Page 57 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘Listen, I’m going to have to run, I’ve left Mum and Leo to set up our stall, but I’ll be back later for a proper browse. If you run into any bother, just give me a shout. We’re at the other end of the field, next to the WI stall.’
‘Great, thanks. Jess and Archie should be here in a bit, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.’
‘Good luck!’
‘See you.’
As Bea headed outside with a deckchair under each arm, it looked as though all the other stallholders were in position. There wasn’t a vacant pitch to be seen anywhere on the green.
‘Bea!’ cried Jess, jogging towards her.
‘Ah, I’m so glad to see you,’ said Bea, pulling her friend into a tight hug.
‘The wagon looks great! You’ve got a fab spot here, too. Tony’s always has a massive queue, so that’ll draw people in. What can I help with?’
‘I think I’m all set,’ said Bea, pushing her sunglasses up her nose.
‘I’ll grab us a coffee from Tori then. Flat white?’
‘Amazing, thank you!’
‘What time’s Lochlan getting here?’
‘Erm… I’m not actually sure. He didn’t say.’
‘But he’s definitely coming?’
‘Yeah, I mean, he said he is.’
‘Cool. Hang on, here’s Archie. Coffee?’ Jess shouted as Archie strolled towards them.
‘Please. Cappuccino,’ he replied. ‘All right, Sis. Any customers yet?’
‘Yeah, Tori bought a bookmark,’ said Bea.
‘Bless her. And the fête’s not even open yet,’ said Archie. ‘What can I do?’
‘Well, nothing actually, everything’s ready. We might as well sit down,’ said Bea, lowering herself into one of the deckchairs.
‘How are the nerves?’
‘Better now I’m here,’ said Bea.
‘Listen, before it gets busy, I just wanted to say…’
‘Yes?’
‘Well, I’m proud of you, Bea,’ he blurted out. ‘What you’ve done takes guts; quitting your job like that, taking a risk. Not everyone has it in them.’
‘Wow, thanks,’ Bea gulped. It wasn’t like Archie to be so sentimental, and it meant a lot. ‘You’ve been great, too, letting me move in, lowering the rent for me a bit, not freaking out—’
‘In fairness, I did freak out a bit,’ he cut in.
‘A bit is totally allowed,’ Bea laughed. ‘What I mean is, you’ve really helped me out, Arch, and that means a lot. I might not always say it, but I’m lucky to have such a great brother.’
‘Steady on, Bea. You’ll have me reaching for the tissues in a minute.’
‘If anyone’s going to be crying today, it’ll be me,’ said Bea.
