Melody delved into it, pulling out rolls of rubber. ‘Are these mats?’
‘Yes, yoga mats and hand towels for people to use. In here—’ Lettie lifted a corner of the second box for Melody and Patsy to peep in ‘—are exit signs, first-aid signs and coffee and tea station signs.’
Patsy looked bemused. ‘Exit signs?’
‘Yes,’ Melody explained. ‘The first thing we’ll need to do after welcoming everyone and opening the event is to do some housekeeping and let attendees know where the exits are.’
‘Why, won’t they realise they can leave out of the barn doors they’ve just entered through?’ Patsy asked.
Melody understood her confusion. ‘I know it sounds a little odd, but we need to let people know. The insurers I contacted about the event insisted we did.’
‘We never needed to jump through all these hoops in my day,’ Patsy grumbled, shaking her head. ‘It’s all very odd, if you ask me.’
‘I dread to think of the lack of health and safety arrangements at events in your day.’ Melody laughed. She decided to change the subject. ‘Lettie, do we know yet when the chairs and trestle tables we’ve ordered will be arriving?’
‘I phoned earlier this morning and they promised me they’ll be here first thing tomorrow, in good time for us to set everything up. We also have the tea and coffee urns and deliveries of pastries being brought in by a vegan baker Mum discovered recently.’
Lettie’s phone pinged and Melody watched as she peered at the screen. ‘This is amazing,’ Lettie said, holding up her phone and showing somebody sitting in what looked like half a barrel of ice. ‘We’ve had confirmation that one of the women from thebook club has a sister wanting to do ice baths for our attendees. I think the smaller barn will be better for those. We still have a little space to the right-hand side to set them up.’
‘That’s brilliant. This really is coming along well,’ Melody said. As well as that, she had checked the long-distance weather forecast earlier and relaxed when she saw that the mention of inclement weather seemed to have been wrong and that when the event was being held in a few days constant sunshine with only a gentle breeze was expected. At least the animals could be left out and it was one thing less to worry about. The temperatures were comfortable, so that was another thing she was relieved to know.
As she helped clean the barn for the final time before they began setting up, Melody couldn’t help wishing she could have some time away from the preparations to continue with her sketches. The deadline for the next book was looming ever closer and she had no intention of letting her grandmother down.
‘You OK there, Melody?’ Zac asked, bringing in another couple of boxes that must have been delivered at some point.
‘Fine, thanks,’ she said, wondering how his call with Callum had panned out. ‘Do you need a hand bringing anything else in here?’
He cocked his head over his shoulder. ‘Dad and Lettie are bringing stuff in behind me.’ He shot a look to the door and lowered his voice. ‘I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for this thing to be over and done with. I’m desperate to get back to normal. We had enough to do without all this extra stuff.’
‘Stop moaning, Zac,’ Lettie said coming up behind him. ‘Anyway, did you manage to get hold of Callum?’
‘I did.’ He gave a satisfied nod. ‘He’s giving the festival another shout-out on his show today and tomorrow.’
‘That’s kind of him,’ Lettie said. ‘But then he’s a lovely bloke and always willing to help others.’
Melody decided that she probably should have a chat with Callum too. He hadn’t asked her out again after that initial drink at the pub, but she presumed he must have picked up some chemistry between her and Zac. She decided she needed to do the right thing and catch him on his own and check that he really was fine about any misunderstandings between them.
Feeling a little better, Melody realised she hadn’t asked Lettie whether she needed her to help. She leant the mop handle against a stall door and went over to her. ‘Here, let me take those from you.’
‘These aren’t heavy but they’re awkward,’ Lettie said. ‘If you take the top one that’ll be great.’ Melody lifted the box. ‘Follow Zac through there,’ Lettie said.
Melody followed the siblings and Gareth through to the back storeroom.
‘We’re storing everything in there until tomorrow when I know this place is spotless,’ Lettie explained. ‘You’re doing a brilliant job by the way, Melody. You and Patsy have been amazing through all of this.’
‘Thanks, we’re only too happy to help out.’ Melody wondered what was in these boxes.
‘There seems to be a lot of stuff,’ Gareth said.
Melody placed the box on one of the trestle tables Zac had set up. ‘Is there much more to come?’
‘Only fresh stuff, like food and milk,’ Lettie said, motioning for her father to place what he was carrying on the table next to hers and Zac’s. ‘The stallholders will be bringing in their products and any banners tomorrow afternoon. I said they could arrange everything and let them know we would padlock the barn doors closed at six-thirty. I thought that way they would be able to arrive fresh for the first day of the event and at least they would feel confident that all their wares were safely behind locked doors.’
It was a good idea. Melody hoped that Lettie’s confidence was building. She was far better at arranging these things than she probably thought she was and if this was a success then there was no limit to what she could do to make money in the future.
‘I could do with some fresh air,’ Melody said. ‘I’ll finish washing the floor after I help you with the animal feed.’
‘OK, thanks.’ Lettie led the way as the three of them left Zac to carry on checking everything while they went outside.
