Chapter 24 #2
Zoe smiled. ‘That’s why I wanted to do it.
’ She looked towards the main street, which was rapidly filling with similar stalls to the one Geoff and Magnus were setting up.
Some had colourful striped awnings, some had calico canopies and some had solid roofs.
There was food prepared by the local pub, slushies, ice cream and mini-donuts from a company outside the village, a cake stall being manned by Corrine and her daughter Penny, a stall where one could play various games being set up by the ladies of the WI – and that was only who’d already arrived.
Magnus had told Zoe they were expecting a lot more.
‘As if we don’t have enough already,’ Magnus said, looking around with some disgruntlement.
‘Surely that’s a good thing? It’ll bring more people, and you’ll make more money.’
‘You’d think,’ Geoff said, ‘but apparently nobody talks to one another. We said we were doing hot drinks and snacks, and look – Corrine is doing the same.’
‘Well, Corrine’s snacks are different from yours,’ Zoe said.
‘I’ll give you the cakes, but she’s doing tea and coffee too. What’s the point in both of us doing them? And then there are at least two other stalls from out of town doing hot drinks, and then there’s the donut van and the one doing pancakes. There’s only so much sweet stuff people can eat.’
‘I think it will be fine.’ Zoe offered an encouraging smile. ‘You might be glad there’s more than one place to get food and drinks when the queues start.’
‘I suppose you might be right,’ Geoff conceded, though he looked far from convinced.
‘At least it should stay dry,’ she said. ‘The forecast looks good for the day.’
‘I had a look this morning, and I think the weather should hold,’ Geoff agreed. ‘Aww…’ he added, his gaze going to a spot beyond Zoe. ‘Look…’
Zoe turned to see Victor leading two of his alpaca. He’d tied colourful ribbons around their necks with name tags hanging from them. ‘Got my dates!’ he said with a grin. ‘What do you think? They scrub up well, don’t they?’
‘They look lovely!’ Zoe went over to give them a fuss and noted their tags. ‘Alice and Daisy Are they your favourites or just the best behaved?’
‘I don’t have favourites – God forbid! But…’ He leaned in and lowered his voice. ‘If I did, it’d be these two.’ He turned to them. ‘Don’t tell the others, eh, girls?’
‘What have you brought them down for? Don’t tell me…they wanted to come and see the oompah band.’
‘They’re going to earn their keep,’ Victor said. ‘Thought we could raise a bit more money for your cause by walking them around for a couple of pounds a time and at the same time people will get to know about my treks. Everyone’s happy.’
‘That’s a brilliant idea. Thank you for helping with the fundraising!’
‘It was Corrine’s idea, really,’ he said, though Zoe realised he was being far too modest. The initial idea might have been Corrine’s, but she knew Victor well enough by now to imagine he’d have jumped at it.
‘Well, I’m going to get them settled.’
He led both alpaca away. Zoe had wondered what the enclosure lined with straw was for when she’d first arrived, but now it was clear that it was going to be home for his girls for the next few hours.
‘I’d better go and sort out this raffle stuff,’ Zoe said. ‘I can see Fliss and Ottilie over there setting up the prize table – my name will be mud if they think I’m skiving over here.’
As she wandered over, she noticed two more vans arrive.
One of them contained miniature sheep, and as the driver unloaded them into an enclosure next to Victor’s, the passenger went to have a word with him.
They seemed to know one another well, Victor clapping him on the back and laughing loudly at something he’d said.
The other contained what looked like a sound system.
Zoe was too busy to take much more notice than that.
‘Morning,’ Ottilie greeted. ‘You look nice.’
‘Oh…’ Zoe looked down to remind herself of what she was wearing, though it had taken her so long to choose, she really oughtn’t have needed to. She flicked back her hair and grinned. ‘This old thing…’
‘You also look like the cat who got the cream,’ Fliss said. ‘What’s gone so well for you this morning that you’re so full of beans?’
‘Or maybe it was last night that went well…’
Zoe turned around to see Lavender carrying a crate full of bric-a-brac over. She dumped it on the table and gave Zoe a pointed look.
‘Nothing like that,’ Zoe said, and Lavender gave a low whistle.
‘Although…if I lived next door to that hunk of meat, I’d arrive at work every day full of beans too. I mean, look at him!’
Alex had just turned into the main street.
He wore a heavy, tailored coat and boots and had a leather overnight bag at his side as he made his way over to Victor.
Zoe watched, hoping to catch his eye, but he didn’t look her way once.
It was strange because she’d become used to him looking for her in every situation where they might meet.
When she turned back, Ottilie, Fliss and Lavender were watching her. Fliss folded her arms and raised her eyebrows, while the other two simply grinned.
‘What?’
Fliss shook her head. ‘Is that for the raffle?’ she asked, nodding at the bucket in Zoe’s arms.
‘It’s the best I can do, I’m afraid.’
‘Really? The very best a woman of your resources and talents could do?’ Fliss rolled her eyes and held out her hands. ‘Come on then – hand it over. As long as it’s clean it will have to do.’
As they set out their table, Zoe noted in a quiet voice to Ottilie that she was surprised to see Fliss so enthusiastic about the event.
It was a running joke that she’d heard often since her arrival in Thimblebury that Fliss really didn’t care for her patients much on a personal level.
At least, while she went above and beyond in her duty to care for their health, the thought of having to interact with them socially was a fate worse than death.
‘It’s probably because she’s about to get rid of them all,’ Ottilie replied in an equally hushed tone and then grinned.
‘I’m sure she’s thinking about that lovely retirement and how she can tell every one of them to bog off the minute they come up to her with a question about whatever rash on whatever unmentionable bit of their anatomy they currently have. ’
Zoe was distracted by Alex, who was talking to Victor and the man with the sheep.
Why wasn’t he looking for her? She’d been at the surgery stand for ages now, and he had to know she was there.
She didn’t expect a dramatic race into her arms, but a wave and a smile would have done.
It was strange too – it suddenly occurred to her that there was no sign of Billie.
Perhaps she’d simply decided this sort of event wasn’t for her, but Zoe couldn’t help worrying that all wasn’t well.
It might also explain why Alex was being so evasive, though she didn’t see what being distant towards her would achieve.
‘Earth to Zoe…’ Ottilie’s voice brought her back to the conversation.
‘Sorry? What was it you wanted?’
‘Nothing, only to know why you keep staring at your neighbour like you’re trying to work out some massive long division sum.’
‘I’m not; I merely happened to be looking in that direction.’
Ottilie raised her eyebrows.
‘OK, maybe I am. It’s just that he’s barely even noticed me today. Like deliberately not looked at me.’
‘Should he have done?’
‘Well, no, but…he kind of asked me out yesterday. And I kind of said yes. And we said we’d get together after all this was done.’
‘You little madam! And when were you going to tell me this?’
‘I meant to, but…well, I felt like I would jinx it if I told anyone.’ Her gaze went back to the alpaca enclosure. ‘Although, I think I already have.’
‘You said you’d get together after the event is done, and it’s only just started. And he’s trying to make inroads with the locals to get them onside so nobody makes a fuss about his pods. So maybe it only looks that way because he’s focusing on that. If you think about it, he’s sort of working.’
‘He can’t even say a quick “hello” and “I’ll catch you later”?’
Ottilie gave a vague shrug. ‘I know, but it’s the best I’ve got.’
‘What are you two whispering about?’ Lavender called over from a plastic seat where she’d settled to devour a breakfast sandwich from one of the vans.
‘You,’ Ottilie fired back with a grin.
‘Oh, of course, you’re discussing how amazing I am.’
‘Exactly.’
Lavender went back to her sandwich. ‘Ask a silly question…’
An hour later, from a stage set up at the far end of the main street, a man with the most boring voice Zoe had ever heard gave a speech about the history of Thimblebury, its mention in the Domesday Book, how important it was to the surrounding area (not very, Fliss whispered in Zoe’s ear) and how proud he was to be celebrating with them.
Nobody actually knew who he was, which led Fliss to ponder that he was some regional council nobody who happened to draw the short straw for the gig.
As she tried to absorb at least some of the information, Zoe munched on a donut from the slushie van, which wasn’t on a par with the rustic, home-cooked fare that was available on offer elsewhere, but the bag Ottilie had purchased smelled so good she’d been unable to resist. And as Ottilie reminded her, they could take the girls out of Manchester, but they couldn’t take the funfair-and-junk-food-loving Manchester out of the girls.
Fliss and Lavender had both gone into the bag too, and the only person at their NHS-themed stand who wasn’t eating one was Simon, who, said Lavender, was far too virtuous for his own good.
He had a grain salad under the table for his lunch, and when he’d added this information, Fliss had simply laughed out loud.