Chapter 24 #3
Most of the crowd were facing in the direction of the stage where the random council official was holding forth, but it seemed a lot of them were having equally as hard a time paying attention as Zoe was.
They looked at him every so often, and some even offered lukewarm applause, but most seemed preoccupied with scanning the displays and planning what to do the moment he was done and it was socially acceptable to move away.
Judging by the reactions of the youngsters present, they all wanted to go and see the miniature sheep and Victor’s alpaca, which was understandable.
Their parents, however, were more interested in the food, and the flavoured ciders and gins at the pub stall – which was also understandable.
More than once, Zoe glanced over to where Victor and Alex stood together watching the speech, but Alex never looked her way once.
She’d guessed that his leather bag contained his finds, and she was yet more convinced of this as a man with a bow tie and a flat cap made his way through the crowds and shook hands with both him and Victor.
The man opened out what looked like a miniature landscape on a display board.
It was hard to see from this distance, but it looked like it might represent the hills around Thimblebury, and it had little huts on it.
Alex studied it with him for a couple of minutes while the man pointed out features as he spoke, and then Alex opened his leather bag to show him what was inside.
Was this their archaeology expert? Zoe thought it must be.
Perhaps he’d expressed interest in the quincentenary celebrations and they’d rescheduled their meeting from the previous evening so he could kill two birds with one stone.
She resolved to go and find out as soon as she had a spare moment.
There was a ripple of polite applause, and then it seemed the man with the boring voice was done, and then someone else got up and started to talk about the importance of community and how Thimblebury typified those values.
While he was slightly less boring than the first man, nobody had a clue who this was either.
And then Mrs Icke, who currently held the honour of being Thimblebury’s oldest (and most cantankerous, Ottilie said) resident was helped onto the stage and told a rambling story that nobody could really follow, but it was something to do with evacuees who’d come during the war to stay with her family and who’d never seen sheep before.
From what Zoe could gather, Mrs Icke took a very dim view of children from the East End who’d never seen sheep.
Last but not least was a representative from the tiny German town that was twinned with Thimblebury (nobody seemed to have a clue about this either, and nobody could pronounce its name) who wished them all well and hoped they’d enjoy the oompah band who’d come over with him, and that got the biggest applause of the day so far.
‘Right…’ Fliss wiped sugar from her hands and surveyed her team. ‘Now that’s all done with, let’s con some locals out of their pocket money, shall we?’
‘I’m on it.’ Zoe said, collecting the satchel she’d brought with her for money and the book of raffle tickets. ‘I’ll have a wander, see if I can guilt some of them into buying a ticket.’
‘That’s the spirit,’ Fliss said. ‘Make sure you lay it on thick. And if they don’t buy one, threaten them with me – that ought to do it.’
Zoe gave a salute while Ottilie grinned and Lavender simply nodded.
‘It would work for me,’ she said.
Zoe left the table. The day was bright – thankfully – but already she was getting cold.
Pleased as she’d been with her outfit that day, it wasn’t the warmest or most practical thing she owned.
Before long, she’d be colder still. Perhaps regular visits to the hot drinks being dished out by Magnus and Geoff or Corrine and Penny would do the trick.
And perhaps she could persuade Alex to go with her when he’d finished whatever it was he was up to, though she still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on there.
She looked across to where he remained deep in conversation with his bow-tied, cap-wearing guest. Victor was now busy with a group of children who were crowding around his alpaca.
Zoe supposed she could have gone over and struck up a conversation with Alex and his visitor – after all, she knew something of the finds too – but she had her own work to do, and she didn’t feel she could interrupt.
So she started to scan the crowds for likely targets, feeling like a Victorian conman choosing his mark, before settling on a trio of older ladies who were peering at a board of discoloured maps and sepia photos of the area.
An hour in and Zoe had almost sold her first book of tickets. People had been only too happy to take them when she’d told them what cause they would be supporting, and on her way back to her own table to get more, she stopped off at Corrine’s stall to see how her sales were going.
‘I’d sell more if people weren’t buying those donuts,’ she said, balefully eyeing the slushie van, and Zoe decided she’d never tell her that just over an hour before, she’d been eating those donuts too. ‘But we’re not doing too badly. How about yourself?’
‘Actually,’ Zoe began, but then she noticed Corrine break into a broad smile at someone behind her, and turned to see Ann, the previous owner of Hilltop, making her way towards the stall.
She looked a lot healthier and happier than the last time Zoe had seen her, the day they’d been helping her to move out of the farm.
Corrine rushed from behind her table and threw her arms around her old neighbour. ‘Look at you! You look so well!’
‘So do you,’ Ann said.
‘Where’s your Darryl?’
‘At home. He’s good as gold now he’s settled into the new house.
I’ve only popped out for an hour to come and see what the fuss was about here, left him with a new DVD about the train works at Crewe.
Well, when I say new, he’s only watched it two dozen times or so, so it’s new to him.
I thought I’d come over and see these finds I keep hearing about.
The things the new owners found at Hilltop.
I can’t believe it. All those years we lived there and we never knew. ’
Corrine smiled. ‘I said the same thing. Have you had something to eat? Here…take a slice of anything you like. And take one home for Darryl too. I’ve got one there suitable for diabetics…’
‘You’ve thought of everything,’ Ann said as she pored over the cakes on display. As she did, she glanced up briefly and noticed Zoe. ‘Oh, hello…how are you? You came to help me move, didn’t you?’
‘I wasn’t sure you’d remember,’ Zoe said. ‘It sounds as if you’re settling into your new house with no problems.’
‘I love it,’ Ann gushed. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t make the move years ago. Of course, I loved the farm, but it made me miserable more often than it made me happy. So much work to do – far too much for me. What’s the new fella like? Do you have much to do with him?’
‘He’s very nice,’ Corrine cut in before Zoe had the chance.
‘Comes round now and again – mostly asking if Victor can come out to play…’ She winked at Ann, who laughed.
‘Thick as thieves the pair of them these days, ever since they started all that detecting nonsense. Still, they’ve had a bit of luck, can’t deny that. ’
‘Sounds like they’ve had a lot of luck,’ Ann said.
‘Well, it wasn’t all luck – they had to do an awful lot of digging,’ Corrine said. ‘You should go and have a word. I’m sure he’d be happy to show you what he’s found. Say hello to Victor too while you’re at it – he’ll be pleased to see you.’
Zoe had wanted to catch Alex all morning, but every time she’d spied an opportunity, someone else had stolen it from her. Either he was with someone or she was, and it looked as if Ann was going to thwart her again now.
Corrine watched Ann walk towards Alex and then turned to Zoe. ‘Poor thing. Putting a brave face on it.’
‘She sounds happy.’
‘I’m sure she’s convinced herself she is, but I can’t imagine swapping Daffodil Farm for some poky little new build out of Thimblebury. It’d be awful, so cramped and airless. No, give me my high ceilings and the hills and fresh air any day.’
‘Well, I don’t know her like you do, but she looks a lot better than last time I saw her. In fact, she looks about ten years younger, so living in her new house must be doing something for her.’
‘Do you think?’ Corrine asked thoughtfully as she followed Ann’s figure up the high street.
‘Happen you could be right. Anyway…’ She shook herself and started to rearrange her trays, filling gaps where people had taken slices of cake with yet more cake.
Zoe half wondered where it was all coming from and how she’d had the time to bake so many, but then she remembered who she was dealing with and the puzzle solved itself.
Then Zoe noticed a woman in the crowd who noticed her at the same time and changed direction to come over. She was smiling warmly enough, though Zoe didn’t feel she deserved it.
‘Hello, Tegan,’ she said, suddenly tense. ‘How are you doing?’
‘I’m fine, much better,’ she said. ‘They said at your table you were selling raffle tickets for the neonatal unit. I thought I might buy some.’
‘I, um…well, yes, of course, but I’ve sold out, and I need to get some more, so…’
‘Oh, OK. I’ll come with you.’
Zoe half wished she wouldn’t. Her colleagues had told her more than once that she’d done her job and that what had happened to Tegan was not her fault, and yet she still felt it was.
‘Have you come with the family?’ she asked, grasping for something to say that wouldn’t leave them with an awkward silence, where her guilt could grow to fill in the gap.
‘Yes. They’re at the cider stand. Dennis is buying Laurel her first alcoholic drink – she’s eighteen today. Not that she’s never had alcohol, of course. I mean, what eighteen-year-old having their first official drink has actually never drunk alcohol before?’
‘And she wanted to come here on her birthday? Not that it’s not fun, but it’s a bit…’ Zoe couldn’t think of a word that would convey her meaning without it being an insult, so she gave up.
‘She’s going out with her friends later for the proper, cool celebration.
She’s always been a home bird really, loves being with her family, though she’d never admit it.
I wanted to say…’ Tegan continued. ‘It’s OK.
What happened…it happened for a reason – I really believe that.
I don’t blame you or anyone else. I’m too old to start again.
I was upset at the time, of course, and I’m still sad about it now, but when I sit down and think about it, life would have changed so much for me and Dennis and the kids, and I don’t know if it would have been a good thing.
Maybe, but I’ll never know, and I think I’m happy to leave it at that.
Dennis is going to get a vasectomy. He doesn’t want this to happen again, and I’m with him on that. ’
From nowhere, Zoe’s eyes misted with tears.
She tried not to get emotionally involved with the mums in her care.
She wanted to do her best by them, of course, and she felt that befriending them was always the way to do that, but she firmly believed there had to be a barrier so she didn’t let them get too close.
Tegan, right now, was crossing that barrier with far too much ease.
Talking to her brought back memories of her own loss, memories she always tried to push down when she was a midwife.
And though she was off duty, she considered herself to be a midwife right now.
Despite this, she’d needed to hear what Tegan had to say; she just hadn’t realised it until this moment.
‘How many tickets would you like?’ she asked, sniffing hard as they reached the surgery table. It was lucky the others were all busy in other conversations or they’d have wanted to know why Zoe looked so upset. Tegan noticed, however, and put a hand on her arm.
‘I never blamed you.’
Zoe nodded, tears squeezing out against her will, and she sniffed harder still in a desperate attempt to stem the tidal wave of emotion she could feel building.
This was not the time or place, and yet it felt like it could be such a welcome release.
‘Thank you,’ she managed to squeak before pulling a fresh book of raffle tickets from a box and holding them up.
‘I’ll take a couple of pages,’ Tegan said, saving Zoe the trouble of trying to speak, which was lucky because she didn’t think she was able.
Once the transaction was complete, Tegan went back to her family, and Zoe wondered whether she’d ever have cause to see her again.