Page 112 of Love Letters on Hazel Lane

‘He’s not after a medical consultation. He said it was personal. That he had some good news for you.’

Good news? Could this be about the church hall? Might they have got a reprieve?

As Razz put the phone down, he didn’t dare allow himself to hope.

He stood up when he heard the knock at the door and went over to open it. The elderly vicar shook his hand warmly. ‘Doctor Rasmusson.’

‘Vicar.’ Razz nodded. ‘Do sit down. How can I help you?’

‘Actually, I think it’s more a case of how I can help you. I’ve come to tell you that there’s been a…’ he cleared his throat ‘…let’s just say, there’s been a change of plan, and you and your Scrabble group would be more than welcome to continue to use the hall until the building has actually been sold. Of course, I have no idea how long that might be. It could be weeks. Or months.’

Razz wanted to jump out of his seat and hug the man, but thought that might be inappropriate so said simply, ‘That’s wonderful news. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Vicar.’

There was a silence. Razz wasn’t sure what to say next. Had he been grateful enough? Did he need to gush a bit more? Invite the clergyman to join them one Friday evening?

‘Doctor, I was wondering…’ began Rev Stone. ‘I know this probably isn’t the time, but I have this strange rash…’

A few minutes later, the vicar left, clutching a prescription for Canesten. Razz sat back in his chair. The Scrabble club could continue, for a few weeks at least. And with a bit of luck, either he or Jo would come up with a more permanent solution during that time. He wanted to phone her, to tell her that they could stay in the hall for the time being, but then maybe he should tell her in person, over a drink perhaps. He texted to ask if she was free, then dialled Mrs McCardle’s number. He told her the good news and asked if she might like to come along to the Scrabble club the following Friday.

*

‘I’ve been talking to the vicar,’ said Razz, ‘and I have good news.’

He’d asked Jo to meet him in the pub for a celebratory drink, so here they were now with a small Sauvignon Blanc and half a shandy. He’d even pushed the boat out and bought a packet of Walkers cheese and onion, which sat open on the table between them.

‘Don’t tell me you’ve found Jesus?’ Jo reached into the bag and pulled out a crisp.

He laughed. ‘Not that kind of good news. We can stay in the hall until it’s sold. Better still, he’s agreed to waive the rent.’

‘That’s great, Razz.’

He was disappointed by her response; he thought she’d be happier about it. Then it dawned on him that this wasn’t news to her at all. She had already known.

He looked at her face as she crunched on another crisp. She looked rather pleased with herself. She’d had a hand in this; he felt sure of it. How on earth had she managed to persuade Reverend Stone?

‘I can’t help wondering if this is your doing?’ he said.

‘Maybe,’ she said cryptically.

He studied her face. She wasn’t usually this mysterious. Well, however this had come about, he felt very grateful to her. Perhaps he should have splashed out on two bags of Walkers. Did one look a bit stingy?

Jo delved into the bag for another crisp. ‘We can’t rest on our laurels, Razz. We still need to find somewhere else to go once the hall is sold. The future of the Scrabble club still isn’t safe.’

42

‘You didn’t sleep with him?’ said Kate the following evening as they walked along the canal. ‘I mean, I know you want Razz to forgive you and I know the Scrabble club means a lot to you, but sleeping with an estate agent… well, that’d be taking things too far.’

‘Of course not,’ said Jo. ‘The vicar was most interested in the recording of my conversation with Tarquin. I had to explain what ‘friends with benefits’ meant. Bless him, he’d never heard of it before. You should have seen his face! He was horrified when he realised that his estate agent was trying to bribe me into having sex.’

‘Thank you for bringing this to my attention,’ he had said to her. ‘If you’d like to leave your phone number with Mrs Green, I’ll be in touch. See if we can’t arrange something regarding the hall. Now, would you like another cup of tea? And a biscuit, perhaps?’

He had promised to change estate agents, to find one who’d be amenable to all of the community groups staying on in the hall until it was sold.

‘It’s a great result,’ said Kate. ‘I bet Tarquin was hopping mad. Losing a client and a potentially lucrative deal. Bet you wish you could have seen his face.’

‘Yeah, definitely.’

You couldn’t beat a bit of schadenfreude (23 points, although it was German so probably not allowed). Admittedly, it wasn’t one of her better traits, but after the way he had treated her…