Page 32 of All Wrapped Up
She was laughing at her own joke as I left and crossed the square to the gallery.
‘I was starting to get really worried about you,’ said Lizzie, as she immediately opened the door when she spotted me. ‘I’ve been too busy to drive out to the cottage again, but I was planning to stop by as soon as I had finished up here later tonight if I hadn’t heard from you by then.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I apologised, waiting while she locked the door behind me. ‘I’m sorry I just sort of… disappeared.’
‘No sort of about it,’ she pointed out. ‘You went completely AWOL and I couldn’t even keep tabs on you on Insta because your posting seems to have slowed right down. I hope that isn’t because I sussed out who you are.’
My lack of the usual regular posts had been a bit related to that, but I was over it now, so I wasn’t going to tell her and make her feel even worse than she obviously already did.
‘No, no,’ I therefore said, airily dismissing her deduction. ‘I’ve just been busy. Normal online service has been resumed from today and, if you agree with what I’m about to suggest, the festival might be back on, too.’
Her concerned expression transformed into one of excitement.
‘Now about that—’ she grinned.
‘Me first,’ I cut in. ‘Please.’
‘Go on then,’ she laughed.
I explained about how I thought we could simply set up a couple of weekends of events and which workshops might work with the limited number of people we now knew wanted to be involved.
‘It wouldn’t take too much effort to sort it all out,’ I finished up, feeling rather out of breath. Lizzie looked fit to burst, so I hoped that meant she was also keen. ‘And this idea, on a much smaller scale than the original one, might be the perfect lead in for the full-blown festival next year. What do you think?’
‘Well,’ she laughed, ‘for a start, I’m thrilled that Jason hasn’t completely put you off.’
‘He did for a while,’ I admitted, ‘but at the end of the day, I just can’t seem to let this festival idea go, Lizzie. I really want to see it happen in some way. I might not have known Moses, as Jason was so keen to point out, but given his passion for the cosy season, I feel like we could have been kindred spirits.’
‘Good,’ she clapped.
‘So, you think the mini festival ideamightwork then?’
‘I actually think the original, grander idea will work—’
‘No,’ I cut in, trying not to sound frustrated. ‘It really won’t. You saw the turnout for the meeting and you heard the objection to me, the town stranger, being involved. It might have only been one voice, but I wouldn’t want more to join it. With something smaller going on, I could keep a lower profile. Sort of direct the whole thing off stage. Make it more of a… side quest than an autumn extravaganza.’
Lizzie pulled out two chairs for us to sit on.
‘Please, Clemmie,’ she begged, as I flopped down. ‘Please just listen. Yes, I did see the turnout and yes, I did hear the objection and I can tell you that Jason was entirely responsible for both.’
I frowned at that.
‘How could he have been responsible for the turnout?’
Lizzie shook her head as if she still couldn’t believe it.
‘He got in touch with the woman who’s the admin for the Wynbridge community online pages and told her to change the details,’ she told me in a rush. ‘He said, as bold as brass so she didn’t question it, that there’d been a last-minute change of venue that needed announcing immediately or the meeting wouldn’t come off.’
‘I don’t believe it,’ I said indignantly.
‘It’s true,’ Lizzie insisted. ‘The admin was in such a panic, because the meeting time was so close, she made the changes and posted an alert to highlight it without checking the facts with anyone else. She feels absolutely awful now.’
‘You’re really being serious?’
‘Deadly serious.’
‘What a horrible position to put her in. The poor woman.’
‘Jason is horrible.’
