Page 14 of In Just One Day

‘Oh God, really?’ Billy rubbed his eyes with his fists. ‘I’ll stick my sunglasses on.’

‘Good plan. Now go and sit down next to Mum, give Johnny a break. I’ll get your food. Hair of the dog?’

‘Just water for now, thanks.’ He turned back to the table, sunglasses in place, and took Flora’s empty seat. ‘So, how is everyone?’

The afternoon wore on gently, the sun dipping down behind the trees on the other side of the garden. They sipped bright, juicy Beaujolais from tumblers and picked at grapes and hunks of cheese (Billy hadn’t forgotten to bring some, much to Flora’s surprise) from a thick wooden board in the middle of the table. Then came Kate’s pudding, bowls of fresh summer berries topped with Barbados cream, a childhood favourite of both Flora and Billy’s. She used to make it, bringing it to the table like a giant white cloud in a bowl, every Sunday. They’d then wipe their own bowls clean with their fingers when their mother wasn’t looking.

As Flora carried a tray of strong coffees to the table, she caught the tail end of her father’s question to Johnny.

‘Yes, well, there’s been a slight change on that front, Robin.’

Shit, thought Flora. Here we go. She gripped the sides of the tray a little harder.

Johnny shifted in his chair. Kate stopped mid-sentence, turning her attention from her son to Johnny.

‘Have you been promoted? Oh, I knew it! Didn’t I say so, Robin?’

Flora shot Billy a look; he recognised the plea for backup in her eyes. He threw his sister a gentle nod, noticeable to no one other than her.

Johnny spoke evenly. ‘Actually, it’s not good news, I’m afraid. I’ve been made redundant.’

A short silence followed. Then Robin said, ‘Oh, my dear fellow, I’m so sorry to hear that.’

‘Yes, bit of a shock, to say the least. But still, we have a plan, don’t we, Flo?’ Johnny looked at Flora across the table. ‘Well, Flora came up with the idea and I think it’s a pretty good one, given the circumstances.’

Kate adjusted her hat, lifting the brim. She turned to Flora. ‘So, what’s this great idea of yours, darling?’ She smiled at her daughter, her face expectant.

‘Um… well.’ Flora’s cheeks burned. She took a breath. ‘Johnny’s always wanted to run his own business and I, as you know, love working in the wine shop. So, as fate would have it, it looks like Mack is selling the lease to the shop and we thought we might buy it – we’ll put Johnny’s redundancy money towards it – and, you know, try and make a go of it as a business.’ With some effort, Flora fixed a smile on her face. Her fingers dug into her palms. She looked at Johnny.

‘It just seems like a really good opportunity for us to do something we both want to do,’ Johnny continued.

‘It’s a lovely idea but is that really going to be enough to replace your job, Johnny?’ Kate turned to Johnny, adjusting her hat so she could see him.

‘I think it sounds like a great idea.’ Billy reached for a chunk of cheese, winking at his sister across the table.

Flora picked up her glass. ‘Thank you. I think it could be something really exciting, actually. The shop used to do great business years ago, according to Mack, but then what with the supermarket opposite and the fact that he’s never moved the business online, it’s been struggling for a while.’

Johnny grabbed the figurative baton from Flora. ‘But now I’ve got some time, we can put together proper plans. We’re going to talk to Mack about it next week, see what he thinks. If we can make it work, we’re hoping he doesn’t have to sell the building so he can continue to live above the shop.’

‘Does that mean we get a family discount?’ Billy looked hopefully at his brother-in-law.

‘I’ll see if I can work it into the plan. But knowing your consumption…’

‘Fair enough,’ Billy laughed.

Robin raised his glass. ‘Well, I’m delighted for you both. I think you make a great team. To Flora and Johnny’s wine shop…’

Billy clinked his father’s glass enthusiastically. ‘Me, too – here’s to it.’

Kate kept her hands in her lap. ‘Well, if you manage to make a living out of a hobby then good for you.’

Flora looked like she was about to say something but Johnny cut in, catching her eye as he raised his glass to meet the others. ‘Thanks, Kate, we’ll do our best.’

7

‘I mean, why does she do that? Why can’t she just be happy for us? Or actually, it’s not even that… Why sound like she’s kind of hoping something goes wrong?’

The sun threw dappled patches of light across the bright green grass. Kate and Robin had been gone for less than ten minutes and Flora was letting rip as the three of them sat around the table. Pip and Tom sat side by side under the tree, their mouths and tongues matching the vibrant blue colour of their ice pops.

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