‘Ooh, a double date. Wouldn’t that be fab.’
‘I’ll ask him.’ As Clara said this, she thought again about how he never spoke about any of his friends, apart from his mate from Japan and that time he mentioned someone he knew who lived on a barge. She wondered if he was in touch with any of his friends, let alone whether he had any single ones.
‘Ooh, what are these?’ said Eleanora, changing the subject as she examined a curious-looking sandwich. ‘Did you make strawberry sandwiches this year? How random.’
‘I had a load of strawberries left over. The farm shop had an offer on so I bought too many. Remember when Marks and Spencer launched them a few years back? Thought it would be a bit of fun to make some myself.’
‘I’m still not convinced about strawberry sandwiches, you know.’
As Clara and Eleanora hotly debated the sandwiches, the first of the guests arrived. Clara hoped it would be Tom and was disappointed to see that it was Julie.
‘Hello, ladies,’ she said, looking Eleanora up and down. Eleanora wondered what Julie would find to disapprove of today.
‘Lovely day, Julie,’ said Eleanora.
‘Is it? As I’ve told Clara before, I don’t like the heat. Much prefer the winter months.’
‘Prefer the rain then, do you?’ said Eleanora with a note of sarcasm in her voice.
‘Well, it is better for the garden. My grass is getting scorched.’
Clara ignored Julie’s complaint; today was all about making everyone happy.
‘Come on in, Julie. I’ve reserved a nice table in the shade for you.’
Eleanora led Julie to her table and poured her a cup of tea. She knew how a cup of tea usually managed to put a smile on Julie’s face and Eleanora was convinced she saw a hint of a grin there as it was placed in front of her.
By the time Eleanora returned to Clara in the kitchen, the doorbell went again. Eleanora was keen not to miss it since she wanted to be one of the first to greet Tom. Disappointingly, it wasn’t Tom and instead they found Janet, Margaret and Brian on the doorstep, who they sat at Julie’s table. When the doorbell rang again, Clara had a strong feeling it would be Tom. He was always punctual, a quality she adored about him, and it was now the time they agreed he would arrive. However, rather than Tom standing at the door she was greeted by Professor Binton. She sent him outside with the others and, as she was boiling the kettle to start getting the next round of teas ready, the door went again.
‘Shall I get that?’ asked Eleanora.
‘No, that’ll definitely be Tom. Can you carry on with the teas for me?’
‘Of course.’
Clara straightened her floaty dress and opened the door with a smile to find Charlie.
‘Oh, hi, Charlie. Come on in.’
‘Is it my imagination, or do you look disappointed to see me?’
‘Goodness, never. It’s always a pleasure to see you. Sorry, I just thought it was someone else at the door. Ignore me.’
‘In such a pretty dress, how could anyone ignore you?’
‘Hello, young Charlie,’ shouted Eleanora who had been keeping an eye on the door from the kitchen.
‘Nora! Long time no see.’
Clara was glad that the two of them could chat as it gave her time to recover from her disappointment. Once most of the guests had arrived, Tom was nowhere to be seen. Where on earth could he be?
She checked her phone in case there was a message but found nothing.
Susan, one of the ladies who attended the charity event every year arrived next. She was a generous benefactor and always gave a large donation to the chapel. Clara remembered that she lived out in Tom’s direction.
‘How’s the traffic out there, Susan? Is it busy?’
She couldn’t help but catastrophise even though he was only ten minutes away. If there was a car broken down or an ambulance due to a big crash, then Susan would surely know.
