Page 63 of Rachel’s Pudding Pantry

‘Thanks, Tom!’ she said, performing a curtsy like a princess. She skipped off again with Moss and Amelia in her wake to find some other important party mission to help with.

Jill came back with the flowers in a glass vase and stood them on the oak counter top. They looked gorgeous there. The final touch.

Rachel’s gut felt tight with tension as the first guests started to arrive. Eve brought out a large tray of Pimm’s. She wasn’t chancing the girls carrying those, even though Maisy and Amelia were clearly taking their serving role very seriously, balancing the pudding platters with expressions of deep concentration on their faces as they walked slowly between the guests.

The sun had come out, after a brief shower earlier. Some visitors were in the barn looking around the interior and praising the new developments, whilst others spilled out into the yard. With the WI ladies turning up en masse in four cars, it suddenly got a lot busier and Tom was soon on hand with the second jug of Pimm’s, which raised several wide smiles and ‘Yes, pleases’ from the group.

Everything seemed to be going swimmingly so far, thank heavens, and the lady from the local press had even arrived, with her camera slung promisingly around her neck. The only dampener was the arrival of Vanessa Palmer-Pilkington, who was standing with a lady from the WI and sampling Rachel’s very own carrot cake in the barn. The ghastly woman screwed up her pale, rather long nose exaggeratedly. ‘Oh, I must say it’s not as moist as it might be, is it Clara?’

‘Oh, well, I think it’s rather good.’

Rachel had to admit her baking wasn’t quite up to her mother’s super-duper standards, but still, the nerve!

‘Nothing like my carrot cake,’ Vanessa said loudly.

‘No, nothing like yours,’ Clara said ironically, which seemed to sail over Vanessa’s head. But Rachel caught on and couldn’t resist a tiny smirk as she went on her way behind the kitchen counter area to make another pot of tea.

Maisy was skipping about more confidently now with the trays of puddings, and a tale-tale smudge of sticky toffee sauce and lemon frosting around her mouth. ‘Any more? This one’s chocolate brownies and roly-poly.’

Some of the guests had spotted Eve’s gorgeous crafts and Rachel was proud to see that her friend had had a couple of sales already.

An hour passed by in the blink of an eye. The photographer, Amanda, had been taking lots of snaps, which she’d said she’d get into Saturday’s paper with an editorial feature on the Pudding Pantry – which was brilliant.

It was time for Rachel to say a few words. As she stood up in front of the gathering, she felt a little nervous, her heart hammering in her chest.

‘Hello … hello.’ It was hard getting everyone’s attention to start.

A hush began to fall across the room, except for Maisy shouting, ‘Shush, we need to listen to Mummy.’

The gathering chuckled at that.

‘Thanks, Maisy. I think that’s done the trick!’ Rachel smiled, then took a slow breath before starting her speech. This felt like such a momentous day. ‘Well, here we are at the opening of the Pudding Pantry at Primrose Farm. Thank you all for coming this afternoon.’

All eyes were upon her now. She needed to get these words right. She had written something down in bed late last night, but wanted it to come from the heart, not a sheet of paper. She smiled, calming herself, as she gathered her thoughts.

‘So, a lot of hard work has gone into getting this project ready to open on time, and we’ve had such fabulous support from friends and the local community here, so thank you very much. A few people I especially want to thank are my mum Jill, my lovely friend Eve, wonderful Granny Ruth, Maisy and Amelia – my little helpers – and Tom our neighbour. Oh yes, and Brenda too, for supporting our puddings from the start, four months ago now, and selling them in the Deli when we weren’t quite sure which direction we were going to take. Thanks to Ian and Dan our builders for the amazing job they’ve done here too. A total transformation.’ The lads had managed to get to the launch and they nodded their appreciation, Ian giving a big thumbs up.

There was a small round of applause and a few whoops from the crowd.

‘It’s been a difficult few years … as you well know.’ Rachel felt a lump form in her throat then but managed to carry on after giving a small cough. ‘Me and Mum, well we wanted to make something positive happen here. A new start. A new direction for Primrose Farm.’

A loud ‘Hear, hear’ came from someone in the audience and Rachel was surprised to see Old Mr Mac at the back of the barn, who was nodding as he spoke, wishing them well. Damn it, the grumpy old bastard was bringing a tear to her eye now. She swallowed and managed to say, ‘So thank you all. Oh, and please spread the word about the Pudding Pantry after today, that would be amazing. Please help yourself to more Pimm’s – and puddings of course!’

A glass was thrust into her hand by Eve, who whispered, ‘Well done,’ just as Jill moved forward to add a few last words. ‘A huge heartfelt thank you from me too … to my very special and determined daughter, Rachel, for making this happen, and for everything you’ve all done for our family here at Primrose Farm over the years. Cheers folks!’

‘Cheers.’

‘Cheers!’ Tom raised his voice and his glass. ‘To the Pudding Pantry.’ He caught Rachel’s eye, and held her gaze for a moment. ‘And to Jill and Rachel.’

More ‘Cheers’ and chatter followed, and the party resumed with great gusto.

Rachel rubbed her sleeve under her eyes; boy had all the emotions sneaked up on her, having everyone there wishing them well. Jill gave her back a small reassuring rub, a silent comforting gesture that she’d done for Rachel since childhood. Rachel then spotted Tom smile across at her with what looked like pride in his eyes.

With Palmer-Pilkington and several of the more formal guests now away, Jill and Rachel began to feel more relaxed. The pudding platters had been enjoyed and were reassuringly depleted. Eve poured the two of them another large glass of Pimm’s each – they certainly deserved it – as well as topping up their remaining guests. Most of the group were now standing outside the barn enjoying the warmth of the summer’s afternoon, though the clouds had once again started to gather above.

Rachel came to stand next to Jill. ‘Well, that all seemed to go off pretty well, Mum.’

‘Yes love, really well, I’d say. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.’