Page 52 of An Enchanted Moment on Ever After Street
It takes a long time for him to answer, but it makes me smile when he does.
A reminder of someone I used to be.
15
‘So, Bookishly Ever After is next on our agenda.’ Ali is the stand-in chairman of this week’s Ever After Street meeting because Lilith, the ninety-nine-year-old owner of the tearoom who usually keeps us all in line, has been missing all week due to health issues, and her staff of two are struggling to keep up.
We’re gathered in the little clearing in the centre of Ever After Street, surrounded by white wooden fences and flower beds, and everyone has found a spot for themselves on the benches or picnic tables.
‘Things going well, Marnie?’
Iloathehaving to speak in front of other people, especially when everyone falls silent to listen to me. The pressure is too great and I end up stumbling over my words and forgetting half of the things I meant to say. Usually I speak as little as possible at these meetings. I watch from the outskirts as the other more confident shopkeepers take centre stage, but the book festival is less than a week away now, and it’s become a big deal for Ever After Street.
The article, for all its flaws, has gained some interest, and all the two hundred tickets have now sold out. Witt’s assured methe castle can take extra guests if I want to put any more on, and I’ve been back and forth to the castle all week, starting to get things set up.
I wipe clammy palms on my jeans and take a deep breath. ‘Witt and Sadie were thinking of hosting an autumn-themed ball anyway, and they’ve very kindly let me take over that and turn it into a literary fancy-dress ball. People can come dressed as their favourite literary characters, and there will be prizes for the best costumes. A year’s supply of book vouchers and a fresh flower delivery to their door every month, and then two runner ups will get a voucher for a book from me and a plant of their choice from The Beast’s Enchanted Rose Garden, and…’
I ignore the murmur that ripples through the gathered residents. It’s the first time I’ve mentioned Darcy’s involvement, the first time he’s ever been involved withanythingon Ever After Street, but it doesn’t seem right to draw attention to it, so I barrel on. ‘On the Saturday, there’s going to be bookish crafts and author talks, and a literary-themed afternoon tea, then on the Sunday morning, we’ve got the author Q&A sessions and a meet and greet so people can get their books signed. I’m going to set up a book swap area at the front of the castle so people can drop off any books they don’t want and maybe take home a few that they do, and then to end things on Sunday evening, will be the grand costume ball.’
I get so into it that I forget about my nerves. I hadn’t realised how excited I am. There’s been so much put into the preparation; Cleo has been helping out at the shop while I’ve been arranging things at the castle, refusing any payment except taking home a book she’d started reading while the shop was quiet, and it’s made me think about hiring an assistant again, although I’m at Mr Rowbotham’s mercy and there’s no point in hiring someone without the reassurance of a renewed lease. It just so happens that the second day of the festival is also theday that Mr Rowbotham is coming to ‘inspect his property’ – all the better for him to inspect it while the street is buzzing with booklovers.
‘And U.N.Known? That article said…’ Imogen from Sleeping Beauty’s Once Upon A Dream shop starts. ‘He would be a huge draw to this. If you could get him to appear in public for the first time ever… People would be talking about Ever After Street for months. We’d be unforgettable.’
‘He’s kind of agreed.’ I still can’t believe that email I got a few days ago and this is the first time I’ve said it aloud. ‘It’s just too unreal. How canIpossibly have influenced this guy who has never done any public appearances before, ever, into coming to ours? Maybe he’s playing a joke on me – payback for having the nerve to ask him or something – and he’ll be a no-show on the day.’
‘Well, that would be his loss,’ Lissa from the Colours of the Wind museum says comfortingly. ‘Whether he turns up or not,youare the person who’s going to make this a roaring success, Marnie. You don’t need any silly gimmicks.’
It’s an unintentional mirror of what Darcy said last week and it makes my heart melt.
‘We believe in you,’ Mickey adds, and the entire group cheers. For me. It makes me a bit teary-eyed. I can’t quite get my head around the fact they’re all supporting this, especially after the months of me turning them down whenever they’ve invited me to do anything.
Trying to control my emotions after their kindness means I’m not concentrating on what I’m saying, and words come out before I’ve realised it. ‘I just hope it’s enough.’
‘Enough for what?’ Lissa asks.
Oh, hell. I didn’t want to tell them, and now every eye on Ever After Street is on me, waiting for an explanation, and I don’t know how to gloss over it. ‘Someone made a complaint aboutmy overgrown garden. The garden’s sorted now with Darcy’s help, but Mr Rowbotham got his knickers in a bowline knot and reported me to the council, and they’re not impressed with the number of customers I bring to Ever After Street, and they’re talking about evicting me and using the space for something that would be more popular.’
‘Theywhat? Oh, those lousy buggers.’ Lissa shakes a fist at the sky. ‘Corporate greed!’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, Marnie, why didn’t you tell us? We could’ve helped,’ Sadie scolds me.
‘I didn’t want to impose. You’ve all been lovely to me since my mum died and I’ve given you nothing in return. You’ve all got your own businesses to deal with, you didn’t need to bother about my woes too.’ I decide to be honest. ‘And I don’t know who made the complaint, I thought it might’ve been one of you, and it’s okay if it was, the gardenwasin a terrible state, itdiddeserve to be complained about. There are no hard feelings.’
A few murmurs go around as they all ask each other if it was them. No one owns up, but they probably wouldn’t anyway, not in a group setting.
‘Probably just some passing busybody with too much time on their bitter and miserable hands. Someone who gets their jollies off by making life difficult for everyone else,’ one of the girls from Christmas Ever After, the year-round festive end of the street, says. ‘You know what some people are like. They’ll complain about anything if it stays still for two seconds. I bet you get complaints about typos where out of 100,000 perfect words, someone’s honed in on the one tiny mistake that’s slipped through the net.’
I laugh because it wouldn’t be the first time a customer has read the entire book and then demanded a refund because they’ve found a typo on page 172, and defaced the book to highlight it so I can only resell it as damaged stock.
‘You’re not going anywhere.’ Mickey slings an arm around my shoulders. ‘I’ll take on the council myself if I have to.’
‘A Tale As Old As Time belongs here, Marnie, as do you,’ Sadie says kindly. ‘When you and your mum arrived, it was a breath of fresh air – the opposite of that fusty old book restorer who used to be there. We’d always said we needed a young and fresh bookshop on this street and your theme fits in perfectly. We’re not going to let them close you down over a garden.’
‘Why does a bookshop need a garden anyway?’ the eyelinered magician from the carousel asks.
‘That’s what I thought, but I’ve got to admit that it’s become quite important now. It’s not the ideal time of year for it, but I could really see it getting some use in the summer months. Like a little outdoor library. I could offer people a selection of books to read and maybe some sort of tea and cake partnership with Lilith…’ I glance towards the closed tearoom and it makes me wonder if it will ever open again.
‘So it’s “growing” on you then?’ Ali makes a pun and we all dissolve into giggles, and it’s so good to feel like an important part of Ever After Street and part of a real team here.
