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Another nod from Paige, and a slightly toned down glare. Melanie swallowed and pushed her glasses further up her nose.
‘We don’t have to make small talk, you know? The rest of the group will be here soon,’ Paige said.
Wow, rude much?
Melanie was surprised at how closely she’d come to saying that out loud. Instead, she used Paige’s simple nod technique and crossed her legs before looking back down and grabbing her iPad out of her bag and immediately opening up her to-do list app.
She had a list on there she shared with her sister for childcare and diary planning, and another that she shared with her business partner, Louisa. Logging onto the coffee shop Wi-Fi she refreshed it to see if there was anything new on either.
‘Here you go, Melanie.’ Kazim put her drink on the table, and Melanie smiled up in response.
‘Thanks Kazim, your make-up really is gorgeous today.’
‘Thanks’—he turned to look at Paige—‘it was one of Sophie’s tutorials.’
Melanie watched Paige’s reaction closely, believing that Kazim had meant Sophie Bowman, the very famous make-up artist and influencer, who also happened to be one of Paige’s best friends, or at least that’s what Sophie had told her, when Melanie had run into her at Paige’s bar a few months ago.
And there it was.
Paige’s smile. It was only there a second. A blink and you’d miss it type thing but it hit Melanie right in the gut.
‘Enjoy your drink. I’ll be back in a minute.’ Kazim turned briefly back to Melanie before walking back out to the main coffee house area. She smiled at him as he walked away and then her gaze naturally fell back to Paige and she caught her eye and no not her eye, her glare. Again. Seriously?
Before she could say anything the chair of the Neighbourhood Business Alliance, Councillor Houghton came in and sat down.
‘Sorry I’m late. Where is everyone?’ he asked, settling himself into his seat. He wore what Melanie would class as a standard council suit. It was smart but there was nothing special about it, however Councillor Houghton was helpful to have on the board and helpful to their local businesses as he could sometimes share council insights on issues, planning permissions, that type of thing.
The only problem was that Councillor Houghton saw himself as the next Jeff Bezos, always pushing them for the next big thing, the next big investment, trying to fulfil his own ambition that his sixty-plus years had yet to burn out. To be fair though, he did also lend that energy to their community, and that was part of the reason why getting a lease around here was so hard. The Neighbourhood Business Alliance worked on the belief that a high tide floats all boats and they had clearly worked hard to cultivate a thriving community that felt more like a village with indies and organisations working hand in hand, while still being within a busy city.
Students working in a coffee house, were the same students that drank in their bars at night. The mums using the yoga studio were also more likely to use the smoothie stall. And those that had bottomless brunch in the morning could carry on drinking all day along their row of establishments in their Manchester community, before heading to Spinningfields or Deansgate to keep on drinking and dancing into the small hours.
The popularity of the community meant that when a site became available it was highly competitive and surprisingly the Neighbourhood Business Alliance had, well if not the final say, a very strong sway in deciding who got the lease. And now, after the most stressful few months of her life, here she was part of the illustrious Neighbourhood Business Alliance.
‘We’ll give ’em five minutes and then we’ll crack on.’ Councillor Houghton’s voice was deep and with a proper thick Mancunian accent. He spoke with authority and although not so much now, Melanie had been intimidated by him at first. Then the door opened, and more people started making their way in. Melanie looked at her to-do lists, cursing when she saw that the breakfast club Alfie attended before school, had some necessary training that meant it would be closed next Monday.
She made a note to talk to her sister about that.
Melanie did all of this between nodding and smiling at the other arrivals, and studiously ignoring any further glares that Paige sent her way.
‘Right then, I think we’ll begin if you’re all ready?’ Councillor Houghton announced to the six people now sat around the table.
‘I was hoping that more of you would be able to attend today but let’s make do. Can I ask that you all get in touch with the rest of the group and explain what I’m about to share with you? I’ll email out as well but word of mouth will be better for reasons I’m about to explain.’
Melanie came out of her lists, opened up her notes app and looked up at the Chair.
‘I called this extraordinary meeting because I’ve been privy to some information. There are some serious investors currently in town. That’s not uncommon, we know that, but they’re looking at our community in particular. I think we need something different to really drive new people towards our little corner of the city and so I suggest all of us club together and get an artist that can do a huge mural or something that really demonstrates what we’re about. I mean it’s unlikely we can ask Banksy — right? None of you have any connections?’ He paused, and Melanie realised he was serious. ‘No? Worth a shot. But I think if we get an artist to come and get a feel for our little community, they’ll be able to get a cracking mural done in no time, something that symbolises who we are. Drives the people to us. Shows the investors how things are done around here. What do you think?’
‘Well, that was a lot to take in, Patrick,’ Brian from the local deli said.
‘How much are we talking?’ Lydia from the seafood restaurant asked.
‘Well, I don’t have the figures yet, but I may be able to secure a grant.’
‘What about if we get a local artist that wants to get involved, that way we can continue to support our local community?’ Melanie asked, as she continued to type notes.
‘Yes,’ Councillor Houghton began with more than a touch of hesitancy, ‘but we don’t just want some teenage gobshite that thinks just because he can tag, he can create art.’
The faces around the group all looked up at Councillor Houghton’s outburst.
