Page 41 of Christmas at Hollybush Farm
‘Of course!’
She holds the door while I run back to get Dad and the bowl of cawl. ‘Looks like I came at the right time,’ says a voice from beside Dad.
‘Owen!’ I smile, as does Dad.
‘Good to see you, lad. You doing okay? I’m still feeling so bad about having to lay you off.’
‘We’ve all got to take care of ourselves now, Edwin. You included. And you know if you need anything you can always ask.’
‘I was just embarrassed, having had to—’
‘No need. We’re old friends. We go way back. You just ask.’
‘Diolch, son. Thank you,’ says Dad, a little choked.
Tears spring to my eyes and, just for a moment, I wonder how it would have been, if Owen and I … What would life have been like? Would we have made the farm work?
‘Come on, let’s get you in,’ he says, leading Dad to the café door, and I watch them go in.
Mae is beckoning. ‘Come on, quick!’
I hurry after them and she locks the door behind me, then pushes the sideboard over it.
‘Here, let me!’ says Owen, helping her. ‘But hang on. I’ve got something in the truck.’
‘Dad, you sit here.’ I point to one of Beti’s armchairs by the fire. ‘Mae, this is my dad. Mae and I were at school together Dad, but we didn’t really know each other then.’
‘She was one of the older, cooler kids,’ Mae says.
‘Who’s the cool one now?’ I giggle.
‘Pleased to meet you. And well done on what you’re doing. We all need to find a way to be heard right now.’ He does as he’s told and sits in one of Beti’s chairs by the fire.
I put the cawl on the table. ‘Now what?’ I answer myself. ‘Well, first off, I wish we could have a cuppa. I should have brought flasks.’
There’s a knock at the door. Owen is there carryingsomething big. We push back the sideboard. ‘A generator. Thought you could use this for leccy! Get some spuds on the go, that sort of thing. And make tea.’
‘Brilliant!’ says Mae.
And we do.
There’s another knock. Mae looks out and so do I.
‘It’s Myfanwy!’
Mae shoves back the sideboard.
‘I’ve brought bara brith – I heard what you were doing. Well done!’ Myfanwy says, with a grin.
‘Come in,’ says Mae. ‘Have a cup of tea.’
Myfanwy slides through the door and joins Dad by the fire. They nod at each other, stiffly at first.
‘Best bit of excitement around here in ages,’ he says, and she can’t help smiling back, despite their past hostilities.
‘We need to work out a plan for how to get the bosses to meet our demands,’ I say. ‘If this place goes, who’s next? Maybe Hollybush Farm.’
‘Well, we should let everyone know what you’re doing,’ says Myfanwy.
