Page 30 of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts

‘I know! I know!’ she said, smiling. ‘You won’t miss my nagging, will you?’ She then stepped forward to give her son a hug. ‘You know you’ve been my rock these past few years,’ she murmured. ‘Thank you.’

Amber watched as Josh remained quiet for a moment but squeezed her back in return.

Finally they straightened up. ‘Anyway, I won’t be on my own, will I?’ said Josh. ‘Grandma’s told me that she’s going to keep an eye on us.’

‘I’ll keep an eye on them both,’ said Grandma Tilly, with a wink. ‘Don’t fret.’

So it was a happy round of teary goodbyes, bear hugs and ‘I’ll text you when I land’ from Cathy.

Grandma Tilly was also beaming and looking excited for her daughter. ‘First stop, duty free!’ she said, laughing as Cathy got into the van.

Then with a final wave and shout of ‘goodbye’, Josh started up the van engine and off they went around the corner, disappearing from sight.

Amber stood in the chilly autumnal air and wondered just what she’d let herself in for. The future of Cranbridge Stores had been left in her and Josh’s hands. She just hoped she was up to the job.

13

It had been a slightly awkward evening with Amber, thought Josh. They had made a bit of small talk when he had arrived back from dropping his mum off at the airport before they had both gone to their separate bedrooms.

Luckily Cathy’s plane took off only ten minutes late and he had woken up that morning relieved to find that it had landed safely in Singapore.

He had already received a number of texts and photos with his mum and brother grinning in some kind of tropical garden.

He was pleased. They were safe and happy.

He was also slightly envious of the blue skies and change of scenery. After all, he was still stuck in Cranbridge with the shop.

But at least he could finally change the inside. So he found himself feeling slightly more optimistic than he had done for a while. Staring around the shop, he tried to imagine how different it could look. For a start, there was too much clutter in the space. Boxes definitely needed to be removed, but where to put them? The back room was just as full as the shop itself.

He had no idea what to do next and was almost grateful when Grandma Tilly came into the shop.

‘How are you getting on?’ she asked.

‘I honestly don’t know where to start,’ Josh told her.

Grandma Tilly nodded as she looked around the crowded space. ‘It’s certainly a bit busy in here. Of course, it never used to look like this.’

‘How did it look?’ asked Amber, coming in from the back room.

‘Oh, it was quite different,’ said Tilly. ‘My father-in law ran a tight ship. Of course, it was all loose goods and branded items on the shelves come the 1950s. Myself and my mother-in law weren’t even allowed on the shop floor. Anyway, it’s best we’ve got equality these days. Women’s lib and all that. I hated being stuck upstairs. I used to sneak out to go to the dance hall in Aldwych.’

‘Such a rebel,’ said Amber, with a soft smile.

Grandma Tilly’s smile grew wider. ‘I really was.’

‘So, it didn’t look like this?’ said Josh, waving his arm around.

‘It was far emptier in those days,’ said Grandma Tilly. ‘Thanks to the rationing after the war. There wasn’t much food about. Or money either, to be honest. My father-in law would sell things on credit. Folks weren’t getting paid so they had to borrow.’

‘That doesn’t sound like very good business,’ said Josh.

Grandma Tilly shook her head. ‘We were a community in those days. We knew everyone and they knew us. It was a matter of trust. They were Cranbridge families. We knew every name and person who came through that door.’

‘Times change,’ said Josh, feeling almost sad that he didn’t have that kind of connection with the village.

‘As long as kindness doesn’t,’ said Grandma Tilly.

‘So, when did the shop become more full?’ asked Amber. ‘After rationing had stopped?’