Page 2 of A Very Crumbleton Christmas
‘Fairy snuff,’ sighed Caroline.
‘Anyway… I don’t get it. Where’s the emergency? Haven’t the lights been on for a month already?’ said Ruby.
‘Yes… but we need to turn them off so that they can beofficiallyturned back on,’ said Caroline.
‘Seriously?’ said Ruby with a snort, raising an eyebrow at Milly as she started to giggle uncontrollably.
‘It’s important!’ huffed Caroline. ‘A tradition.’
‘I’ll take your word for it,’ said Ruby. ‘But if it’s so important, how come you’ve left it so late to find someone?’
‘You really do lose grip on reality when you’re working on a book, don’t you?’ chuckled Milly.
‘Maybe a bit,’ said Ruby, looking surprised. ‘Why?’
‘Because I had a whole event planned for it back in November,’ said Caroline. ‘Then we had that stupid storm, so I had to cancel it.’
‘Then she got the flu,’ said Milly, helping herself to a custard cream from the tin on the low table between them.
‘Oh no – you poor thing,’ said Ruby. ‘I hope you’re feeling better?’
‘Four weeks later, I’m loads better, thanks,’ said Caroline, shaking her head. ‘Anyway, we need someone really good to turn the lights off and back on again before Boxing Day arrives and it’s too late.’
‘Couldn’t you just… let it go?’ said Milly gently. ‘Just… let it pass by… just this once? I mean, it’s not like Crumbleton’s going to be deprived of their lights, is it?’
‘Wash your mouth out,’ said Caroline with an exaggerated huff. ‘No way, not on my watch. I’d never live it down!’
‘Okay, okay!’ said Milly, holding her hands up in surrender. ‘Right, if it’s not going to be Rubes, who else can you ask?’
‘How about the Cheswell Cup winner?’ said Ruby. ‘Kendra.’
‘Already tried her,’ said Caroline. ‘She’s gone away with her parents until New Year.’
‘Shame,’ said Milly. ‘Erm… we could see if the mayor would do it?’
‘No one’s going to come to see the mayor!’ chuckled Caroline. ‘Bless her heart.’
‘How about Cath?’ said Ruby. ‘Any money raised on the night is meant to benefit the museum, right?’
‘It is,’ said Caroline, ‘but – as lovely as she is – I don’t think Cath’s quite the right person either.’
‘Where is she this evening, anyway?’ demanded Milly. ‘Doesn’t she know she’s missing tea and very important gossip? Should I head upstairs and grab her?’
‘Andy’s taken her away for a few days,’ said Caroline.
‘Wait,’ gasped Milly. ‘Andy Morgan has actually stepped beyond Crumbleton’s City Gates?’
‘I know… it must be love!’ said Caroline.
‘Oh, it’s definitely love,’ said Ruby with a broad smile. ‘Have you seen the pair of them together? It’s like the entire world stops existing and…’
Ruby trailed off, her eyes glazing over. Then she snapped back into focus and grabbed one of her notebooks. Drawing the biro out from behind her ear, she started to scribble.
Caroline shot a wink over at Milly, and Milly grinned back. This was a regular occurrence when they got together and something sparked Ruby’s imagination. The pair of them sat back and sipped their drinks in silence, waiting for her to re-emerge at the end of her thought.
Ten minutes later Ruby was still scribbling furiously in her little notebook, her pen a blur as she filled page after page. Caroline got to her feet and Milly followed suit. With whispered farewells, they made their way quietly through to the front of the shop.
‘Hey!’ said Oli in surprise, smiling at them from behind the till. ‘You guys off already?’
