Page 15 of A Sky Full of Stars
‘Thanks, I will,’ Charlotte replied, and turned her attention back to the centre aisle. She was rapidly realising there was far more here that she wanted than she could reasonably carry, and was regretting not getting a supermarket order in.
At that moment, the door that led to the back of the building opened, and a tall, striking man with beech-leaf-coloured hair and piercing blue eyes strode through the shop. He was wearing a navy-blue polo shirt with the gold embroidery, and Charlotte watched him as he progressed across the shop to the counter.
‘I think that’s all the deliveries done,’ he called out as he reached Annabelle. ‘Any more I should know about before I knock off for a coffee?’
‘Let me just check the logs,’ Annabelle replied, tapping swiftly on the iPad that was by the till. ‘Just one for Mrs Stokes at Owl’s Barn for this afternoon. She’s requested a bag of those Maris Pipers and a few other bits and bobs – I’ll put a box together.’
‘Thanks, sis,’ the guy replied. ‘Coffee?’
‘Yeah, that would be great,’ Annabelle replied.
Charlotte, hearing their exchange, had an idea.
‘Um, can I ask about your delivery service?’ She approached the counter with her potential purchases and placed them down.
‘Sure,’ Annabelle smiled at her. ‘We charge a small fee for orders below fifty pounds, and it’s free for orders over that. Usually, deliveries are for online orders only, but we do get a few customers who come in and request their shopping delivered, once they find they’ve bought too much to carry home!’
‘That would be me, right now!’ Charlotte grinned. ‘I only came in for a couple of things to tide me over, but I’ve fallen for a whole lot more of your stock.’
Annabelle smiled back. ‘It happens to the best of us.’ She turned in the direction the guy had wandered off. ‘Nick!’ she shouted. ‘Can you do another delivery this afternoon?’
Nick poked his head back through the door. ‘So long as it doesn’t interfere with the cricket – Roseford versus Lower Brambleton – it’s a proper grudge match!’
‘I’m sure you can fit it in before you have to bat,’ Annabelle said dryly.
‘I’ll add it to the list,’ Nick replied. He glanced at Charlotte. ‘Where’s it to?’
Charlotte smiled at the West Country turn of phrase. ‘Nightshade Cottage, Buttermere Lane.’
‘Oh, Lorelai’s gaff? You the new lodger?’ Nick inclined his head in recognition.
‘Yup, just for the summer,’ Charlotte replied. ‘And I’d love to be able to take home more than I can carry. A delivery would be great.’
‘Leave it with Annabelle – I’ll drop it off on my way to Owl’s Barn.’
‘Thank you,’ Charlotte said. ‘That’s great. I can really go to town now!’
Annabelle laughed. ‘That’s what we like to hear. We do love a happy customer.’
Charlotte, leaving her first handful of purchases by the till, set about finding more delicious things to stock her fridge and her cupboards. She had to keep reminding herself that shouldn’t be too extravagant, since the prices in the farm shop were a little higher than she’d usually consider, but there were so many things she found herself itching to buy. In the end, the local lavender honey, a loaf of strong, golden-crusted sourdough and a block of butter were among the many items she added to her pile. She even picked up some freshly baked dog treats for the patiently waiting Comet to try.
‘Wow, you really have gone for it!’ Annabelle observed as Charlotte returned to pay. ‘You’re very welcome to visit us again.’
‘Well, I’ll be here until the start of the next academic year, give or take a week or two, so I absolutely will.’
As she tapped her debit card on the terminal, Annabelle asked her what had brought her to Lower Brambleton. Charlotte tried to give her the potted version, as she had a tendency to get too caught up with explanations and risk boring people, or so she always feared. As soon as Annabelle heard the words ‘Observatory Field’, though, she looked intrigued and thoughtful.
‘That development’s been a long time coming,’ Annabelle remarked as Charlotte paused. ‘There’s a lot of people round here who tried to stop it from going ahead at all – said the observatory should be preserved as a site of special historical interest. Of course, most of those were well over sixty and just didn’t want the village to change. We don’t all think like that.’
‘Speak for yourself,’ a gruff voice interceded from behind Charlotte, and she glanced over her shoulder to see a tall, silver-haired man standing a little way away. He’d hefted in a wooden boxful of raspberry punnets and was clearly on his way to put them out the front of the shop. ‘There’s some of us who still think that.’
‘Change happens, Dad,’ Annabelle replied. ‘And you can’t stand in the way of it, especially when people need places to live.’
‘People need places to live where the jobs are,’ the man replied. ‘What’s anyone got going for them all the way out here?’
Annabelle sighed. ‘You’ll have to excuse my father.’ She turned back to Charlotte, who was observing this exchange with interest. ‘He forgets that not everyone can afford a house in town.’
‘Wouldn’t want to live there anyway,’ the man grunted as he picked up the crate of raspberries once more. ‘Let me know if anything else needs bringing up from the cold store, Annie.’
