‘A weekly one, for starters. Every Sunday. It would pack the place, I’ll guarantee it.’ Stella nodded furiously, as if Sam was about to disagree with her.
‘Well, yes,’ he said with a shrug. ‘That’s what I think, too.’
‘You see?’ Stella punched Seb playfully on the arm. ‘Told you it was a good idea.’
‘Aye, and you might be right,’ Seb agreed.
Sam’s mouth fell open. Bloody charming! He shook his head, then laughed to himself. What did it matter anyway?
‘Tell him our other idea,’ Stella said eagerly.
Seb stroked his chin as Sam’s eyes narrowed. ‘Well, I don’t reckon he’ll think much of it. He won’t remember, you see, and it’s not really for his generation, is it?’
‘Rubbish,’ Stella said. ‘What aboutFisherman’s Friends? Brilliant films. My kids watched them both and loved them, and I know for a fact that our Crystal has the CDs. She plays them in her car all the time and she’s younger than Sam here.’
‘What are you on about?’ Sam asked, bewildered.
‘Sea shanties, lad,’ his dad said. ‘You’re too young to remember, I reckon, but we used to have shanty nights here in the pub most weekends and midweek an’ all if we were busy. Used to bring the crowds in, all right.’
‘My mum and dad used to love them, till he cleared off, of course,’ Stella said. She waved her glass of orange juice at a thoroughly perplexed Sam. ‘What do you think? Worth bringing them back?’
‘I… I don’t understand.’
‘It’s a simple enough question, lad,’ his dad said quietly. ‘How do you feel about us bringing back Shanty Night?’
‘Us?’ Sam asked.
‘Well, not you, obviously. You’ll be busy working on that new estate up in Millensea. I mean me, I suppose.’
‘And me,’ Stella said. ‘I’ve told your dad I’m quite happy to help. I need something to do, and I’ve got lots of experience in the hospitality trade, what with running two holiday parks for years and organising all the entertainment on them.’
‘I thought you were working with Mac on the shepherd’s hut business?’ Sam asked, though all the while he was thinking,Am I dreaming?What was this about? Was his dad really making plans for the future – a future at The North Star?
‘I was – I am,’ she said, ‘but truthfully, he doesn’t need me much. I’m mostly there to run the website. I can do that with my eyes closed. This is a bit more of a challenge, and your dad and I have always got on, haven’t we, Seb?’
‘Pain in the bum, you were,’ his dad replied, laughing. ‘Always hanging round when me and Mac wanted to get up to all sorts of mischief in the village, and we couldn’t trust you not to tell your mam.’
Stella laughed, too. ‘Well, you shouldn’t have been so mean. I wanted to get up to mischief, too, but you wouldn’t let me join you.’
Sam held up his hands. ‘Sorry, can we just rewind here? What are you talking about carveries and shanty nights for? You do remember that the pub’s up for sale?’
‘Not very observant, is he?’ his dad said.
Stella grinned. ‘Did you notice the For Sale sign outside, Sam?’
Sam blinked. ‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Well, you wouldn’t. Cos it’s not there any more. Your dad took it down this afternoon, to loud cheers from everyone in the pub, I might add.’
Sam stared. ‘Are you joking? You’ve changed your mind?’
His dad had the grace to look embarrassed. ‘I’m right sorry, lad,’ he said gruffly. ‘I’ve been a daft sod and there’s no getting away from it. I’ve put way too much on your shoulders and I’m ashamed. Stella’s made me see just what a selfish bugger I’ve been, and proper stupid an’ all.’
‘I should hope so,’ Stella said. ‘Sitting on a little goldmine here, he is, and there he was, prepared to let it all go to someone who’d done nothing to deserve it. We’re going to breathe new life into this place, aren’t we, Seb?’
‘I reckon,’ his dad said. He gave Sam an anxious look. ‘I think your mum would approve, Sam, don’t you?’
Seb’s eyes gleamed with tears, and Sam reached over and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. ‘Dad,’ he said, ‘I honestly think she’d be over the moon.’
