Josh went to speak but found no words coming out. It was hardly the massive changes that were required. He supposed it was a start, but how could two windows change their fortunes for the better?
8
Amber had agreed to create a new window display for Cranbridge Stores, mainly because it made her godmother happier than she had seen her since she’d arrived.
‘I’m so pleased you can do this for us,’ said Cathy, putting her arm around Amber’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze before looking up at Josh. ‘What do you think?’
‘If you think it’ll help,’ he said, with a shrug.
Despite being riddled with self-doubt, Amber felt a small flush of indignance. Was he questioning her expertise? ‘The point of any kind of window dressing is to draw in customers,’ she found herself saying in a prim tone of voice.
‘There!’ said Cathy, with a firm nod. ‘What she said. Amber, you do whatever you want with the windows. After all, you’re the one with the training and talent.’
Amber saw Josh’s face drop at his mother’s words.
‘I think I’ll just go and see it from the outside,’ she said, anxious not to get in the middle of yet another argument. So she headed outside to get a view of the windows from the road in front of the shop.
It was a beautiful morning, with not a single cloud in the pale blue sky. The low sun was peeping through the yellowing leaves of the trees lining the riverbank. The dappled light danced off the slow-running river as it carried on through the village.
All around there were the telltale signs that autumn had begun, from the rustling of the dried leaves picked up by a soft breeze to the trees ablaze in golden and crimson hues.
Heading down the steps from the veranda and onto the lane, she couldn’t resist bending down to pick up a bright red maple leaf that had caught on her trainers.
‘Good morning,’ said a voice.
She turned round to find Stanley walking slowly towards her. ‘Good morning,’ she replied.
‘Isn’t it a beautiful one?’ he said, smiling appreciatively at the view all around them.
She nodded. ‘It is. Are you heading in for your newspaper?’
‘Plus a couple of extra tins for the harvest festival at the church this weekend. It seems to have come around so quickly and all I appear to be is another year older.’ He paused and looked at her. ‘And what are your plans for this fine day?’
‘I’ve been tasked with decorating the front windows,’ she told him.
‘How lovely,’ he said, nodding his approval. ‘I cleaned mine just last week.’
As Stanley went up the stairs and into the shop, Amber gave the two large bay windows a proper look.
Stanley had a point. Both windows were dusty and grimy, which was hardly the right starting point for a big display. So her first job was going to be cleaning them inside and out.
She went back inside and began to clear the clutter of goods that were in front of the window. Thankfully both Josh and Cathy appeared to be busying themselves elsewhere in the shop and flat so she was left to her own devices which suited Amber just fine.
Amongst all the tins and boxes on the windowsills, she found a few dead bugs as well as some dried leaves which had obviously been swept in when the front door had been open. The leaves were quite pretty as they were obviously from the large oak tree, so she put them to one side.
Once cleared, she was pleased to find that the window ledges were quite wide so would hold a substantial display. Once she had decided on the theme, of course. That piece of inspiration was still eluding her.
For now she decided to concentrate on the cleaning. Grabbing a bucket from the back room, she filled it with washing-up liquid and hot water before beginning to soap down both the windows and ledges.
‘Here,’ said Grandma Tilly, handing her a shammy leather once she had finished. ‘I’m sure all of this is a bit of a comedown from that fancy department store though.’
‘It was never that glamorous,’ Amber told her.
And it was true. The majority of her work had been toiling in the tight window spaces, using sellotape, glue and anything else that would hold the elaborate displays together. From the front window, they were fabulous and artistic, but from behind they were far less glamorous.
As she wiped down the window ledge, she realised that it would be seen from both inside and outside the shop and therefore she didn’t have the luxury to hide any staging. It would have to work from every angle.
‘So sad that you were made redundant,’ carried on Tilly. ‘You must have loved that job.’
Amber’s smile faltered. Had she loved that job? Only the actual design part. The head of window dressing had been a difficult woman who took the credit for a number of Amber’s ideas. She had been sour to work with and there had always been an atmosphere. In retrospect, it had been a small relief to have been made redundant, although it had left her both jobless and homeless.
Something must have shown in her face as Amber realised that Tilly was studying her. She quickly carried on polishing the glass.
‘This is a super space to use,’ said Amber, changing the subject. ‘Really wide and deep, which will be great.’
‘I’ve always loved these windows,’ said Tilly. ‘I used to pop a small Christmas tree in one of them when Advent arrived.’
‘You should do the same this year,’ Amber told her.
Tilly made a face. ‘Think I’ll leave that kind of thing to you, dear. I should probably just stick to my knitting. After all, I’m surplus to requirements these days.’
But Tilly’s words had no pleasing tone and Amber wondered whether she felt at a bit of a loose end now that she had moved out of the flat upstairs.
When she had finished cleaning, Amber went outside to look at the windows once more, this time from the veranda. At least the light now bounced off the newly polished glass. The problem now was what to fill the space with.
Deep in thought, she stepped down from the veranda and back onto the lane. She stood and stared around the village. Autumn, she thought. Lots of yellows, oranges and reds. Nature. A time of harvest moons and storing up for winter. She thought about the leaves that had been swept inside onto the windowsill. Then she remembered what Stanley had said about the harvest festival. Perhaps that was an idea.
She had a sudden vision of checked red and white cloth, on top of which were some pumpkins. Apples, as well. Some rosy, some green. Leaves, of course, in all the autumnal colours. Maybe some twigs. Fairy lights for the darkening days.
That was it! She had her theme. She just hoped it would look as good in real life as it did in her mind.
Feeling excited, Amber headed back into the shop for supplies. The shop was surely full of things that she could use?
‘Is it OK if I borrow a few bits and pieces from around the shop for the display?’ she asked Cathy.
‘Of course,’ said Cathy, beaming. ‘What kind of things are you looking for?’
‘Glue, string, fairy lights,’ said Amber.
Cathy looked surprised. ‘I think that kind of thing is in the back room.’
‘Have you any kind of spare material as well?’ asked Amber. ‘Like an old tablecloth or something?’
Cathy and Grandma Tilly looked at each other. ‘Aren’t there a couple of rolls of material in the corner near the stairs?’ said Tilly.