Page 64 of Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
I’d been so excited that both Matt and Hannah were coming to visit me that I hadn’t given much thought to anything else. I hadn’t seen much of Callum since Robin’s disappearance, but I’d assumed he was busy with preparations for Easter at the church.
‘Jonah has family who live close by,’ Callum explains. ‘But Jemima has been kind enough to invite me to her home for lunch today.’
My heart sinks.
‘It’s lovely of her,’ Callum continues, ‘but I won’t be able to stay that long. I have visits this afternoon with some of the vulnerable in the community who can’t get to the church today.’
‘That’s nice,’ I try to say in a pleasant tone, even though I’m annoyed with myself for not inviting Callum to the cottage today. It would have been the perfect opportunity for us to spend time together and for him to meet Hannah. ‘Nice that Jemima has invited you for lunch,andthat you visit people today.’
‘Part of my job,’ Callum says, ‘to try to share some kindness with those that need it.’
I wonder if he means Jemima or the other people he’s visiting.
‘Is your daughter staying with you long?’ Callum asks. ‘Hannah, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, Hannah. Sadly, no, she has to go back up to Lincoln tomorrow.’
‘Wonderful cathedral in Lincoln,’ Callum says approvingly. ‘Perhapswecould get together tomorrow, then?’ he asks hopefully. ‘I’m not much of a cook, but I could probably rustle something up for us in the evening if you’re free?’
‘That sounds lovely,’ I reply, smiling at him. ‘I’m pretty awful at cooking too. Just as well Hannah is cooking for us today, or Lonan might have got beans on toast.’
‘I’m sure it would still have been wonderful,’ Callum says kindly.
I’m about to suggest we order in a takeaway to save either of us cooking when suddenly I hear a bark, and I look over Callum’s shoulder to see Merlin bounding up the path pulling Hannah along in his wake.
‘Sorry, Mum!’ Hannah says as they reach us and Merlin makes a huge fuss of me. ‘He wouldn’t settle when he realised you weren’t at the cottage. So I put him on his lead and he pulled me all the way here. Hello,’ she says to Callum. ‘I like your outfit.’
Callum hurriedly pulls the hood of his costume down, but he still has whiskers painted on his face, which look even stranger now he doesn’t have the ears to match.
‘Hannah, this is Callum,’ I say, introducing them. ‘Or should I say Father Crawford? He’s the vicar here in Bluebell Wood.’
‘Oh, hi,’ Hannah says, without a hint of embarrassment. She holds out her hand to Callum. ‘Great to meet you. Sorry about the costume comment. You look great.’
‘Not a problem and thank you,’ Callum says, shaking her hand. ‘It’s good to meet you too. Your mum has told me a lot about you.’
‘Has she now?’ Hannah says, looking with interest at me. ‘Oh, you’re on the quiz team, right? Mum has told me all about that, and how lovely and welcoming everyone has been to her since she came here.’
‘Ava has been quite the asset both to the quiz team and to Bluebell Wood as a whole.’ Callum casts a gentle smile in my direction, and I smile gratefully back at him.
‘I bet she has,’ Hannah says, looking between the two of us with much amusement.
‘Right, we’d better let Callum go,’ I say hurriedly. ‘He has a service to prepare for this morning.’
‘Yes, indeed I do,’ Callum says, glancing at his watch. ‘Hiding the Easter eggs took slightly longer than anticipated this morning.’ He glances knowingly at me. ‘My apologies, Ava.’
‘It’s fine,’ I say quickly, ‘these things happen.’
Again, I notice Hannah finding much delight in this exchange.
‘I guess we’ll see you later at the service then, Father Crawford,’ she says, her eyes dancing between the two of us.
‘Please call me Callum, I much prefer it,’ he says, and Hannah nods. ‘I didn’t realise you and your mother would be coming to the Easter service, but you’ll be most welcome if you do decide to attend.’
‘Oh, we’ll be there,’ Hannah says before I have a chance to speak. ‘We wouldn’t miss it for the world. Would we, Mum?’
Twenty
‘When didyousuddenly become so religious?’ I ask a little later that morning as Hannah and I walk towards the church wearing the nicest clothes we can find. We’d both struggled because Hannah hadn’t brought anything remotely smart with her, and I hadn’t worn anything the least bit fancy since I’d arrived in Bluebell Wood. Anything I own that I regard as elegant or for ‘best’ is still stored away in one of the suitcases I’ve yet to unpack.
