Page 27 of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts

‘I miss Dad,’ he found himself saying.

‘Me too,’ his mum said, nodding.

The silence stretched out between them, but for once it was comfortable.

‘I think it’s a good idea that you go and see Pete,’ he finally said. ‘Get a break from all this.’ He waved his arm around at the crowded shop.

‘About that,’ his mum began, taking a deep breath. ‘You said you’ve got some ideas about how to best update things around here. Well, perhaps you could get on with all that whilst I’m away.’

Josh looked up at his mum. ‘Are you sure?’

‘It’s time.’ She appeared to gulp back some tears. ‘I had a good chat with Amber at the hospital. I’ve been holding on to this place for so long, trying to keep it as it was in the past. But the past is just that, the past. I think we could all do with moving on.’

‘I don’t want to upset you by changing things too much,’ he told her.

‘I believe in you,’ his mum said. ‘You’ll do what’s right when the time comes.’ She hesitated before adding, ‘If you think it will save the shop, then do whatever you think necessary. It’s been in the family for so many years, I couldn’t bear it if we lost it like this.’

It was then that he realised that she had always known how treacherous their financial situation was. But that the fear of her illness returning had stopped her from having the strength to face it.

‘I’m not sure what I can do to stop us from losing this place,’ he said.

‘Just do your best,’ she told him, with a soft smile. ‘That’s all you can do. Besides, I’m sure you grandmother will keep an eye on you.’

Josh took a deep breath and stood up. ‘One more throw of the dice then,’ he said.

His mum’s smile grew wider. ‘Now you sound just like your dad.’

‘Good,’ he said, trying to sound stronger than he felt. ‘We could do with a bit of his nerve and self-belief around here.’

‘Yes, I think we could,’ his mum replied, nodding. ‘But we have you, which is even better, I think.’ She stepped forward and they hugged each other.

‘I’m so pleased it’s all gone,’ he murmured into her shoulder.

There were tears in his mum’s eyes when she finally stepped back to look at him. ‘Me too. And now we have Amber to help us as well,’ she said, reaching out to stroke down a stray lock of his hair.

‘Are you sure that she really wants to stay on here?’ he asked.

‘She assures me that she does,’ said his mum.

Josh wasn’t so sure about that. Amber seemed happy to please everyone but herself. It touched his heart that she was doing this for his mother, but to sacrifice herself to be stuck in Cranbridge for another month was really pushing it, he thought.

‘She’s got a real eye for design,’ his mum added, glancing over at the front of the shop. ‘Those windows are lovely. Maybe she can do something with all this as well.’

Josh laughed. ‘That’s a bit of a tough ask, to be honest, Mum.’

‘Come on,’ she said, giving him a nudge. ‘Let’s lock up early and meet them both out in the lane. No one else is coming in today.’

After he had drawn the locks across on the front door and flipped the sign over to read Closed, they weaved their way through the shop.

‘I haven’t wanted to leave you alone, but you’re ready,’ said his mum over her shoulder to him. ‘And you’ve got a partner in Amber.’

Josh gave the shop one last glance. He wasn’t sure what either of them could do to make a real difference to the shop’s income, but in a small way he was grateful that he wasn’t facing it alone. And he realised that he was actually a tiny bit glad that Amber was going to stay on in Cranbridge, if only for the next four weeks.

12

‘It’s just for a month.’

Amber looked out at the river, which was flowing much faster that morning after some heavy overnight rain. She adjusted the mobile which she was holding up to her ear and looked up at the grey sky. More rain was forecast that day. At that moment, the sunny skies of a New Zealand summer seemed even more appealing than before.