan of gay people. But you don’t have a girlfriend with you, and you don’t ping my gaydar, so you’d be fine.”
“That’s because I’m straight,” Saskia chuckled, but her skin prickled with unease, and she knew she had to get out of there. Anastasia gave her a slip of paper, which had her phone number on it.
“If you’d ever like to talk more, give me a call,” she said. “I’d be happy to go out for a drink, or something like that, before you leave.”
“So… hold on,” Saskia said. “This Veronica lady is noticeably hostile to you and people of your… kin. But you still support her business?”
“Where else is there to go in this village?” Anastasia said.
“There’s no café. And you may have noticed the lack of social life.
In terms of meeting spots, there’s the pub or the beach.
Or someone’s house, but I’ve just moved in with Victoria, and she’s funny about having people in her space.
And anyway… it’s a local business, isn’t it?
It deserves our support, just for existing here. That’s how I feel, anyway.”
What a perfect ending to my article, Saskia thought as she shook Anastasia’s hand one final time before leaving. And what a wonderful way to think. So unlike the vibe of cancel culture that I expected.
She could have been so easily ‘cancelled’, she thought sadly as she began to walk back to the car.
She’d never hidden her prejudiced, outright homophobic views in the early days of her social media.
When she’d gotten her first social media account aged fourteen, her posts had been entirely unfiltered.
Those accounts were long since gone now – as were those prejudices, she hoped – but if someone were to dig them back up again… it didn’t bear thinking about.
Not in the least because there was enough hatred in the world already, without Saskia Saltmarshe, a relatively big name in the industry these days, appearing to add to it.
Her mum and brother both coming out as bisexual had forced Saskia to re-think her attitude towards every facet of life. Most of which had been sadly lacking.
She was going to be different now, she vowed. Love was going to fuel her, not hatred. And she could start right from ground zero: by proving to Kivi that she was actually a nice person.