‘Here’s the wine,’ said Lindy after a few moments. ‘It may be home-made.’
‘I’m sure it’s fine,’ said Beth. She sensed Lindy was embarrassed about the possibility of home-made wine but to her it felt totally in keeping with what she thought of as life in the country. Beth took a glass being offered by a grey-haired lady wearing a dashing knitted lamé wrap. ‘This will be the first glass of wine I’ve had since I’ve been here.’
‘Are you new here, too?’ said Rachel. ‘I’ve only been here ten days. Living here permanently, I mean.’
‘Everyone was very excited when you moved in,’ said Lindy. ‘No one was quite sure who you’d turn out to be. A family? A couple?’
‘It’s just me,’ said Rachel.
Beth couldn’t decide if there was a touch of defiance in the way she said this and to cover the slight awkwardness, she said, ‘Well, I’m in a rental property.’
‘The pretty one with the rundown porch?’ asked Lindy.
‘That’s the one. It’s been lent to me by my sister’s in-laws-to-be,’ said Beth. ‘Sorry, that’s a bit complicated.’
Rachel frowned. ‘Your sister’s getting married and her fiancé’s parents have lent you a house?’
‘Yes! That sounds so much clearer than how I put it. The reason they lent it to me is that I’m organising the wedding.’ She paused for dramatic effect. ‘Via Skype.’
The other two laughed in surprise. ‘That sounds a bit of a challenge,’ said Lindy.
‘It is – especially on almost no money. But my sister arranged the house for me when I had a major falling-out with my mother and really couldn’t go home after uni, so I do owe her. I’m going to try really hard to do a good job,’ said Beth.
‘Doesn’t your mother want to organise your sister’s wedding?’ asked Lindy.
‘Yes!’ said Beth. ‘She does. But she wants to take over every single detail so Helena asked me to do it. While she’s out of the country.’
‘I love the thought of a wedding organised via Skype,’ said Rachel.
‘You could have the do in the village hall,’ said Lindy, ‘if we get it restored in time. That would be nice and cheap.’
‘That’s not a bad idea, actually,’ said Beth. ‘When is it likely to be restored by? They want the wedding at the end of August.’
Lindy shook her heard. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to get your hopes up. It’s not likely to be done this year, not realistically.’
Rachel had been staring at the ceiling again. ‘A lick of paint would make a huge difference.’
Beth nodded slowly as the picture formed in her mind. ‘It would! With masses of flowers and bunting.’
‘Well, I could help with the bunting,’ said Lindy. ‘I can sew.’
‘Is that your job?’ asked Beth. ‘Sewing?’
Lindy shrugged. ‘In a way, but mostly my job is looking after my boys.’
‘You’ve got children?’ said Beth. She was surprised. She judged Lindy to be roughly the same age as she was, in her early twenties, and it seemed very young to have children.
Lindy nodded. ‘Two of them. Six and three. Little monkeys a lot of the time.’
Beth got the impression she’d added the ‘little monkeys’ bit for form’s sake.
‘So, what do you do?’ asked Lindy. ‘Apart from organising your sister’s wedding?’
Beth shrugged. ‘Nothing at the moment. I need to find something soon. I’ve got savings and although Mum doesn’t know, Dad hasn’t stopped my allowance from when I was at uni, but I’d like to tell him I don’t need it any more.’
‘Have you just graduated?’
‘Last summer. I did what my mother called Facebook and Barmaiding, although there was a bit more to it. I hadn’t got the grades I needed for English, which is what she wanted me to do, and picked a course as far away from home as possible. And I’m currently unemployed.’ Beth paused, worried that Lindy would think she was a complete flake. ‘I did bar work in Brighton up until Christmas but got really fed up.’ She made a face. ‘My mother said it was my fault for doing such a ridiculous course and did you really need a degree to be a barmaid.’ Beth laughed, trying to hide that this had hurt her. ‘You don’t, really.’
‘Do you think university was a waste of time?’ asked Lindy.
‘Absolutely not. It got me away from home, I learnt loads about life and how to be independent and had a great time.’ Beth paused. ‘You didn’t go?’
Lindy shook her head. ‘No. I got pregnant instead. That taught me a lot too!’
‘I bet,’ said Beth.
‘I love this building!’ said Rachel, who hadn’t really been listening. ‘It’s got such rustic charm.’
‘You’d love it less if you saw the Ladies,’ said Lindy.
‘Ah. The Ladies,’ said Beth, aware of a need now she thought about it. ‘Is it over there?’
Lindy nodded. ‘Through the door marked “TO LETS”. Someone thought it was funny to take out the “I”.’
Beth laughed and set off for the sign. As she left the others she thought she heard Lindy say, ‘Good luck.’
The loo was at least clean but it was freezing cold and the seat had a worrying crack in it. Beth felt that even though the building was used by very few, they might have at least replaced that vital piece of equipment.
As she came out, drying her hands on her jeans, she was stopped by a man of late middle age who was vaguely familiar. ‘Hello! You’re the young lady living in the cottage above the stream?’
Beth considered. ‘That’s right.’
‘I’ve seen you round and about. How are you getting on up there?’
‘Very well, thank you.’ She smiled.
Encouraged, the man went on: ‘Well, I’m Bob. I’ve got the garage on the Cheltenham road. It’s nice to see a new young face about the place.’
Beth nodded, wondering how she felt about everyone knowing where she lived and that she was new to the area, but she decided it was part of village life, like excellent sausage rolls and home-made wine.
‘A lot of the new people are second-home owners,’ Bob went on. ‘We need young people who’ll settle down here.’
For a second Beth wondered if the village had suffered a Pied Piper of Hamelin-type incident. Then she realised it would be that most of the local young people had moved away because they couldn’t afford property in the area. Or there were no jobs. ‘It’s a gorgeous area. Even in winter it’s pretty.’
‘It is that.’ Bob laughed loudly; then he said, ‘And they’re just about to draw the lucky programmes. Have you got yours there? It’s like a raffle, see?’
Beth, who had worked this out herself, produced her programme from the pocket of her parka as they both moved nearer the stage at one end of the hall. Bob waited expectantly while the announcements went on. He seemed to take Beth’s good fortune personally and wanted to see her win something.
Of course she didn’t until almost the last number. Looking over her shoulder Bob called out, ‘We’ve a winner here!’
Beth checked her number. She was indeed a winner. Slightly hoping it wasn’t the home-made parsnip liqueur that was on the list of prizes, she waited for developments.
‘It seems there’s some confusion,’ said the man behind the microphone. ‘We’ve got two programmes with that number.’
Beth began to say she didn’t mind not winning and was happy to resign but her champion wouldn’t let her. ‘Well, how’s that happened?’ Bob demanded.
‘We’ll have to sort that out later,’ said the man with the microphone, which he continued to use although people were now clustering round and he didn’t need the extra volume. ‘Who else has got the lucky programme?’
Lindy appeared with Rachel. ‘Here!’
Beth sighed with relief. ‘Oh, phew, that’s OK. You can have whatever it is, Rachel. I’m sure I won’t mind not having it.’ Then she worried that she’d sounded rude.
‘Do you know what it is?’ said Rachel.
‘No. Do you?’ said Beth.
Rachel nodded. ‘It’s a really lovely vintage tea set. You probably will mind not having it.’ She looked wistful as she said this. ‘I have two plates in the same pattern at home. It’s Shelley.’
‘Then you must have it,’ insisted Beth. ‘Really.’
‘That wouldn’t be right,’ said Rachel.
‘No, really—’
Possibly sensing this could go on some time, Lindy broke in. ‘If it were my boys I’d say you had to share it.’
Rachel turned to her. ‘What, a timeshare tea set?’
Lindy nodded. ‘Take it in turns to own it.’
Beth had now had time to inspect the tea set displayed in a pretty wicker hamper, and discovered that it was indeed extremely pretty. And as she did so she visualised lots and lots of pretty tea sets filled with cake and sandwiches. A vintage wedding: that would suit Helena far better than the glittering champagne affair their mother had wanted for her, and would be much more affordable too. She suddenly suffered a stab of panic when she realised what she’d taken on with this wedding. Really, she hadn’t a clue what was involved. She’d have to trawl the internet and find out. One thing she had learnt at uni was how useful eBay and Gumtree and Freecycle were.
‘Why don’t we go to the pub to discuss it?’ suggested Lindy. ‘I could ring my gran – she’s got the boys – and tell her I’ll be a bit later than I said and then we can miss the speeches.’
A short time later the three young women were entering the pub.
Beth looked about her. It wasn’t quite what she was expecting from a country pub. There was no thick patterned carpet, horse brasses and leather seating areas. It was much more shabby chic, like someone’s larger than average sitting room. There was a glamorous black-haired woman behind the bar who seemed to be in charge.
Suddenly Beth remembered how little money she had with her. ‘Um, can I suggest, unless we want three drinks, we just pay for ourselves?’
Lindy seemed relieved. ‘Good idea. I can’t stay for three drinks, anyway.’
They went up to the bar. ‘Hi, Sukey,’ said Lindy. ‘I’ve brought new people with me.’
Sukey smiled. ‘Cool. What are you all having?’
‘Red wine,’ the three chorused.
‘Coming up. And what’s that you’ve got under your arm?’
She pointed to the tea set that Rachel was carrying in the basket.
‘It’s one of the prizes from the lucky programmes. Beth and Rachel both won it,’ Lindy explained. ‘There was a mistake in the printing on the programmes.’
‘Tricky!’ said Sukey and placed two glasses of wine on the counter. Then she reached for another glass.
They carried their drinks to a vacant sofa next to a fire that crackled and spat behind a fireguard. Stretched out in front of the fire was a greyhound, who lifted the last inch of his tail in acknowledgement of the young women.
‘Sorry, I wasn’t really listening before, but remind me why you’re organising your sister’s wedding?’ asked Rachel.
‘Basically my mother feels it’s her absolute right to plan my sister’s wedding and have it as she wants it. If she’s paying she gets to decide on everything.’
‘A Mumzilla,’ said Lindy. ‘Heard about them. Go on.’
‘Well, my sister doesn’t want to get married in a cathedral she’s never stepped foot inside before and then go to a massive hotel and invite a whole lot of people she’s never met.’ She paused. ‘So I said I’d sort it out for her.’
‘I’m assuming there’s a good reason why she can’t do it herself?’ said Rachel. ‘I can’t imagine letting anyone else organise something so important.’
Beth nodded. ‘She and her fiancé have gone travelling. They felt they’d never have the opportunity otherwise. Jeff has got a new job starting in September, so it was now or never. They didn’t have gap years to go travelling in.’ Beth realised she sounded as if she was apologising for them. ‘Anyway, you can imagine how that went down with our mother. Just appalled,’ she added, in case her new friends couldn’t imagine this. ‘And I’m in a new place, currently with no job, so I offered.’
‘Goodness,’ said Lindy. ‘My mum was great about my wedding. She was great about the divorce, too.’
‘And is there a reason why your mother thinks it’s her right to plan your sister’s wedding?’ asked Rachel. She seemed a woman who liked to get to the bottom of things.
‘I think her mother totally told her what to do and so now it’s her chance to have control. She thinks my sister is being totally unreasonable not letting her.’
‘What about your dad?’ asked Lindy.
‘Bless him, he did give my sister money towards the wedding but she spent it on her trip of a lifetime.’
‘Didn’t he mind?’ Rachel gave a little shake of her head. ‘Sorry, I seem to be asking questions all the time.’
‘It’s OK. And he didn’t really mind but he was surprised. But Helena said that Mum would still try to control the wedding and she’d rather spend the money on seeing the world.’
‘So what’s your budget?’ asked Lindy. ‘If you’d like me to help, I am very good at doing things for almost nothing.’
‘Well, that’s great!’ said Beth, laughing. ‘Because that is exactly what my budget is. Almost nothing.’
‘I think that sounds a brilliant challenge,’ said Rachel. ‘I was married – for a short time – and we had a very smart, very upmarket wedding for a very few upmarket friends. I think a budget wedding sounds much more fun.’
‘My wedding was fairly small too,’ said Lindy. ‘But I was pregnant so I didn’t really care.’ She gave an embarrassed little laugh. ‘It only lasted long enough for me to get pregnant again.’
‘Don’t tell me if you don’t want to,’ said Beth, ‘but how did you get pregnant when you seem so sensible? And then do it again?’
‘That is a bit personal,’ said Rachel, frowning at Beth.
‘No, it’s OK. My trouble was, I slept with the wrong brother.’
‘Ooh. Big mistake,’ said Beth.
Lindy pushed her and grinned. Beth stopped feeling guilty for asking the question. Lindy seemed happy to talk about it. ‘I was madly in love – well, of course it wasn’t love, it was a crush, but a massive one – with this boy who was much older. Five years older.’
‘That’s nothing when you’re grown up,’ said Rachel. ‘But it’s massive when you’re – how old?’
‘Sixteen,’ said Lindy. ‘The brother left to go abroad to study or work or maybe both, I can’t remember now. Anyway, his younger brother and I were both upset and got a bit drunk. It turned out he’d had a crush on me but I never noticed because of Angus, his brother. We turned to each other for comfort.’
‘That’s a word for it I hadn’t heard,’ said Beth, anxious to keep things light.