Page 86 of Second Chances at the Board Game Café

‘Did you see me, Mum? Did you see me and Harry on the catwalk?’

Taylor ruffled his hair and Max batted her away.

Then Kate was there, holding the microphone out to Taylor.

Taylor hesitated.

‘Go on,’ said Harry. ‘You can do this.’

He watched as she took the mic. She looked at it for a second as if she wasn’t quite sure what it did, then said, ‘Can you hear me?’

Her voice rang around the hall, loud and clear, and then she laughed and said, ‘I guess you can. I’m not much of a public speaker, but I wanted to tell you how this all began. Harry here asked me to shorten a pair of jeans for him. Only there was a little mix-up with the measurements and I lopped off a bit too much, so they were too short. If there’s any potential customers out there who need their garments altering, I can promise you that it hasn’t happened before and it won’t happen again. Anyway, I upcycled the ruined jeans and they created a bit of a stir apparently, when they were in the window of the Oxfam shop. I love upcycled clothes because every garment is unique. And they’re good for the environment. Millions of tons of clothes get chucked out every year and most end up in landfill. Meanwhile, precious resources are being used to make more clothes. How much better would it be if we all upcycled the garments that we were bored of, instead of throwing them away and buying new ones?’

Kate leaned towards her and said into the mic, ‘Good for the planet, good for the purse.’

The audience began to applaud. Harry whispered into Taylor’s ear, ‘You’re doing great. Keep going.’

As the applause died down, Taylor continued. ‘So many people have helped make this evening happen, but Kate got in there first and has already thanked everyone. So that leaves just one person for me to thank. Kate herself. Kate, without your support and encouragement, this evening wouldn’t have happened. You’ve been such a good friend. That’s what I love about this valley. People help each other out. They get stuck in. It’s a truly special place to live.’

She hesitated, clearly uncertain of what to say next. Harry wanted to suggest something, but he couldn’t think straight. He was dazzled by her, standing there in the spotlight.

Kate took the mic back. ‘Thank you, Taylor. You are very welcome. And now, it’s time for the auction. Some of the models wanted to keep what they’d made, and many of Taylor’s creations are for sale in her Etsy shop. But she and some of our sewists have kindly donated some clothes for our charity auction this evening, and they’re up for grabs now, so dig deep everyone. Models, take your places please.’

Taylor gave Harry’s hand a squeeze, then let it go. He watched her scuttle back down the catwalk towards her seat, and someone else held out a hand to help her down, then he and Max took their places in the line-up. Kate was standing behind a lectern now, her gavel raised, clearly relishing her role as auctioneer.

Harry couldn’t believe his ears when he heard the bids; people were being incredibly generous. He kept a running tally in his head of the total amount, and was so focused on the arithmetic, that Max had to pull him forwards when it was time for the bidding to open on the train waistcoats and bow ties.

‘Shall we start at five pounds for the smaller waistcoat and tie? Do I have five pounds anywhere?’ said Kate.

‘Ten,’ called someone in the audience.

‘Eleven,’ shouted another voice.

‘Twenty,’ came another.

The bidding stalled at twenty-three pounds.

‘Do I have twenty-four? Twenty-four anyone?’ said Kate.

The whole hall was silent.

‘Twenty-three pounds fifty?’ said Kate.

‘Go on then.’ The voice came from the front row.

‘Are we all done at twenty-three pounds fifty? Twenty-three pounds fifty with the woman in the front row. Going once. Going twice. Gone. Thank you, madam.’

*

After the auction had finished, he and Max took off their waistcoats and bow ties, and Max took off the petticoat. Harry felt a little sad that he hadn’t thought to bid on his waistcoat himself. She’d made this especially for him to wear this evening, and he was sad to give it up. He could have worn it to the office. On Fridays perhaps.

Max must have read his mind. ‘She’ll make you another, Harry.’

There was a huge queue of people buying drinks from the area where school lunches were normally served, and another slightly shorter queue of people waiting to pay for and collect the clothes they’d bought.

‘Hal!’

Harry turned to see Kate approaching, a big beam on her face.