‘Hey, is this where we get matchas from? We saw a mention on Sapphire’s post.’
Mia nudged Willow with a grin. ‘Looks like your tiny mention is already working out,’ she said enthusiastically. ‘Let’s hope this is the start of something good.’
Sales continued to trickle throughout that day. So much so that Mia left Willow to continue her job hunting. There were a few new faces at the wagon, including some who had come over from the Ridge and beyond, which just showed the reach that Sapphire had and also the power of social media when it worked.
Following orders from Toby’s recent nagging texts (of which there were many), Willow took some photos of her growing line and some smiling people holding up their iced matchas.
Perhaps there can be a balance, she decided, between the online world and living in the now. She was certainly happy, however, to only dip her toe back into social media occasionally.
Toby’s reports back about the Noix Noir campaign made her feel exhausted for him and she was sure her heart started to beat a little faster just thinking about it. No, she did not miss that crazy high-speed life. Not when she could stand here and take deep gulps of fresh, clean air while using the sight of the mountains to steady and calm her. She belonged here.
It was right.
As she served another customer a strawberry iced drink, her gaze drifted towards The Diner.
She only wished somebody else believed that too.
Willow was just starting to shut the wagon, when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up, startled, surprised that anyone else would be here so late in the day.
She certainly wasn’t expecting to come face to face with Eric. He stood in front of her, a slightly hunched figure still dressed in his shabby lumberjack jacket.
His cheeks were so ruddy and red, they looked sore. He stared at her with watery eyes, blinking hard.
‘I thought it was you, the other night in the bar. I wanted to approach you, but …’
He didn’t finish his words and instead simply shook his head sadly.
‘Eric, it’s lovely to see you,’ Willow replied brightly, immediately feeling guilty that she hadn’t acknowledged him yet. How bad was that of her? All she could do now was lie to spare his feelings. She could hardly tell him Jake warned her to stay away. ‘I didn’t see you! I’m so sorry, I guess I was wrapped up in my own world.’
His eyes were still fixed on hers; they seemed to soften a little, but even from here Willow could smell the liquor on him. It was pretty strong.
‘Is my boy with you?’ he asked. ‘Only I hoped … I guess I’ve not heard from him in a while.’
Willow shifted on the spot, feeling uncomfortable. In the early days after they moved to Seattle, Jake had called his dad quite regularly – but this had soon reduced over time. Jake said he found it too hard, too depressing to talk tohis dad when he was in bad shape. He phoned his mom separately instead and Willow noticed he rarely asked after anyone else. It was like he was trying to forget the problems were there and instead block them out.
‘Jake is still in Seattle. He’s busy with work,’ Willow explained gently. ‘I’ll ask him to call you though.’
‘Yeah, you do that …’ His smile was brittle as he moved to turn away again. ‘But I doubt he’ll bother. That boy has always been the same …’
‘What do you mean?’ she called after him.
But Eric had already staggered away, clearly not prepared to disclose anything further to her that day.
After Willow shut the wagon, she had then tried several times to call Jake, but he wasn’t answering. Strange, as today was meant to be his day off. She sent him a quick message.
Your dad came to see me. He wants to talk to you. Please call him.
She had hoped for a quick reply, but when the message stayed unread after a few minutes, she sighed. He was clearly busy. She scanned Sapphire’s post instead and was pleased to see it was really taking off. Lots of people were commenting to say that they wanted to visit the town now. As if on cue, her phone buzzed. She expected it to be Jake. But it wasn’t. It was Esmae.
Well done! Amazing idea getting Saph on board – that girl is a legend. Honey Springs will soon be right back on the map!
Willow beamed. Not only was Esmae not angry at her for working with Sapphire, but she thought the campaign was going to work.
Could things get any better?
‘Why isn’t The Diner featured?’
Willow was sitting with Lucas in The Diner, which was completely deserted. She had decided to stop by on her way back home to show him Sapphire’s posts, but it was clear from his face that he wasn’t happy.
