Page 77 of All Wrapped Up
‘I was going to ask about her.’ I smiled, feeling delighted that she could be involved. ‘What would the hours be?’
‘Part-time hours, around twenty to twenty-five. Maybe more at certain times of the year and when you were opening the gallery on my behalf.’
That didn’t sound too onerous.
‘And how would you feel if I came along to help with a couple more workshops while I think about it?’ I asked. ‘I’d really like to get more of a feel for what you offer and have a proper look around the gallery, of course.’
Lizzie looked thrilled. ‘I would be delighted if you did that,’ she agreed. ‘It would give you a solid idea as to what you’d be letting yourself in for, wouldn’t it?’
‘It would. My only concern would be that if I ultimately decided that it wasn’t the job for me, then you’d be left with no time to find someone else to take it on before you needed them.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ Lizzie insisted. ‘I could easily find someone to fill in while I cast the net wider.’
I got the feeling that she truly had her heart set on me saying yes and although that was a little scary, it was also great to be wanted.
‘All right,’ I said, as I took a bracing breath and thought about what I’d earlier been considering when I stopped to look at the pumpkins. ‘Leave it all with me and I’ll come back to you as soon as I can.’
‘I know you’re swamped with the festival right now,’ Lizzie said kindly, ‘so there’s no immediate rush.’
I appreciated that because even though I had the highest of hopes that it would all fall into place, I also needed some peace and quiet in which to think it through. What a wonderful autumn I was having and it had only just begun!
Chapter 18
Just as Lizzie and I had acknowledged, I now had plenty to think about and I spent much of the following week doing just that. My head was becoming increasingly insistent that the job Lizzie was offering me was exactly what I needed to make my future at Rowan Cottage even happier and also more financially secure. However, with so many changes happening and so much of the festival still to oversee, I didn’t feel entirely ready to give her my answer just yet. I would wait until I had at least helped her in the gallery again before I completely decided.
I would have liked to talk about it with Mum and Dad, but I knew that they sometimes stressed about my financial secur-ity and didn’t want them to nag me to jump at the chance of a regular pay check. In lieu of my parents, I also considered calling Ash, who had crept into my thoughts every time I dressed the bird tables, but then I worried that his continued silence might mean he had things happening elsewhere and I didn’t want to be a nuisance.
It was a wonder to think that for so long I had kept things to myself and now, just a few weeks after walking back intothe world, I wanted to discuss my plans and prospects with other people. It was quite a transformation and it felt a little frustrating that, for the time being at least, I couldn’t do it.
‘Oh well, Pixie,’ I said, the night before the pick your own pumpkin patch at Skylark Farm was due to open. ‘I think we should just put it a little further down the list of priorities for now, don’t you?’
She yipped in response and licked my hand.
‘I knew you’d agree.’ I smiled, kissing the top of her head. ‘All in good time.’
The pumpkin field was supposed to be open for business from ten a.m. that Saturday morning, but as I drove along the road towards it, it became obvious that we’d underestimated how many families would want to come along and take part. I felt certain that the weather, which was crisp, clear and bright, was playing its part in upping the popularity and novelty of the event and the visitor numbers were further bolstered as a result.
‘Hey, Clemmie,’ said Jake, after he’d flagged me down some distance away from the field entrance.
It would have been a job to spot where the field opening actually was because there were cars, trucks and vans parked on either side of the bumpy drove and in some places, they had turned it into a narrow single track with nowhere left to sensibly pass.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked, as I checked there were no vehicles behind me. ‘We did say a ten o’clock start, didn’t we?’
‘We did,’ Jake nodded as he pulled off his hat and raked a hand through his hair, ‘but there were so many people waiting by half nine, I thought we’d best make a start. I hope you don’t mind.’
‘Not at all,’ I told him. ‘I’m delighted the idea is proving such a popular one, but I’m not sure the police will agree if they come along and see the state of all this parking.’
‘They wouldn’t generally drive down here, but that’s crossed my mind, too.’ Jake grimaced. ‘I’ve got plenty of help in the field now, so I can keep an eye out here and I’m trying to hurry folk along as much as I can without spoiling the experi-ence for them.’
‘Let’s hope that after today, the novelty wears off a bit and then you’ll get a steady stream of visitors rather than this mad rush.’
‘That would definitely be better,’ he agreed. ‘But the field opening times will have to be limited because someone will always need to be here to monitor it.’
‘Oh, yes,’ I said, biting my lip. ‘I didn’t think of that.’
‘Well, don’t you worry about it.’ Jake smiled, waving at a car that had just pulled up behind me. ‘We’ll sort something. Why don’t you drive along to the farm, Clemmie? You can park there and walk back to the field if you’d like to take a closer look at it.’
I definitely wanted to take a closer look. I wanted to pick and buy some pumpkins to cook and decorate with, too.
