Free Village Gossip by Rebecca Shaw Page B

truthfully say I yearned for that job with the costumes.’
‘Look, if it means that much to you, how about eating humble pie, apologising and getting stuck in. Hugo announced that you and Mrs Jones were doing the costumes together.’
    Vera looked at him through her tears. ‘Not Pygmalion likely. Yer see you make beautiful things all day long in that garden. Yer in touch with beauty, and I never am.’
    ‘You’ve flowers in your garden.’
    His answer was a shrug of his gran’s shoulders. ‘Say a few of your lines for me, love, will yer?’
    Rhett said he wouldn’t, he’d be too embarrassed.
    ‘All right then.’ Wistfully Vera went back to thinking about the dresses. ‘They’ll have lovely materials for them dresses, I could right fancy handling materials like that. Touching it and holding it soft like against yer cheek. Lovely. All pretty and beautiful. All beads and embroidery. And the colours, them illustrations in ’ er books! All pastel colours, yer know. Peaches and silver greys and soft greens and turquoise. Wonderful! And having that lovely, lovely man saying how pleased he was with them. That would be great. Yer see Rhett, yer grandad’s a good man, faithful and that, never a word out of place, but he lacks sparkle. Yes, sparkle. And after all these years, so do I. But making them costumes, that’d make me sparkle and not half.’ She stared into the distance and Rhett saw such a lovely smile on her face, a smile like he couldn’t remember seeing before. Vera sighed. ‘Still, there yer go. Mrs Jones has got the job and good luck to her. Go get me slippers, Rhett, me feet are killing me.’
    Mrs Jones popped into the Store the next morning to finish off some orders she hadn’t had time to do the previous day. Jimbo handed her a coffee as she swept through. ‘Thanks, Mrs Jones. That’s what I like to see. Enthusiasm. I hear you’ve had a promotion.’
‘Promotion?’
    ‘Yes. Wardrobe mistress. Hidden talents, eh?’ Jimbo smoothed his striped apron, red and white this morning, raised his straw boater to her and bowed.
    ‘Don’t know about promotion, but it caused a commotion. That Vera Wright. Huh! Thinking she could do the costumes. That’s likely!’
    ‘She’s had a hard time has Vera. She needs a leg up, you know.’
    Humbled, Mrs Jones continued on to the mail order office. While she sorted and checked and packed the orders, one to Bristol, another to Newcastle, two to Devon, and yet another and another, she pondered on what Jimbo had said. The uproar had not been her own fault, but wild horses wouldn’t make her go to Vera and suggest she helped despite the quarrel. Not likely. Never. The orders finished, she marched them to the post office counter and handed them to Linda.
    ‘There you are, Linda. Six. There’s your list. OK?’
    ‘Thanks.’
    ‘I’m off now. Off to Culworth on the lunchtime bus. Got some materials to look at. I know just where to go.’
    ‘Exciting, isn’t it? If I was more free I’d have a go too. Just imagine acting with that wonderful man. He could butter my bread anytime!’
    ‘Linda! He’s full of charm but he’s not like that. It’s only good fun and part of his lovely nature.’
    ‘Oh yes. That’s not what I’ve heard.’ She leaned her elbows on the counter and put her face close to the grill. ‘On Monday night …’
    An old man from Little Derehams elbowed Mrs Jones aside. ‘Hurry up. I need my pension. I’m catching the lunchtime bus to Culworth.’
‘All right. All right. Keep yer hair on.’
    She served the angry pensioner and by the time they’d argued about her rubber stamp not being clear enough and whether or not she needed a new one and she’d do better if she didn’t gossip so much, Mrs Jones had to leave to make sure she didn’t miss the bus.
    Rhett, who’d gone round to see her about his gran’s disappointment, missed her. He knew he owed his gran a lot. Everything, if the truth be known, because he might as well not