Page 80 of All Wrapped Up
The couple walked away looking disgruntled.
‘You pulled that sticker off,’ tutted the woman to the guy as she plucked at his sleeve. ‘I saw you do it.’
‘Oh dear,’ I said. ‘He’s in trouble.’ Ash focused his attention on trying to get the sticker back on. ‘They never would have been able to carry it anyway.’
‘You’re right. It’s a bit of a monster, this one.’
He was still fiddling with the label.
‘I didn’t know you were back,’ I said casually.
‘I told you I’d be here in time for today,’ he mumbled, as he finally finished faffing. ‘I said I’d be here.’
‘Oh yes,’ I said, thinking back to our last conversation and then wishing I hadn’t. ‘You did, didn’t you? How were things in Bakewell? How’s your nan?’
‘She’s doing well,’ he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. ‘I helped make a couple of adjustments to the annexe for her, which has helped.’
‘Time well spent then,’ I said, shifting from one foot to the other as I wondered if his standoffish manner was the result of still feeling the impact of our silly near miss at the Fenview Feast.
It was the only thing that I could think of that might account for his unusually detached behaviour. I’d pretty much parked it the night it had happened, so why hadn’t he?
‘I think so,’ he said, finally looking at me. ‘Or I had thought so.’ He swallowed and looked away again.
I had no idea what he meant by that.
‘The bird tables are proving popular,’ I told him and I hated the slightly desperate edge I could hear in my tone. ‘Now the birds are getting the measure of them, there’s always something on them. The goldfinches are the biggest gluttons, but that could be because there seem to be more of them than anything else.’
‘It was a good time of year to get it all set up.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I suppose it was. The birds will be completely used to feeding from them before the weather really changes, won’t they?’
‘Exactly.’
‘I’ve missed you this week,’ I then blurted out. If he wasn’t going to say it, then I would.
‘Have you?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I have. Loads has happened since you’ve been gone and I wanted to talk to you about it.’
‘To do with the festival?’
‘No,’ I said, feeling exasperated. ‘To do with me.’
‘Right,’ he said.
‘If my memory serves,’ I said, starting to feel hot and fed up to be the one doing all of the running, ‘we’re friends, aren’t we? And friends discuss things?’
‘Yes,’ he grimaced. ‘Of course.’
‘So, can we talk?’
I could see a family heading in our direction, weighed down with a variety of pumpkins.
‘Can we pay you for these?’ the man asked. He sounded out of puff. ‘I’ve got cash.’
‘Yes,’ said Ash, in a completely different tone to the one he’d just addressed me in. ‘Let’s add up what you’ve got.’
‘We’ve got loads!’ boasted the youngest child, who was wrapped up as if it was the depths of winter they’d ventured out in.
