Page 11 of Sunny Sundays at Primrose Hall

Tom watched as Sophie walked away in the direction of her cottage and smiled, relieved to know that he would only have to wait a little more than a week until he saw her again.

10

‘Look,’ said Pia excitedly, sorting through the post just delivered by Dave, their friendly postman. He arrived in his van every morning, between ten and eleven, and sometimes would stop for a cup of tea, but today he’d had to rush off to make some time-sensitive deliveries.

‘There’s a postcard here from your mum and dad.’

She held up the card to Jackson, which showed a gloriously beautiful beach, bathed in sunshine, on the Côte d’Azur. ‘Let me read it to you.’

Dear Jackson and Pia

We’ve made it to the South of France! We’ve found a lovely campsite overlooking the sea where we’ve parked up and will stay awhile. We’re spending our days walking along the coast and discovering the local countryside. We’re sampling lots of the local delicacies including plenty of wine and cheese, of course! Wish you were here! Much love, Ronnie and Rex xxx

‘Isn’t that lovely?’ said Pia, reading it for a second time. ‘People don’t often send postcards these days, do they? It reminds me of when I was a kid. It always seemed so exciting to receive those colourful cards from far-flung places, and I used to gaze at them, wondering if I would ever get to see such exotic places. My mum used to put them up on the mantelpiece and they would stay there for months on end.’ Pia looked around her. ‘I shall pop this up on the fridge, and it will remind us of them both.’

‘As if we need any reminding,’ said Jackson with a wry chuckle. ‘Ronnie gives us daily updates as it is, so it’s not as though we could ever forget about them.’ Pia cast him a sharp glance. ‘Not that we’d ever want to, of course,’ Jackson added as an afterthought. ‘Come here.’

He pulled Pia into his embrace, his expression full of warmth and kindness, as his brown eyes scanned her face.

‘You’re such a sweetheart. Sometimes I wonder what I’ve done to deserve someone as special as you. I love how you’ve fallen in love with my family nearly as much as you have done with me.’

‘That’s true,’ said Pia, with a sigh. She missed her own mum and dad hugely, but in the short space of time she’d got to know, first Ronnie, and then Rex, she’d become very fond of them both. Ronnie was gregarious, funny and emotional, and Pia loved the colour and energy she brought to the hall. Rex didn’t take himself too seriously and seemed to have a permanent smile on his face. From what Pia had gleaned, Rex had been something of a hedonistic wild child in his younger days, when his love of booze and his freedom ruled his life to the detriment of his family, his relationships and his work. Now, older and wiser, he was sober, with a desire to put right the wrongs of the past, and make it up to Jackson, and now Ronnie and Tom too.

Jackson’s lips pressed gently against Pia’s and butterflies stirred in the base of her stomach. His arms around her gave her a sense of safety and belonging that she would never take for granted. She pulled back to look into his face.

‘You know I really can’t wait to tell your mum that we’ve set the date. I know she’s going to be so excited… when we finally get round to telling her.’

‘Far too excited. We’ll probably hear her screams in France from here,’ said Jackson, laughing. Pia raised her eyebrows, running a hand around the hard contours of Jackson’s face. She looked into his eyes imploringly, a soft smile resting on her lips. She didn’t need to say a word, the look said it all.

‘Fine!’ He chastised her with an indulgent shake of his head. ‘Tell her now, if you really want to, but do insist that she doesn’t need to rush back home. There’s still plenty of time until the wedding and tell her we have everything under control.’

‘Do you mean it?’ asked Pia, unable to contain her own excitement now. ‘It’s been killing me keeping the news to ourselves, although I suppose I have already told Abbey, Connor, Tom and…’ Her voice trailed away. She’d pretty much told everyone to save the date, apart from Ronnie and Rex, although she knew nothing would stop them both from being there, whatever the date. She kissed Jackson on the lips, gently extracting herself from his hold.

‘Have you given any thought to who you might have as your best man?’

‘Not sure yet. There’s a couple of contenders. Maybe Ash. Or possibly Mike. I’m not sure Ash would relish the opportunity, though. I need to have a think about it.’

Jackson had known Ash since he was a kid and although their paths in life had taken very different directions, Jackson made a point of keeping in touch with his old pal, meeting up with him regularly in the local pub. Pia had met him a coupleof times, and although he was always polite, Pia found him shy and not terribly forthcoming. She found it hard to imagine him taking centre stage at their wedding. Mike was Jackson’s ex-business partner, and she could certainly see him taking on the role – he was articulate, confident and charming, but the decision was entirely down to Jackson, and she would support him in whatever choice he made.

‘Right,’ she said, reluctantly glancing at her watch. ‘I should get into the office and make a start on my to-do list. First job is confirming your hotels for the upcoming London trips.’ As well as his commitments at the hall, Jackson was in demand as a motivational and after-dinner speaker for events in the city, and he also sat on the board of several charities. It meant he had to stay away at least a couple of times a month and although she always missed him when he was away, she relished the time alone to read, catch up on some podcasts or binge-watch the latest reality shows. ‘I also want to check where we are on the entries for the car show, and after that I’ll need to start on the promotional materials for the literary festival.’ She pressed her forearm to her brow in a dramatic gesture. ‘There’s never a dull moment around here, is there? Oh, did I tell you I’ve managed to get G. G. Williamson for our main headline spot?’

Jackson, who wasn’t up on his authors, gave a questioning glance.

‘Yes, you know G. G. Williamson! He writes that series of funny mystery stories that they’ve recently televised. We watched one of them and said we needed to watch the rest. Well, it turns out George, G. G. Williamson, lives in Little Leyton, so only down the road. I couldn’t believe it when he agreed to take a session at the festival. He’s such a big name.’

‘That’s quite a coup then. Sounds as though this year’s event is going to be even more successful than last year’s.’

‘I really hope so. We’ve already had lots of interest and lots of signs-ups, but I think once we announce that we have George attending, the remaining tickets will sell in a heartbeat.’

The classic car show was the next big event on the Primrose Hall events calendar and the one closest to Jackson’s heart. It was a chance for him to indulge his passion for vintage cars and motorcycles, and to reconnect with all the friends and colleagues he’d met through his love for old vehicles. Pia had been surprised to discover at last year’s show just how many people Jackson knew in the classic car community and how happy and engaged he was talking to other petrol heads. It had been a joy to see him so clearly in his element.

In the same way, the literary festival was Pia’s very own personal project. She’d come up with the idea last year, on something of a whim, not knowing the first thing about running a writing weekend. She’d never attended one herself, but she’d always longed to and so this had been her opportunity to stage an event that would be filled with workshops, readings and author interviews. She’d been uncertain of herself, afraid that she would fall flat on her face when all she’d wanted to do was put on a successful event to prove to herself, and perhaps more importantly, Jackson, that she was capable of doing so. Thankfully, the weekend had been such a success for readers, writers and children alike that even before it was over Pia was already drawing up mental plans to make it an annual event. Now she was looking forward to this year’s festival later in the year, still with an element of apprehension and nerves, but mostly with a growing excitement inside.

‘Oh, I meant to say, I’m probably going up to Yorkshire next Saturday. There’s a car auction and I’ve got my eye on another bike to add to the collection. It’s a Norton Commando 1975, a pretty rare find. I could put in an online bid, but there’s a few items going through that I wouldn’t mind taking a look at. Ithought I could make a day of it, take Ash with me and see what prices they’re making at the moment.’

‘That sounds like fun,’ she said with forced brightness. Jackson liked nothing better than to spend his free time mooching around looking at old engines. Pia tried to show an interest, but she hardly knew one end of a car or a motorbike from another, and her conversation around the subject was exhausted once she’d asked what colour any particular machine might be. Going on a boys’ day out with Ash would be ideal for Jackson and it would give Pia the chance to have the hall to herself for a day. She would walk the dogs as she usually did, fit in some reading time and visit her brother Connor and his wife Ruby at their new home. They’d recently decorated the nursery in preparation for the arrival of their baby in a couple of months’ time, and she’d been dying to see how it looked. She would also pop in to see her friends Abbey and Sam as well, who were expecting their own baby any day now.

‘Will you go up on the bike?’ she asked, as casually as she could muster.

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