Page 21 of Fireworks at Pennycress Inn
She laughed, the sound hollow even to her own ears.
‘Excuse me, please?’ a voice called from behind.
Taking a deep breath, Polly quickly wiped her cheeks dry with the end of her scarf before plastering a smile on her face and turning around. A young couple with a toddler happily gripping a yellow teddy in her pushchair walked over to her. ‘Hi, can I help?’
‘Sorry to bother you, but little Maddie here is desperate to feed the ducks. It’s our first time here and we’re not sure where to go.’ The woman smiled kindly.
‘Oh… umm… there’s a little jetty on the other side of the lake by the swing park, which is a great place to feed them.’ Polly pointed ahead to where the path curved around the lake.
‘There’s a park here too?’ The woman looked down at her daughter. ‘Did you hear that, Maddie? A swing park! Shall we have a play in the park after feeding the ducks?’
The small girl kicked her yellow wellie boots against the footrest of the pushchair whilst holding her teddy in the air and nodding.
‘Thank you.’ The man nodded and began walking in the direction Polly had indicated.
As she watched them amble past her, Polly frowned. ‘Sorry, can I just ask you something?’
‘Yes, of course.’ The woman paused and turned back to face her.
‘Are you new to Meadowfield?’
The woman shook her head. ‘No.’
‘But this is the first time you’ve been to the reserve?’ Realising the questions she was asking might sound a little odd coming from a total stranger, Polly pulled her lanyard from beneath her buttoned coat and brandished it in the air. ‘Sorry for the questions. I work here and we’re looking at ways to improve the reserve, how to make it more visitor-friendly and the like.’
‘Oh, right.’ The woman smiled. ‘No, we’ve lived in Meadowfield for about a year and a half now.’ She glanced at her partner, who nodded. ‘But, to be honest, we’ve never really ventured up here to the reserve. If we’d known there was a swing park here, we probably would have done.’
‘Okay, thank you.’ Polly waved at Maddie as the woman turned the pushchair back around and they continued on their way. Huh. How hadn’t they realised there was a park here? If they’d been living in Meadowfield for over a year, they must have spoken to people who frequented the reserve, mustn’t they?
Polly turned towards the lake and watched as two gulls dipped and dived across the water, no doubt chasing an early-morning snack. It really was beautiful here. Peaceful, tranquil. And it had so much to offer the local residents and people travelling from further afield, too. From what she knew about the local area, Meadowfield Reserve was the biggest one in at least a twenty-mile radius. It should be attracting families, dog walkers, runners, wildlife enthusiasts, everyone.
There was everything here – a park, birdwatching hideaways, the lake, a meadow, a café, everything anyone could want from a reserve, so what was the problem? What was stopping people from visiting? Yes, it was a little way out of the village centre, but there was a good car park, which was free, and it was only a short walk from the outskirts of the village. Yes, she’d taken the bus the last couple of days, but she could definitely walk here in the future.
So location wasn’t a problem. She drew her thumb to her mouth and bit down on the nail. She needed to figure this out. Even if she wasn’t going to get the promotion, maybe she should hang around for the three months before quitting. She had her accommodation paid for and, yes, the wage for this role wouldn’t allow her to get her own place but she should at least see these three months out. After all, working full time for the trust had been her dream. If she could have it for even a short while before going back home and facing reality, then maybe she should.
Plus, there was the chance she could actually make a difference here. Meadowfield Reserve was stunning and if she could at least draw a few more daily visitors to the reserve, then she’d have felt she’d contributed a little something to the future of the trust before turning her back on her dreams and heading back to her old life.
Yes, that’s what she’d do. She couldn’t compete with Zac, but that was okay. Well, not okay, but she could still do something.
14
‘Meeting in five minutes, folks.’ Declan’s voice rose above the general chitchat in the office.
Barely looking up from her desk, Polly nodded before scribbling more ideas down into her notebook. With her head bent and her elbow lounging across the desk in front of her, she had filled five sheets of paper with details of events they could put on and improvements they could make to the reserve to entice people in. Plus, she had the fundraising ideas she’d worked on all evening before she’d overheard Zac’s phone conversation. On her way back from her walk, she’d passed the small café whose staff had been sitting outside, their hands wrapped around hot mugs of coffee as they waited for a passing customer, and after speaking to them she now knew today wasn’t an overly quiet day, this was the norm. It was normal to have very few customers, very few passers-by.
Stabbing the page with her pen, Polly finished her sentence with a full stop and leaned back in her chair. After feeling as though she’d likely be telling her colleagues she’d be leaving during today’s meeting, she was now going to be sharing her vision of the future of Meadowfield Reserve. And she couldn’t wait.
She glanced across at Zac, who, in that instant, looked up from his laptop and met her eye. Quickly looking away, Polly slipped the papers into her notebook and stood up, ready to head towards the meeting room.
‘You were here early today.’ Standing up, Zac pushed his chair under his desk before tucking his laptop beneath his arm.
‘Yes.’ Polly nodded. How had he noticed? He’d have been leaving Pennycress after her as the car journey to the reserve took minutes compared to the half-hour it took on the bus as it weaved along an abundance of streets, stopping off and collecting travellers as it made its lazy way along the road. She hadn’t been in the kitchen when he’d come down for breakfast. That must have been it.
‘Okay, people. Grab a cuppa and join me around the table please.’ Declan poked his head out of the door leading to the meeting room before disappearing again.
Polly followed Zac into the meeting room before slipping into a chair next to Vicki. ‘No Rolo today?’
Shaking her head, Vicki smiled. ‘Not today. My flatmate Pearl is off work, so she’s kindly agreed to be on Rolo duty today.’
