Page 52 of Second Act at Appleton Green
‘It’s a reverse Beatrice Hawthorne situation,’ said Gran with a furrowed brow. ‘You watch her. She’s up to no good.’
‘Oh I’m not worried. She and Nick were never serious,’ she said as her phone pinged with a message.
She picked up her phone as Gran sniffed. ‘If it’s your mother and father, tell them I’ve run away to Spain with my new lover and won’t be back until I’m one hundred,’ Gran said as she buttered her toast.
‘No, it’s Jasper,’ she said, as she read aloud. ‘Cast bonding session Friday night, at The Crumpetty Tree pub for a night of laughs and karaoke.’ She made a face. ‘Mandatory fun – I hate things like this.’ She wanted to see Nick alone on Friday night and now they had to go and sing for their supper, as it were.
‘Don’t be a bad sport,’ said Gran.
‘I’m not,’ Lily said as she poured their tea from the pot but she couldn’t tell Gran about her and Nick in the field on their picnic. She couldn’t stop thinking about him, his mouth, his hands, their passion. Lily bit her lip. ‘I don’t want to leave you at home alone on a Friday night.’
‘Oh rubbish, don’t use me as an excuse. I’ve been at home alone on a Friday night for the past thirty years. Another one isn’t going to ruin anything. What are you avoiding? You’ve been lost in your own head since your picnic with Nick. Are you smitten, my love?’
Lily blushed. ‘I do really like him,’ she said. ‘But it’s not serious. I mean I’m heading back to London at the end of summer. It’s not a forever thing.’
‘It’s London, not Vancouver. Go out with him for goodness’ sake. Go tonight and have some fun and sing your heart out and see what happens. Take a chance, Lily.’
‘But—’ Lily began to resist.
‘No buts,’ Gran said, her eyes gleaming. ‘You are only young once. And it might be good for you to see if Jessica has stopped sticking pins into the doll she made of you in her spare time.’
Lily sighed, realising she had been out-argued. ‘Okay, I’ll go for a little while but not too long, and we have rehearsals the next day so we can’t go too mad.’
*
On Friday night, Lily stood outside The Crumpetty Tree, her palm resting on the tarnished brass door handle.
She adjusted her pink linen dress and ran her finger over her teeth to wipe off any pink lip gloss she might have on there and glanced inside the old pub.
The light from inside the pub’s windows was casting a warm glow onto the street and she could hear laughter and music drifting out into the night before she even opened the door. She took a deep breath and pushed it open, stepping inside.
She had never spent any time in the pub at Appleton Green. Neither of her parents were drinkers and she and Gran preferred to be outside on adventures by the creek or pottering in the garden than sitting in a pub.
Lily looked around at the interiors. It was an eighteenth-century pub, with low-beamed ceilings and the original aged wooden floors, recently refurbished, she noticed, and she wondered about the generations of village gatherings. Had Beatrice, her grandmother’s nemesis, come here for a drink? Or Raymond, her grandmother’s spurned suitor? The pub was busier than she had seen before, but then again she wasn’t usually roaming the village on Friday nights.
‘Lily!’ Jasper’s voice echoed throughout the room. He motioned her over to a large table where the majority of the cast had already congregated – well, everyone except for Jessica. Hopefully she had a prior engagement so Lily didn’t have to worry about her. ‘So glad you could make it, darling!’
As Lily pushed her way through the crowd, she spotted Nick at the bar. Their eyes locked briefly, and Lily felt a flutter in her gut and he gave her a wink, which made her knees weak before returning to his talk with Sean.
‘Here,’ Sheila replied, placing a glass of wine in Lily’s hand as she sat down. ‘Liquid courage for later.’
Lily laughed uncomfortably. ‘Oh, I doubt I’ll need that. I’m not planning to sing tonight.’
‘We’ll see about that,’ David, their Henry Higgins, remarked with a wink. ‘I’ve got twenty quid riding on you being the first to take the stage.’
Before Lily could resist any further, the pub door flung wide and Jessica limped in. She was dressed to the nines in a slinky black outfit that looked more appropriate for a London nightclub than a country bar. She had an ornate walking stick with a silver topper, but still wore heels as she tottered into the bar. Despite her injury, she still oozed a sexuality that the likes of The Crumpetty Tree regulars had probably never seen before, and Lily watched as every man in the bar watched her move. Jess’s eyes narrowed when she saw Lily and she came straight up to her.
‘Well, well,’ Jessica remarked, approaching the table. ‘If this isn’t our star. Hopefully you don’t forget the words tonight. You’ll have to show us all how it’s done.’
Lily forced a smile. ‘Just here for a drink and some fun, like everyone else.’
Jessica lifted her eyebrow. ‘Of course you are.’ She looked across at Nick, who was now observing them with a wary look on his face. ‘I’m sure we all want to hear you sing. That is, if your voice doesn’t disappear. Hate to see that happen, here or on opening night.’
‘What do you mean?’ Lily frowned. How did Jessica know she had lost her voice once? She hadn’t told anyone at the play, unless Nick had told Jessica that her voice had been tricky.
The harsh remark stung, but Lily refused to let it show. ‘Maybe later,’ she replied carelessly.
As Jessica approached the bar, sidling up to Nick, Jasper clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention. ‘Okay, my darlings! Let’s get the party started. Who is daring enough to kick off our karaoke extravaganza?’
