Page 81 of The Wishing Tree Beside the Shor
I expected as much, but it still stings a bit, and makes my already sweaty palms produce so much extra moisture that the phone is in danger of sliding out of my hands. I still have a flat in London. Am I really giving that up? Am I really intending to stay here? I know Dad and Cher won’t mind for now, but without a job, and with whatever penalties I’ll owe my landlord for quitting without notice, however much it will cost to go back up and collect my stuff … I try to stop the racing thoughts and quieten the little voice in my head that’s screaming about not thinking things through.
‘I hope some crummy old tree was worth it,’ Harrison says down the line.
‘It was,’ I say confidently, stamping out my own doubts for a moment. ‘It’s about so much more than the tree. It’s the people here, the village, my family, the whole landscape.’
The line goes dead mid-sentence. I stare at the blank phone screen in my hand. That’s it. Four years of my life, over. I expected more, somehow. More yelling. More anger. More acknowledgement of how flipping hard I’ve worked these past few years, of how much overtime I’ve done, how many ridiculous errands I’ve completed on his whim-of-the-day.
He doesn’t care. People like him never will. They see nothing but monetary gain. People, lives, nature … none of it will ever matter to a company like that, but it does matter to me. I don’t want to be the person Ryan thinks I am.
I sink down on the grass and lean against the trunk, and the branches wave above me. It doesn’t feel as bad as I thought it would. For years, I’ve struggled and strived to do my best in fear of Harrison firing me, terrified of this very moment, but sitting here with my back against the tree, its solid strength holding me up … Itwasworth it. There will be other jobs for other people at other companies less morally bankrupt than Landoperty Developments. There will never be another seaside sycamore tree.
‘Felicity!’ Steffan is marching down the patch towards me, attracting the attention of all the residents who are watching him curiously. ‘I want to talk to you.’
I scramble to my feet because that doesn’t sound good, but he stops halfway down and looks around. ‘Actually, I would like to talk to all of you. You all deserve to hear this.’
The residents gather around as I walk up from the tree.
‘I’ve decided not to sell.’
The residents cheer so loudly, but my eyes are still on the campsite and I see Ryan turn to look at the commotion.
‘Everything you said the other day is right,’ Steffan continues, nodding to me. ‘That’s why I’ve decided to keep the strawberry patch, and I want you to run it.’
‘Me?’ I can’t hide how taken aback I am. I didnotsee that coming.
‘You used to be a gardener, and you obviously still know your stuff. Everything you said the other day made more sense to me than anything has in months.’ He leans a bit closer like he’s telling me a secret. ‘I think we both know you’re not going to get your old job back, but no matter, I want you to come and work here.’
I never even admitted he was right about who I was. It makes a shiver creep across my skin. There really is no one Ihaven’tlied to.
‘Head gardener,’ Steffan continues. ‘Full time, all year round. You can manage everything to do with the strawberry patch in the summer, take charge of the tree visitors in autumn, and do maintenance and preparation during the rest of the year. It has to be you. Everything here changed when you arrived. I can’t think of anyone better to turn this place into something truly spectacular.’
‘What made you change your mind?’ I say so nervously that I trip over the words and ask him what made him mind his change by mistake. The idea of getting to stay here is tainted by the idea of Ryan never forgiving me and when I look down at my hands, they’re shaking.
‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Dithering, reconsidering, questioning, flip-flopping back and forth. Admittedly I didn’t expect the residents to react to the sale the way they did, nor did I expect how pushy Landoperty Developments would be, and I certainly didn’t think our little overgrown garden area could mean anything to the general public, or that anything could ever come from it other than a bramble farm. But seeing Henrietta yesterday was the final straw. How happy it made her to come here because of what you and Ryan did. I took over this place to honour a lifelong friend, and he would shove me off the cliff himself if he knew I’d thought of selling it. I’ve known Godfrey and Henrietta for years; she lived here before her illness took hold. They used to sit by the window in the dining room and hold hands for hours, just looking at the view. Seeing the joy it brought her yesterday made me realise how preposterous it would be for any resident to look out and see the brick walls of a hotel.’
I don’t think it had much to do with me, but it still makes me blush with pride. I don’t know what I thought the outcome of all this was going to be, but we’ve all been so focused on saving the tree that I never stopped to imagine what it would feel like if it actually happened.
‘I can see what this place means to all of you,’ Steffan is saying. ‘Talking to you the other day, Felicity, invigorated me in a way I haven’t felt since before my best friend died. I’ve been trying to keep things ticking over since then, but you’ve made me realise that I can do better. I can strive to make it the best it can be rather than keep treading water. Your passion for this place is inspirational, and that’s exactly what we need. People who can see the best in things, rather than money-grabbing old fuddy-duddies like me.’ He looks around at the group. ‘And I assure you I’ve been called much worse than that, and I undoubtedly deserved it.’ He turns back to me. ‘I hope you don’t think I’m being presumptuous, and of course you can refuse the job, but I could tell how much you loved this place from our conversation the other day, and I can’t think of anyone I’d trust more in the role.’
Trust. Not exactly my strong point recently.
‘Take your time to think about it, of course, and come to see me in my office tomorrow.’ He points towards Seaview Heights. ‘We’ll get a contract drawn up and discuss the details.’
This can’t be real. It’s what I’ve wanted for weeks – the chance to stayandto save the tree and strawberry patch, but mainly to fix things with Ryan, and somehow that seems more important than anything else at the moment.
‘Well done, Fliss!’ Morys claps me on the shoulder when Steffan leaves.
‘We knew you could do it,’ Alys says.
‘Good job!’ Ffion pumps my hand up and down.
‘You’re all being very friendly,’ I say as they crowd around me with hugs and cheek pinches and congratulations. ‘You’re forgiving me?’
‘You did what you came here to do.’
‘I assure you, I’ve done the opposite of what I came here to do.’
‘No, you haven’t,’ Cynthia says. ‘Your intentions changed from the moment you trod in that sheep poo when you first arrived.’
