Chapter 35
Gabby and Becca had a baby and two toddlers with them and, when I saw them by Lane End later admiring Icarus, Scout and Ziggy, they shared that they also had a school-aged child each and would return at the weekend with them. It warmed my heart to see how much they were enjoying themselves.
‘I’m eager to hear feedback if there’s anything you feel can be improved,’ I told the sisters.
They looked at each other and shrugged.
‘It looks so much tidier and more loved than before,’ Gabby said, ‘and the information in the stables is a great addition.’
‘The only thing I can think of is to add some benches,’ Becca said. ‘We’ve brought our mam and gran before but Gran’s not so steady on her feet now. She’d want to see the animals but she’d need somewhere to rest afterwards. I wouldn’t want her sitting by herself in the café while we’re outside.’
‘That’s really helpful, thanks. Consider me on it.’
Benches were such an obvious need but we’d never done anything like this before and there were bound to be loads of things we’d missed.
Funnily enough, we had talked about picnic benches and had dismissed them as we wanted to encourage visitors to use the café rather than bring their own food, but we hadn’t considered benches as a place to rest rather than a place to eat.
The sisters and their little ones were our only visitors during the morning but that didn’t concern me as it had given Mam time to train Willow in using the till and coffee machine.
Hope, Jude, Willow, Mam and I all had lunch together and had just cleared away when an older couple – possibly in their early eighties – arrived.
‘We’re so happy to see the place open again,’ the woman said as she paid.
‘You’ve been before?’ Mam asked.
‘We used to come all the time and were so sad when that lovely young Shelley left.’
She introduced herself as Jeanette and her husband as John and told us that John had a special affinity with heavy horses.
‘His dad used to work on a farm with heavy horses – proper working animals – and John helped feed them when he was little. Brings back happy childhood memories, doesn’t it, love? Tell them the story.’
‘I must have been about five,’ John said in a broad Yorkshire accent.
‘I’d been begging me dad to let me ride on one of the horses – a beautiful Clydesdale called Trigger.
Dad were leading Trigger back to the farm and he put me on.
He were a working horse so he had no saddle but it didn’t bother me.
I stayed on all t’way back to the farmyard and were right chuffed with meself.
Then Trigger stops by the water trough for a drink, dips his head and I slide down his neck and straight into the trough.
Right dunking, that were. I’ve never forgotten. ’
‘That must have been a shock for you,’ I said, laughing with him at such a special memory.
‘It were a tad cold.’
‘We’ve got some photos of him with the heavies,’ Jeanette said. ‘We can bring them in if you’d like to see them some time.’
‘I’d love to if it’s no trouble for you.’
She shook her head. ‘We’ll bring them on a future visit. Right, John, let’s say hello to the heavies but we’ll be back for tea and cake afterwards.’
I caught up with them on the farm a little later. Duchess and Gladys had their heads over the gate to Big Field and were enjoying John and Jeanette’s attention.
Jeanette shared that, like Gabby and Becca this morning, they hadn’t liked the café being closed so often but they’d still visited because they’d loved talking to Shelley.
I assured them we saw the café as an important part of the experience and it would be open any time the attraction was.
It seemed they’d also come today after seeing the newspaper article so clearly that was working in spreading the word and hopefully it would do wonders for weekend visitors.
At five o’clock, I closed the main gate.
‘Congratulations on your first day of business,’ Jude said. ‘Pleased with it?’
‘Four adults – five if you include Hope – two toddlers and a baby isn’t many but it’s better than zero and they’ll all be back so that’s great news.’
I ran my hands down my face as we set off towards the farmhouse. ‘I can’t believe how drained I feel. You’d think we’d had dozens of visitors.’
‘It’s probably a combination of the adrenaline from today and all the hard work getting things ready. I think you and your mum deserve to put your feet up and relax tonight. How about you direct me to the nearest takeaway to save anyone cooking?’
Mam thought a takeaway was a great idea and fancied pizza.
We remembered seeing a sign in The Otter’s Pocket in Mapleton saying they did takeaway pizzas and found the menu online.
I headed upstairs to see what toppings Maddie wanted.
There was no answer when I knocked so I poked my head around the door but her room was empty.
‘She’s not upstairs,’ I said as I returned to the kitchen. ‘Has she messaged either of you?’
Nobody had any messages and there was no sign of a note saying she was going out. The same feeling of panic swept through me that I’d experienced the day she stormed out of the hardware store in Berwick.
‘I’ll see if her bike’s gone,’ Jude said, heading outside.
She returned moments later to report that it had.
I sighed and shook my head. Where was she and with whom?
It didn’t feel unreasonable to want to know that when she was still under eighteen and living in a part of the country she didn’t know.
I tried ringing her but it went to voicemail so I left a message.
‘Maddie, it’s half five and we haven’t a clue where you are or when you’ll be back. Jude’s going into Mapleton to pick up pizzas. Do you want some? Please ring me.’
We gave it half an hour before placing the order without any word from Maddie.
* * *
We were finishing the most delicious stone-baked pizzas when Maddie arrived home. She stared at the food.
‘You’ve already eaten?’ The tone in which she said it smacked of how dare you eat without me?
‘We didn’t know where you were or when you’d be back,’ I said. ‘In fact, we didn’t even know you’d gone out. There’s plenty if you want some.’
Maddie picked up a slice and took a bite. ‘Ew! It’s cold!’
‘You probably want to give it a blast in the microwave,’ Mam said.
Maddie placed three slices on a plate and we sat in uncomfortable silence as the microwave clock counted down. When she sat at the table with her food, I hoped she’d ask how opening day had gone or tell us where she’d been but she tucked into her pizza without a word.
‘I took some lovely photos of your mum and nanna before we opened today,’ Jude said. ‘I thought you were going to join them.’
‘I was in bed.’ Maddie took a bite from her second slice.
‘So it would seem. Are you not going to ask them how opening day went?’
Go, Jude! I loved how, just like my sister, she had no qualms about challenging Maddie.
Maddie swallowed her pizza and turned to me. ‘How was opening day?’
I didn’t appreciate the fake sweet smile of the sing-song voice but I kept my tone light and steady as I answered. ‘Not many visitors but we expected that. Those who came loved what we’ve done to the place and they’ll be frequent returners so that’s good news.’
I swear she wasn’t even listening.
‘Where’ve you been today?’ I asked.
‘Out.’
‘I guessed that much. I’m interested in where and who with.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I’m interested in your day and I hoped you’d be interested in ours.’
Maddie continued to eat so I continued to talk.
‘Your Auntie Hope stopped by – she was actually our first paying customer. Our next customers made a great suggestion to install some benches so Nanna’s arranged for Des and Hunter to come back and do that.’
I couldn’t imagine she’d been with Hunter as he’d have been working but figured, if she had been, she’d have reacted to his name. There was nothing.
‘There was a lovely elderly couple who told us this story about him getting on a heavy horse when he was about five and—’
Maddie dropped her pizza on her plate and glared at me. ‘Are you trying to do three things?’
‘No. I just thought you might want to hear about our first day.’
She pushed her chair back and I thought she was going to adopt her default mode of walking out, but she went to the fridge to retrieve a soft drink and sat down with it.
‘So what about your day?’ I asked. ‘Cycle far?’
‘I’ve already said I’m not telling you.’
‘Why won’t you tell me where you’ve been and who with? And I don’t just mean today because I know you weren’t at Willow’s house for tea on Saturday or with her at any point since.’
‘You’ve been checking up on me?’ she asked, her expression disgusted.
‘I happened to ask Willow if she’d enjoyed her time off and she told me how she’d spent it – clearly not with you – and she volunteered that she hadn’t seen you since the horse ride.’
‘I was there,’ Jude said. ‘All that came from Willow.’
‘Were you with Hunter? I saw you swapping numbers so I thought maybe—’
‘Checking up on me and spying? Do you want to put a tracker on me? And, by the way, we were following each other on Instagram. Keep up.’
She picked up her drink and left the kitchen. I closed my eyes and counted to ten but I couldn’t let this go. Muttering my apologies to Mam and Jude, I ran upstairs after Maddie.
‘What has got into you?’ I snapped, striding into her room without knocking. ‘After everything we discussed last week – everything I did to support you – why are we back to square one? Why are you sneaking around and lying to me?’
‘You really want to know?’ Her angry tone matched mine.
‘Yes! Because I don’t understand any of this.’
She snatched up her phone and started scrolling through it, shaking her head, her lips pursed.
‘What are you looking for?’
‘You’ll find out soon. God, I can’t believe how hypocritical you are.’
I had no idea what that was supposed to mean but I decided to let her find whatever she was looking for and hopefully everything would make sense.