I made my excuses and left soon after Luke’s announcement. Everyone was still happily chatting away as the hot chocolate mugs were rinsed and the last of the tools were cleaned and locked away. Nell was none too happy about being wrenched from her friends, but it was gearing up to rain and I wanted to get back to the house.
‘Thanks for coming over, Freya,’ said Luke when he spotted that I was about to go. ‘I know it’s your day off, so I really appreciate it. It was kind of you to find the time.’
But not nearly kind enough, according to some, I couldn’t help thinking. And justifiably so.
‘Any plans for the rest of the weekend?’ asked Kate.
‘Absolutely none,’ I told her, ‘it’s going to be bliss.’
I kept my head down as I walked by the studio. Finn hadn’t come to find me after our clash over Nell the week before and I had no intention of making the current situation worse by drawing his attention to it. I was sure Chloe had got the wrong end of the stick and he hadn’t left because of me at all. At least, that was what I told myself.
I was hard-pushed to reach the state of ‘bliss’ I had told Kate my plans to do nothing would transport me to. In fact, I couldn’t seem to get within miles of it. Having the chance to sit down and do nothing for two days always felt like a good idea in the middle of a busy working week when my muscles ached and there was rainwater trickling down my neck, but the reality didn’t quite live up to expectations. When the opportunity for a lazy weekend did finally fall at my feet, the hours felt far longer than sixty minutes and I soon became bored.
Consequently, on Saturday afternoon I ended up changing the bed, catching up with the washing, vacuuming, dusting and scrubbing. Not that anything really needed doing. Kate had given the place a more than thorough autumnal spruce up, and it wasn’t as if I’d been at home long enough to conjure too many dust motes, but the activity did go some way to occupying my mind.
By the time I had decided to take Nell for a walk, the light was fading and it had started to rain heavily. I pulled the curtains, then fired off a quick text to my father telling him my first working week had gone well and Mum needn’t worry about airing out my old room, before cooking a less than comforting frozen pizza and taking myself off for an early night. I didn’t message Peter to tell him about my change of heart about Finn because there didn’t seem much point.
I woke early on Sunday, refreshed from a surprisingly good night’s sleep and feeling pleased that the skies had cleared and the sun was back. There was a reply from Dad on my phone which suggested that he and Mum were appeased by my message, which was a relief, and I threw back the duvet, determined to make the most of the day and not waste a second of it by striving to reach nirvana by doing nothing.
‘Come on,’ I called to Nell, once I had tamed my hair into some sort of submission and was dressed. ‘Let’s go for a wander.’
The early morning air was chilly but invigorating, with the sun already shining, and our walk was long and brisk. Nell could easily keep pace with me and the grin on her face told me that she was enjoying stretching her legs every bit as much as I was. There weren’t too many people about either, so our progress was unhindered and we returned to the square panting but both feeling much revived.
I had let my mind wander as I pounded the pavements and even though I still had no plans to offer to run any workshops for Luke, I did unpack a few boxes containing various craft projects that I had enjoyed during my time at Broad-Meadows. I wasn’t going to be tripped up again by having nothing planned for the weekends and had just finished setting everything out on the table when the doorbell went.
My first thought was that it might be Finn and I checked the state of my hair in the hall mirror before answering. I was annoyed that that was who my thoughts had immediately sprung to. I had no idea why he would go to the effort of seeking me out, and I was further annoyed by the sense of disappointment which hit when I deciphered the silhouette on the doorstep and realised it wasn’t him, but two of my new neighbours.
‘Good morning, Freya,’ smiled Carole, when I opened the door.
‘Morning,’ I smiled back.
It didn’t escape my notice that she had a very official-looking clipboard tucked under her arm and I wondered what I was about to let myself in for.
‘Hi,’ added Poppy, who was standing just behind her, ‘we’re sorry to disturb you on a Sunday.’
Her tone was genuinely apologetic and I wondered if she had headed out with Carole to soften the older woman’s intrusion into the generally lazier start most folk enjoyed on the seventh day of the week.
‘That’s all right,’ I reassured her.
‘Only we spotted you heading out earlier, so we knew you were up,’ Carole said approvingly. ‘Any chance we could just come in for a minute?’
‘Of course,’ I said, opening the door to let them and Gus, who was standing next to Poppy, inside. ‘Would you like a cup of tea? I was just about to boil the kettle.’
‘That would be great, thanks, Freya,’ Poppy smiled.
I led them into the front room and by the time I returned with the tray of tea, Gus and Nell had stopped play fighting and were settled in a heap in front of the fire. The two women were keenly eyeing the bits and pieces I had set out on the table.
‘Looks like you’ve been busy,’ said Carole, with a nod to the A4 journal which was open on a page depicting September at Broad-Meadows.
It was a particularly pretty layout with pressed flowers and illustrations as well as my thoughts on the weather and what was still in bloom.
‘And these are amazing,’ said Poppy, pointing out my pile of preserved leaves. ‘Where did you buy them from? The colours are incredible, so vibrant.’
‘I made them,’ I told her, passing her a mug and offering the sugar bowl and a spoon, ‘well, not the leaves, obviously, but I preserved them in glycerine to help them keep their colour and make them more durable.’
‘Wow,’ said Poppy as she stirred her tea, ‘what do you do with them?’
‘I’ve added some to my journal,’ I said, flicking back through the pages to late summer the previous year, ‘and others I’ve used for display by threading them on to cotton and hanging them up like a sort of natural bunting.’
Carole and Poppy exchanged a glance and I realised the visit was heading exactly where I had expected it to when I spotted Carole’s clipboard, but I wasn’t going to give in. There was no way I could stand up in front of a bunch of strangers and teach, instruct, tutor, whatever they were going to call it.
‘So,’ said Carole, all business after she’d allowed a beat to pass. ‘You’re probably wondering why we’ve called, Freya.’
‘I think I might have worked it out,’ I said with a sigh, my eyes on Poppy, who was still looking through the collection of leaves. ‘You can take some if you like,’ I told her.
‘I’d much rather you showed me how to make my own,’ she said, with a crafty grin.
I’d walked right into that one.
‘The thing is,’ said Carole, ‘we’ve decided what we’re doing for Winterfest, haven’t we, Poppy? And so,’ she carried on, not giving Poppy a chance to answer, ‘we’re doing a quick house to house to see if anyone else has any suggestions about how they’d like to help.’
At this juncture she looked pointedly at the table and back to me. She couldn’t have been any more obvious, but I was still feeling adamant that I wouldn’t give in.
‘I’m sorry, Carole,’ I said, shaking my head, ‘but I’m really not cut out to stand up in front of a crowd—’
‘That’s exactly what I said,’ interrupted Poppy. ‘Selling my recipes on cards in Greengage’s and in the little book Mark and I put together is one thing, but delivering a masterclass in person is something else entirely.’
‘So,’ I said, feeling relieved as I let out a breath, ‘you know exactly how I feel.’
‘I do,’ she agreed, ‘which is why I’ve decided to join forces with Mark. We’re delivering our session together.’
‘Poppy’s going to demonstrate how to make her chuck-it-all-in chutney,’ Carole elaborated, ‘and Mark’s going to come up with a simple festive loaf.’
‘I won’t feel half as nervous if I’ve got him working with me,’ said Poppy. ‘In fact, I’m really looking forward to it.’
She did sound excited.
‘And you could join forces with someone else to show them how to make these,’ said Carole, holding up a leaf, ‘and maybe offer some tips on how people could make their own nature diary.’
‘That would make a great family winter project,’ chipped in Poppy. ‘The ideal way to keep people heading out and getting some fresh air during the bleaker months.’
Their ideas did sound wonderful, and I loved the thought of people being encouraged to get outside when the instinct was to hunker down and stagnate indoors, but their suggestions would have been even better if they hadn’t directly involved me.
‘That’s great in theory,’ I conceded, ‘but I don’t know who I could share a session with. I don’t really know anyone well enough. I mean, I’ve only been here a week.’
‘Lisa,’ they both said together, cutting me off.
‘Lisa?’ I frowned.
‘Of course,’ said Carole, as if we were the most obvious pairing in the world. ‘Lisa’s going to run a nature-themed creative writing workshop.’
‘She’s an author,’ added Poppy, helpfully giving the suggestion some context, ‘a really good one.’
‘And she’s looking for someone to work with her,’ Carole went on, ‘because she thinks she can only fill a couple of hours, even with an inspirational walk before she gets the pens out and the creative juices flowing.’
‘She’ll be much happier working alongside someone else,’ smiled Poppy. ‘Just like me and Mark.’
From what I could work out, Carole had no qualms about flying solo for her Christmas cake and pudding session, which came as no surprise at all.
‘Lisa’s creative writing combined with your clever craft and nature diary idea would be the perfect partnership,’ said Carole, quickly scribbling something down on her clipboard. ‘That could easily fill a day.’
‘I’ll have to think about it,’ I said, feeling rather railroaded. I wasn’t surprised by Carole’s super-efficient tactics, but Poppy joining forces with her made her harder to ward off.
‘There’s no time,’ said Carole, ‘you heard what Luke said yesterday, if Winterfest is going to happen, then it needs to be sorted fast.’
‘But the attendees wouldn’t be able to take their leaves away with them,’ I desperately added, ‘they need to be immersed for a few days for the glycerine to work.’
‘Folk could come back to collect them,’ Poppy unhelpfully suggested, ‘or we could send them on. They don’t weigh much so it would be a reasonable cost to factor in. I’m sure we could work something out.’
‘Is everyone else doing something?’ I swallowed, feeling resistance was futile.
‘Not everyone,’ said Carole, consulting her notes again.
Phew. That would make saying no slightly easier.
‘Heather might not be able to manage it because of the little ones, but almost every other household has come up with something.’
Bang went that theory.
‘And even she said she’d be willing to assist in some things if she could juggle childcare with Glen’s weekend work.’
That was that then. I had no one, other than Nell, depending on me, and even she was extending her boundaries and making the most of getting to know the Nightingale Square and Prosperous Place menagerie.
‘So,’ said Carole, tapping her pen on her clipboard. ‘Can I put you down, Freya?’
‘Yes,’ I squeaked, feeling I had no choice. ‘I suppose so. You’d better partner me with Lisa, hadn’t you?’
‘Great stuff,’ said Poppy, fingering the pile of leaves again.
‘Marvellous,’ said Carole, finishing her tea and heading for the door. ‘Luke will be thrilled to have you on board.’
I hoped everyone would. If I was going to put myself through it, then I wanted everyone to appreciate the gargantuan effort the new girl was making.
‘Last stop is the new chap, Finn,’ said Carole to Poppy, who was carrying Gus because he refused to get up, ‘he’ll be over at the studio.’
‘You’re going to ask him?’ I frowned.
‘We’re asking everyone,’ Carole said firmly.
‘We’ll come and find you tomorrow before we go and tell Luke,’ said Poppy, rushing to keep up with her friend. ‘As you’ll be on site, you can help us share the good news. He’s going to be so pleased.’
Which I guessed was more than Finn would be when Carole started hammering on his door.
As promised, just before lunch the next day, Carole and Poppy came to find me ahead of going to tell Luke what they had come up with so far.
‘I can’t be too long,’ said Poppy, who was rosy-cheeked from her walk back from the grocer’s where she worked. ‘I’ve blagged an early lunch, but I can’t be late back. Oh,’ she added, ‘what’s all this?’
As easily distracted as a kitten with a ball of string, she wandered over to the potting bench where I had spread out a selection of leaves which I had gathered throughout the morning.