Page 46 of Love and Lattes at Pumpkin Hollow
A noise behind us then caught our attention. A large lorry started coming down the drive.
‘The rest of the pumpkins,’ I wailed. ‘But the tunnel is damaged and I haven’t checked on my planter tables, and it looks like more rain is on the way,’ I added, glancing up at the greying sky.
‘We’ll get them to put them into the barn for now,’ Dad said quickly.
‘Let’s get started; who else can we call to help?’ Pat asked, rubbing her hands together, ready for action.
‘Wait,’ I said as they all started to head off to work.
They paused.
‘I can’t ask you to do this. We’ll have to work all weekend to try to fix this all if there is any hope of opening on Monday. And even if we can get it looking perfect – is there any point? We’ve only sold ten tickets so far!’
‘One step at a time – let’s try and clear the damage first then we can work on getting people here,’ Dad told me calmly. He could tell I was still freaking out. ‘Right now, there is no pumpkin patch for anyone to enjoy.’
‘We want to help,’ Sabrina said, nodding along to what Dad had said. ‘I grew up on this farm too; we have to fight to keep it. You’re my family.’
My eyes started to well up. ‘If you’re sure…’
Pat gave a firm nod. ‘My husband is fine in the café on his own. Paul and I are happy to pitch in. Aren’t we?’
‘Let’s stop talking and get it done,’ he replied, walking off before anyone could stop him again.
‘I really am so grateful,’ I said to them. ‘But I messed up; I can’t ask you to fix it.’
‘We’re going to fix it together, like we do everything,’ Dad replied. ‘Now, love, stop trying to talk us out of it; we’re losing time.’
‘Come on, Willow, this isn’t like you – you were so excited about this idea; you can’t give up now you’ve hit a hurdle,’ Sabrina added as we all followed Paul to the lorry to help carry the pumpkins over to the barn.
I couldn’t help but glance over to the cottage that Dylan had been staying in, and where I’d slept last night. That felt like a dream now. But Sabrina and my dad, and Pat and Paul, were right to give me a kick up the arse. It was a bad day but I’d had plenty of bad days on the farm. I couldn’t give up on it all now. Dylan wasn’t here and what happened between us hurt a lot but I had made the pact with him in the first place to save our farm, and that’s what I needed to do.
‘Okay, guys, thank you for helping. Let’s get started!’
And we did.
We spent the rest of the day working to sort things as much as we possibly could. We moved the pumpkins into the barn for shelter to try to dry out the ones that had got caught in the storm, and then we cleared away the fallen tree and resulting debris.
Sabrina worked on making a new Pumpkin Hollow sign for the front gate and then another one at the start of the patch. No farmers I reached out to had a spare polytunnel I could get before Monday and the hire company didn’t either so, armed with the limited sewing knowledge my mother had given me, I tried to repair the tear in it to stop any further wind or rain from getting inside. Pat sorted out all the autumn and Halloween décor inside the tunnels and swept up the hay that had been blown around and got rid of anything that had been damaged. Then Bradley and Paul collected the benches the school were happy to lend us for the month and they found a couple of crates from a builder friend, which we could use for pumpkins.
I spoke to the pumpkin farmer and he seemed to think most of the pumpkins would be okay once they’d dried out but the dozen or so that looked destroyed, he wouldn’t charge me for as he could tell how upset I was.
As we were so close to 1 October, the day finished earlier than we would have liked. Twilight fell over the farm and then it was tricky to see what we were doing.
Sabrina came to find me in the polytunnel as I looked at the patch-up job I’d done. I’d decided to drape one of the fabric cobwebs I’d bought across it so it wasn’t visible; people would just see the web, especially when I stuck a plastic spider up there too.
‘You wouldn’t know anything had happened to it,’ Sabrina said, smiling.
‘I just hope the weather won’t get in again,’ I replied, unsure if I’d done enough to protect against another storm.
‘The signs are done and Paul is fixing them tightly into the ground as we speak,’ she added. ‘Your dad is making dinner for anyone who wants it. I think Pat and Paul are going back to the café though, and I need to see Dottie and Bradley. But we will all be back early tomorrow morning. No arguments from you about that.’
I shook my head. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you all today. I was ready to give up. I panicked.’
‘It’s understandable, but it kind of looked worse than it turned out to be, right? Once we cleared that tree away, it hasn’t been too bad.’
We both looked around the tunnel. It did look like a fun and festive autumnal trail for people to walk through and get photos in and pick up a pumpkin. Pat had also had the idea to bring out two large barrels we had in the barn so we could let kids go apple bobbing in them.
‘Things are always hardest before you start,’ I agreed with her as we walked out slowly together. I looked over at the farmhouse lit up, smoke coming out of the chimney, and I was filled with gratitude that I was about to go inside into the warmth and have dinner and think about how people had rallied around me today. ‘Today is a prime example of why I love living here,’ I said. ‘I was lost but everyone stepped in to help without me having to ask.’
