Maybe it was the warm summer air, or the fact that this was a commemoration for her grandfather, but Meredith Carter was definitely feeling better. As she sipped her glass of cider and looked out at the assembled partygoers, she smiled as she saw her father and Anna, on a rare night out without the smaller children, looking happy and relaxed. They never strayed far from one another and Meredith felt so happy that they were still so very much in love. This evening was intended to be a celebration of her grandfather’s life, and all the people who’d been most important to him were here, along with well wishers and other friends.
Solar powered fairy lights had been strung between the rows of trees in the Royal Orchard and were shining brightly now that darkness had fallen. Meredith had to admit it was looking spectacular now it had been tidied up by the tree surgeons. The apples in the rest of the orchards were about three quarters grown and would be harvested soon, now that the Eloise harvest was out of the way. Under the trees was a Bristol based jazz and blues band, and people were enjoying the barbecue and hog roast, as well as getting stuck into the cider. The ground was so dry that there had been no need to worry about a marquee or a dance floor, and Meredith knew that, as with so many events that the cider farm had held in the past, it wouldn’t take long before everyone was dancing.
As she scanned the crowd, hoping to see Rosie or Izzy so that she could mooch over and talk to them, her gaze fell on a much smarter looking Joe Flanagan, who was drinking a pint of cider and chatting to his father, Patrick. Out of his usual green polo shirt and jeans combination, his charcoal grey jacket and white shirt over a darker, more fitted pair of jeans were understated but stylish. Hair that had a tendency to unruliness was carefully brushed back from his face, revealing a clear forehead unblemished by the spots that had dogged him a few years back. Meredith found herself looking at him in a different light from the way she remembered him. His air of self-assurance was decidedly attractive, too, and so different from the blushing sixteen year old he’d once been.
As if aware of her scrutiny, Joe turned slightly away from his father, and smiled when he caught sight of her. Murmuring something to Patrick, he ambled over to where she was standing, slightly away from the crowds starting to sway in front of the jazz band.
‘Hey,’ he said as he drew closer. ‘You all right?’
Meredith, surprised that the smile she gave in return came so easily to her, nodded. Feeling suddenly nervous, she took a gulp of her sparkling cider.
‘Nice dress, by the way,’ Joe continued. ‘Matches the apples.’ He blushed. ‘Sorry. That was a really crap line, wasn’t it?’
Meredith’s smile turned into a laugh. ‘I’ve heard better.’ She quite liked the fact that Joe still wasn’t quite as confident as he thought he was.
‘Can I, er, get you another drink?’ Joe asked hastily, noticing her nearly empty glass.
‘Actually, I’m fine,’ Meredith replied, but, seeing Joe’s look of disappointment, hastily added, ‘but I’d really like you to just stick around for a bit, if that’s OK? I mean, if you don’t have anyone else to, er, meet, here.’
‘Friends not coming?’ Joe said archly, taking another sip of his own drink. ‘Feeling a bit left out?’
‘No,’ Meredith snapped back. ‘I just don’t really feel like talking to people I don’t want to talk to tonight.’
‘I’m honoured,’ Joe said, his gentle smile softening his words. ‘I suppose being the heir apparent to all this can get a bit annoying at times.’
‘Can we stop with the digs about that?’ Meredith said. ‘It’s getting a bit old. Anyway, technically you’re not right; Ellie, or even little Jack, can both have a say in the business now. They might be the ones who run it, one day.’
‘Sorry,’ Joe said. ‘Old habits and all that.’
‘Let’s just forget all that, please. What’s done is done. I just want to try to enjoy myself tonight. I think Granddad would have liked that.’
Joe nodded. ‘Fair enough. Your granddad was a good bloke.’ He cleared his throat as the band struck up another Billie Holliday tune. ‘If you don’t want another drink, would you, er, like to dance, then?’
Meredith smiled again at his sudden reticence. ‘Yes, I would. Thank you.’ Wandering over to the area that was rapidly being taken over as a dance floor, she drew a little bit closer to Joe until, with some nervousness, he slid a hand around her waist. She placed an equally hesitant hand on his shoulder and, as if some greater instinct was taking her over, she slid a little closer to him. Joe was a good few inches over six feet tall, and his arms felt reassuringly comfortable as she breathed in the scent of a lemony aftershave on his jaw.
They swayed gently to the music, both still a little bit tense. ‘I’ve always loved jazz,’ Joe murmured. ‘I know that’s probably not cool to admit, but…’
‘Granddad loved it too,’ Meredith replied. ‘That’s why we got this band in tonight. They usually don’t come this far out of Bristol, but they had such good reviews that we persuaded them to play this gig in the end.’
‘Good choice,’ Joe replied.
They swayed in silence for a few more beats, neither quite knowing where to take the conversation next. It felt nice, though, Meredith thought, to be held by someone again. The fact that it was Joe, who had, unsurprisingly given his job, filled out in all the right places, was an added bonus.
As the music stopped, they broke apart again, unsure what happened next. Meredith noticed, to her pleasure, that Joe kept an arm around her waist.
‘Now can I get you another drink?’ Joe asked, as a rather more upbeat choice of song started.
Meredith nodded. ‘Yup. And I think I know where I’d like to drink it, too.’
A little time later, they were sitting on top of one of the oak vats in the barn, working their way down a bottle of sparkling cider. Meredith was stunned at just how easy Joe was to talk to after his initial antagonism towards her.
‘So, do you like training to be a tree surgeon?’ she asked. She could feel the effects of the sparkling cider, but wasn’t too far gone to be aware of sitting thirty feet in the air on top of an antique vat.
‘It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,’ Joe replied. ‘Mum loved trees. She used to take me to Westonbirt Arboretum when I was little, and I loved seeing the colours in the autumn, and the greens in the spring.’ He shook his head. ‘Dad and I scattered her ashes there. It was where she seemed most alive. I was eight when she died.’
Meredith’s eyes filled with tears. She’d known, of course, about Joe losing his mother at such an early age, but somehow, he’d been so out of her orbit socially that they’d never really discussed it. Just as Patrick’s friendship had been a rock for her own father to lean against when Meredith’s mother had left, so Matthew had been for Patrick a few years later when his wife had been taken from him unexpectedly.
‘It must have been so hard for you,’ Meredith said softly. ‘She died so suddenly.’
Joe smiled sadly. ‘She had an aneurism. Doesn’t give you any time to think, really, until afterwards. I went from being sad to very, very angry, and that lasted a long time. School didn’t like me very much; I didn’t like me very much. But then, when I got to GCSEs, I suddenly had a plan. I knew Mum wouldn’t want me chucking my education away because she was gone, and that’s when I decided what I wanted to do with my life.’ He swallowed. ‘Dad was brilliant, though. He didn’t have a clue what to do with me for a while, but I think it helped that I was a boy; as I got older, we could help each other through it. Then, when I was old enough to start making choices about my future, I broke the news to Dad about the tree surgeon thing.’
‘How did he take it?’
‘Not very well,’ Joe said wryly, taking another sip from his glass. ‘He really wanted me to get away from here, get away from the memories, and be the first in the family to get a degree. I got the grades, but I didn’t want to go that way. I mean, who wants to end up with fifty grand’s worth of debt and no prospect of a job at the end of it? And, this is going to sound really weird, but just before I made the decision to apply for the course at Cannington, I went up to Westonbirt again. It was like the trees were calling to me, like Mum was saying it was OK, that I should follow my heart and do it.’ He swallowed another gulp of the cider. ‘And that was it. I took up the place, then, when I’d finished the course, I got the job back here.’
‘And apart from nearly smacking me with a branch, you seem to be doing really well.’ Meredith smiled, trying to disguise how touched she was that he’d confided so much in her.
‘To be fair, that was more your fault than mine,’ Joe replied.
‘You were the one holding the chainsaw.’ Meredith gave him a little nudge with her elbow, but the cider was having more of an effect than she’d realised and she overbalanced, nearly ending up in his lap.
‘Careful,’ Joe said, helping her to sit back up again. There was an almost imperceptible pause.
‘I’m a bit pissed,’ Meredith said, focussing her gaze on Joe’s clear blue eyes to try to ground herself.
‘Really?’ Joe replied softly. ‘I hadn’t noticed.’ Then, remembering where they were sitting, he shifted. ‘We should probably get off the top of this giant barrel before you fall off.’
‘I’ve been coming up here since I was a kid,’ Meredith said. ‘I’m fine.’
‘I’m sure,’ Joe said. ‘But just to be on the safe side, why don’t we carry on talking when we get back to ground level?’
‘Are you afraid of heights?’ Meredith teased as he stood up and held out a hand to help her to her feet.
‘Wouldn’t be much of a tree surgeon if I was,’ Joe replied.
Meredith had stood up so that she’d ended up very close to Joe again, and he still had hold of her hand. She chanced a look up at him, and found to her surprise that her mouth seemed to have a will of its own. Standing on tiptoe, swaying slightly from the effects of the cider, she placed a very gentle kiss on Joe’s lips. He stiffened at the contact, but then seemed to relax into the moment, and she was pleased to feel the pressure of her own lips returned.
‘I’m having a lovely time,’ she whispered, as their lips parted again.
Joe drew her closer to him once more, and slid his arms around her. Their second kiss was deeper, slower, more leisurely. Meredith forgot, for a moment, that they were standing on a wooden barrel thirty feet in the air, and began to relax into his arms.
‘Crikey,’ she said as they broke apart again. ‘I’m having a lovelier time now.’
‘Me too,’ Joe said. His pupils had dilated with the sheer pleasure of the kiss, and Meredith could feel his heart hammering against her own. ‘But now I really do feel dizzy. How about we continue this on the ground?’
‘Probably best,’ Meredith murmured. ‘I think I could do with a glass of water. Or six.’
Breaking apart a little to clamber back onto the steel gantry that ran around the top of the cider vats, they rejoined their hands as they wandered back down the steel steps, but neither felt too inclined to get back into the thick of the party. Maybe it was the cider, or perhaps the fact that Joe had confided in her, but Meredith was definitely feeling a rush of attraction. So soon after Flynn, she’d never thought it would happen, but she didn’t stop to think about it too closely. Live in the moment, she thought. And this was a very nice moment.
‘Do you want to walk me home?’ she said as they came out of the barn. She swayed on her feet.
‘I think that would be a very good idea.’ Joe slid an arm around her waist to steady her. ‘I don’t think your dad would be too happy if he saw you like this.’
‘Better make sure he doesn’t, then.’ Meredith let her head drop onto Joe’s shoulder.
‘Oh, no, you don’t!’ Joe chided gently, nudging Meredith back upright. ‘One foot in front of the other.’
They ambled back to Cowslip Barn, and by the time they’d got back, Meredith was swaying less on her feet. Stopping by the back door of the house, she leaned upwards and kissed Joe’s lips again, but before she could draw closer to him, he’d gently disentangled her arms from around his neck.
‘Steady,’ he said softly. ‘I think you need that glass of water.’
Meredith gave a lopsided smile. ‘Don’t you want to kiss me again?’
Joe’s hand in the small of Meredith’s back lingered, warm and firm. ‘You’ve no idea how much I want to. But I want to make sure you know that you want to, too.’
‘I do!’ Meredith, prone to bolshiness on the rare occasions when she’d drunk too much, protested. ‘Can’t you tell?’
Joe shook his head. ‘Then let’s try it again when we’re both sober.’
‘Spoilsport,’ Meredith muttered, but she let Joe lead her in through the back door, settle her on the sofa in the corner of the kitchen with a glass of water, and put the kettle on for some coffee. By the time the kettle had boiled, though, she’d fallen asleep on the sofa. When she woke, a couple of hours later, she found herself wrapped in a warm blanket, with a cushion under her head. A stone cold cup of coffee, a pint glass of water and a couple of paracetamol were next to her on the side table, and a note from Joe next to it which read:
Text me, if you want to, when your headache’s gone.
Grimacing as she felt the thump, thump, thump of a cider induced hangover encroaching on her brow, she swallowed the pills, finished the water and then poured the coffee down the sink. Looking at the kitchen clock and realising it was long after midnight, she assumed that Anna and her father had returned from the party and decided to let her sleep; the sofa was very comfortable, after all. She let Sefton, the family’s border collie, out into the back garden for a last pee and then slunk off to bed. Thanking her lucky stars that Joe had seen her to her door and made sure she was OK, she thought about the way the evening had turned out. Perhaps she would call him some time, when it didn’t feel as if there were elephants tap dancing in her brain.