Page 69 of All Wrapped Up
‘See you later. And thank you, Ash.’
‘It’s really nothing,’ he said, ducking his head.
‘No,’ I said, again resisting the urge to give him a hug, ‘it’s the very opposite of that.’
There were already a few cars parked at Fenview Farm when I arrived for the feast, but I couldn’t see Ash’s truck amongst them and I hoped he hadn’t been called out already. While I had been getting organised for the evening, I had looked out of the cottage window to admire the bird tables and wondered what, other than food, I could offer him in return. He might have insisted that his gifts were no big deal, but they had made me feel thought of and cherished and I was keen to make him feel that way, too.
‘Clemmie!’ called Bella, as she climbed out of her little Fiat with a man I hadn’t seen before. ‘Have you been inside?’
‘Not yet,’ I said, feeling pleased that I wasn’t going to have to walk in alone. ‘I’ve only just got here.’
‘This is my partner, Jude,’ she told me, once she’d locked her car and they’d walked over. ‘Jude, this is Clemmie.’
‘The festival saviour.’ Jude smiled at me. ‘I saw you at the launch, but didn’t have the chance to say hello.’
‘Well, hello now.’ I smiled back. ‘It’s lovely to meet you.’
‘Come on,’ said Bella, linking her arm through mine in a friendly gesture that settled my nerves more than she could have realised. ‘Let’s go in. I can’t wait for you to see what Fliss has done with the barn.’
‘And what you’ve contributed to it,’ Jude laughed. ‘Bella has helped with the decorating,’ he added for my benefit.
‘I’ve branched out,’ she giggled. ‘But only for tonight.’
As soon as we reached the barn door, Fliss, who owned the farm with her grandad, Bill, and regularly hosted supper club events showcasing local and seasonal food, rushed over with her partner, Eliot, to greet us.
The barn was the perfect setting for the festival’s autumn feast and I could already see that she, and Bella, had gone all out to dress it to perfection.
‘Come on in,’ said Fliss, ushering me further inside. ‘Come and look at what Bella has made.’
I could already see and her clever creations added perfectly to the rural ambience.
‘Scarecrows!’ I laughed. ‘How clever, Bella! They’re adorable.’
Every table had a couple, one sitting and one standing, and even though their outfits were all made from different fabrics, they all somehow matched, too. The poles on the standing ones had been used to secure them in the centre of floral table decorations which were a riot of autumn-coloured dahlias and chrysanthemums, gourds, grasses and seasonal greenery. There were fairy lights strung everywhere and the stacks of small pumpkins and sheaves of wheat gave the barn a wonderful harvest festival feel.
‘The barn has never looked so good,’ said Bill, who I had met when I came to talk to Fliss about their offer to host the festival’s main food events. ‘I think we’re in for a good night.’
He wasn’t wrong. Before long, all of the seats, bar one, had been taken and the feasting began. The tables were groaning with deliciously spiced platters of seasonal vegetables, slices and chunks of all kinds of bread, richly salted butter, hard and soft cheeses, charcuterie, hog roast and apple sauce. Everything had been locallysourced, the pork and apples, jugs of cider and juice coming from the Fenview neighbours at Skylark Farm, the cocktails and mocktails from Brambles, and I sampled practically everything.
‘Where’s Ash?’ asked Jemma who was there with her husband, Tom.
Ash’s seat was the empty one next to mine.
‘I don’t know,’ I told her. ‘He was planning to come, but he’s also on call, so maybe he’s working.’
‘I was,’ his voice piped up behind me. ‘But I’m here now. What have I missed?’
He sounded out of breath and rather harassed. I knew how much he had been looking forward to the feast, and that he hadn’t eaten ahead of it, so that was no surprise.
‘Practically everything food wise,’ Jemma tutted, as he sat down next to me and let out a huff of annoyance. ‘You’ll be lucky to get scraps now.’
‘No, he won’t,’ said Fliss, magically appearing at his side with a huge and very packed plate. ‘Because I’ve saved you a bit of everything, Ash.’
‘Hey,’ objected Eliot, from the other side of the table with mock outrage. ‘He’s got more than I had!’
‘Yes, well,’ said Fliss, giving Ash a wink and patting him on the shoulder, ‘you didn’t save Grandad’s favourite hen, did you, Eliot? Ash did.’
Ash laughed at that and I was pleased to observe the upturn in his mood. I hated the thought of the evening being spoiled for him when he’d been looking forward to it.
