Page 92 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘Okay,’ she whispered, stung by his words. ‘We can do it another time, though?’
‘Sure,’ he said, with less enthusiasm than she was hoping for. ‘But Bea?’
‘Yes?’
‘Don’t leave it too long.’
‘I won’t,’ she said, closing her eyes. ‘Send me some dates and I’ll check my calendar properly this time.’
‘Fine,’ he said, dropping the call before Bea had a chance to reply.
CHAPTER 26
The day of the first book club had finally arrived, and, in typically English fashion, the weather forecast was for sunshine and showers. Bea was tracking the clouds on her weather app with a dedication that bordered on obsession.
‘What do you think, Arch? Will it stay dry until ten?’ Bea asked, pacing the living room.
‘Seriously, if you ask me about the weather one more time, I swear I’ll—’
‘Okay, okay,’ said Bea, chewing her thumbnail, ‘point taken. But the Met Office is saying rain at eight, and the BBC is showing nothing until ten, see?’ she said, shoving her phone under his nose.
‘I don’t know what to tell you,’ said Archie, stifling a yawn. ‘Now, can I please just eat my dinner in peace?’ he said, winding spaghetti around his fork and shoving it into his mouth.
‘Yeah. Sorry,’ said Bea, apologetically. ‘I guess there’s nothing I can do about it anyway; it’ll either rain or it won’t.’
‘Exactly!’ Archie agreed. ‘Oh, did I tell you? Josh and Claire are going on another date. Can you believe it?’
‘Wow, that’s great!’ Bea was pleased her book speed-dating had brought them together.
‘He said he’s planning on taking her to Comic Con in the autumn, so he must be serious. I don’t think he can believe his luck,’ Archie chuckled.
‘I bet! Right, I’m going, I want to set up before Phoebe and Nathan arrive,’ she said, checking the weather apps one more time.
‘Okay, well, good luck. I hope it goes well,’ said Archie, his mouth full of spag bol.
‘Thanks.’
‘Oh, and if there’s any cheese left, make sure you bring it home,’ he said, wiping tomato sauce from the corner of his mouth.
* * *
Bea had done everything she could to prepare for tonight: she’d made sure the books in the wagon looked their best, set up the bean bags and deckchairs outside, lit some citronella candles and turned on all the fairy lights. Even though Nathan was supplying the food, she’d filled some pretty glass bowls with crisps and nuts, set out the chilled wine Phoebe had delivered the previous day with elegant plastic recycled picnic glasses, and Tori had given her a plate of cupcakes from the café to wish her luck. She had a few moments to herself before Nathan and Phoebe were due to arrive, so she sat in one of the deckchairs and took a deep breath.
A lot was riding on tonight being a success. The tickets weren’t cheap, so she hoped everyone coming would think it was worth it and come again.
She turned her head when she heard the hum of a van crossing the green. Nathan was first to arrive, and as he climbed out of his truck he said, ‘Looks like the rain’s holding off.’
‘Ssssh!’ Bea hissed, ‘don’t jinx it.’
‘Where do you want this?’ he laughed, lifting a pile of foil-covered trays from the back of the van.
‘Over there, please, next to the wine,’ she said, pointing at a trestle table she’d laid with a pretty vintage lace curtain to hide the legs.
‘Sure,’ Nathan replied, uncovering the platters one by one.
‘Ooooh, these look good,’ said Bea, reaching to grab a small chunk of his famous blue cheese.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ he said, batting her hand away. ‘These are for paying guests.’
