Page 22 of The Midnight Bakery
Jack looked up, his eyes flicking to the window, before turning his attention back to the task in hand. ‘It all looks pretty much the same from down here.’
Tam winced, but the words held no bitterness. Jack was simply stating a fact. Tam pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a quick shot.
‘There you go…’ He angled the screen so that Jack could see it. ‘There’s something about the land in winter…’ he mused. ‘Maybe because it makes us look harder to find its beauty – it’s all so obvious in the summer – but it’s there all the same and—’ He stopped, suddenly aware of how inappropriate his words might be but, to his relief, Jack was smiling, albeit wistfully.
‘I was always a sucker for a good hoarfrost,’ he said. ‘Waking up to find that the world had been transformed overnight.’ He finished spooning coffee into a machine on a low counter and set it going. ‘Beth won’t be long – she’s just getting changed out of her uniform.’
Tam nodded. ‘Of course…she works the night shift, doesn’t she? Sorry, I should have realised she’d be desperate for some shut-eye. Listen, the offer of coffee is great, but I don’t have to stay.’
‘It’s the least we can do after your kindness. I really am grateful to you for getting Beth home. Our set-up here doesn’t give us much room for manoeuvre, I’m afraid. We don’t have a back-up plan if anything goes wrong, so…’
‘She was very anxious to get home,’ Tam replied. ‘She mentioned you weren’t well.’
‘Hmm… She worries.’
‘Occupational hazard, I would imagine.’
Jack smiled. ‘I had a raging fever when I went to bed last night, but I feel fine now, so I don’t know what that was about. Have a seat, the coffee won’t be long.’
‘So, what do you farm here?’ asked Tam, sitting down.
‘Farm?’ Jack looked down at his legs. ‘Not a lot. Not any more.’
Tam closed his eyes. He was such an idiot at times. ‘Sorry, I didn’t think. I just saw all the books and…’
‘They’re more an exercise in keeping atrophy away these days.’ Jack tapped his head. ‘The old noggin feels like mush. Plus, a little bit of dreaming never does any harm.’
Tam looked up from where he was studying the grain on the table, one finger tracing a particularly prominent whorl. ‘True. Although sometimes it has the opposite effect from what you intend.’ The surface of the wood was beautiful, worn smooth with the patina of use and obviously well loved. ‘I find it makes me yearn even more for the things I’ve lost.’ He looked up again to see Jack studying him.
‘It is a bit like picking at an old wound, I agree. You know you shouldn’t, but…’ Nostalgia drew out his words. ‘There are worse things to read, though.’
Tam laughed. ‘Oh, there are, I’ve read quite a few of them.’
‘Have you seen this one?’ Jack lifted a newspaper from the table, revealing a book underneath. ‘It’s good. I like it because it makes me think that something might still be gleaned from all this chaos.’ He waved a hand towards the window. ‘It’s a bit of a jungle out there.’
Tam studied the book’s cover, its edges a riot of ivy leaves and bramble, blackberries and sycamore seeds. At its centre, a beautiful turtle dove was posed among the branches, the softest pink blush to its breast. ‘Wilding,’ he read. ‘May I?’
With Jack’s consent, he picked up the book, turning it this way and that so that the embellishments on the cover caught the light. He flipped it over and began to read the back, eyes widening in delight as he did so.
‘You can borrow it if you like,’ said Jack.
It was a tempting offer, but totally impractical. ‘I’m not sure I’d be able to get it back to you,’ Tam replied. ‘Not unless your wife has a habit of breaking down in the car park. Thanks, though. I’ll see if I can get a copy from the library.’
Jack’s reply was stalled by Beth coming back into the room.
‘You know, some days I swear it’s only the thought of a decent coffee that gets me through the last hours of my shift.’ Now dressed in jeans and a hoodie, she looked tired, but more relaxed than she had been up until now. Tam didn’t want to pry, but he was beginning to understand the difficulties their life posed. ‘Oh sorry,’ she added. ‘I’ve interrupted you. Carry on, I’ll sort the drinks.’
‘I was just talking to Tam aboutWilding,’ replied Jack.
Her face fell slightly. ‘Do you take sugar, Tam?’
‘Just milk, please.’
Silence fell for a few moments until Beth set a mug down in front of him. ‘Just humour him,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘He can go on about it for days.’ Her tone was light-hearted yet, for a second, the look on her face was anything but. Tam was a little confused. He would have thought she would be encouraging of something her husband was interested in.
‘No, really. It sounds my kind of read,’ he replied. ‘I couldn’t help noticing some of the other books on the shelves there.’ He gestured towards them. ‘I’ve read a couple of those too.’
She placed a mug in front of Jack before returning to collect her own coffee. ‘So how comeyou’reinterested in farming?’ she asked. ‘Is it a family thing?’
