Page 63 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘Perfect. I’ll bag them up for you. You’ve got a great selection here,’ she said, glancing at the titles.
‘I must confess to having a bit of an addiction…’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Bea, whispering conspiratorially, ‘You’re in good company. You can’t move at my house for books. You read a lot then, I assume?’ Bea asked.
‘Read, write…’
‘Oh, you’re a writer?’
‘I try. Truth be told, I’m having a bit of a block at the moment, so I’m on a little mini break to try to recharge my batteries a bit.’
‘You’re staying in Blossom Heath?’
‘Nearby, yes,’ said the woman, tapping her card on the machine.
‘Are you here for long?’ asked Bea.
‘Not sure, really, it depends how things go.’
‘With the writing?’
‘Partly.’
‘Well, it’s lovely here. I’m Bea by the way,’ she said.
‘Nice to meet you, Bea. I’m Katerina,’ said the woman and, as she turned to leave, Bea couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d met before; something about her turn of phrase sounded familiar but she couldn’t put her finger on why.
* * *
‘I think that might be your last customer of the day,’ said Nathan, several hours and many purchases later.
‘Yeah, it looks like things are starting to wind down,’ said Bea, throwing herself into one of the deckchairs outside the wagon.
‘How do you think it’s gone?’ he asked, sitting down next to her.
‘Better than I expected, for sure. I mean, I’ve not totalled up the takings, but I’ve shifted a ton of stock, way more than I thought I would, so that’s got to be a good thing?’
‘Absolutely, and everyone’s raving about it, too. Seriously, Bea, it’s been a huge success. Shall I help you pack up, then you can take the trailer home and we can meet up at the pub later to celebrate?’
‘Ah,’ said Bea, checking her watch – it was nearly six, ‘I’m not sure. Lochlan was supposed to be coming, but I’ve not seen him all day.’ Bea pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked for messages.
Nothing.
She’d been so busy, she’d barely had time to notice that Lochlan hadn’t made an appearance, but now she wondered why he hadn’t shown up.
‘No worries, I’ll just help you pack up and then head off,’ said Nathan.
‘It’s fine, Nate, the pub sounds good.’
‘Okay, great. Archie’s already there,’ he said, ‘he’s meeting Jess there later.’
‘Is it me or have they been spending a lot of time together recently? I’m not missing something am I?’
‘Archie and Jess? Nah, I doubt it’ said Nathan, pushing his sunglasses up his nose. ‘Anyway, wouldn’t Jess have told you if something was going on?’
‘You’re right, he’s definitely not her type.’
‘Hey, I’ve just remembered, didn’t I promise you the best chicken enchiladas you’ll ever taste?’
