Page 49 of All Wrapped Up

‘Right,’ said Joanne, rubbing her hands together. ‘Let’s get this show on the road!’

I hadn’t known exactly what the workshop was going to entail, but it was simple enough.

The adults were going to decor-ate glass jars and lanterns with leaves Lizzie had previously collected from the Skylark Farm nature trail and dried and the children were making card lanterns with brightly coloured cellophane woodland motif shapes to create a stained-glass effect.

‘I’m going to encourage everyone to use them in the Halloween procession,’ Lizzie told me. ‘They’ll be perfect for that.’

‘Oh yes,’ I agreed, as I helped set everything out. ‘What a wonderful idea. It’s the ideal opportunity to include things from one event in another.’

‘That’s what I thought,’ she smiled. ‘Joanne, you can work with the children’s table today.’

Joanne, for some reason, was reluctant but eventually agreed and headed off to the café to collect the welcome drinks. She looked far less happy than she had when she’d been setting things up and chatting about her move to Australia.

‘I don’t mind working with the children if Joanne would rather not,’ I offered once she’d gone, but Lizzie wouldn’t hear of it.

‘No,’ she said. ‘I’m not going to subject you to that and put you off my offer!’

‘Subject me to what?’ I frowned.

Right on cue, the gallery door was flung open and in marched a tiny terror who Joanne was going to have the pleasure of helping. Rather her than me.

It was a busy morning, so I didn’t have time to further think about the note in my pocket.

Unsurprisingly, I was the object of some interest, but not too much and most of it centred around AutumnEverything.

I wasn’t sure if that was because the people present weren’t yet aware that I was a widow or if they were too diplomatic to bring it up. I didn’t have to wait long to find out…

‘Clemmie Bennett,’ tutted the woman who had been in raptures over AutumnEverything at the felting and decoupage workshop. ‘You’re a dark horse! All that talk about that magnifi-cent account we were swooning over and you never said a word.’

‘Well,’ I smiled, as I helped her decide where to paste her selection of leaves, ‘at the time, I was trying to keep it a secret.’

‘I’m not surprised,’ she sighed. ‘From everything I’ve seen online about your husband, I daresay you were worn down with all the attention when he died.’

‘I was,’ I nodded, as Lizzie rushed around the table to check I was okay.

I realised then that everyone was listening and felt my cheeks flush red.

‘And no wonder,’ the woman carried on, the volume of her voice rising. ‘Well, other than I’m very sorry for your loss, my dear, I won’t say a word. Widowed at your age, though. I mean—’

‘This is you not saying a word, is it?’ came a voice from the other side of the table and I looked across to find the person who had pulled her up, shaking her head. ‘I’m sure we’re all very sorry for the lass. Now, let’s leave her in peace, shall we?’

‘Right,’ said Lizzie, as she placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. ‘Who’s ready to start pasting?’

The noise from the other side of the gallery suggested Joanne wasn’t making much headway with a couple of the children, so I took the opportunity to head over and give her some moral support. With two adults at the table, and enough attention for everyone, things soon settled down.

‘You know what,’ I said, popping in a battery operated tealight and holding up the lantern the most vociferous and bossy child had made. ‘I think you’ve made the scariest one out of all of us.’

He looked thrilled about that.

‘Can I smash it up and make another one?’ he pleaded, making his voice sickly sweet.

‘Nope,’ I said, with a nod to the clock. ‘There’s not enough time.’

‘Perhaps I’ll just tear it up and not have one at all then,’ he pouted.

I placed it back in front of him.

‘You could,’ I shrugged and he went to grab it, ‘but then you won’t have anything to carry in the Halloween parade, will you? You’re going to terrify everyone with these monster shapes.’

He quickly shoved the lantern out of reach and away from temptation.

‘You’ve never made that,’ I heard his mum say when she had finished her own lantern and was ready to head off.

He shrugged as if it was nothing, but I could tell he was pleased.

‘Thank you,’ the woman mouthed to me and Joanne and then took him off for chips from the market as a treat for being good.

‘You saved me there,’ Joanne said. ‘He was testing my patience.’

‘I think he’d be enough to test the patience of anyone.’

‘You’ve got a way with kids,’ Lizzie said to me.

‘That,’ I told her, ‘was a one off. Beginners’ luck. I have no experience of kids.’

‘Me neither,’ Joanne shuddered. ‘Yuck.’

And nor was I ever likely to have, but whereas Joanne might have made a choice about staying child-free, my hand had been forced.

‘Well, be that as it may,’ said Lizzie, as she wiped her hands down her apron, ‘today has been a huge success and you’ve shone again, Clemmie. You are going to come and work for me, aren’t you?’

‘I haven’t completely decided yet,’ I told her, ‘but I think I’ve almost got my future all wrapped up.’

‘I’m delighted to hear it,’ she smiled, warmly.