Page 19 of Love and Lattes at Pumpkin Hollow
‘You came to look around here,’ I pointed out.
‘Yeah, once I’d chosen it as our best opportunity to target next,’ he countered. ‘You don’t have enough time to go around the country looking at all sorts of things, do you?’
I hated him viewing our farm as just an ‘opportunity’. Once again, my back was up. ‘But I need to see the pumpkins in person,’ I told him stubbornly. We glared at one another. I knew from experience how much crops could differ. I could order one hundred pumpkins which could turn out to be mouldy or something. I couldn’t risk wasting money. That was worse than losing time.
Dad, at the end of the table, munching on one of the ham and cheese sandwiches he’d made us for lunch, shook his head. ‘In my day, there was no internet. I had to travel a lot to find suppliers, to go to markets, to meet other farmers; that was all part of the job. Sometimes, there are things you just have to do in person. You make the best relationships that way and seeing things for yourself helps you know if you’re getting the best deal.’
‘Exactly. What if I get some dodgy pumpkins?’ I said. ‘If I plan to go to the places close to each other, it will be worth a trip; I’d only have to stay one night. I can tick off a few suppliers all at once and make sure I’ve found the best. Like you said, Dylan, if I’m going to charge entry, it needs to be worth it for visitors.’
‘I don’t want you getting ripped off, love,’ Dad said. ‘Dylan, why don’t you go with her this weekend then you can both be sure you’re getting the best deals? I’m still nervous about this working, Willow; I want to make sure you’re not getting lost in the dream like you can do.’
‘Hey, I don’t need a man to—’ I started, annoyed Dad thought I needed Dylan with me.
‘I didn’t say that,’ Dad interrupted me calmly, as he often did. I definitely took after my mother and not him. ‘Two heads are better than one and we both can’t leave the farm so you two should go, and I’ll hold the fort.’
‘Are you sure?’ I asked, knowing he would find it difficult on his own for two days.
‘I wouldn’t say so if I wasn’t sure,’ he replied firmly.
‘Well, I don’t want you getting ripped off,’ Dylan said. ‘I’ll come along, and maybe you’re right; seeing things in person might help. I never thought I’d be going to look at pumpkins, I must say.’
‘I don’t think anyone can be unhappy going to look at pumpkins,’ I declared, thinking about how cute they were. ‘I want to get as many different varieties as we can. Look…’ I held up my phone and showed them some pictures I’d found of popular pumpkin patches around the world. ‘I mean, the possibilities are endless.’
‘Who knew there were so many different types and colours,’ Dylan said. ‘I thought pumpkins were just large, orange lumps.’
‘This is the man you think is going to help me?’ I demanded of my father, who chuckled. ‘Mr Online Research,’ I found myself teasing him, ‘sounds like you need to do some before our weekend trip, okay? I know how much you love being on your laptop.’
‘What’s wrong with online research? It’s my job and…’ Dylan started hotly then he sighed. ‘You’re winding me up, aren’t you?’
‘It’s just so easy,’ I said with a grin.
‘You wait, you’ll be grateful I’m coming with you with my laptop,’ he said, unable to stop himself from smiling.
‘You two remind me of me and my wife,’ Dad suddenly said with a wistful look.
‘What?’ This time it was me who coughed on my drink – spluttering tea down myself with surprise at what Dad had just said. I looked at Dylan, who was watching me with amusement. I wondered if he too was remembering what happened in the cottage last night.
‘We were so different,’ Dad carried on, explaining to Dylan. ‘I’m practical and logical. But my wife, she was a dreamer like Willow: emotional and sensitive, full of passion and imagination and life.’ He pushed his chair back abruptly. ‘Excuse me.’ The word ‘life’ had clearly upset him and he left the room quickly.
I watched him go. ‘They were so happy together. I could see it even when I was younger. He lit up whenever she came into the room, and she always leaned on him,’ I said quietly. ‘I always wondered if I’d find something like that.’ I forced out a smile. ‘Anyway, he’s probably just feeling sentimental because autumn is approaching, and my mum loved it so much. What he said doesn’t mean anything.’ I knew I was avoiding his eyes and he probably did too.
‘Your mum sounds like she was really special,’ Dylan said softly.
‘She was,’ I said. Suddenly, I wanted to change the subject. Talk about things that meant less. It felt like Dylan was finding out too much about me.
‘Don’t feel like you have to come with me this weekend; I can do it by myself,’ I told him then. Part of me hoped he would pull out because there was a bigger part of me that wanted him to come.
‘I’m coming, Willow,’ he said and the way he looked at me suggested he could tell what I was doing. ‘I can use the trip to do some work for myself too so it’ll be good for both of us. So, what do we need to do before we leave the farm on Saturday?’
It was clear the decision had been made.
‘Well, it would be good to get some things on the farm sorted out so I can focus on the patch when we get back and have hopefully started getting the things we need for it. Things that need fixing or cleaning up. For example, when visitors come to the farm, they’ll need to park just off the driveway like they do in the summer season close to the birch trees, and I’ve had no time to do anything to it since the pick-your-own season ended. The whole area needs a spruce-up.’
‘Make a list of everything then we can make sure we tick it all off before we leave this weekend,’ Dylan said, getting up and starting to clear away the lunch things.
‘I should check on my dad,’ I said, watching him bustle around as if he hadn’t just arrived here in Birchbrook. ‘I’ll see you out on the field.’
I left him, feeling all kinds of confused, heading towards my dad’s room, but then I saw that he had gone out with Maple. I sensed he’d rather be on his own so I went out to carry on with my work instead.
