Chapter 19
The following morning, I drove into Berwick-Upon-Tweed with Maddie to get paints for her bedroom and the café. Mam stayed at the farm to greet the building contractors we’d taken on to prepare the cow cuddling barns and repair The Dovecote’s chimney.
We couldn’t find the colours Maddie had chosen on the shelves of the hardware store so I asked if there was any chance they had stock elsewhere.
‘Everything we’ve got is out,’ the sales assistant said, ‘but I can order paints in for you and they’ll be here by ten on Monday.’
‘We were hoping to paint today.’ I turned to Maddie. ‘Do you want to choose some different colours?’
‘What was the point in giving me the colour charts if I can’t have what I want?’ she said, her voice whiny.
‘They don’t have them in stock so, if you’d like your room painted today, you’ll have to pick something different.’
‘I chose those colours so I want those colours.’
‘Then you can’t have your room painted today.’ My voice was a little sharp but this felt like a conversation with a toddler.
‘We wouldn’t have this problem in Reading.’ And she flounced out of the shop.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I said to the sales assistant. ‘Can I order some colours, please?’
After I’d ordered and paid I expected to find Maddie outside, but there was no sign of her.
I craned my neck to look up the street right then left and my stomach lurched.
Where could she be? I rang her but there was no answer and panic set in.
I powerwalked up the street, peering into shops, hoping something she’d seen in the window had drawn her inside – perhaps to spend the money Mam had given her.
Turning, I ran in the other direction but I couldn’t see her anywhere.
I rang her again but there was still no answer and I felt nauseous.
Across the road was a sign for the train station and my breath caught in my throat.
She wouldn’t jump on a train back to Reading, would she?
She couldn’t possibly want to see Carmen or Alfie after what they’d done to her. Who else could she see? Jude?
‘Crazy question but have you heard from Maddie?’ I asked as soon as Jude answered.
‘No. Why? What’s happened?’
I filled Jude in on the latest, fear making me garble.
‘Take a deep breath,’ Jude said. ‘Maddie’s angry but she’s not stupid. There’s no way she’d get on a train with nothing but her phone. She’s either gone into a shop or returned to the car.’
‘The car? Oh my gosh, Jude, that never even entered my head.’
‘Go back to the car but stay on the phone and let me know if you spot her.’
I hurried towards the main car park, my heart racing.
‘She’s not here,’ I said to Jude as my car came into view.
‘Are you sure? You know what Maddie’s like for sitting on the ground.’
I sprinted over to the car and, sure enough, there was Maddie sitting cross-legged on the ground at the back of the car, her eyes closed, her face raised towards the sun. Seeing her there, I felt weak with relief.
‘She’s there,’ I said. ‘Thank you. I can’t believe I didn’t think about the car.’
‘It’s hard to think straight when you’re in a panic.’
‘Sorry for calling you at work.’
‘It’s no bother and you caught me on my break anyway.’
We said goodbye and I took the last few steps towards the car, casting a shadow over Maddie. She opened her eyes and looked up at me defiantly.
‘You’ve had me running all over Berwick looking for you,’ I said.
‘Why?’
‘Because I didn’t know where you’d gone.’
She stood up and wandered round to the passenger side.
‘Why didn’t you answer my calls?’ I asked.
‘My phone’s dead.’ She tried the door handle even though I hadn’t clicked the button to unlock it.
‘Why isn’t it charged?’
‘Because it isn’t.’
Inwardly sighing, I unlocked the car.
‘I ordered the paints you wanted,’ I said as I clambered in beside her.
She was silent but, as I reversed out of the space, I caught a ‘thank you’. It was muttered but it was there and I’d take that.
* * *
Later that morning, the builders were hard at work, Mam was taking an equipment inventory in the café and I was pulling up weeds in the farmyard when a small car pulled in. A young lad – probably in his early twenties – with a mop of strawberry-blond hair got out.
‘I’m looking for Grace,’ he said.
I smiled at him. ‘You’ve found her. Can I help?’
‘I’m Lindon, Willow’s brother. Sorry for just turning up but she said you need a new logo and time’s tight. I’ve got a big project starting on Monday but I can squeeze you in now if you like.’
This morning I’d mentioned to Willow that we were going for a full re-brand and had hoped to have a new logo by now but the designer we’d lined up had let us down so we were back to the drawing board.
She’d shared that her brother was a graphic designer and illustrator and showed me some of the impressive designs he’d worked on so I’d asked if there was any chance he could help us.
‘That would be amazing if you could,’ I said. ‘What do you need from me?’
‘Any ideas you’ve had or, if you’re not sure, colours you love and hate, the sort of feel you’d like to convey and whether you’re keeping the name as it is.’
‘We’re going for Hazelwick Farm Animal Encounters.’
‘Good idea,’ Lindon said. ‘It gives a better sense of what’s here than just the farm name.’
‘Do you want to come inside for a drink?’ I asked.
‘I don’t have long. Would it be okay to wander round the farm with you? I can take some photos and talk at the same time.’
I nipped into the café to check whether Mam wanted to join us but, as we’d already agreed on the branding, she decided to continue with the inventory.
Lindon was confident and bubbly, just like his sister, and easy to talk to. He told me he’d studied art and graphic design at college but had set up his own business when he was only fourteen, selling drawings of people’s pets.
‘Do you still draw pets?’
‘Yeah. I don’t advertise it but I get lots of recommendations so I probably draw one every couple of weeks.’
‘There’s a bare wall in the café and Mam and I were just saying how it would make the perfect gallery for our animals, if only we knew someone who could draw.’
‘If only,’ Lindon said, laughing. He took out his phone and clicked onto his Instagram feed to show me his most recent creations.
‘Some of my customers want an exact match to their pet – almost like a photograph – and others prefer something illustrated which is clearly their pet but a bit more whimsical.’
‘You’re exceptionally talented at both,’ I said, scrolling through his feed. ‘I like the illustrated ones and I know Mam will too. We’ve got eleven horses and seven goats so if you could send me a quote for eighteen colour drawings, that would be brilliant.’
‘I can do that and, just so you know, another thing I do is setting up websites and social media accounts. I’ve done it for several local businesses.’
‘That would save me a lot of time. Thank you.’
Mam and I had gone back and forth as to whether to start from scratch or take over what Anna already had but, after what I’d discovered about the lack of visitors yesterday, curiosity had got the better of me last night and I’d done a quick search online only to discover that the website and Facebook account for the farm had already been taken down.
The major review sites still had feedback, of course, but after spotting several negative comments, I’d closed my laptop.
That wasn’t our business and there was no need to go down that rabbit hole.
We continued our tour, pausing so Lindon could take several photos of each animal from different angles.
‘Thanks for the tour,’ he said as we returned to his car a little later.
‘That was really helpful. I’ll start on the logo as soon as I get home and send you some rough ideas over tonight.
If you and Frances can choose your favourite by mid-morning tomorrow, I can have a detailed version ready on Sunday. ’
As I waved him off, a feeling of calm passed through me.
Lindon had added that we could reject all his ideas if he hadn’t hit the mark but I felt confident that he’d come up with an amazing logo first time around.
Handing over the setting up of the website and socials would be a tremendous help too.
I was reasonably tech-savvy and could do it myself but an expert like Lindon could do it in a fraction of the time, leaving me to focus on the farm.
It felt like we were already making great progress.