Page 39 of The Midnight Bakery
‘Eleven years, all told,’ replied Jack. ‘Two of them farmed, the rest…’ – he held up his good arm – ‘returning it even further to the wild. I say farmed, but what I really mean is that I made a very small start on all the work that needed to be done here.’
Tam nodded. ‘I couldn’t see that much from the yard, but if I’ve got my bearings right, then that field of yours to the left would have overlooked a row of greenhouses at one time, polytunnels too.’
‘It did. Although I haven’t been out there in a while, obviously…’ He paused. ‘Are they not there now?’
Tam turned and stared out the window. ‘I’ve no idea,’ he replied.
Beth plonked another pile of toast on the table. ‘I wondered what had happened there,’ she said. ‘I think the land must have been sold fairly recently, but whoever bought it hasn’t bothered with them. It’s a shame, they’ve been vandalised, too; some of them are wrecked.’
Tam turned away, a hollow look in his eyes. ‘It’s such good land, that’s the worst of it. All that promise just slowly ebbing away.’
‘That’s what Jack always used to say about the farm, the thing he couldn’t bear to see happen.’ She took in his expression, the droop of his shoulders, the doleful tone to his voice. ‘You talk as if it’s personal to you,’ she said gently.
‘Hmm…’ Tam gave a wry smile. ‘That’s because the fields are mine,weremine. I grew plants, for shops, garden centres, a business I built literally from the ground up, so I know this area pretty well.’ His eyes sought out Jack’s. ‘Itisgood land. It can still be good land…’
Jack’s eyes narrowed. ‘So, what happened?’ he asked. ‘You said you work in a care home now – that’s quite some leap.’
‘What happened is I was stupid,’ replied Tam, taking another slice of toast. He bit into it, the seconds ticking by as he chewed thoughtfully. ‘It’s a long story, but a common one. I wasn’t content with what I had, thought I needed to grow and diversify, so I went into partnership with my best mate. And, because I trusted him, I took my eye off the ball and neglected to realise that he was taking decisions which weren’t his to take. The business went bust and the only way I could repay all the people we owed money to was to sell up, cash up and walk away.’ He pulled a face, looking down at himself as if to sayandhere I am. ‘The rest, as they say, is history.’
Beth sighed. ‘Which explains your interest in agriculture,’ she said. ‘That must have all but destroyed you.’
Tam nodded, his lips pursed. ‘Down, but not out,’ he said. ‘Which is, I think, where I come in.’
Jack exchanged a look with Beth. ‘Sorry, I’m not sure I understand.’
‘Then can I ask you a very personal question?’ said Tam. ‘How much do you want to do this again?’
‘This?’ Beth leaned closer.
‘Yeah. This – the farm, the smallholding, the land. How much do you want to make it work again? Properly, as a going concern.’
Jack let out a snort of derision, but Tam ignored him, looking him straight in the eye.
‘Because if you’re going to do it, then at least do it properly.Don’tgo across a yard thick with mud in a wheelchair which won’t cope with anything more substantial than a bit of rain.Don’tgo on your own, anddon’tgo without a plan of what you’re going to do when you get there. Even better, explain what you’re planning to the people around you, and then let them help.’
‘Sounds so easy,’ replied Jack, staring at Tam in surprise. A bitter note had crept into his voice. ‘But, as I can’t go anywhere without said wheelchair, the one which, as you pointed out, is next to useless, I’m not entirely sure how you think I can do any of that.’
Tam shrugged. ‘Then modify it, I don’t know. That’s a problem to resolve. But I did see a quad bike sitting over there in the barn which might prove very useful.’
‘He can’t drive that!’ Beth’s mouth dropped open. She thought Tam might have some sensible ideas, but clearly, she was wrong.
‘He can’t drive itnow, I know that,’ Tam replied, rolling his eyes. ‘But what if it were altered so that he could?’
‘I’m sorry, but this is crazy,’ said Beth. ‘Have you any idea how much these things cost? Jack’s wheelchair alone…we can’t afford stuff like this.’ She gave Tam a warning look. Which he met with a smile.
‘I know you think I’m mad, and that I’m talking about something ridiculous which is only going to make the situation worse, but I mentioned it because when I said I’d built my business from the ground up, I didliterallybuild it – the hardstanding for the greenhouses, the frames, the fences, the walls – anything which needed doing, I learned how. I made a pig’s ear of some of it, but isn’t that half the fun?’
Silence filled the room for a few moments, Beth’s heart sinking further and further. She tried to imagine how any of what Tam had said could possibly help them, but all she couldthink was how impossible it all was. She daren’t look at Jack to see what he was thinking. She didn’t want to see even the slightest gleam of excitement in his eyes, and then have to watch it fade when it all came to nothing. He would fall even further than he had now.
‘Tam, I can see you mean well, but this isn’t going to happen.’ Jack shook his head. ‘I’m not sure you appreciate how little I can do. I can’t use my legs. I have one good arm, the other only works intermittently and?—’
‘Then how did you get yourself out of bed this morning? Into your chair, through the back door and across the yard?’ Tam raised his eyebrows.
‘Because I was bloody fed up of doing nothing,’ retorted Jack. ‘Of thinking about all the things I could be doing but wasn’t. So, I decided I’d have a go and?—’
‘And you did it.’
‘It took an absolute age.’
