Page 18 of Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
‘Hello again, lovey!’ a friendly voice says, and I turn to see Jenny, in her Sunday best, standing in the shop doorway. ‘Lovely to see you back again.’ She gives Merlin a quick stroke and heads over to the counter. ‘Is everything all right, Arnold?’ she asks the boy. ‘You look a bit flustered, dear.’
Arnold gives her a withering look that suggests he’s never been flustered in his life. ‘It’s Arnie,’ he tells her, ‘I’ve told you before, Mrs Bird.’
‘Oh yes, sorry, dear, of course.’ She gives me a knowing wink. ‘Now then, is everything okay with your shopping, lovey?’
‘She ain’t got no money,’ Arnie says.
‘I’ve forgotten my purse,’ I tell Jenny. ‘We went from a walk in the woods. I totally forgot I wasn’t carrying it.’
‘Oh well, don’t you worry now. You can pop back in with the money another time.’ She gives me a dismissive wave. ‘It’s not like I don’t know where you’re staying, is it?’
‘Are you sure?’ I ask with relief. A few people have followedJenny into the shop, and I’m eager to escape before it becomes too crowded. ‘I’ll pop back later today.’
‘Whenever is convenient, lovey.’ Jenny seems a little distracted now. She looks past me at someone entering the shop, her eyes lighting up. ‘Ah, good morning to you again, Vicar,’ she says, her smile wide. ‘Lovely service this morning.’
‘Thank you, Jenny,’ I hear a voice that sounds very familiar say behind me, but I’m too busy trying to retrieve my bag from Arnie to think too hard about it. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it. We had a good turnout – must be the beautiful weather.’
I finally manage to wrestle my carrier bag away from Arnie, and I turn swiftly so we can exit the shop. But a man, wearing the long black robes of a vicar, is now bending down behind me fussing Merlin.
‘Hello again, fella,’ he says, ruffling Merlin’s head. ‘Had a good walk?’ The vicar tilts his head up and smiles at me. ‘We must stop meeting like this! How’s your sink – still running freely?’
I stare down into a pair of pale blue eyes that look benevolently back up at me.
‘You?’ I say at last. ‘You’re the vicar?’
‘Guilty as charged,’ he says, standing up now.
‘Best vicar we’ve had in a long time,’ Jenny says, keen to still be involved. ‘The congregation has almost doubled since Father Crawford took over.’
‘Jenny, please, it’s Callum. I’ve asked you enough times now.’
‘Sorry, Father Crawford . . . I mean Father Callum.’
‘Just Callum is fine.’
‘But I thought you were a plumber . . . or at least the local handyman,’ I say, still bewildered.
‘Just because I wear this,’ he says, pulling at his dog collar, ‘doesn’t mean I can’t fix things.’
‘No, of course not . . . ’ I’m still in shock. Especially when I remember some of the things that had run through my mind about Callum when he’d left my cottage the other day. My cheeks flush now. But he’d looked so different in his tight T-shirt, snug combat pants and chin covered with stubble to how he looked now: clean shaven, in his black robes and dog collar. ‘Well . . . it’s nice to meet you again.’ And for some reason I give a little bow and my face flushes all the more. ‘Come on, Merlin,’ I call, my head down, trying to hide my embarrassment. ‘We’d better go. Thanks again, Jenny. I’ll pop back and pay you for my shopping later.’
I pull Merlin’s lead and we race from the shop.
Callum is the vicar here? How had I not known this?
‘Hey, wait up!’ I hear behind me and I turn to see Callum jogging up the path behind us.
I stop walking and smile politely.
‘Sorry if I shocked you back there,’ he says, catching up. ‘I seem to spend my whole life doing that recently, don’t I? I thought Jonah might have said who I was when you rang.’
‘Nope, he just said he’d get someone to come out – I assumed it would be a plumber or someone like that.’
Callum shakes his head. ‘Typical Jonah. He’s so busy trying to say and do the right thing he sometimes forgets the basics. If you’d had something majorly wrong then it would have been a plumber, but I’m quite handy with most things, so I thought I’d take a look first.’
I nod, but I’m still confused. ‘Could you explain who Jonah is again? You said he was a deacon or something when I spoke to you before, isn’t that quite high up in the Church?’
‘You’re thinking of an archdeacon. A deacon helps me with my work at the church and in the parish – you might know him better as a curate.’
