‘It would help my blood pressure if you said something…’ He squinted, smile faltering.
Should I say it? Could I? Would it be wrong to tell him how I feel, when I was still holding back so much?
‘Daniel!’ Alice again.
‘I love you, too,’ I whispered, stretching up to kiss him soundly on the lips before dragging us both into the orchard and through the trees. My heart was floating along about three metres above us, but my conscience was dragging through the dirt.
33
The next few hours were a whirlwind of scones and jam, pouring teas and coffees and handing out soft drinks. It seemed as though the whole village had turned out to, at the very least, have a nosy and check out how the other side were behaving. However, to my enormous relief, there was no sign of any celebrity guests, and as the day wore on I began to relax, even more sure that Nora wouldn’t be showing up.
One surprise guest, however, was Daniel’s mother, Billie. She ordered two cream teas, sitting with her husband, Rob, in the shade of the gazebo, glancing around in amazement the whole time.
‘Everything okay?’ I asked, ducking over to collect their plates and mugs.
‘It’s incredible,’ Billie replied, shaking her head. ‘I thought… I thought it would be odd. Seeing the orchard full of people, some of them who never knew Daniel’s dad, who don’t understand or care what this place is. I haven’t been in here since… since we lost Charlie. I wasn’t sure I could do it. But seeing what you’ve done, the beautiful decorations, the laughter.’ A gaggle of small children ran past us, squealing with joy, as if to prove her point. ‘I keep seeing their faces, how much they’d have loved this. It’s perfect.’ She used a paper napkin to blot both eyes. ‘I don’t suppose you have any space on this orchard committee you’re setting up?’
‘You’ll have to speak to Daniel about that.’ I wiped my own eyes on the sleeve of my dress. ‘But I’m sure you’d be very welcome.’
Later that afternoon, we gathered the crowds to unveil two brand new, very special features in the orchard. The first, a sculpture of a bridge, designed by the children of Ferrington Primary. It was a bit of a jumbled mess, if I was being honest, but from what I could tell, the various shapes carved into the wood included some boats, ducks, apples and bees, various people holding hands and I think what might have been a tableau of Sylvia Jackson collapsed with anaphylactic shock while Ziva stuck a needle about the size of her own arm in her chest.
Of course, nobody cared that the standard wasn’t quite what we’d hoped for. When the new, youthful recruits to the Ferrington Carpentry Club pulled off the sheet, you could have heard the whistles and cheers all the way across the river.
After the requisite speeches, everyone moved a few feet across to where a large hole had been dug near the orchard fence. Daniel stood, holding onto a tree sapling, his face a blend of sorrow and pride.
‘It’s a cherry tree,’ he told the onlookers. ‘My sister Charlie’s favourite. Although I think she loved the blossom more than the fruit. Either way, I know she’d be so happy to see the orchard coming back to life. This was her favourite place, so I wanted to include something beautiful, in her memory.’
‘She was a wonderful young woman,’ Sylvia Jackson called out. ‘I was honoured to have her in my class.’
While some onlookers rumbled in assent, Daniel beckoned for his mum to come forwards. With trembling hands, Billie held the sapling while Daniel filled the hole with soil, and together they patted it down and gave it a good watering. Hope was invited to help with her own little watering can, although most of it ended up down her playsuit rather than anywhere near the tree.
It was as the spontaneous applause began to die down that another wave of interest rippled through the crowd.
My heart plummeted.
I knew that reaction. I’d witnessed it far too many times before.
Someone famous had entered the vicinity.
Thankfully, before I could do anything other than try to remember how to breathe, Alice spotted it too. Grabbing Becky with a look of unbridled glee, she stopped, smoothed her hair into place, took a deep breath in and out and then weaved around the outside of the now transfixed group of onlookers to where the new arrival stood, fanning her face with one hand, taking rapid fire selfies with the other.
Lucy –Nora– had changed. While she’d purposely adopted a similar look and hairstyle to mine for the time she’d been working as my stand-in, she now wore her hair in a waist-length tumble of auburn extensions. Most of her face was covered in huge, round sunglasses, emphasising pursed, fuchsia lips. She wore black denim shorts that were smaller than most of my underwear, and a white shirt knotted above her belly button, snakeskin wedge-heeled sandals on the end of her toned legs. I could see why Lucy hadn’t had as much time to write reviews lately. That stomach had looked quite different a few months ago. She’d been working hard.
‘Hi!’ Alice breathed, coming to a stop in front of her. ‘Welcome to the first ever Damson Day. I’m Alice, part of the organising committee.’
Lucy flashed a quick smile, phone still aloft.
‘We can’t quite believe you’re here!’ Alice gushed, in a most un-Alice-like fashion. I wanted to give her a shake to bring her back to her senses.
‘Well, please just pretend I’mnothere,’ Lucy said. ‘I’d rather be treated as a normal paying customer like everyone else.’ She accompanied this by vigorously tossing her hair over one shoulder, in a way that suggested she actually wanted people to very much know that she was there.
‘Right, of course!’ Alice said, her smile wavering. ‘We’re about to start the duck race, but, you know, do feel free to wander round, or sample the barbeque. Eleanor and Becky have made some fabulous cakes.’
‘Well, thank you for giving me permission to walk about and buy some food like everyone else. Much appreciated.’ Lucy – or I really should start calling her Nora if she was going to keep this attitude up – swung around, nearly smacking Alice in the face with a giant bag that matched her sandals, and strode over to where a young woman stood trembling with nerves and excitement from behind her fudge stand.
I daren’t move. If I did, there was a risk Nora would spot me. I also didn’t trust my legs to carry me anywhere. A thousand mixed-up thoughts were jumbling and tumbling through my head.
I can’t believe she’s here. Why is she here? Has she come because somehow she knows I’m here? But how could she know that? Not even my own parents know I’m here. Did Alice mention me? Either way, what will she do when she sees me? I’m her old boss, her friend – will she want to hug or to slap me across the face? She was mad that I’d fired her via an answerphone message, but it did mean she ended up with an outstanding promotion… Hang on a second, what about Marcus? She cheated on me with my boyfriend! Maybe I should slap her?
