The Secret Art of Forgiveness (28 page)

He looked down at his bottle. Fiddled with the label on the front, stripping it piece by piece from the glass. Then he looked back at her and, even though everything from his clenched jaw to the darkness in his eyes said he didn't want to revisit his time in Afghanistan, he nodded. ‘I suppose I could do half an hour on something.'

She gave a minute shake of her head, telling him he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to. ‘No. That won't be necessary. Thank you, anyway. If anyone else knows of anyone with an interesting career we could showcase them, too.'

She went through her list, ticking off points. ‘I'm a little worried we won't have enough to fill two days' worth of events at this stage.' To put it mildly.

‘I've got a few ideas for art workshops that would fill a week,' Tilda said. ‘Watercolour for beginners, acrylics, abstracts, multimedia, kids, adults, still-life, manga… I could go on. The art club members are very keen to get involved because it means they can showcase their work and give back to the community by teaching. Luckily, it's not school holiday time, so everyone's still around, and I've already asked the high school if we can borrow easels and equipment. They said as it's the end of year things might be a bit grubby, but they're happy to loan it all to us.'

‘And there's the cooking demonstrations,' Sally joined in. ‘He's not here yet, but I might as well say my bit.' She looked a little disappointed at missing Liam, but started anyway. ‘We've had a firm yes from the Indian restaurant in Little Duxbury. They said they'd happily do two workshops each day, plus they want a stall to sell their dishes. Greta's doing four baking demos – cupcakes times two and macaroons times two. The Spanish bar in Moseleywood said they'd do some easy tapas demos; I reckon we could push them to at least two slots each day if necessary. Little Pies over in Belwick will do a tasting and beer matching, which Liam's got behind.'

‘Why didn't any of these people say yes when I asked them last year?' Tam looked disgruntled and huffy. But Emily didn't care. By suggesting the festival she'd taken a risk. She hadn't known whether these were the kind of people who joined a committee just to look important or whether they were doers. Clearly she'd struck gold.

‘I think just a little spin on things makes a difference, that's all, Tam. Plus, we've still got all the traditional things you've organised so far – you're amazing.' She made sure to look at each of them in turn. ‘You're all amazing.'

‘What about ticket sales? Magick-ed up a huge audience out of nowhere? Public liability insurance? Managed to sort that out? It needs to be done before anything else gets put in place.' Tam folded her arms and gave a smug little smile. She wanted this to fail. She wanted Emily to fail because she'd been voted in and Tam had been voted out. Because she'd shown a little vulnerability to Emily, and was sore because of it.

Thanks a bunch.
Irritation prickled across the back of Em's neck and down her spine. She could not lose face now; they all believed in her. ‘I'm working on it. Working on it all. I'll do it tomorrow morning. First thing.'

Insurance? She added it to her already overly long list. Damn. She was drowning in all the things she had to organise. And keep her job afloat.

Tam coughed. ‘So it's not been done? Is that what you're saying? Only, these things take time to organise. You need someone who knows what they're doing to fill out a complex insurance form. I know.'

‘Yes. Yes, you do. I'll look into it.'

‘You're running out of time. Fast. Mess it up and you won't have any insurance. And therefore no event.'

And you'd love that.
To be honest, Emily hadn't even thought about insurance. Someone else always dealt with things like that; they had a whole department for legal things at Baddermans. When she looked up everyone was looking at her. The balls she was struggling to keep in the air were starting to crash down.

Sally glanced towards Tam who was sitting on the edge of her seat, eyebrows raised. Expectantly.

Ah. Okay. Humble pie time. ‘Er, Tamara? Would that be something you'd be willing to sort out for us? Could your company arrange insurance?'

Tam's eyes widened and she held a palm to her chest. ‘What? You want me to be involved? Shock horror.'

Emily bit back the words she was thinking and went for kind. Because she knew Tam was still smarting from being edged out of the committee and it wouldn't do to have World War Three in the middle of a meeting. And, above all, the whole point of this event was to bring the community together, to share skills and knowledge, to pool resources. So she did what Tamara had done in the kitchen. She asked for help. ‘Please. It would be fabulous if you could help us out. We'd all be very grateful for your expertise, in everything.'

Tam pursed her lips. ‘I don't know… you didn't want my opinion before.'

Yes, her older sister was going to make her beg in front of the committee. ‘We'd be immensely grateful for anything you'd be willing to do towards this event. But you do have specific skills in insurance. We know our event will be in safe hands if you do this for us.'

‘And how do I pay for this?'

Emily dug deep. ‘The float from last year is going towards renting the tables and chairs, signs advertising, marshals… and it's getting a little thin, but I could lend the event the money if we needed to. I have a little, probably not enough, but once the ticket sales start coming in we
can use that income. However, I will need it back at the end.' She was fast running out of her own resources for this. The money she'd put aside for renovations was dwindling. But she'd get it back. If this was a success.

If.

The only way to make it a success was to throw all her energy at it. Unfortunately, her energy was spread quite thinly right now. She had to make this a priority. Along with all the other priorities. There was a little flutter in her chest and a tightening in her stomach. She had to make everything work.

Tam nodded sharply. ‘I suppose I could do it. Because you're desperate and the whole reputation of the event is at stake.' Tam's gaze caught Emily's and held. They were both acutely aware of the game playing out. This time Tam had won. And Emily let her.

‘Thank you.' Strangely, though, as she said the words, Emily didn't feel as if she'd lost. She felt as if she'd straddled a bridge, walking in Tam's shoes for a change and realising just how hard asking for help had been – and yet she'd done it. For once in her life she felt a flicker of admiration for her stepsister.

She moved on to the next item on the agenda. ‘Ticket sales will start tomorrow. I'm hoping the schools will help out and the colleges. And churches? Art groups? Let's all rally together and give a big push. I'm taking delivery of the tickets in the morning and can drop them off to you all over the course of the day.'

‘Oh, er, sorry I'm late.' Liam edged into the room, eyes darting, searching. Oh, yes. He found Sally, grinned sheepishly, and made a beeline for the empty chair next to her – conveniently saved for him, she supposed, by Sal's large handbag atop the silk cushion. He settled in and asked, ‘Where are we up to?'

Em answered, ‘We've pretty much gone through most of it. Sally was telling us about the amazing work you've done so far.' Sal's chest positively swelled as she wriggled in her seat and gave Liam a coy smile. There was no touching between them, just the odd sneaky look and embarrassed smiles. Clearly there was something happening there, but nothing tangible so far. ‘Well done. I was just wondering – do you ever have live bands on at the pub?'

‘Sometimes, on special occasions. We get loads of enquiries, but I don't know if any of them are any good. I have a couple of favourites, but I've got a stack of business cards and flyers if you want me to give them to you?'

‘That would be fabulous.'

‘Where are they going to play, these bands? And on what? With what?' Tam was perched on the edge of her seat. ‘It's all very well having great ideas, but details are what matter. Especially so close to the event.' She shook her head. ‘I have severe concerns that it's going to be a disaster.'

Gee, thanks.
‘The primary school is lending us staging and a marquee. I think we'll have to hire a PA system, especially if we're having live music in two venues –'

‘We can use mine... well, the pub's. And I'll ask a mate over at The Royal, see if we can borrow his.' Liam smiled and ran an embarrassed hand through his short, scrappy hair. ‘Shouldn't be a problem; he owes me a favour.'

‘Fabulous. As we don't have much float left we'll have to negotiate to pay people afterwards if we can, but try to borrow as much as possible. It's amazing what people are willing to let you use for a good cause.'

She covered the rest of the agenda as quickly as possible and made sure to thank everyone. By the time the meeting had finished it was almost bedtime. The committee members were starting to stream out the door, but she noticed Jacob chatting at the far end of the room with Liam. He'd relaxed a lot since Afghanistan had been mentioned. She watched as he laughed at something Liam said. The way his head tilted back, the crinkle of his eyes.

Next thing she knew Sally was nudging her. ‘Two decent-looking men, plus two fabulous women. If my maths is correct that equals a good night out. What do you think? Fancy a double date?'

‘Er… no.'

‘Just for fun, because I know you're engaged and all, but help me out?'

She really had to talk to Sal about the broken-off engagement, but this wasn't the time. ‘I can't. Honestly. Maybe just you and I could go? Or we could just get some band names and look them up on YouTube? That would work.'

Sal clutched Em's arm and whispered, ‘Please. It's hopeless. Really. I need to get more time with him in a non-threatening way. We've been out, what? Three times? We seem to be getting on really well, you know, having a laugh. Then, just when I think he's going to make a move, he doesn't. I'm beside myself. I really fancy the bloody pants off him.
Please
.'

‘I don't know.' It was the worst idea ever. But it would help out a mate.

‘Okay, let's reframe.' With a glint in her eye, Sal smiled. ‘How about this… are you free to come to a talent quest over at The Swan in Belwick on Tuesday? We could suss out some bands for our festival, so it would be strictly on committee business. Very important and serious and not a date at all?'

‘Hmmm… we do need to have some more bands at the festival.' Tempting. So bloody tempting.

‘Kill two very attractive birds with one very perfectly honed stone? Come on?'

Emily laughed. ‘I have no idea what you're saying, but it sounds like fighting talk. I don't want to put Jacob in a situation that would make him feel uncomfortable. He probably doesn't… I can't…'

‘Oh, please. You can act pure as the driven snow with Jacob, but I just want to get… dirty. Sorry. I know. Too much information. But it's been a long time. And you need to get out more; you can't spend every night with Tamara and The Judge – ha ha, that sounds like a terrible sitcom.'

Sometimes it felt like one, too. But Em couldn't get past the thought of dirty and Jacob. She felt very hot all over again. ‘Exactly. I'd need to find someone to look after The Judge. I don't think I should come. We have so much to do and it's not that kind of…'

‘All I'm hearing is blah, blah, blah. You owe me, Emily.' Sal was already marching over to them. Whatever she said, Emily didn't catch, but first Liam nodded, then Jacob glanced over
to Emily. She smiled in a friendly and non-threatening way and gave a light shrug. Certainly not in any lascivious way, she hoped.
Not my fault.
Then he turned back to Sal and nodded.

Wait. She owed Sally what?

Her friend gave her a discreet thumbs-up and Emily prayed for the earth to swallow her up.

God
, a double date night. So utterly inappropriate. What the hell had she just let herself in for? Everything in her life was barrelling out of her control and she did not like it one jot.

Chapter Fourteen

‘It's just no good, I can't live with her a day longer. She's so messy. There are paints and canvases everywhere, paintbrushes in my kitchen sink, blobs of red and purple on my new white sofa. She meditates in the middle of the lounge floor at very inconvenient times. What can I do?' Tam was sitting at the kitchen table at The Hall for one of their daily catch-up meetings. This was the third day in a row she'd been on this particular rant. ‘Every time I mention she needs to get a place of her own she sobs that she doesn't want to be alone.'

Emily sighed. ‘You just need to tell her, Tam. Although, be gentle because she's been through a difficult time. It's hard breaking up with someone.' Em knew how hard the truth hurt. She'd broken the news about Brett to her stepsisters but they'd barely batted an eyelid. Tam had told her it was probably for the best; after all, Emily
wasn't exactly a good bet
. Matilda had said a broken engagement couldn't possibly compare to ending nine years of marriage. So much for sisterly support and strengthened family ties. ‘It's not like you to be backward in coming forward.'

‘Yes. Well. I'm learning these days that not everyone responds quite so well to direct honesty. I always thought I was doing people a favour by telling them what I thought, but maybe that's not what they want to hear.'

Well, here was a breakthrough. ‘Would you like me to talk to her –?'

They were interrupted by a scuffle, the whoosh of the door swinging open and a rustle of skirts. Did nobody knock these days? ‘Emily! My God. I'm so annoyed. You'll never believe what she's gone and done this time…' Cheeks flushed, Tilda swept into the room. The flush spread through her body at the sight of her sister and she stopped dead. ‘Oh. Hello, Tam. I thought you'd still be at work.'