I glanced at Grandpa on stage. He was glaring at the woman. An awkward silence descended upon the school hall. Denise rolled her eyes before storming out of the school hall, followed by the group of whispering parents. My plans to grow my outer world were crumbling all thanks to my power-hungry brother-in-law.
‘Rachel, I’m sorry,’ said Abi, gesturing for me to come onto the stage. ‘Denise is the sister of a lady called Vanessa.’
‘Ah, Vanessa, who runs the pub. She’s not a fan of my brother-in-law – right?’
Abi nodded. ‘I try to stay out of town drama.’ She led me over to where the backdrop to the play would need to be.
‘Town drama? Do you know what happened between Vanessa and my brother-in-law?’
Abi wiped her sweaty forehead with a tissue and cast me an awkward look. ‘I just want to make sure the children get to have a nativity play on Monday. My twins are in reception, and this is a big deal for them. As I said earlier, I try my best to avoid town gossip.’ She smiled and rubbed her bump. ‘Once the nativity is out of the way I can concentrate on Christmas and then the arrival of this little one.’
Abi seemed a nice person and this wasn’t the time or place to find out why Frank had squabbled with Vanessa. If I was a betting person, he had probably been rude to her, and she’d taken it badly. I smiled. ‘Let’s get this nativity play sorted.’
The scenery would need to be painted on the giant wooden board which had been erected at the back of the stage. There were acrylic paints and brushes so I would not need to use my own.
Grandpa pulled up a chair whilst I got to work mixing paints to make a rich midnight blue base layer. ‘I’ll do the detail later,’ I explained. ‘I do love rich, colourful night skies.’
Grandpa nodded. ‘It reminds me of the paintings in your flat.’
Abi hung around for a while. ‘What’s it like staying in the manor house?’ she asked. ‘It looks amazing from the little gap in the bushes near the iron gates. We walk past it on family walks.’
‘Far too posh for me,’ I chuckled.
Grandpa shook his head with disapproval. ‘Frank has more money than sense.’
Before Grandpa took command of the conversation, I distracted Abi. ‘How long have you had the bakery and the café?’
‘My father was the baker in Harp Brook. When he died, I took over the family business. The café was Darren’s idea, but I don’t think we can keep it going for much longer. The trouble with Harp Brook is that being so small it needs something to draw visitors to the village. Local businesses like ours are struggling because there’s not enough footfall.’
‘Not even at weekends?’
Abi shook her head. ‘It’s so quiet. Even at weekends. The Harp Brook Inn has stopped serving food as Vanessa’s chef left and it’s only the Nag’s Head doing pub lunches and evenings now.’
‘Where do people eat out in the evening?’
‘There are some great restaurants in the neighbouring towns, and some even go into London as it’s not far on the train. It’s a shame for Harp Brook.’ Abi grabbed her winter coat from the side of the school hall stage and put it on. ‘I better get back to Darren and the twins.’
‘Well, Grandpa and I like it in your café.’
She smiled. ‘Thanks. Make the most of it because in the new year we will close it and stick to being a bakery.’
As she walked away, I felt a pang of sadness for Abi and Darren and their bakery-café.
I decided to let the base layer dry overnight. The caretaker said I come in on Sunday evening and do the detail. Grandpa and I headed back to the Manor House.
‘That woman called Denise was so rude,’ growled Grandpa. ‘I was ready to step in and give her a piece of my mind.’
‘Calm down, Grandpa,’ I soothed, ‘the last thing we need is for you to be dragged into this mess. I think Frank has been rude to Vanessa about her pub and she’s taken offence. After hearing the way Frank spoke to Layla and Ben, I think he rubs people up the wrong way. He’s used to hiring and firing in his big company and maybe he lets that aggressive side of him spill over into his personal life.’
‘He has too much money,’ grumbled Grandpa.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Humphrey and I were stood at the bottom of the hill as Ben and Rosie hurtled down it. Rosie was sat in front of her father shrieking, ‘Faster, Daddy,’ and Ben was sat behind her looking pensive whilst trying to control their sledge. He safely brought the sledge to a stop at the bottom and Rosie leapt out. ‘Did you see me go fast, Humph-Wee?’
‘Rachel, I think it’s your turn,’ Ben said, striding through the fresh snow which had arrived overnight. ‘I want to see your sledging speed-demon skills.’
Handing him Humphrey’s lead, I grabbed the red plastic sledge he’d found for me. ‘Watch and learn.’ I gave him a cocky wink and he laughed.
