Page 96 of All Wrapped Up
‘Well,’ she huffed, rather than doing either, ‘that will certainly spread the word, won’t it?’
‘Oh, Joanne,’ I sighed, as I scooped Pixie up for a cuddle.
‘What are you going to do?’ Ash asked me.
I took my time to rationally consider that. As unsettled as I was by the thought of having to manage a situation similar to the one I had experienced before, I knew nothing would be gained from breaking down or flying off the handle or wishing I could turn back time. I’d attempted all three in the past and with mixed, but mostly, unsatisfactory results. It was done now and I had to face the outcome, whatever that turned out to be.
‘Wait until the paper comes out and see what’s written, I suppose,’ I said as I buried my face in the comforting warmth of Pixie’s fur.
Joanne might have been the one to let the cat out of the bag, but as I had recently immersed myself in local life, I think I had known, somewhere deep in the back of my mind, that this was going to happen one day. I was amazed that I could sound so calm about it now the time had come far sooner than I might have hoped, but of course my attitude mightchange if the journalist did go ahead and mention more than AutumnEverything…
‘We could talk to the guy,’ Ash suggested. Out of everyone, he was the only person who knew my backstory and was now obviously, and kindly, concerned, even though I was resigned to it potentially being exposed. ‘Ask him not to tell the journalist who’ll be writing the story up.’
I shook my head. ‘No,’ I said. ‘We’re not going to do that, because in my experience, word has a habit of spreading no matter what you try and do to stop it.’ Lizzie looked at me and I wondered if she was thinking back to the day we’d met when I’d said something similar. ‘And don’t worry, Joanne. I know you didn’t mean for this to happen.’
‘I really didn’t,’ she sniffed. ‘By the time I’d realised that if you’d wanted everyone to know about it, you would have said something by now, it was too late. Is there anything I can do to make it less of a mess?’
‘No,’ I said, putting Pixie down again. ‘I don’t think so and you never know, in the long run, it might not end up being as much of a mess as you think.’
‘But I mean it.’ She swallowed, clearly not comforted by my words. ‘I’ll do anything.’
‘Well, in that case,’ I requested, because she obviously felt the need to do something, ‘go and ask Jemma for some cake. I have a sudden need for a huge slice of something sweet.’
Chapter 22
Left to my own devices that week I daresay I might not have remained quite as relaxed about Joanne’s Greatest Gaff – as Lizzie had named it – but I had Pixie to cuddle at night and Ash was so kind and often on hand by day, that my thoughts never took the darker turn they might have succumbed to had I been entirely alone. While the countdown to the newspaper being published ticked down, Ash and I delved deeper into what I might decide to do before it did, in private.
‘I got your message,’ he said, on the Tuesday morning when he just happened to be passing –just happened to be passingwas becoming a bit of a standing joke between us as it was happening on a more and more regular basis and I was never sorry to see him. ‘You’ve definitely decided that you’re going to give Lizzie, Jemma and Joanne the go ahead to start spreading the news that you’re the person behind AutumnEverything before the paper comes out?’
‘Yep,’ I said, as I unhooked two of my favourite Emma Bridgewater mugs from the dresser top and spooned coffee into each of them. ‘It feels inevitable that the account is going to be named in the paper now, so I want us to get in first andexplain to as many people as possible that I haven’t promoted the festival on my grid because that’s not what Autumn Everything is about.’
‘I agree that’s the right way to go,’ Ash supportively nodded. ‘If you make that clear, then no one can say you should have used it, can they?’
‘Some people still might.’ I shrugged. ‘I learnt long ago that you can’t please everyone, but I’ll feel better knowing that we’ve stated my case before Friday when everyone might assume that I’m only talking about it then because my hand has been forced.’
To a certain extent that would have been true, but I wasn’t going to make a thing of it.
‘That’s fair enough,’ Ash carried on, ‘and if the journalist has the audacity to print anything beyond the account name, then let’s hope folk won’t be impressed with them and leave it at that.’
‘That’s the dream,’ I said, holding up crossed fingers. ‘My biggest fear is that people will want to seek me out and start telling me about their own tragedies again. I hope that doesn’t make me sound heartless…’
‘Given what you’ve now told me about the messages you received after Callum died,’ Ash compassionately said, ‘it doesn’t make you sound heartless at all. You’re still coming to terms with your own grief, so the last thing you need is to take on other people’s.’
‘It feels so good to have someone in my life who gets that,’ I smiled.
I knew my parents would also understand, but I couldn’t possibly worry them with this. Thank goodness for Ash.
‘Good,’ Ash smiled back. ‘I’m pleased you feel that way. You know you can always lean on me.’
‘I do know that. Thank you, Ash. And you know what,’ I carried on, feeling confident, in that moment at least, ‘I doubt the article will feature more than the account name. After all, this story isn’t about me, is it? It’s about the shop window winners, so really there’s no need to mention me in any more detail than they need to discuss you. We were simply the people handing out the awards, weren’t we?’
‘That’s true,’ Ash agreed. ‘And this is a small local paper we’re talking about, not a raging red top. The photographer might have been interested in you, but the journalist might not think your history is newsworthy at all.’
‘Let’s hope we’re both right,’ I said, as I took the milk he handed me from the fridge and poured a little into each of the mugs, ‘and we’ll know soon enough.’
‘I’m sorry you’ve been put in this situation though.’
‘Me too.’ I swallowed, feeling briefly less buoyant. ‘It’s the last thing I need to have to contend with when there’s so much still to do for the festival.’
