Pastures New

‘No thanks,’ said Ben. ‘I’d better go. I’ve got lots to do on the allotment.’

‘And I wouldn’t dream of keeping a man away from his digging,’ said Amy, disappointed but trying to sound cheerful.

When she smiled, Ben noticed, her eyes lit up her whole face. There was something about her that he instantly warmed to, and he realised, as he strolled back home, that it was a very pleasant feeling indeed.

‘What’s this I hear that you run a gardening business?’

Amy greeted Saffron as they stood outside the school gates. Ellie was asleep in the buggy, and Saffron looked quite relaxed for a change.

Saffron pulled a face.

‘Well, I’m not entirely sure it merits the term business. “Disaster” might be more apt at the moment,’ she said. ‘How did you know?’

‘I met Ben Martin on the allotments the other day,’ said Amy. ‘Or rather, his dog knocked me into a pile of manure. I felt like such a prat. But he was very nice about it.’

‘So he should be,’ said Saffron. ‘That dog’s a liability sometimes. Mind you, I can think of worse people whose feet you could fall at. He’s gorgeous. If I wasn’t married already …’

‘Does he have a girlfriend?’ asked Amy.

‘Not that I know of,’ said Saffron, ‘but I’m not one to listen to gossip, and I’ve been so busy this year with work and a new baby that I don’t tend to know what’s going on anyway. Why do you ask? Are you on the lookout?’

‘As if! I was curious, that’s all,’ said Amy. ‘So come on, tell me all about this business of yours.’

‘Not much to tell, since Caroline left me in the lurch,’ said Saffron.

‘What’s Caroline like?’ Amy asked. ‘Her name keeps popping up everywhere.’

Saffron grimaced. ‘I’m probably not the best person to ask, as she’s made my life a nightmare. We met on a gardening course in Sudbury three years back, and when we found out we lived so near to one another it seemed like a good idea to set up a business together. And at first it was great – she’s good at self-promotion and got us loads of clients to begin with, plus she is really good at garden design. But out of the blue she decided she had to go travelling to find herself, just before Ellie was born, and left me to pick up the pieces.’

‘Bummer,’ said Amy. ‘What a pain.’

‘She can be,’ said Saffron. ‘I think her main problem is that her parents are loaded, so she’s really spoilt and has never had to take responsibility for anything in her entire life. Plus she has a rather irritating tendency to flutter her eyelashes and get men to do her dirty work for her – she was always getting the blokes on the allotment to do her digging and stuff. She’s a terrible flirt. She even tried it on with Pete once, when I was pregnant with Ellie. I was furious, I can tell you. But Pete just laughed it off, and said it was just the way she was.’

‘Ouch,’ said Amy.

‘Ouch indeed,’ said Saffron. ‘Anyway, enough of her. Why did you want to know about my gardening business?’

‘Well, I was just wondering if you had any openings? I’m itching to get my green fingers dirty.’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Absolutely,’ said Amy. ‘I’ve arranged with the school to do some supply teaching, but I need another income, and the idea was always to try and make money from gardening.’

‘I could really, really use the help,’ said Saffron. ‘I’m drowning on my own. Though I warn you, the finances are a bit dicey at the moment, so I can’t pay much.’

‘That’s okay,’ said Amy. ‘I’ve got a bit of a cushion to tide me over for the next few months.’

‘Great,’ said Saffron. ‘That’s such a weight off my mind.’

‘Then it’s a deal,’ said Amy, grinning. ‘When do I start?’

CHAPTER FIVE (#ucbc138ca-5a91-5c68-9048-283e0ab6e0cf)

Amy was cooking lunch for herself and Josh – or, rather, for Josh. She had a terrible habit of finishing up his leftovers, and eating on the run. She couldn’t remember the last time she had made a proper meal for herself. She really ought to bring herself in hand. The radio was on, and it being Saturday she was listening to Jonathan Ross, who always made her laugh. And today he was making her laugh more than ever. For the first time in months she was feeling positive and cheerful about the future.

After Saffron had discovered her interest in gardening, she had insisted on dragging Amy back home and showing her the latest plans for Green Fingers. Saffron had nearly cleared the backlog left by Caroline, but she still had clients who were urgently demanding their gardens be tidied up for the autumn, as well as several who were after table decorations for Christmas.

‘Mind you,’ Saffron admitted ruefully, ‘I am in something of a fix. Because although I have too much work at the moment, once I’ve caught up, I don’t have any new clients. I’ve lost a lot over the summer, and, to be honest, with the baby and everything I’ve been too exhausted to think about marketing.’

‘Have you got a website?’ Amy said.

‘God no,’ Saffron replied. ‘I’m way too computer illiterate for that.’

‘Actually, it’s quite easy,’ Amy told her. ‘It’s simply a question of buying a domain name and a package from a company that’s into website-building.’

‘Oh right,’ said Saffron, surprised. ‘How do you know all this stuff?’

‘You’d be amazed what you pick up teaching IT to seven-year-olds,’ Amy replied vaguely. It was actually Jamie who had taught her about computing, and when he and Giles had set up in business together she’d ended up getting involved in creating their website. Neither of them had been much good with design, but Amy loved playing about with typefaces and graphics and she had been happy to help.

‘Sounds great,’ said Saffron. ‘Got any other good ideas? Caroline was always great at that kind of stuff. I haven’t got a clue.’

‘Well, I could design you a leaflet if you like,’ said Amy. ‘And then you could do a drop with the local paper. Or leave them in shops – the local hairdressers would be a good place to start. You could offer a ten per cent discount on your first job or something. How does that sound?’

‘It sounds fantastic,’ said Saffron eagerly. ‘You are sent from heaven to solve all my problems. I would never have thought of that on my own.’

‘Aaah,’ said Amy. ‘I have been wanting to set up my own business for ages, so I’ve done a lot of planning over the years. And I’ve got a couple of weeks till my supply teaching starts, so I’ve got time at the moment.’

Before she knew it, Amy was also agreeing to go and price a job with Saffron the following Tuesday, once the kids were at school. It was just what she needed to move her life forward. She couldn’t wait to get started.

So, a little later, humming to the tune playing on the radio, she was cheerfully busying herself in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Puzzled, she went to answer it. She wasn’t expecting anyone, and although Harry had taken to popping in from time to time to borrow some milk or play a game with Josh, she knew he had gone out to see friends today. She had been enjoying his avuncular concern. He was an easy person to be around, and it did Josh good to have a grandfatherly figure about. They often spent time with Harry at the weekends, taking the odd walk, going for pub lunches. Despite her differences with Mary, Amy recognised she had lost a useful support system, and Harry was doing a good job of plugging the gap.

She opened the door, and nearly passed out.

‘Mary! What a surprise!’ She hoped the shock in her face wasn’t too obvious. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see Mary, but it would have been nice to have had some prior warning.

‘Well, I was coming to visit my sister in Romford,’ said Mary, in rather stiff tones, ‘so I thought I’d pop in to see how you were both doing. I hope you don’t mind.’ Romford to Nevermorewell was a good hour and a half. Something told Amy this wasn’t a spontaneous visit.

‘Mind? Of course I don’t mind,’ lied Amy, hoping the house wasn’t too untidy. ‘It’s lovely to see you. Josh, look who’s here!’

Josh, who had been playing with his train set in the front room, came diving out when he heard Mary’s voice.

‘Granneeee!’ he shrieked in delight, and flung himself at her.

Amy was relieved to see the pleasure in Mary’s face when she hugged her grandson. After all, it wasn’t really Amy she had come to see. And whether or not Amy cared to admit it, by moving away from Mary, she had taken away from her mother-in-law all that was left of Jamie. Josh, too, seemed ecstatic to see his grandmother. Amy had been fretting that he had seemed very quiet since the move. Now, seeing him so natural with Mary, she realised he hadn’t been his normal self. The old guilt welled up inside her, threatening to engulf the good feelings and bring her right back to square one. Mary’s next comment didn’t help much either.

‘Oh, I have missed you both!’ she said. ‘The house seems so quiet without you. No chance that you’ll change your mind, I suppose?’

‘We’ve only just got here,’ said Amy, trying to laugh it off and ignore the feelings of resentment the remark engendered.