Page 48 of Snowflakes at the Little Christmas Tree Farm
‘See, you’ve got a knack for this. It must be very different from your last job?’
‘Yeah, but that’s not a bad thing. I love doing creative things like this. Before I was sitting at a desk all day, staring at the wall. Being outside all the time makes me feel like I’mlivingagain for the first time in years. My old job was something I left behind at five o’clock every night, so it’s a bit daunting when I think about the next few years and how much work and responsibility this is. There’s so much to keep track of. Collecting seeds from the pinecones in the autumn, sowing them in the spring, and growing them until they’re big enough to be planted out. Preparing the fields, tree fertiliser, weed killer, and nothing’s been planted for four years, so in a few years’ time, there’s going to be a shortage. I know Noel’s looking after some saplings for me, but who knows if it’ll be enough.’ I cut myself off there, suddenly aware that I’m rambling. I’ve tried to appear bright and breezy whenever anyone asks how things are going, but inside, Iamscared that I haven’t got the knowledge to pull this off. Christmas tree farming is a lot more complicated than I thought it was. I didn’t intend to tell Glenna any of that, but she’s such a warm and friendly motherly figure. She reminds me of my own mum, and it’s easy to be open with her in a way I wouldn’t with anyone else.
‘You’ve been brave enough to take this huge step – the kind of thing that most people dream about doing but never have the courage to actually do. Don’t underestimate how much courage it takes to throw yourself headfirst into a completely different life. If you can do that, you can overcome whatever else is thrown at you.’
Gizmo stands up on his back feet and paws at my leg, so I put my wreath down and pick him up. I rest my chin on his head and rub his brown ear while his white ear twitches in Glenna’s direction and his nose sniffs for any hint of food he might be able to snaffle.
‘For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing an excellent job so far.’ She gives me a wide smile and nods at the little dog in my arms. ‘And so does Gizmo.’
‘Thank you.’ I don’t try to hide the surprise in my voice. ‘I think I’m floundering around in the dark. I’ve been reading the books I bought and my head is so full. I don’t know how I’m going to remember any of it, and I’m never sure if I’m doing it right.’
‘You could always ask Noel.’
‘I’ve already been asking Noel too much. I don’t know what I’d have done without his expertise and advice, but he’s got his own farm to run and his own business to take care of. I can’t keep asking him all these questions and expecting him to help me with everything.’
‘You came to help us on Halloween night.’
‘But that was just a bit of fun. Whowouldn’twant to spend Halloween on a pumpkin farm when they live next door to one?’ I try not to think about my disastrous pumpkin carving attempts that night – from the hedgehog that looked like Simon Cowell to the bat that everyone thought was a fried egg. ‘I can’t keep relying on him. I need to be able to do this stuff by myself. I didn’t come here so my gorgeous neighbour could run a Christmas tree farmforme.’
I only realise what I’ve said when Glenna’s face lights up like I’ve given her next week’s winning lottery numbers. I didnotjust admit how gorgeous I think he is to his own mother. I’ve never wished for a sinkhole before, but I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to one popping up to swallow me whole anytime now.
‘He’s one of the best, you know?’ She says after a few minutes of cringingly awkward silence.
She would say that, she’s his mum.
‘I know you’re probably thinking I would say that because I’m his mum, but he’d help you out with anything. Noel’s a true gent. He’d be the perfect man if you could get him to cut his hair and take that piercing out …’
I knowexactlywhat she’s hinting at, but I think she’s about to tell me he’s wormed, defleaed, housetrained, and comes with a puppy pack in a minute, and I haven’t got the heart to tell her that his lip piercing is probably the sexiest thing about him, and his hair is a close second.
She looks at me like she can tell I’m staying silent for a reason. ‘You’re right. Your love lives are none of my business. It’s just that he can be a bit abrasive on the surface, and he pushes people away when he really wants to let them in. I didn’t want you to see the way he protects himself and think it’s the way he is deep down inside. He’s been single forsolong now, I think he’s forgotten how to act around women he likes.’
I feel a bit sorry for him with the emphasis she puts on the ‘so’. Before Steve, I’d been single for a long time too – I only wish I’d stayed that way. Good on him for staying by himself rather than settling for someone who wasn’t right.
‘So, how’s the plan coming along for the Christmas tree competition?’
‘It’s okay, flower, we can change the subject.’ She’s smiling when she looks up at me. ‘It’s going well. We’ve gone with your idea of a Cinderellatheme. I’ve been buying up all the glass slipper ornaments I can get my hands on, and I’m knitting strings of tiny pumpkins. Noel’s doing something with model train tracks for a moving fairytale carriage. It’s going to look miraculous.’
‘It’s the talk of the market. Fergus and Fiona have made themselves heads of the Christmas tree committee, and all the traders have got involved and started swapping ideas. Apparently, the uptake from nearby businesses has been great too, better than Fergus and Fiona expected. They’re really pleased.’ I can’t help the sigh that escapes. ‘I just want it to help. I love it there. I don’t want to see it disappear. It would change the whole town.’
Glenna’s crinkled face mirrors my sadness.
‘I was thinking about trying to get the media involved,’ I say cautiously. ‘Chelsea’s got a lot of contacts in that area. If we could get some coverage in local papers about the competition and what we’re trying to do … it could really help.’
‘The publicity might encourage more businesses to get involved,’ she agrees. ‘People are already talking about it, and there’s a real buzz in the air that Peppermint Branches is reopening. It was here for a long time and so many people made it a Christmas tradition to come up with their families and choose their Christmas tree. Even us Roscoes when Noel’s father was still alive, and dear Mr Evergreene always let us have the first choice before the farm opened in December. It will be lovely to see it running again.’
‘Noel talks about how magical it used to be a lot. I only hope I can recreate that.’
‘I think you’re on the right track.’ She nods towards the wreath. ‘And I’d be happy to help when you open. I don’t get out much these days and Noel’s always telling me I need more fresh air. I’ve seen you two cleaning and painting the caravan, and he’s told me about the hot chocolate and the chestnuts, and I was thinking maybe I could serve for you, and have a little sideline in my pumpkin jams and marmalades. I’ve always got so many pumpkins to make use of, and it would be wonderful to have an extra opportunity to sell some of my goodies, and I make an excellent hot chocolate if I do say so myself.’
The caravan is now painted with enamel paint I found in the barn, a festive shade of red, and so are my hands, my face, a vast majority of my clothes, half of Gizmo who came to ‘help’, and a bit of the grass outside that escaped the tarpaulin we’d put down to cover it. There’s fake snow draped across the roof, and inside there are twinkly lights around the window, and the broken glass has been removed and replaced with a serving hatch shutter. I’d been wondering whether to hire someone to run it, but time is short, and I can’t justify employing yet another person when I can probably manage it myself between tree customers.
‘I could also make little goodies for your own sales,’ Glenna says like I need further persuasion. ‘Peppermint bark in the shape of trees and some candycane sugar cookies would go down a treat with hot chocolate.’
‘That would be amazing. Noel’s always saying he wishes he could extend pumpkin season, and I’ve been trying to figure out a way we could join forces and help each other out. He’s helped me so much, so if the tree farm being open can help you guys out in any way, let me know. And you’d be doing me a huge favour too. The seasonal workers are still going to be here, so I was just going to put whoever isn’t busy with customers in charge of it.’
‘The seasonal workers will be needed in the fields to advise customers and cut and carry their trees for them. I think you’re going to be a lot busier than you think you are. You saw the pumpkin patch at Halloween.’
I did. I watched the pumpkin patch throughout the last two weeks of October, and Noel wasbusy. Cars coming and going all day and children running around enjoying themselves, even the shouts of joy from his corn maze filtered across to me as I weeded the driveway and dug over the edges of the lane for display trees, but he sells his pumpkins at fifty pence each. Christmas trees are much more expensive, and much bigger and more difficult to transport and recycle afterwards. But on the other hand, almost all of my postcards and flyers have gone and the stallholders at the market have requested more, so I just hope she’s right.
