But she dismissed the notion as a result of the unexpected emotion of the moment. That was all.
Wasn’t it?
25
Amber had assumed that Josh had dismissed the coffee machine idea that she had mentioned the previous day as he hadn’t brought it up since. But, to her amazement, Belle staggered into the shop the following morning with a massive box in her hands.
‘Where do you want it?’ said Belle, handing it over to Josh before rubbing her sore arms.
‘What on earth is that?’ asked Amber, clearing the counter to make space.
‘You wanted a coffee machine and your wish is my command,’ Josh told her, putting it down onto the counter with a grunt.
‘Really?’ Amber peered into the top of the open box. ‘It’s enormous,’ she said, looking down at the silver and black machine.
It appeared to have several buttons on the front and a small screen. On top of the machine were various plastic canisters which were discoloured and dusty.
‘It’s filthy,’ he told her, with a grimace, before looking up at Belle.
Belle held up her hands. ‘You had the conversation with my uncle about needing a coffee machine. I’m just the delivery girl. Nobody said anything about cleaning the thing.’
‘Are there any instructions?’ asked Amber.
‘In the box,’ said Belle. ‘It was quite simple, from what I remember. It’s just it’s barely been used, to be honest. Nobody ever comes into the pub for a coffee.’
Josh brought out his wallet and handed Belle fifty pounds in notes. ‘Payment as agreed,’ he said.
‘Does it work?’ asked Amber, looking at the machine once more.
‘I’ll have my fifty quid back if it doesn’t,’ said Josh with a pointed look at Belle. ‘Anyway, it’s all yours,’ he told Amber. ‘I expect the shop to be full of customers once the aroma of freshly brewed coffee starts drifting out into the lane.’
With the ghost of a wink, he headed out.
Amber giggled to herself before she realised Belle was still standing there watching her. ‘You two make a cute couple,’ said Belle, looking at her.
‘Oh no,’ said Amber, violently shaking her head. ‘I’m just an old friend of the family.’
‘So not cousins or anything?’
‘No,’ said Amber, tucking her hair behind her ear.
‘Excellent. So it’s all legal. So what are you waiting for?’ asked Belle, giving her a wink before she turned to leave. ‘The tractor looks much better, by the way.’
Still blushing, Amber decided to concentrate on getting hold of the instructions for the coffee machine and reading them through. It took her almost the remainder of the morning to clean out the whole machine, especially the empty canisters, which were terribly tarnished. But after some hard scrubbing, the machine was gleaming. She filled up one of the canisters with some filter coffee from a packet in the shop, she plugged it into a socket in the wall and, after sending up a brief prayer as she placed a mug underneath, switched it on.
She went to stand on the other side of the counter whilst it made various dubious noises but soon, to her surprise, it was bubbling away and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee was in the air.
The bell above the door rang as Frank stepped into the shop.
‘Good afternoon,’ he said, stopping briefly after shutting the door behind him. ‘My word!’ He stared in amazement at the tractor gleaming red in the middle of the shop.
‘What do you think?’ asked Amber.
‘What a stunning colour,’ said Frank, before sniffing the air. ‘What’s that lovely smell?’
‘Hopefully it’s coffee rather than paint and fumes,’ Amber told him. ‘We have a new coffee machine,’ she added, pointing at the large silver machine behind the till. ‘Just installed and ready for its trial run.’
‘Well, that’s a welcome sight. How much is a cup of coffee?’ he asked.
‘One pound,’ she told him, off the top of her head. After all, it was only coffee and water.
‘Excellent,’ he said with a smile. ‘I shall have to bring my thermos mug across. I do miss having a decent coffee now that I’m retired.’
‘Doesn’t mean that you’ll get any here though,’ said Josh, walking in.
‘Nonsense,’ said Frank. ‘They’ll be lining up the street, I’m sure. Especially when I tell my workers next door about it.’
Frank’s prediction of how popular the coffee machine would be turned out to be almost true as the staff from the newspaper offices began to head over for a coffee.
‘Fill her up,’ said Tom, the editor, holding out a large mug. ‘I need something to offset that disgusting house wine at the Mucky Duck last night.’
‘Mucky Duck?’ asked Amber, trying to work out what he meant.
‘Let’s face it, The Black Swan is far too elegant a name for that place,’ said Tom.
‘You drank the house wine at the pub?’ asked Josh, his eyes raised.
Tom grimaced. ‘Never again. Thanks,’ he added as Amber handed over the coffee. ‘How drunk was I that I don’t recall a large red tractor in the middle of this place yesterday?’ he carried on, before taking a welcome sip of his drink.
‘It was covered up until last night,’ said Amber. ‘What do you think?’
‘It’s, er, different,’ he said, with a smile.
Josh gave Amber a look but said nothing.
Molly rushed into the shop next. ‘Oooh! I heard there was coffee in here!’ she said before stopping dead. ‘Nice tractor! What a lovely colour!’
‘Go on then,’ said Tom, with a dramatic sigh. ‘This drink’s on me.’
‘Thanks, boss,’ said Molly, smiling, holding out her mug.
Amber filled it up and handed it back to Molly.
‘Where are the doughnuts?’ asked Tom, looking around. ‘Buns? Anything bread-based? I need carbs to mop up my headache.’
Amber shook her head. ‘Sorry. No bakery-type things apart from bread. We’ve got some boxes of biscuits on special offer though.’ She pointed to where they had made a display on one of the shelves.
Tom headed over and picked up a box. ‘That’ll do,’ he said.
‘Mmm, Jammie Dodgers,’ said Molly, looking at the list of biscuits on the box.
‘Oi! Get your own,’ snapped Tom, before putting down some coins on the counter. But Amber saw him give Molly a friendly nudge with his elbow before he headed out of the shop.
On his way out, Tom passed Belle on the veranda. ‘Is the coffee machine working?’ she asked, coming inside and closing the door. ‘I thought I’d better check that it hadn’t blown up or anything.’
‘It’s brilliant,’ Amber told her.
‘Great,’ said Belle, before looking at Molly. ‘My aunt and uncle run the pub and want to throw everyone from the newspaper a party on Friday night to welcome you all to the village.’
‘Really?’ Molly looked thrilled. ‘How lovely.’
‘I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much,’ Belle told her with a grimace. ‘And you might want to eat before you get there.’