Page 20 of The Stand-in Dad

19 DAVID

‘David!’

Meg greeted him at the door and hurried him inside out of the cold, for which he was very grateful, as he wasn’t sure when he’d stopped being able to feel his thumbs. He’d rushed out of the shop without a proper coat. Meg and Hannah’s home smelt of candles and pesto. The light coming from the yellowy living room was inviting and they stepped forward down the hall. Hannah smiled at him and carried on pottering around clearing up.

‘How are you doing?’ he asked Meg.

‘I’m okay,’ she said. It was weird; he’d never been in this house before and Meg was upset with him, but he felt the familiarity between them wash over him, and he felt like everything was going to be okay. She smiled at him, and he knew they would be.

‘I’m sorry.’ It was out before he’d had a chance to say anything else.

‘No, I’m sorry.’ Meg put a hand on his arm. ‘I shouldn’t have behaved like that. You were only trying to help. You’re not a wedding planner; I can’t hold you to things like that.’

‘Yes,’ David said. ‘But I said I’d do it and I should have … That’s on me and I apologize for that.’

‘You don’t have to.’

‘Hug?’

‘Go on.’

They embraced in the hallway, and David felt instantly relieved.

‘I felt so bad,’ he said.

‘I don’t want you to feel like that.’

‘Hey,’ Hannah said, poking her head back into the room. She had clearly gone and busied herself as they’d started talking. ‘Do you want any pasta, David? There’s some left if you’d like some.’

They followed her through into the living room. It was a bright room, with yellow-painted walls and dark blue cabinets. The TV was on, with no volume, and there was a book upside down on the coffee table.

‘We’re going to paint,’ Hannah said. ‘We didn’t choose this colour; I need you to know that.’

‘I like it!’ David said. ‘It’s fun.’

Meg took the roses from him and put them into a small vase by the sink.

‘Those are lovely,’ Hannah said, sitting back down on the sofa. ‘Thank you.’

‘So.’ He sat on the edge of the sofa and looked at them both. ‘Everything’s sorted. I called The Old Oak, and that’s confirmed; you’re booked in.’

‘Oh, thank you.’

‘You didn’t have to do that,’ Hannah said.

‘All done, no bother,’ David said. ‘Sorry again. Rod and I had a little heart-to-heart on the phone. We both apologized, and he’s going to order in some flowers for some other events, so that was nice. We’re okay.’

‘Thanks, David.’

‘Right, thank you for the pasta offer but I’m not stopping. I’d better get back to close up the shop.’

‘How is Lilies doing?’ Hannah asked.

‘We’re …’ David paused. He had been planning to lie, say how wonderful everything was, but they had a class so under-booked planned for tomorrow that he’d had to cancel or he’d have lost money, and now their cake sales weren’t breaking even and he worried he might have to stop buying from Angie. He sat down again. ‘We’re struggling, to tell you the truth. I think that’s part of why I’m so stressed and forgetful. People always need flowers for weddings and things but … day-to-day, it’s one of those luxuries that’s so easy to lose with everything else going on. I just want to get through the weekend and then I need to sit down and properly make a plan.’

‘Oh, David,’ Meg said. ‘I didn’t realize. I thought it was all good.’

‘It’s not bad-bad,’ he replied. ‘I just … we could be doing better. We should be doing better.’ These two didn’t need to know what the accountant had said about five months, not with all they had going on. ‘All the wholesale prices have gone up, and I don’t want to pass those on. So I need to find other ways.’

‘Have you thought about subscriptions?’ Hannah said. ‘That’s a thing people like: deliveries to the door, a monthly treat they just make part of their regular spending.’

‘We have one for coffee beans,’ Meg said. ‘And I used to do one for bath bombs, but Hannah made me divert that into the wedding fund.’

Hannah looked at David. ‘She was spending forty pounds a month on baths!’

‘That’s not a bad idea,’ David said. ‘Me and Mark were talking about how to turn one sale into many. There’s some kind of business studies name for that but I can’t remember it. Benji’ll tell me. Anyway, maybe I can put flyers in with purchases, give some money off or something, put it on social media.’

‘That’s a nice idea,’ Meg said. ‘We could always design something for you?’

‘Would you really do that?’

‘Of course! You’ve done so much for me, I’d love to. We can’t print them or anything but we can make them look nice.’

‘I’d really appreciate that,’ David said. ‘If that’s no trouble?’

‘Not at all,’ Meg said.

‘Are you sure you don’t want some pasta, David?’ Hannah said. ‘It’ll only be going in the fridge?’

‘Oh, if you insist,’ David said, and he accepted a small bowl dished out by Hannah, sprinkled with cheese. ‘Thanks, this looks delicious.’

‘Thanks, it’s one of our comfort dishes.’

‘Mine’s toad in the hole,’ David said. ‘Or a roast dinner, or a barbecue, actually.’

‘Is there anything else you need help with, with the shop?’ Hannah asked. ‘You’ve done so much for us. I’d love to help you out in return.’

‘Not really,’ David said. ‘Like I said, Benji’s doing our social media. I’ve kind of left him to it.’

‘I mentioned to some of the youth club about a drawing class,’ Meg said. ‘I know that doesn’t make money but the kids seemed keen.’

‘Perhaps you could do that as a trial run, Meg, but you could always adapt that into an adults class, that people do pay for?’ Hannah said.

‘Meg, that’s perfect!’ David said. ‘I was looking at more events.’

Hannah smiled. ‘And, Meg, you wanted some more work that wasn’t solitary.’

‘Count me in!’ Meg said. ‘Let’s start with the youth club so I can work out what we’d need, size and length of the session and stuff.’

‘Shall we have a look at what Benji’s up to?’ Hannah said. ‘I’m intrigued.’

Meg got out her phone and began to look at the shop’s social media.

‘Oh wow,’ Meg said.

‘This is actually really good,’ Hannah said, also looking at her phone.

Meg showed him a small video posted on the shop’s profile, which had the date and time, and a series of shots of dewy, fresh flowers in the windows and plants dotted elsewhere around the shop. It was what Benji had been filming the day before, he realized. The music playing on top of the clip was a song he’d taken from the Plant Playlist, Taylor Swift’s ‘Never Grow Up’, and the shop’s new opening times were super-imposed on it, in bright white font.

‘Are you sure this is a good idea? I was worried when he suggested it.’

‘Of course, David!’ Meg said. She was now showing him something called TikTok, where everything was moving very quickly. ‘Even if it brings one person in, and you’ve not had to do anything to get them in, then they’ll recommend it.’

‘This TikTok’s got six hundred and fifty views,’ Hannah said.

‘WHAT!’ David nearly dropped his bowl. ‘That’s crazy.’

‘That’s good,’ Meg said. ‘And it’s only been a few hours.’

‘I thought it was really more for his benefit than mine,’ David said. ‘But maybe this is a really good thing.’

‘Definitely!’

David stayed for another half an hour, talking about the shop and what Hannah had learned about events at her own work. She talked about creating a buzz around ticket release dates, and publicizing when you were sold out, so people felt they were missing out on something. She talked about visual identities online and then told David that something as simple as a candle could make a live event feel premium. He didn’t realize how late it was until a text from Mark reminded him he was home and that David should probably join him.

‘Don’t tell Mark I had a first dinner,’ David said. ‘Not before sausage and mash night.’

‘We promise,’ Hannah said.

‘It’s getting there now we’ve got the venue, you know,’ David said, as he walked to the hall and put his coat back on. ‘Flowers, food, candles, cakes, décor … There’s not much more left.’

‘I saw on the spreadsheet!’ Hannah asked. ‘Nearly time to actually get married.’

‘Scary,’ Meg said.

‘Not scary, exciting!’ Hannah said.

‘What Hannah said,’ David added.

‘I need to send the final designs round for the welcome sign, menus and table plan and things,’ Hannah said. ‘I’ll do that tomorrow and then we’re done!’

They really were. Meg had caught up with him earlier in the week with her laptop before they’d visited the pubs, and nearly everything was crossed off her list. Hannah had added all sorts of small details from her work in events that they wouldn’t even have thought of, which had extended the partnership a little longer. David was hit with a wall of sadness he couldn’t show them. He’d been quite enjoying this as a project. What happened when it was over? There was just one thing left on the list, of course.

‘And your parents,’ David said. ‘Any news?’

‘Nothing.’

‘I’ve offered to speak to them,’ Hannah said.

They were all standing in the hall awkwardly, and David leaned temporarily on the banister.

‘Maybe that’s a good idea,’ David said. ‘It’s hard to know.’

He wasn’t sure, in fact, that it was a good idea, but it felt like Meg and Hannah’s remit, not really his own.

‘I think I maybe hadn’t realized, you know, how stressed it was making me …’ Meg suggested.

‘That’s okay,’ David said.

‘And maybe that came out earlier,’ Meg added. ‘So, again, I’m sorry.’

‘I’m sorry too.’

‘I wasn’t there,’ Hannah said. ‘But I’m sorry too. David. I’ll see you when I’m back next week.’

‘Have a safe flight.’

He hugged them both and began the walk home, and remembering Benji’s success, texted him (they now had a steady stream of messages) to say thank you. Benji replied immediately, placing a thumbs-up emoji on the comment itself, like six hundred views was nothing. Six hundred customers! Imagine. He checked his calendar on the phone to triple-check he’d booked the pub for the right day and there it was, in black and white. Six weeks to go, more or less.

After that , David thought, I’ll really concentrate on the shop. After that.