Page 69 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

Lily had agreed with the idea and so suddenly it was a mad rush to get everything finished for the, hopefully, many visitors from the local area. Invitations had been issued online on various local groups, as well as in the community hubs in Cranley, Cranbridge and Cranfield, and they were hoping for quite a crowd.

But with a week to go, he was beginning to feel quite nervous. He checked his emails once more. They had asked people to confirm if they were able to attend the preview evening but the numbers were looking pretty small and there hadn’t been any new bookings since he had last checked ten minutes before.

‘What’s the frown for?’ asked his grandad, suddenly materialising next to the front desk.

Ben grimaced. ‘We’ve not had many replies yet for the preview evening. That’s too slow a start, isn’t it? Considering it’s supposed to be our grand opening and only a week away.’

Walter shook his head. ‘Patience, lad,’ he said softly. ‘They’ll come. Just because they haven’t replied doesn’t mean they won’t show up. Folks always leave these kinds of things to the last minute.’

‘You’re not concerned?’ asked Ben.

‘No,’ replied Walter. ‘You know why? Because you and Lily have thought of everything and I believe in you.’

Ben was surprised but comforted as his grandad placed a hand on his shoulder briefly before he walked away.

Buoyed up, at least temporarily, by Walter’s words, Ben looked down at the long list of things to do for the preview evening that Lily had typed up and placed in front of him.

The most pressing concern was food. Without a full-time chef, and with Hannah absolutely refusing to get involved apart from serving the food despite their best efforts, what to feed the hopefully high numbers of locals coming to the preview evening was of utmost importance.

He decided to video call Jake to ask for help.

‘Do you know of any decent chefs in the area?’ he asked, once they had exchanged brief pleasantries.

‘Only me when I’m visiting,’ drawled Jake. ‘What’s going on?’

‘We’ve decided to hold a preview evening to generate a bit of publicity locally,’ Ben told him.

‘Sounds like a good idea,’ replied Jake, yawning. ‘Sorry. Not you. Late night.’

‘Anyone I know?’ asked Ben.

Jake broke into a grin. ‘No. Anyway, I thought you were already spoken for.’

Ben glanced around to check that the office door was definitely closed before returning to look at the screen. ‘Not sure about that,’ he said.

‘She kissed you, didn’t she?’ said Jake, rolling his eyes. ‘Perhaps you should take that as a sign that she does actually like you.’

‘I guess,’ said Ben. Although it had only been a brief peck on the lips during a moment of happiness. There had been no passion or desire behind Lily’s gesture.

Despite that, he still couldn’t get it out of his head and he had been kissed many times. But he had to forget about it for now, he reminded himself. There was lots to do.

‘The great Ben Jackson lacking confidence?’ carried on Jake. ‘Wonders will never cease. Now, talk to me about the food situation.’

‘It’s in a week’s time and I have no idea what we should serve,’ said Ben. ‘People will be coming through at various times to view everything so it’s not like we can serve a sit-down meal.’ He dragged his hand through his hair. ‘And yes, I appreciate we’ve left it awfully late before you berate me about that.’

Jake frowned. ‘You’ll be lucky to get anyone decent at the moment, being so close to Christmas,’ he said. ‘Everyone I know is pretty busy. Thankfully I know just the person to help you out. Solid, reliable and startlingly handsome as well.’

Ben sat back in his chair in amazement. ‘You?’

‘Who else?’ said Jake, with a grin.

Despite being delighted with the offer, Ben was still worried. ‘It’s next weekend. Can you afford the time off?’ he asked. ‘I don’t want you to lose your job.’

‘Oh, mate, I’m so bored with this restaurant that I’ll be grateful to get away,’ Jake told him. ‘Besides, if the future of Maple Tree Lodge rests on a successful preview evening, then just try and keep me away!’

‘But what about work?’ asked Ben.

‘I think I’m just about to come down with a very swift flu bug,’ replied Jake with a wink. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll startcomplaining about a sore throat tomorrow to sow the seeds of my imminent illness.’