Chapter 3
3
‘So that was your last flight?’ came the shocked chorus from around the table.
Libby gave her best friends, Harriet, Flora and Katy, a grimace as she sank down onto the chair in Platform 1, still in her flight attendant’s uniform.
After quietly dumping her flight bag in the hallway, so as not to wake up her dad, she had texted her friends a short while ago that it was an emergency and Katy had opened up the coffee shop early just for them.
‘Yup,’ Libby told them. ‘Those of us being made redundant received the email just before we boarded the flight, can you believe? I am one hundred per cent out of a job as of right now.’ She tried and failed to smile. ‘But, hey, on the plus side, no more jet lag, so that’s something.’
Katy pushed a large mug of coffee towards her. ‘Here,’ she said. ‘Drink this. It’s our new special. Pumpkin spice latte.’
Katy and her boyfriend Ryan had opened Platform 1 in the old railway station to great success the previous winter. It was a cosy mix of old railway memorabilia, wood panelling and leather benches.
Libby thanked Katy for the drink and took a grateful sip. It was delicious and brought a much-needed warmth to her insides. She hugged the mug close to her chest.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Harriet, as she unhooked the lead for her golden retriever Paddington to settle down underneath the table. ‘You’ve been with them for how long now? Two years?’
‘Three,’ Libby told her. ‘So I’ll get a whole three weeks’ extra pay for my efforts.’
‘But surely there are other flight attendants that have less experience than you?’ asked Flora, frowning. ‘You’ve been doing the job for ten years.’
‘Corporate business doesn’t always work like that, unfortunately,’ Katy told her, shaking her head.
Katy knew all about the cut-throat business world as she had been a high-flying executive before being made redundant a year ago. Thankfully, it had worked out for the best for Katy, who had fallen in love with both Cranfield and chef Ryan Connolly. She had also been warmly welcomed by Libby, Harriet and Flora – all of whom had been childhood friends – into their close-knit group.
‘Can’t you appeal?’ asked Harriet, still looking upset. ‘What about your union? They might be able to get your job back for you.’
Libby looked at soft-hearted Harriet with a suppressed smile. She had known Harriet since they had been children and she had never changed her positive outlook of everyone and everything. She was the complete opposite of cynical Libby, even down to the long red hair that swung wild and free around Harriet’s pretty face.
‘I don’t think it’s going to happen,’ Libby told her. ‘I’ve got those two written warnings, haven’t I? Apparently I’ve got a reputation for being a little difficult, according to my ex-work colleagues.’
Her three best friends all exchanged a knowing look.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ said Libby, sitting back in her chair with a heavy sigh. ‘Me and my big mouth.’
She gave a jump as she felt something under the table before she realised that Paddington had placed his head on her lap and was staring up at her with sorrowful dark eyes. She smiled at him and ruffled his fur.
‘You just speak your mind,’ said Flora, reaching out to give her other hand a squeeze. ‘That’s all.’
‘Exactly,’ said Katy, with a firm nod of her head. ‘Nothing wrong with that.’
‘You’re always honest and that’s refreshing,’ added Harriet.
‘Refreshing isn’t going to pay the bills in the future,’ said Libby, grateful for their support nevertheless. She had her redundancy money and then that would be it. What on earth was she going to do now?
‘We’d offer you a job here,’ said Katy, looking around the coffee shop. ‘But it’s a little slower now that the summer rush has gone.’
‘Unfortunately, Nico and I spent yesterday packing up the tents for winter,’ added Flora, who ran a glamping site from Strawberry Hill Farm with her Italian boyfriend. ‘Now that the site’s closed until next Easter, we’ve got the renovations to get sorted.’ She shot Libby a grin. ‘Unless you’ve got any secret plumbing skills that you haven’t told us about.’
Ever practical and steady, Flora had surprised everyone the previous summer by changing the farm, which had been close to bankruptcy, into a glamping site to huge success. Equally surprising was when Flora had fallen in love with Nico, a glamorous ex-playboy. But Nico had turned out to have a heart of gold and so had been readily welcomed inside their circle of friends.
‘Well, the lavender spa is still busy,’ said Harriet before biting her lip. ‘But with the fields now closed for winter, Joe’s just doing a lot of online stuff instead, so he’s able to help me out more.’
Harriet had inherited the lavender fields on the opposite side of the railway track, which had been opened to the public for two successful summers in a row, alongside her fiancé Joe. She had also turned the small post room at the far end of the station into a successful spa, using her talent as a beauty therapist to work wonders with the lavender products.
‘It’s fine,’ said Libby quickly. ‘I never meant for you all to offer me a job. Just keep the coffee and gin coming and I’ll be okay.’
‘That’s one bit of good news then,’ said Harriet, with a soft smile. ‘It’s gin night tomorrow night.’
It had long been a weekly tradition, where the four of them got together to discuss life and everything else over gin cocktails. Lately, though, their busy schedules had got in the way and they had missed the last couple of weeks.
Libby was the only single one now in the foursome and sometimes felt a little apart from her friends, who were happy and loved up. They often professed how much they envied the perceived glamour of her job, travelling the world and staying in amazing places. But the irony was that she envied them and their happy, steady lives here in Cranfield.
‘How about my place for a change of venue?’ said Katy. ‘And before you object, Libby, it’s an Ethan-free zone now. You won’t believe it! Ethan has bought the old school at the end of the lane, so he won’t stay with us any more!’
Libby kept quiet, having mistaken him for a burglar only an hour ago.
‘Seriously?’ said Flora in amazement. ‘Wow. He bunked off so often from school I’d have thought it would be the last place for him to call home.’
‘As I remember, he used to bunk off with Libby,’ said Harriet, with a grin.
‘He was a bad influence on me in those days,’ remarked Libby in a prim tone.
‘Oh yeah?’ said Flora, raising her eyebrows. ‘What’s your excuse these days?’
Libby stuck her tongue out in reply to prove how much more mature she was now. Then, upon seeing Ethan walk through the coffee shop towards the kitchen, where his brother Ryan was working, she carried on sticking her tongue out at him instead.
As usual, he merely gave her one of his winning smiles and carried on walking away. He was tall and good-looking, with ruffled blonde hair that appeared to be permanently messed up. Was it the hair that drove women crazy? Or his laid-back charm that contributed to the busy dating life that Ryan was always speaking about. Thankfully, she knew that Ethan’s handsome looks no longer had any effect on her.
At least that’s what she had to keep reminding herself.
She turned back to look at Katy. ‘Well, now that the upstairs apartment is most definitely an Ethan-free zone, then yes, I would love to come to your place tomorrow night,’ she said.
‘Excellent!’ said Katy, standing up. ‘I need to get ready for opening time. I want to be all set before the great steam engine excitement this morning.’
Due to everything else that had happened overnight, Libby had completely forgotten all about big event until that moment. Bob and Eddie had been working on the abandoned steam engine in the train workshop for many years and it was due to have its maiden run that morning.
‘Look,’ said Katy, in a serious tone as she looked at Libby, giving her a squeeze of her shoulder. ‘We’ll think of something to get you out of your financial hole.’ She brightened up. ‘And at least you’ve got time to make some more chocolate. Nearly all the boxes you gave me last week have sold out already. There’s only one left.’
‘They have?’ Libby was pleased. She had never imagined that complete strangers would pay money for her own creations.
Katy nodded thoughtfully. ‘I wonder…’ she said, tapping her chin.
‘What’s going on in that busy brain of yours now?’ asked Flora, raising her eyebrows.
Katy had a tendency to have huge ideas which turned out to be successful business plans but also extremely hard work for everyone involved.
‘Just an idea,’ said Katy, before breaking into a smile. ‘But I won’t share any details until I’ve got something concrete.’
‘I suppose I’d better go and see Dad before all the train excitement begins,’ said Libby, the dread hitting her stomach as she thought about the conversation she would need to have with him.
‘It’s all starting in an hour’s time apparently,’ said Harriet, her eyes lighting up. ‘I can’t wait to see the train actually move after all this time! I wonder if we might be able to get a photograph next to it on our wedding day,’ she added with a misty smile. ‘Wouldn’t that be amazing? Oh and by the way, I’m going to bring all my bridal magazines with me tomorrow night!’
She and her fiancé Joe were getting married at the end of January and most of their conversations had been all about the big day ever since Joe had proposed at the end of the summer.
Libby groaned. ‘Can’t we have a romance-free evening for once?’ she asked.
Harriet bit her lip, looking panicked. ‘I can’t. We’ve only got just over three months to go. I know I said I didn’t want a big do and all that, but even so, there’s so much to think about and nothing’s been decided yet! I’m talking dresses! Theme! Hair and make-up!’
Katy held up her hand. ‘Stop spiralling,’ she said. ‘You know how organised I am. I love a good checklist. Just think of me as your free wedding planner. We’ll get it sorted. Now just breathe.’
‘Thank you,’ replied Harriet, with a sigh of relief, giving her a hug. ‘Thank God I’ve got you three as my bridesmaids.’
Flora gave Libby a nudge with her elbow. ‘And we’ll all help with the wedding stuff, won’t we?’ she said in a pointed tone.
Libby hesitated. ‘You know I love you and Joe,’ Libby told Harriet. ‘I’m just not a romantic, that’s all.’
She wasn’t anti-relationships. After all, she had encouraged each of her friends to follow their hearts and was pleased with how happy they were all now. It just wasn’t for her, that was all.
‘I think there’s a little secret part of you that dreams of romance,’ said Harriet in a wistful voice.
‘Well, hand me a shovel so I can bury it in the back garden,’ replied Libby.
Her friends all burst out laughing.
‘Okay. We know you hate weddings,’ Harriet told her. ‘So seeing as you’ll never have one of your own, just help me plan mine. Please?’
Libby felt a shiver down her spine.
‘Of course I will,’ she said, fixing on a wide smile before bending down to give Paddington a cuddle and hide the fake look on her face. ‘I can’t wait to celebrate you getting married to Joe.’
That at least was the truth.
But there was one secret that she had never admitted to anyone, even her friends. She had been married once, a very long time ago, and it had been an utter disaster.
On a drunken whim eight years ago in Las Vegas, there had been one reckless moment when she had given into her heart at last and married Ethan Connolly. But she had woken up supremely embarrassed and had left before Ethan woke up.
Her long-held dream of being loved by Ethan had merely been a drunken mistake. As far as she knew, without having signed any annulment, they were still secretly married, but they had never discussed it since, nor had she ever told anyone. Perhaps given how drunk they both were, there was a chance that Ethan didn’t even remember getting married and had dismissed it entirely from his mind.
Their friendship was now beyond repair. Perhaps that’s how it was meant to be, she had decided. No matter how much her heart ached for him. No matter how much she missed having him in her life.
She glanced at him briefly as he chatted to his brother before abruptly turning away and walking out of the coffee shop, her high heels clicking on the wooden floorboards as she went.