Page 57 of Summer at Rachel’s Pudding Pantry

‘Wow, that was kind in the circumstances,’ remarked Jan. There had been several ‘moments’ between Rachel and village gossip Vanessa in the past, the most notable being Rachel’s carrot cake beating hers in a cake competition at the country show, which had really put her nose out of joint.

‘Ah well, most of the village have been invited. It seemed a bit mean to exclude her, and well … let bygones be bygones, that’s what I say.’

‘As long as she doesn’t want to come back to the Pudding Club too soon!’ Frank chuckled. ‘What a nightmare she was.’

‘Hah, yes. Oh, the wedding is going to be so amazing,’ gushed Alice. ‘Thank you so much for inviting me and Simon, I’m so looking forward to it. I’ve got a babysitter lined up and everything.’

They were all excited for her and rallying to help; that in itself lifted Rachel’s spirits. She hoped to goodness that Tom bucked up soon … she really, really hoped there would actually be a wedding for them all to go to.

‘Right then, back to today’s Pudding Club. My theme this week is “baking as therapy”. You know the kind of thing, so, we’re talking your turn-to bakes if you’re feeling a little low.’

‘O-kay.’

‘Right …’

They were waiting to hear more so she thought she may as well explain. ‘Well, despite all the excitement of the wedding, I have to admit I’ve had a bit of a tricky week.’ It felt okay to be open with this supportive bunch.

‘Oh, pet,’ Jan was the first to speak.

‘Aw, hun, you should have told me,’ Charlotte added.

‘So, you might have heard about the recent negative reviews. I have to say there have been some downright nasty comments on the Pantry’s Facebook and Instagram pages,’ Rachel added.

‘Yes, we had, lass,’ said Nigel, on behalf of them all, ‘and I’m sorry to hear it.’

There were nods, and utterings of, ‘Such a shame’, ‘So sorry’, ‘Oh no, I hadn’t heard.’

‘It’s okay, it’ll all work out somehow, I’m sure.’ Rachel tried to sound upbeat, but her words were followed by a sigh. She decided not to share the private problems between herself and Tom. That was something for the two of them to sort out.

‘But that’s so unfair,’ cried Pamela.

‘And just not right.’ Christine frowned. ‘The Pantry always puts its customers first, it’s real service with a smile.’

Checking with Rachel that it would be OK, Nigel took his phone out and started reading out some of the comments from TripAdvisor. The audience looked shocked.

‘Unfriendly staff … lack of ambience … What a load of shite!’ Brenda was indignant.

‘It’s a lot of utter tosh,’ added Frank, looking upset and annoyed. ‘If I could get my hands on the little blighters … well, it shouldn’t be allowed.’

‘Well then,’ Denise cried out, ‘if someone can put downright nasty and untruthful comments on, then surely we can put on some very lovely truthful ones.’

‘Of course we can,’ rallied Eve.

‘The Pudding Pantry is brilliant and has such a lovely cosy, atmosphere. I’ve made some real friends here,’ said Alice, who’d only recently moved to the village.

‘Well, as soon as I get home, I’m going to put on a five-star review,’ added Hannah.

‘That’s so mean, calling the staff rude, and going on about “the unfriendly younger woman”.’ (There had been another vitriolic comment this afternoon.) ‘What horrible timing with your wedding being so soon too. Oh … do you think there might be some kind of link?’ Charlotte ventured.

Her words hung in the air, and then they dropped like a bad penny. Perhaps there was.

‘Some miserable, bitchy old bag of an ex … I wonder …’ Eve joined in. ‘It seems a big coincidence that it’s all started just before you’re about to marry gorgeous Tom, right?’

‘Do you think …?’ Rachel was finding it hard to fathom that someone could be that calculating and nasty. Yet, there was this court case now coming up with Caitlin … who knew?

‘Seems plausible,’ added Denise. ‘Never did warm to the woman, I must say. I remember that Caitlin well.’

‘But I suppose we’d better not cast aspersions, when we really don’t have any proof …’ Jan was erring on the side of caution. ‘Not that I liked the girl much either, to be fair.’