Page 56 of All Wrapped Up
‘No,’ I cut in, as I shakily put the teapot down. ‘I’m not talking about the best-dressed window competition. What do you mean about making a speech? Who’s making a speech?’
He laughed, then realised I was being serious.
‘You, of course,’ he loudly announced. ‘As organiser, you’ll be the one talking about the festival and cutting the proverbial ribbon before it officially opens.’
‘I don’t think so.’ I gulped. ‘No one’s mentioned anything about making a speech to me.’
‘And the primary school choir is going to be singing “Autumn Days” on the stage.’
‘What stage?’ I screeched. ‘You’re having me on!’ I felt a growing knot of pain in my tummy and a sense of panic descend. ‘You’re winding me up.’
‘I am not,’ he said, as the toaster popped and made me jump. ‘I was treating a cat belonging to Hattie, a woman who works at the school, yesterday and she was on about it. The kids are really looking forward to it. They’ve been rehearsing all week.’
‘I don’t care about the choir!’ I spluttered, as I grabbed my notebook and started frantically checking my notes. ‘I mean, I do. Of course, I do. It’s lovely of them to sing, and the song is perfect, but I didn’t know anything about it and I’m definitely not making a speech. I’ve got nothing written down here to remind me that I’ve got to say anything to anyone.’
Surely, as the festival organiser, if this actually was in the offing, then I would have been informed about it, wouldn’t I? So much for remaining calm and serene!
‘Well,’ Ash shrugged, ‘it’s obvious, isn’t it? The festival can’t launch without some sort of fanfare to mark the occasion.’
I put the notebook down again. ‘The choir will provide that,’ I desperately said. ‘I won’t need to chip in, too.’
‘I think you will,’ Ash said contradictorily, then put the crumpets on a plate and reached for the butter knife.
‘Leave all that,’ I said tetchily, as my nerves leapt to match those that he had turned up with but now seemed to have lost. Perhaps they were contagious jitters and he’d passed them on to me. ‘Come on! We need to get ready! We’re going to be late.’
‘I am ready,’ he tutted, as I rushed upstairs to get dressed. ‘You’re the one who’s been dawdling.’
On the journey into town in Ash’s truck, with me in the front this time and Pixie strapped in between us, I sent a frantic message to Lizzie asking if Ash had got it wrong about me having to make a speechandjudge the shop windows. The pressure of that particular task had finally sunk in as I quickly brushed my teeth, piled my hair on top of my head and pulled on my favourite autumn outfit.
‘No, Ash hasn’t got it wrong,’ were the unfortunate words Lizzie greeted me with, while he parked the truck and kept hold of Pixie and I rushed over to the café. ‘Surely you realised that as official organiser, you’d have to give a speech to launch the thing.’
‘No,’ I hotly protested. ‘I did not. Why can’t you do it? Or someone else who knew Moses? Anyone but me! Please! As festival manager,’ I added, drawing myself up, ‘I’m delegating the task to you.’
Lizzie shook her head.
‘I’m not doing it because you’re the one who has turned the idea Moses had into reality,’ she pointed out. ‘You’re entitled to take the credit, Clemmie, even if you don’t want to.’
‘Ireallydon’t want to,’ I said, with emphasis. ‘I really, really don’t want to.’
‘I take it you’re not a fan of public speaking then?’ Lizzie grinned. ‘You were fine in the pub the night of the second meeting.’
‘It’s hardly on the same level, is it?’ I cringed. ‘That was a small, well, smallish, gathering, this is potentially going to be the entire town!’
‘In that case,’ she suggested as if it was no big deal at all, ‘how about I come up on the stage with you and introduce you. Then, you can just say a few words after me?’
‘How about you go on the stage on your own and you say all of the words?’ I suggested again.
‘Nope.’
She clearly had no intention of letting me off the hook.
‘Fine,’ I begrudgingly relented. I was still terrified, but I knew the battle had been lost. ‘I’ll say something after you. Something really, really brief.’
‘Good,’ Lizzie said. ‘That’s settled. But you’re not getting out of judging the shop windows. That’s definitely down to you.’
‘I suppose that’s fair,’ I sighed. ‘And I suppose I could rope Ash in to help with that.’ He would be able to give me a heads up about the shop owners and the rivalry he had earlier alluded to that might cause ill feeling, depending on how the prizes were allocated. ‘Yes, we’ll complete that together.’
‘Atta girl!’ Joanne, who had been listening in, laughed. ‘I knew you’d find a use for him in the end.’
