Page 88 of Coming Home to Wishington Bay
‘What am I missing here?’ She laughed.
‘Nothing, really,’ I said lightly, coming to stand beside him and squeezing the hand he’d rested in the back pocket of his shorts, hoping to get across the message that I’d prefer this conversation ended.
‘Holly does this sort of thing. Looks amazing too. And she’s local.’
The lady looked at me with renewed interest. I gave Gabe’s hand one more less than friendly squeeze and dropped it.
‘Is that true?’
‘Yes. But he’s exaggerating, really. It’s nothing like as good as this.’
She studied me for a moment. ‘Your Betty’s granddaughter, aren’t you?’
‘I am, yes.’
‘I thought so. I’ve seen you around a bit since you came back. You remind me of her.’
‘Do I?’
‘Yes, you have the same smile.’
‘Thank you,’ I said, feeling myself warm a little with the compliment. People had always said what a beautiful smile Gigi had so it was a comment that really touched my heart.
‘I don’t suppose you have any photos of the pieces you’ve created, do you? I mean, I can’t guarantee anything but if we liked them, you’d actually really be helping us out.’
While I was a little cross with Gabe for announcing my hobby to this lady who did the same thing for an actual living, I knew the pieces I’d done were good. I had my father’s particularity about things plus Gabe and Carrie’s reactions had added to my quiet confidence. Carrie was too honest to have gushed like she did unless she truly believed it, and Gabe was a man, so not always blessed with enough tact in the right places. And I loved the thought of being able to help out one of the shops in the village that had always meant so much to me.
‘I don’t, I’m afraid. They’re on my phone and I left it at home.’
‘I have some,’ Gabe said, reaching around to his pocket.
‘Do you?’ I asked, surprised.
‘Yeah,’ he said, scrolling without looking at me. ‘I took them to show Mum and Dad later.’
‘When?’
‘When you were faffing about with the dog.’
I looked across at the lady. ‘I wasn’t faffing. He’s just upset Bryan loves me more than him.’
She grinned and bent down to pet Bryan who had now come to bask in the attention, having heard his name.
Gabe shook his head. ‘Such a ladies’ man.’ The dog responded to this by rolling over for a tummy scratch. ‘Jeez, dog. Don’t embarrass me or anything, will you?’ Laughing, the lady pushed herself back up and leant over to where Gabe had placed his phone on the desk.
‘You did all these pieces?’
‘Yes. I’ve done some more in the house but these were just some pieces we got for fun for me to … play with, I guess.’
‘What had you planned to do with them?’
‘I hadn’t really got that far. I only finished the last one properly this morning.’
‘I love them. All of them. Obviously I’d need to check the finish, et cetera, in person but from what I’ve seen, I’d love to take them off you, for a price that’s acceptable to both of us, of course.’
‘Really?’ I asked, slightly astonished.
‘Definitely,’ she said, flicking through the photos again. ‘This is exactly the sort of thing we love. You have a great eye!’
