Cally sighed. 'Oh, you know. Tablecloths, chair arrangements, napkins, that sort of thing. Nothing as exciting as your lights.'
'I know you're still finding your feet here in Lovely. But trust me, being part of this festival—even if it's just deciding on napkin colours—it's a big deal. You're weaving yourself into the fabric of the town.'
Cally looked up at him, surprised by the insight. 'I hadn't thought about it like that.'
'Course you hadn't. You've been too busy moping about a certain fella from up there at the manor.'
Cally's mouth fell open. 'How did you?—?'
Colin tapped the side of his nose. 'Small town, love. Word gets around. But don't worry, we all have our dramas. It'll sort itself out.' Colin squinted up at the sky. 'Weather's turning again. There’s a storm coming, if I’m not mistaken.’
‘Yep, feels like it. Hope it doesn’t rain for the festival.’
‘Ahh, well, rain or shine, we do it anyway. It's about remembering where we came from, you know?'
'How do you mean?'
Colin's eyes were fixed on the river. 'Lovely wasn't always the quaint little town it is now. Back in my granddad's day, it was a proper fishing area and very isolated too. Harsh life it was. Men out on boats in all weathers, women keeping everything together back on shore. I’m not being sexist. That’s how it was back then.'
Cally tried to imagine the Lovely of yesteryear. ‘Must have been quite different in those days.’
'Oh yes,' Colin nodded, 'In actual fact, the Chowder Festival started as a way to use up the less popular fish, the ones that didn't sell so well at market. Waste not, want not – that was the motto. Over time, it became a celebration of the town's resilience, its ability to make something wonderful out of whatever life threw at it.'
‘I love the history of it here.’
‘Yup. Then there’s the chowder competition. Will you be entering?’
'Me? No! I’msonot qualified.’
‘You never know. Everyone's got a special recipe tucked away somewhere. Besides, it's not just about winning. It's about being part of it all.'
Cally laughed. ‘Will you be entering?’
‘Of course! We’ve got an old recipe book that's been in our family for generations.’
‘Good luck with that.’
‘You never know I might win. Right, I’d best get on.’
As the boat rounded a bend in the river, the harbour came into view. The misty rain created a dreamlike quality, softening the edges of the buildings and boats that lined the waterfront. At least Cally had Lovely to soften her landing. Right at that moment, she felt as if that was the only thing she had at all.Tended to occur when you were stubborn and dropped the best thing that had happened to you from a very high height just to see how far it would fall.
31
Cally smiled as she got to Nina’s property on the harbour side of Lovely. Talk about house envy. A beautiful old place right on the harbour wall boasting tightly held views worth their weight in gold. Cally pursed her lips together as she went around the back and buzzed the gate. She could but dream about owning a property in Lovely and carry on tightening her purse strings. She wasn’t going to let the vision go.
Having been in Nina’s house a fair few times to do with Nina's business, A Lovely Organised Life, Cally was used to how nice it was, but as Nina ushered her in, Cally shook her head. One day, she said to herself. One day, I’ll have something half as nice as this. Nina led her to a kitchen area where timber doors painted in a very pale duck egg blue were capped with brass pull handles. White subway tiles lined the wall up to a large picture window with sash panes that looked out over the harbour. The view wasphenomenal. An old Butler sink with a goose-neck tap dropped into marble-style worktops under the window. Cally took in the gorgeous open shelving on either side of the window showcasing a collection of white crockery and china and a group of vintage chopping boards were stacked up in the corner.
Cally pulled out a chair from under a table with a butcher’s block top and looked up at old pendant lights over the table and a huge white vase with a gigantic jumble of flowers. She shook her head at how nice it was and how she didn’t know where to look first: pots of wooden utensils of all shapes and sizes, a very posh fridge, a double-width range oven where a vintage potbelly shaped pot with beautiful old-fashioned handles bubbled away to itself. Cally wanted to strip off her clothes, have a quick shower, steal Nina’s dressing gown and possibly her husband, and move in.
'Make yourself comfortable,' Nina called over her shoulder as she busied herself at the kettle. 'I'll have the tea ready in a jiffy.'
Cally nodded and gazed out the picture window dominating the wall behind the sink, its sash panes divided the view of the harbour into lots of little picturesque vignettes. Boats bobbed on the water, masts swayed in the light breeze and little droplets of water ran down the panes.
'Sorry, I’m having a mental block. You’re just milk, aren’t you? Or milk and sugar?'
'Just milk, please.’
‘I’m all out of blackcurrant.’ Nina chuckled.
