Page 42 of Match Point in Crumbleton
‘Brilliant!’ said Andy, grinning up from his spot behind the entrance table to find Oli from the bookshop smiling at him.
‘Blimey—it’s heaving back here!’ he laughed. ‘How much to get in?’
Andy pointed at the laminated list of modest entrance fees. There was one rate for spectators and a slightly higher one for players.
‘I’m watching and Ruby’s playing,’ said Oli, grabbing his wallet from his pocket and handing over a twenty-pound-note. ‘She’ll be down in a sec, she’s just getting changed.’
‘Fab!’ said Andy. ‘Two secs, I’ll grab you some change.’
‘Keep it as a donation,’ said Oli, shaking his head.
‘Cheers!’ said Andy, adding it to the pot. It had been happening so often that he was no longer surprised by the generosity—though he was just as grateful as the first time. Crumbleton was showing its true colours today. He had a feeling they’d probably already exceeded any fundraising target Cath might have had in mind… and they were only about an hour into proceedings!’
‘And… is there a raffle table? Someone said…’
‘In the tent over there,’ said Andy, pointing towards the marquee Cath had borrowed from a nearby cricket club. ‘The WI ladies are looking after it. There’s also an amazing display on the history of the tournament. There are some great photos, and the old line-painting machine’s in there too! And bonus—there’s tea and cake, mocktails, Pimms, strawberries and cream…’
‘Heaven!’ laughed Oli. ‘I’ll head over there now. I’ve got an early hardback copy of Ruby’s next book here to add to the raffle prizes. I got her to sign it.’
‘I’ll be sure to tell Cath,’ said Andy, waving Oli off as he made his way towards the marquee, only to be pounced on by the gaggle of WI ladies the minute he wandered inside.
Andy grinned and settled back into his deckchair. He’d angled it so that he could half-watch the players when he wasn’t busy having cash thrown at him left right and centre.
‘Is the Match Maker back?’
Andy sat up again, only to find Kendra—one of the young waitresses from the hotel—dancing from foot to foot in front of his table. She was wearing tennis whites, and clearly waiting for her turn on the court.
‘Sorry,’ he laughed, ‘Lee’s got it. See if you can grab it from him when he comes off?’
‘Cool, thanks Andy, I will,’ said Kendra, jogging off.
Andy chuckled. The old wooden rackets had proved to be a huge hit—not least because some were brilliant, and some… not so much. Even though he and Cath had given them a once-over to check they were safe, they’d not managed to catch all the issues. Some of them had slightly saggy strings, and others had patches of woodworm they’d completely failed to spot. This had caused a great deal of hilarity when the racket Caroline chose for her preliminary match simply broke in half on her first serve.
The Match Maker—as it had been dubbed—had quickly become the racket of choice. It had decent strings and, so far, it hadn’t disintegrated on anyone mid-game.
‘Andy love?’
Andy sat up again. He’d just been distracted by the sight of Cath walking hand-in-hand with a little girl who was busy chattering nineteen to the dozen. He’d barely had the chance to speak to her since they’d arrived… but there would be plenty of time for that later. This was her big day, and she seemed to be in her element—dashing around, making sure everyone had drinks and cake, strawberries and tennis rackets. He couldn’t be more proud of her.
‘Yoo-hoo? Earth to Andy?’
‘Sorry Mabel, sorry!’ he laughed, turning to face her.
‘No worries, love,’ she said, popping a tray down onto the table next to him.
‘What’s all this?’ he said.
‘Cath just nipped into the tent and asked us if we could bring some lunch over to you,’ said Mabel. ‘She didn’t want you to miss out just because you’re stuck over here.’
‘I’m not missing out,’ said Andy. ‘I’m having the best time.’
‘That’s because you’re a sweetheart,’ said Mabel, reaching over and patting him on the cheek. ‘We all think that… and Cath does too.’
‘I… erm… we’re just friends!’ said Andy.
‘We’ll see,’ chuckled Mabel, wandering back towards the tent and the rest of the WI ladies.
‘Oh lord,’ sighed Andy, noticing that they were all waiting for her at the entrance, with identical, keen looks on their faces. It looked like he and Cath were the talk of the town, whether it was warranted or not.
