Page 57 of Matilda’s Summer of New Beginnings

By now, it was only two weeks to the Fayre. I could do this.

And I would do it.

Pondering this thought one day, I stared at the Padcock pictures around my bedroom and took a deep breath. My new life, the new me, the new Matilda Matthews had to start somewhere, and I had a sudden idea.

It might not have been a very good idea. But I had to try it. Baby things were already starting to accumulate in the flat, as well as Damien things, and I knew my time here was limited — not that Rosie or Damien had said anything to me about moving out. But someone had to initiate it, and it seemed like I might just have to be the one to grow up properly and start taking responsibility for what I wanted to do with my life.

And so I would start by doing something nice for someone.

Chapter Twenty-Two

August

Those two weeks since my realization passed in a flash. And then yay! Here I was . . . finally! I was back at Padcock. And Rosie and Damien had come as well.

Rosie and Damien were going to stay in Cerys’ flat, and, knowing the size of the place and the fact it was smaller than our London flat, it really wasn’t big enough for the 3.5 of us. So I’d managed to secure Bookend Cottage, a holiday cottage in the village, for myself, more or less opposite the tearoom.

Polly was on her summer break from uni, so she was now pretty much full time at the tearoom. I knew she was worried about September, so after I dropped my bags off at the cottage, I headed straight over to see her.

‘All ready for the Fayre?’ The bell above the door chimed cheerfully as I walked in and greeted her. She looked up from putting something in the cabinet (it looked like a very creamy cream scone) and grinned at me.

‘Bloody terrified,’ was the response.

‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure you look amazing, and Jay has assured me that you sound amazing, so what is there to be terrified about?’

‘We’ve said the same thing to her — no need to be scared!’ said Veronica, who was ensconced with a book, a cuppa and another very creamy cream scone at a window table. ‘It’s nice to see you, Matilda. I’m just having a little treat before I head over to Padcock Court and the hard work begins. There are several tables still to locate, and I need to make sure the men have erected the marquees and the staging correctly.’ She shook her head as if the weight of the world, and indeed the weight of the Fayre, was all on her shoulders.

‘I’m sure it’ll all go amazingly,’ I told her, which seemed to satisfy. She went back to her book and her scone, and I smiled again at Polly. ‘See? No need to be scared.’

Polly’s eyes flicked over to the direction of the bookshop. She nodded theatrically yet silently to it and pulled a face.

Oh, okay. I got it. It was more that she was terrified of the reaction Owen would have to her dressed up as Stevie Nicks and belting out powerhouse ballads, than she was of actually performing. But I guessed a small part of her would still be worried about the performance part of it.

‘You’ll be fine,’ I reassured her again. ‘What time does the show start tomorrow?’

‘Midday,’ piped up Veronica, without taking her attention away from the scone or the book.

‘Yes. Midday. The Fayre opens at ten, and I have to be by the stage for eleven thirty.’

‘It’s like a mini-Glastonbury,’ I said with a smile. ‘Like going to the Pyramid Stage.’

‘The stage is not in the shape of a pyramid,’ came Veronica’s strident voice. ‘It is a much more sensible marquee covered, traditional style of stage, in case of inclement weather.’

‘Thanks,’ replied Polly. ‘That’s good to know.’ She pressed her fingers to her lips, and I understood that nothing was going to be sacred in here so I should probably stop talking about Padcock’s Got Talent.

‘It’s good to see you, Polly,’ I said, by way of closing the conversation down. I winked at her. ‘I’m just over the road in Bookend Cottage, so pop over later with your outfit and we’ll make sure it’s all still working for you.’ I’d brought my little travel sewing machine with me in case we needed to sort out any issues, but something told me that if I offered this information up, Veronica would have me hemming the marquees or something equally laborious, so I decided to stay quiet.

‘See you later then,’ said Polly, and waved at me as I left.

I had another call to make, just down the road, so I popped back to the cottage, picked up what I needed, and walked down the street to Edie’s place, my heart beating loudly and nervously.

I knocked on the door, and it was opened after a moment by a smiling Edie.

‘Matilda!’ Edie seemed delighted to see me, and stood back so I could go inside. ‘Straight through that door — Cerys is here with Elin as well. The babies are having a wonderful play date!’

The play date seemed to be Elin lying under a canopy of dangling soft toys and swinging things, and Bean pulling toys out of a toy box and completely ignoring his little friend. He perked up when he saw me though, for some reason, and toddled unsteadily over to me. ‘CAR!’ he bellowed. ‘BurLOCK!’ He shoved a red car at me, followed by a blue building block.

‘Lovely,’ I said, smiling at him. I really didn’t know what to do with babies or toddlers. But this seemed like a reasonable response as he toddled away again. ‘Cow,’ he muttered. I wondered for a second if I should take offence, but then saw he was bashing a cuddly spotted cow over the head with the block. I didn’t know if that was something to be concerned about, but Edie and Cerys didn’t seem to mind, so I turned my attention to Elin. ‘Lovely,’ I repeated and smiled at the baby. She stared at me suspiciously, then went back to staring at the toys above her head.