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‘Billy!’ She crossed over to meet him, giving him a great hug when she got there. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’
‘I asked Johnny what time you finished and thought you might like a quick drink before you head back. I’m working not far from here at the moment. Don’t worry, he said not to rush back; said he’ll sort the kids out. And I know a great pub just round the corner.’ Billy grinned.
‘Actually, I really need a gin and tonic after all that tasting, but I’m driving at the other end, so I’d better stick to tea.’
‘Well, I’m gasping. Come on.’
They sat at a small table in the corner of the pub, all dark wood and old paintings. Billy returned from the bar with a tray holding a pint, a pot of tea and four different-flavoured bags of crisps.
‘So, how did it go?’ He put the pot and empty cup and saucer in front of her. ‘Sorry, they only had these.’ He pointed to the tiny carton of milk on the table.
‘No, honestly, that’s perfect. Thank you.’ Flora reached for the tea. ‘It went OK, I think. But you never really know, do you?’
Billy laughed, remembering his own exam performance. When it came to studying for exams, he had always left everything to the last minute, somehow scraping through by the skin of his teeth. ‘You’ll be fine, you know you will. I don’t think you’ve ever failed an exam in your life. Well, apart from your driving test. How many times?’ He laughed, knowing how much this annoyed her.
‘Oh, shut up, it was just bad luck!’
‘Three times?’
‘Actually, I passed third time. All the best people do.’ She shot him a look.
‘Whatever.’ He chuckled, then took a noisy sip from his pint.
‘Anyway, how’s it all going with Ruby? Is it back on?’
‘Yeah, I think so. I do really like her, actually. She’s… gorgeous.’ He grinned.
‘God only knows what she sees in you,’ Flora teased.
‘Well, clearly it’s my sparkling personality and devastating good looks.’ He gestured to his face.
‘Yeah, right.’ She laughed.
They sat and exchanged news, Billy asking about the children, Flora about his plans for the summer in the hope she might get him to commit to coming to stay for a few days at some point. They talked about their parents, including the obligatory moan about their mother whilst agreeing they wouldn’t have her any other way. It was all part and parcel of family life, however old you were.
Flora glanced at her watch. ‘Oh my God, I didn’t realise it was so late! I’ve got to go or I’ll miss my train and I don’t want to be on the later one: it’ll be so crowded.’
Billy drained his pint. ‘Go on, go!’ He shooed her away.
Flora hugged him and thanked him for the tea. ‘Just what I needed, thank you.’
‘Next time, it’ll be a gin and tonic.’
‘Definitely. Doubles.’
‘Of course.’ He waved her off and Flora ran all the way to the station.
She made the train with a minute to spare but managed to find a seat. Plonking herself down, she rested her head against the glass window and settled in. She scrolled through her phone. Five new messages in her group chat with Susie and Tilda – both wishing her luck along with a couple of random GIFs involving people drinking enormous glasses of wine, together with a couple from Johnny telling her he was thinking of her and asking how it went. She tapped out her responses and sent one to her parents, letting them know she’d got the last exam out of the way.
She put her phone in her pocket and picked up the paper in front of her, the words a blur. Her eyes ached. The sound of a ping had her reaching back into her pocket. Looking at the screen she saw a message from Billy.
Good to see you, sis. Bet you smashed it. See you at the party next week xx
She smiled to herself, her thoughts turning to the shop. At least now she had a bit of time to focus on getting the launch organised. An email had gone out to the few current customers Mack had email addresses for, as well as to friends and family. Suppliers old and new had generously donated a few bottles each to the opening so that customers could try different wines. If the weather continued as it was, they’d be able to use the courtyard at the back, too, which would provide a bit more space.
She checked her emails before opening the Instagram page Johnny had set up for the shop, now populated with before and after pictures of the shop makeover. There were bottles, winemakers and even pictures of her, Mack and Johnny. She felt guilty for not having helped more with this side of things, but Johnny had been insistent (‘You’ve got exams and, anyway, you never post anything on Instagram. And you hate Facebook’). She wouldn’t have known where to start but he’d made it look fantastic.
Her job, he’d told her, was to pass her diploma. Then she could start teaching wine courses from the shop, bringing in an additional income stream. She felt her stomach flip at the thought of getting her results, even though it was months away still.
