you out of breath?’ I asked, as he handed over the bag, which was heavier than I would have expected. ‘I thought you were just popping to the pound shop up the road.’
‘I was,’ he said, running a hand through his tangled hair, ‘but then I realised that if you hadn’t got enough sheets, then you probably hadn’t got enough glycerine either.’
I hadn’t even thought of that. I peered into the bag and found a big bottle of the stuff leaning against the trays.
‘I tried to ring, but your phone’s off,’ Finn further explained.
I had turned it off before the session started.
‘And I didn’t want to waste time coming all the way back to check, so I went to track some down. It’s not easy to find, is it? I got this from the chemists. They only had one bottle. This is the stuff you’re going to be using isn’t it? Chloe seemed to think so when I called her. Did you need it?’
I listened to the words rush from his lips and I could have kissed him. Again. I very nearly did.
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I definitely need it. I haven’t got nearly enough to go around, but I hadn’t even thought of it.’
I had been just minutes away from looking like a right numpty, but Finn had thought it through and saved my blushes.
‘Well, that’s all right then,’ he puffed, squeezing into the doorframe as Carole came to announce that there was coffee and cake available in the kitchen. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
He was gone before I had a chance to either thank him, pay him or kiss him and while everyone went back to the kitchen for some mid-afternoon refreshment, Lisa and I hastily rearranged things so everyone had their own tray, which would actually make things easier as we could name them and make sure they all got the right leaves back.
‘Oh crikey,’ I grimaced, as my stomach gave the loudest rumble, ‘that’s embarrassing.’
‘Did you not have lunch?’ Lisa frowned.
‘Half a roll,’ I told her, ‘I didn’t have time for soup.’
‘That’s no good,’ she scolded, ‘go and grab a scone or something. I can finish up in here.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes,’ she said, ushering me out of the room. ‘We can’t go the rest of the afternoon with your guts providing musical accompaniment, can we? It’s hardly “White Christmas”, is it?’ she giggled, as it rumbled again.
She was right of course, and I did feel much better after I’d eaten a scone laden with the thickest clotted cream and lashings of Carole’s excellent homemade strawberry jam. With two cups of sweetened tea to wash it all down, I was feeling far more human by the time I went back to show everyone what to do with their leaves and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the day, as did everyone else.
I was still buzzing when we waved them all off, and I wasn’t the only one. The group had all swapped numbers and email addresses as we worked out when they could come and collect their leaves, and they were all planning to meet up on a monthly basis, either in the garden, or somewhere a little further afield to keep their nature connections topped up.
‘I don’t think that could possibly have gone any better, do you?’ beamed Lisa, after we had walked everyone back to the garden gate.
‘It was amazing,’ I agreed. ‘And,’ I yawned, ‘absolutely not worth the sleepless night spent worrying about it. I loved it.’
‘I hope my session goes as well as yours,’ said Carole, when I went back to the kitchen to collect my key which Chloe had dropped off.
‘I’m sure it will, Carole,’ I told her. ‘I’m tired out from today, but I’m really looking forward to it.’
She had got me enthused when she explained that she was going to show everyone how to scale recipes down as well as up and I was looking forward to making my own pudding the next day, even if it most likely wouldn’t last until Christmas because I wouldn’t be able to resist it. Not that that really mattered because I could always make another one.
My job had always meant that I stayed on the slim side, but living now in such close proximity to Carole and Blossom’s Bakery I wasn’t sure I would be the same svelte shape for much longer.
‘It’s going to be a busy day,’ she said, ‘that’s for sure.’
I knew she was even more organised than Lisa and I had been