Page 59 of All Wrapped Up
‘Your choice.’ I shrugged, even though I wanted to go to the café and try Jemma’s new additions.
‘Oh well, in that case.’ Ash caved, then reached for Pixie’s lead. ‘Show me the way.’
I made the right call in insisting that Ash accompanied me throughout the judging. He was the fount of all knowledge when it came to shop gossip and rivalry and, even though I wasn’t going to really let any of that influence our final decision, it was fun to find out about.
I had decided early on which window I wanted to be the overall winner chosen by us and when we settled at a table in The Mermaid, because we couldn’t get in at the café, I was delighted when Ash said that it was his favourite, too. We weren’t going to announce our winners until the public had had the opportunity to vote for their favourites, via the box and ballot sheets set up in the town hall, but I felt like it was a weight off my mind to have it decided and I was now looking forward to the allocation of the two sets of awards.
‘How many photos have you taken?’ Ash asked, as I scrolled through the images on my phone after we’d finished the delicious and hearty stew and dumplings Evelyn had laid on exclusively for the first day of the festival.
‘Quite a few.’ I grinned.
‘Dozens, by the looks of it. What on earth do you want them all for?’
I wanted some of them to post on AutumnEverything, but I wasn’t going to explain about that and I hoped Lizzie wouldn’t be tempted to add any cryptic comments on the posts I shared either. I had made sure the images were all autumnal (which wasn’t hard given how beautifully the town was dressed) but didn’t give any clue as to where they might have been taken. There were close ups of the pumpkins and some of the decorations, but nothingthat screamed Wynbridge in either the general subjects or the background. They could have been taken in any other town or village celebrating the season.
‘Well,’ I said, ‘it’s a very special day and I just wanted to record it.’
‘All of it,’ Ash teased.
‘Don’t forget, I’ve been holed up in Rowan Cottage for the last eighteen months,’ I reminded him, ‘so it’s only to be expected that I go a little overboard now I’m… out.’
‘You make it sound like you were a prisoner.’
I took a moment to consider that.
‘I suppose I was, in a way,’ I said. ‘I made myself a prisoner in my own home.’
‘Sorry,’ he apologised, looking remorseful. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘You didn’t,’ I told him. ‘You were right and I stayed there, locked in my own world, with good reason. Had I not done it, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you now.’
‘It really helped?’
‘It really did. Moving to Rowan Cottage and taking the time to do what I needed to, without anyone trying to convince me that my way was the wrong way, was the best decision I could have made. It wouldn’t have been right for everyone, but it worked for me. I mean, can you imagine what Joanne and even Lizzie, would have been like if they’d met me as soon as I moved here,’ I grimaced, ‘and been privy to the circumstances surrounding my arrival?’
Ash let out a breath. ‘They wouldn’t have given you a moment’s peace, would they?’
‘Exactly,’ I confirmed. ‘Their attention would have beenkindly meant, I’m sure, but I wouldn’t have wanted it and I wouldn’t have achieved anything positive because of it. Staying home, on my own, was what I needed to do and I did it.’
My instinct about that being the right course for me had first come to light as a result of shutting down the online accounts Callum and I had. Once I was no longer being inundated with private messages and the harrowing details of other people’s grief, I had felt such relief and, months later, the privacy the move to the Fens afforded me had added to that.
‘Did your parents understand your need for isolation?’ Ash asked. ‘Do you have parents? I didn’t even think to ask last night.’
‘I do,’ I confirmed. ‘And they didn’t, not in the beginning, but eventually they accepted it. When they could see I was focused on the renovation, and coping better as a result, they realised I was in the best place.’
I didn’t mention that their faith in my eventual successful online ‘social life’ courtesy of AutumnEverything had helped to also convince them that I had a real-life social life and friends in the area to go with it, too.
‘Well, like I said earlier,’ Ash said quietly, ‘I think you’re amazing.’
‘Just don’t let Joanne hear you say that.’ I smiled. ‘Otherwise, we’ll be back to square one. Now, I’m going to pay and then I want to explore the market before everything’s sold.’
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that because the stalls had been doing a roaring trade all day. Clearly, the popularity of the cosy season was growing year on year and I was thrilled about that. Not only for my Insta account but for the appeal of the festival, too.
As long as all went smoothly, repeating it again next year really would be a no-brainer and it could be even bigger, because we’d have the whole year to prepare for it and with the Connelly family and Wynthorpe Hall on board, we’d have new events to offer, too.
‘Have all of the autumn fairies gone?’ I asked Bella, as I looked through the few handmade and characterful winged beauties she had left. ‘I can’t seem to find any.’
I’d had my eye on the fairies dressed in the autumn fabric she had mentioned before, but I hadn’t had a chance to buy one earlier and now it looked like I’d missed my chance.
