Page 20 of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts

But Tilly’s words had no pleasing tone and Amber wondered whether she felt at a bit of a loose end now that she had moved out of the flat upstairs.

When she had finished cleaning, Amber went outside to look at the windows once more, this time from the veranda. At least the light now bounced off the newly polished glass. The problem now was what to fill the space with.

Deep in thought, she stepped down from the veranda and back onto the lane. She stood and stared around the village. Autumn, she thought. Lots of yellows, oranges and reds. Nature. A time of harvest moons and storing up for winter. She thought about the leaves that had been swept inside onto the windowsill. Then she remembered what Stanley had said about the harvest festival. Perhaps that was an idea.

She had a sudden vision of checked red and white cloth, on top of which were some pumpkins. Apples, as well. Some rosy, some green. Leaves, of course, in all the autumnal colours. Maybe some twigs. Fairy lights for the darkening days.

That was it! She had her theme. She just hoped it would look as good in real life as it did in her mind.

Feeling excited, Amber headed back into the shop for supplies. The shop was surely full of things that she could use?

‘Is it OK if I borrow a few bits and pieces from around the shop for the display?’ she asked Cathy.

‘Of course,’ said Cathy, beaming. ‘What kind of things are you looking for?’

‘Glue, string, fairy lights,’ said Amber.

Cathy looked surprised. ‘I think that kind of thing is in the back room.’

‘Have you any kind of spare material as well?’ asked Amber. ‘Like an old tablecloth or something?’

Cathy and Grandma Tilly looked at each other. ‘Aren’t there a couple of rolls of material in the corner near the stairs?’ said Tilly.

‘I think so,’ Cathy replied.

‘I’ll have a look,’ said Amber, heading out into the back room.

As usual, it was full of boxes and very tight to move around. She almost fell over a couple of times, clambering over to get to what she needed. But she soon found the rolls of material that Tilly had mentioned. They were a little dusty, but, to her delight, one of them was a gingham red and white check. It was perfect for the display.

She found the string and sellotape in the toolbox next to the old tractor. She was just about to head through to the shop once more when she spotted a couple of old wicker baskets, propped up in a dark corner. She grabbed those as well before heading towards the window.

Amber spent a very happy couple of hours brushing down the cloth of dust and cleaning the wicker baskets ready for the display. All the time, her mind was racing with ideas for the display.

In addition, she went outside and found a couple of short, thin branches which were laying on the ground near to the river. She also picked up many leaves, selecting those which were whole and mud-free.

Once back inside, she began to stick the leaves onto the string and let them dry before winding them around the fairy lights that Cathy had found for her from the Christmas decorations.

‘You’re working ever so hard,’ said Cathy, popping a biscuit and cup of tea on the windowsill next to where Amber was gluing the leaves onto the stick.

‘Thanks,’ said Amber, thinking that it was the most enjoyable day she’d had at work for a long time.

The lack of anyone overseeing her designs had made her feel far more relaxed than she could remember being at work. With nobody judging or criticising her choices, she had been free to bring her own ideas to life.

Cathy was still watching her and smiling. ‘Oh, I knew that you coming to stay with us was going to change things for the better.’

Amber hoped that Cathy wasn’t investing too much hope into what could only be a couple of small window displays. But at least it was nice to see her godmother cheerful. She just hoped she could produce a display that the whole family liked, even Josh.

But, as usual, her work was tempered by her own nagging self-doubt that she would never be as talented as she hoped she could be.

9

Josh had been somewhat bemused by his mother’s suggestion that Amber dress the windows of the shop. In the scheme of things, it was a drop in the ocean compared to all the other changes that needed to be made. But if it kept his mum in a better mood than she had been in lately then who was he to argue?

Before he went to the cash and carry to pick up the meagre supply of milk and cheese for the shop and home, he had watched as Amber had gone to and from the stockroom. String, tape, old crates and even a pair of old wicker baskets had all been commandeered from their hiding places before being cleaned up and taken down to the front of the shop. A red and white checked cloth had caused Amber to smile more than he had seen her so far.

Even so, his expectations were low as to what she could pull off with such low-impact supplies. After all, their shop hardly had the similar budget or resources of a New York department store.

Late in the afternoon, just as he was bringing in the last of the purchases from his van, Amber came into the back room, where his mum was pouring herself yet another cup of tea. What else was there to do with little or no customers?