Page 6 of Could It Be Magic?
Nick looked briefly thunderous, but then, much to Thea’s relief, he laughed. ‘OK, so I suppose it is kind of inevitable, but that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to it. But never mind – I’m sure we’ll work something out.’
‘I used to work in the local shop in the village, years ago, if you’re desperate,’ Thea joked. ‘The tills are probably a bit different now, but I’m a quick learner.’
Nick’s pause made Thea a little nervous.
‘Is that a serious offer? I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m pretty desperate and out of ideas…’
‘Thanks,’ Thea said dryly. Then, her mind began to fill in some gaps. A bit of extra work, even if it was only for a couple of weeks before Christmas, would certainly come in handy. And while the money wouldn’t match her teaching salary, it would be less demanding, she hoped. ‘Seriously, I could help out, if you wanted me to.’
‘Aren’t you working at school?’
‘Only Monday to Wednesday,’ Thea replied. ‘I’ve been trying to get more hours, but it’s not that easy in a nice school where no one ever leaves. From Thursday onwards, I could be here, if it helps.’
Nick’s relieved face gave Thea’s heart a little, joyful lift. He had looked so stressed when she’d come in, and it felt good to be able to do something to help him out, especially since he’d saved her bacon with the diesel. Working in the farm shop for a couple of weeks would be a nice change from school, and it would mean a little extra cash for Christmas, which would come in very handy indeed.
‘Any time you can give us would be great,’ Nick said. ‘And since the film crew start on Thursday, the tail end of the week is where we might need the most help. If you’re sure?’
Thea nodded. ‘To be honest, you’d be doing me a favour, too. Christmas is an expensive time of year, especially now the kids are old enough to tell me exactly what they want. And what they want tends to cost more money, the older they get!’
‘Well, that sounds like a plan, then.’ Nick reached over the counter. ‘Shake on it?’
Laughing, Thea took his hand, which felt warm and firm against hers. ‘It’s a deal.’
As Nick let go of her hand again, he added, ‘Would you be OK to come in on Wednesday afternoon after school for a couple of hours’ training? I can take you through the till, show you the ropes a bit, that sort of thing.’
‘I’ll have to check with my gran that she can pop over and keep an eye on Dylan, but I’m sure that’ll be fine,’ Thea replied. Lorelai was always happy to see her great-grandchildren, and she was sure a couple of hours wouldn’t be a problem.
‘Great! I’ll see you then.’ Nick gave her a smile, and Thea’s heart gave that little, joyful lift again. ‘Was there, er, anything else you needed?’ he added as she lingered at the counter.
‘Oh, right, yeah.’ Thea grabbed her phone from her bag and clicked to find the reference for her next Throw Bag. ‘I liked the bag I got last week, so I thought I’d take a chance with another one.’
As Nick headed to the stock room to retrieve her Throw Bag, Thea realised she hadn’t done what she’d come in for and thanked him for the diesel. She was lucky she had a friend like him, she thought as she waited for him to return to the counter. Nick was the kind of person who’d do anything for anyone, and she yet again found herself wondering why he hadn’t been snapped up by some lucky girl years ago. Maybe he had some terrible habits she wasn’t aware of, she thought in amusement. After all, she hadn’t a clue, when she’d fallen in love with Ed, just how destructive some of his ‘habits’ were going to be. Somehow, with Nick, who seemed much more straightforward, she doubted it, though. Perhaps he just hadn’t found the right person yet?
5
Wednesday afternoon arrived, and Thea felt a flutter of apprehension. She then felt daft for being nervous. She’d had plenty of retail experience, even if it had been a fair few years ago, and although the technology might have changed, she was sure she could adapt. It wasn’t as if Saints’ Farm Shop was a hypermarket, either – she hoped she’d have plenty of time to learn the ropes, and if things didn’t work out, it was only until Christmas anyway.
She’d told herself these facts a few times between agreeing to help out and actually arriving to be trained by Nick. Confident in her own abilities as a primary school teacher, a job she’d been doing for fifteen years, she wouldn’t have thought twice about learning a new skill or trying a new technique in her classroom. This really wasn’t so different. As she locked the car and headed in through the farm shop’s doors, she could already see Nick behind the counter, bidding someone goodbye, and as the customer turned to leave, she saw it was Mollie Wakefield, owner of the Purrfect Paws Feline Rescue Centre and part-time manager of the charity shop in the village that had been opened to support the work of the centre. Mollie gave her a friendly smile as she passed by and a conspiratorial whisper.
‘I’ve just had some Pokémon cards in, if Dylan’s still interested in them. I’ll put them out the back for Saturday if you get the chance to pop in with him.’
‘Thanks, Mollie.’ Thea smiled. ‘I’ll bring him by and see what he thinks.’
Mollie had the knack of being able to source a great deal of things that the Lower Brambleton locals had on their wish lists, especially the children, and the ‘magic’ of the Purrfect Paws Charity Shop seemed to work whatever time of year it was. Thea’s keen eye for a bargain approved.
‘Hi,’ Nick said as she approached the counter. ‘How was your day?’
‘Long,’ Thea sighed, but brightened when she saw Nick’s look of sympathy. ‘It’s always a bit of a slog getting the children ready for the nativity play, but at least it’ll all be done and dusted by the end of next week. If I have to adjust one more wonky tinsel halo or discourage the donkey from growing his role to more than just a few well-timed “hee-haws” one more time, I think I might bury my head in the manger!’
Nick laughed. ‘I don’t know how you do it. I certainly wouldn’t have the patience for that kind of gig.’
Thea couldn’t help a rush of pleasure when he laughed. She also noticed how well the dark blue Saints’ Farm polo shirt suited him. It offset his beech-leaves-in-autumn coloured hair to a tee. He’d filled out over the years, too, because of the intensely physical nature of running the farm shop, and she had to concede he’d grown very attractive.
‘It’s kind of sweet, really,’ Thea replied, fearing she’d come across as a bit too cynical. ‘They all try very hard, and the parents are so proud of their little darlings on the stage. I just wish it wasn’t quite so repetitive, getting them all word perfect.’
‘Well, speaking as someone who had a strictly non-speaking role as one half of the stable door in the Christmas nativity play thirty years ago, I’m sure they’ll all look back and feel proud.’
‘Which half of the door were you? I can’t remember.’
