Page 63 of Autumn at the Oak Leaf Café
‘I got wheel-clamped outside the chemist on Border Street,’ she said. ‘Turns out you’re supposed to park facing outwards. I mean, what a stupid rule. And it only says it in the fine print at the bottom of the Pay and Display sign.’
Not really expecting the council to do anything, Madeline took some advice Darren had given her, and went to one of Brentwell’s local radio stations. They seemed even more interested in the situation, and promised to broadcast the problems with Snide and Company as well as talking about the petition in an upcoming news segment.
Madeline walked back to the café, feeling a sense of achievement. When she arrived, however, Ruby was sitting at an outside table, looking glum. The café was empty, the park quiet as evening rapidly approached.
‘Are you alright?’ Madeline asked, sitting down across from Ruby. ‘We didn’t get an unexpected bus tour roll in, did we?’
Ruby looked up, a tear in her eye. ‘I’ve got some bad news,’ she said.
‘Really? What?’
‘I have to hand in my notice.’
‘You … have to … what?’ Madeline wanted to tell her that she couldn’t leave, but Ruby was still a student, a young woman at the beginning of her life. Their time working together had always been likely to be short-lived.
‘I’m sorry. I really loved working here. It’s just that someone saw me playing cricket last weekend, someone from the EWCB.’
‘The what?’
‘The English Women’s Cricket Board. They’ve chosen me as part of a regional development squad to go on an overseas autumn and winter tour to New Zealand and Australia.’
‘Wow, that’s fantastic.’
Ruby’s glum expression was broken by a smile, like the sun peering among clouds. ‘Yeah, it kind of is.’
‘You have to go.’
‘I know. And after that there’s the possibility of a professional contract with one of the regional league sides. I have to finish my studies part time.’
‘Ruby, that’s amazing. What did your dad say?’
‘Well, after he muttered some random statistic or other, he started to cry. Then he hugged me and told me I was the next Rachel Heyhoe-Flint. I had to look her up on the internet.’
‘I’m so proud of you.’
Ruby shrugged. ‘I mean, after this tour, I’ll be back in England, and I might be able to do a few hours a week. The women’s cricket league doesn’t start until the spring, and I don’t think the contracts are full time, so … I might be able to work here for a bit.’
‘That would be great,’ Madeline said, before realising what she had said, and remembering that it was unlikely she would be here then, either. At the thought of leaving, she felt a sinking feeling in her chest.
‘So I just thought I’d better let you know.’
‘I think it’s brilliant. Obviously I’ll miss you, but it’s such a great opportunity.’
‘Thanks. By the way, your ex-boyfriend showed up about half an hour ago.’
‘Really?’
Ruby scowled. ‘I gave him a piece of my mind.’
‘You did?’
‘Yeah. He reckons he had nothing to do with the window. He said he was in London last weekend on a business trip, and didn’t get back until Monday. He showed me the train tickets and then started flicking through pics on his phone to prove it.’ Ruby rolled her eyes. ‘What a clown. He had all these dumb selfies in front of Big Ben, doing all these stupid faces. Honestly, what a total muppet. It looks like his alibi checks out though.’
‘If he didn’t do it, then who?’
‘Actually, Lizzie stopped by this afternoon, and it turns out the library has CCTV cameras, one of which faces across the library courtyard towards the café. She said if we go over there tonight, she’ll ask one of the computer guys to play it back and see if it picks up who threw the rock.’
Madeline stood up. ‘Let’s go,’ she said. ‘Let’s go and find out who it was.’
