Page 31 of A Recipe for Love
‘Well there’s not much to run with the hall closed.’ Anna’s tone was bleak again.
‘What hall?’ Bella asked.
‘The community hall. It needs a new roof,’ Nina explained. ‘So most of the community groups have had to stop. We have Ladies’ Group here at Anna’s, but most things need more space, don’t they?’
Netty whispered something inaudible.
Nina nodded. ‘You’re right. She should. You’d be very welcome.’
All four women were now staring at Bella. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch that.’
Netty whispered again. Still completely outside the range of human hearing. Flinty, Anna and Nina all nodded and turned back to Bella. Apparently only out of the range of one human’s hearing.
She smiled apologetically. ‘I’m sorry. Still didn’t quite…’
‘You should go to Ladies’ Group,’ Flinty explained. ‘Good way to get to know people.’
‘Maggie comes,’ Anna added. ‘Now she’sretired.’ She didn’t need to make air quotes around ‘retired’. You could hear them.
Should she really be joining village groups when she wasn’t sure how long she was going to be here? She opened her mouth to demur and caught the expectant expressions on the faces around her. ‘I’d love to.’
‘Wonderful. Tuesday mornings, unless Anna has a meat delivery. Then we move to Wednesdays.’
Netty issued another incomprehensible interjection.
‘Quite right.’ Nina nodded. ‘Not the third Wednesday of the month because that’s when the mobile library comes.’
‘So when’s the next one?’
‘Monday.’
Of course.
‘Right. Let’s get these things rung through. Was there anything you couldn’t find?’
‘No, but Bella needs some things.’
Flinty physically pushed her forward, like a mother encouraging her child to do her bit at the school talent show.
‘Oh yeah. I need some walking boots or wellies. And a proper coat.’
Anna’s face barely shifted but the tiny tightening around her mouth spoke volumes of her thoughts on the silly English girl who’d rocked up in the Scottish Highlands without even a proper jacket. ‘There’s wellies in the red bin out front. Donated, so put something in the tin for the hall appeal. The coat we’ll need to order in.’ She pulled a lever arch folder from under the counter, flicked through and pulled out two thin catalogues. She handed Bella the first. ‘These ones I can get from a place in Portree so you can pick it up Monday.’ And then the second. ‘These are nicer and better value, to be honest, but I have to order in so it’ll probably be ten days.’
‘I guess quicker?’ she asked Flinty, who nodded in response. She picked one of the less awful-looking coats from the very slim women’s section. It was still objectively horrible, but it was also the cheapest on the page. Bella was going to need to do something that earned some money really soon.
‘Right. I’ll settle up then,’ Flinty said.
‘I can pay for my things,’ Bella insisted.
‘Put it through on the house account,’ Flinty told the shopkeeper.
‘I can…’
‘You can sort it out with the laird when we get back.’ Flinty looked tired. ‘Just carry these out for me, will you?’
Bella did what she was told, remembering not to open the back door. Flinty was still inside the garage shop. The four women were now huddled around the till, all talking at once.
Listening in was wrong. Eavesdropping was definitely something her nan would disapprove of, but also something she would absolutely do herself.
