Chapter 22
As soon as Tess and Rob walked through the doors of The Royal Oak, they were met by a wonderful sense of bonhomie, an expectant energy and the sound of animated chatter.
Before their last visit, Tess had assumed The Royal Oak was full of old men, perched on stools, reminiscing about the good old days, and maybe there were still one or two of those characters around, but she had been pleased to discover the pub had so much more to offer.
‘Hello, Tess, thanks for coming.’ Carol greeted them with a friendly expression. ‘We should be in for a good night.’
‘We’re looking forward to it. This is Rob, by the way,’ she replied, realising she hadn’t properly introduced him the last time they were in.
‘Good to see you again, Rob.’ While Carol saw to their drinks order, she placed a clipboard down on the bar in front of them. ‘If you’d like to perform tonight, then pop your details down on here.’
Tess laughed. ‘I’m pretty certain no one in the vicinity would want to hear me sing. No, we’ve just come along to watch. We thought we’d come a bit early because we wanted to nab a table. We’ve got some friends coming along too.’
‘Excellent. Don’t let a lack of talent stop you from performing.
It’s never stopped anyone else around here,’ she said with an earthy chuckle.
‘Really, though, it’s the opportunity for anyone to get up and have a go, if they want to, in a friendly, supportive environment.
If you change your minds and decide you might want to do a turn later, then just let us know. The more, the merrier!’
With their drinks in hand, they wandered through to the back bar, where they found a long trestle table, big enough to seat their group.
In the corner of the room, they were setting up for the night’s performances and Tess was looking forward to hearing some live music.
She felt excited and energised by the prospect of spending time with her friends, with some entertainment thrown in too.
It wasn’t the kind of event she and Charles would have attended together.
They would occasionally visit London, where they would go to the ballet, the opera, or a highly reviewed theatre show, but it wasn’t always Tess’s cup of tea.
It was more of a worthy, cultural experience rather than light-hearted entertainment.
This promised to be much more spontaneous and fun.
Soon, the others arrived. First Gina and Suzy, then Michael, followed by Dilly and then Danny.
Hannah said she would try to come along later if she and Billy were back in time from visiting friends in London.
Once people were settled with their drinks, the chatter spilled over across the table, with several conversations going on at the same time and laughter punctuating the air, so much so that when George, the landlord, stood up by the makeshift stage and called for some order and quiet so that they could get the entertainment underway, there was a discernible ripple of disappointment that spread around the table.
It didn’t last for long though because quickly, the first act was on stage, a brother and sister duo, who played the guitar and sang.
They were surprisingly good and had the crowd toe-tapping and side-swaying within moments.
When they finished their short set, they were met with a huge cheer and a round of applause which created the mood for the rest of the evening.
Not that all the following acts were as good.
There was the guy who sang without any accompaniment which was a shame because at least then there might have been a tune to find.
There was a young girl who was so self-conscious that she couldn’t look at the crowd and instead lowered her head and set her gaze to the floor, and all Tess had wanted to do was to wrap her in a hug and tell her how amazing she was.
Strangest of all was an older lady who barely opened her mouth to sing which meant she emitted a strangulated warbling noise that sounded as though she was in terrible pain.
Tess avoided Dilly’s eye because she knew her expressive facial reactions would only set her off laughing.
In fact, Gina quipped that they were getting progressively worse with each turn, but that was unfair because they all had something to offer in their own individual way and Tess was full of admiration that they had the courage to get up there in the first place.
It was something she knew she could never do.
Still, the half-time break came as a relief to everyone concerned, with a chance to regroup and to catch up on their conversations.
Dilly and Gina looked to be plotting something secretive, Michael and Suzy were getting on fabulously, and Danny and Rob announced that they would go to the bar for another round of drinks for everyone.
Tess took the opportunity to pop to the loo, running into Carol on her way.
‘That was great, really fun,’ said Tess.
Carol laid a hand on Tess’s arm and grimaced.
‘You’re so lovely and kind. Some of the acts were better than others, weren’t they, but please don’t leave now. The second half is always much better, although I think that might have something to do with people being a bit merrier then.’
‘Oh, we’re not thinking of going anywhere. We’re having too much fun.’
‘I’m pleased to hear it. Have you got those business cards for your accommodation that you told me about? We do have a lot of visitors in asking about places to stay so I would be more than happy to point them in your direction.’
‘Yes!’ Tess had popped a handful in her bag earlier with the intention of giving them to Carol and had totally forgotten until now.
‘Here you go,’ she said, finding them and handing them over.
‘That’s really kind of you, and likewise, any visitors I have I will be sure to tell them about The Royal Oak.
I’ve got a folder of local attractions so I’ll put something in there too. ’
‘Excellent! Right, I suppose I should go and collect some empties.’
Tess was very pleased about her reciprocal arrangement with Carol, but she’d found that everyone she’d spoken to about the new business had been equally willing to help so she’d left business cards where she could: on the main desk at the community library and in the general store in the village.
Returning to the table, she was stopped by a hand on her arm, and she turned to see Keith perched on a bar stool.
‘Come here, darling,’ he said, pulling her closer.
‘I’ve got to say sorry for last time you came in.
I hope you weren’t upset by my ramblings.
Honestly, my memory’s not what it was. I could have sworn that your husband and that Georgina were fooling around, but then I can’t keep up with all the shenanigans that have gone on here over the years.
There’s been a lot of them. Carol gave me a right telling off about that, said that I’d got it all wrong, so I thought I should make a point of apologising. ’
‘Georgina? You mean Gina, sitting over there.’ Tess turned to look over her shoulder where Gina was sitting, still chatting animatedly with Dilly.
‘Yes, Gina! I know her of old; she used to come in here a lot back in the day.’
Tess’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
Keith hadn’t mentioned Gina last time they spoke.
He’d only talked about Charles and even then, after being initially taken aback, she’d quickly forgotten all about the off-the-cuff comment, on Rob’s advice.
What was the point in stirring up the past?
Now, Keith’s apology had created more questions than answers.
‘We haven’t seen her in her for a while.
She was always very bubbly, popular with the fellas.
’ He gave a knowing wink, and Tess recognised his description entirely.
That was definitely the Gina she knew, but could there really have been something going on between her husband and one of her best friends?
‘Anyway,’ he said, taking a large swig of his beer, ‘I’m glad we’ve got all that sorted now.
Enjoy the rest of the evening, darling!’
Tess wandered back to the table, a bit shell-shocked from what Keith had told her, but then again, what exactly had he told her? Nothing and everything.
‘Are you all right, Tess?’ asked Gina. ‘Come and sit down with us. You spend far too much time as it is with Rob these days. We’re feeling neglected, aren’t we, Dilly? Anyway, tell me, how is Charles doing now? Hannah mentioned that he was out of hospital.’
‘Yes.’ Tess suppressed a sigh, trying to put the conversation out of her mind. ‘He seems to be on the mend, although I think he’s probably got a long recovery ahead of him.’
‘I think everyone was shocked when they heard about Charles,’ said Dilly. ‘He’s such a strong, forceful personality that you can’t imagine him being laid so low. It must be a relief for you and Hannah that he’s out of the woods now.’
‘It’s been a strange time. Obviously, Hannah’s been very worried about her dad, and I’ve been worried about her, but it’s been hard trying to make sense of my own feelings.
I suppose I’ve felt a bit detached from the whole process, but yes, I am relieved he’s home.
I suppose I feel a bit sorry for Melody having to deal with it all.
’ Tess stopped to consider what she’d just said and rethought her stance. ‘Only a bit sorry for her, though.’