Page 89 of The Village of Lost and Found

‘It doesn’t hurt too much?’ asked Tom.

Frank glanced over his shoulder. ‘Sometimes,’ he said. ‘Don’t tell my niece though. It’s just because it’s healing.’ He gestured at a nearby bench. ‘Shall we sit for a moment?’

They both sat down under the dappled shade of a nearby tree, looking out across the river. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, watching a duck wading slowly across.

‘How are you?’ asked Frank, still looking out across the river.

‘Good, thanks,’ said Tom.

‘Glad to hear it,’ said Frank. ‘You look it too, if I might say.’

Tom looked down at his rapidly shrinking stomach. ‘The running helps.’

At least that was getting easier with each passing day, he thought. That morning, he had added another mile to his run and had barely noticed the difference.

‘Mentally as well, it would seem,’ murmured Frank. ‘You appear much happier in yourself.’

‘I really am.’

It was the first time Tom had admitted it even to himself, but he felt far more positive than he had done for many months, perhaps even years.

‘It’s even reflected in your editorials,’ said Frank, smiling. ‘I’ve lost count of the number of people that have commented on it to me in recent days.’

‘It’s just a shame that the newspaper profits don’t reflect that,’ said Tom, turning to look at him.

‘Ah.’ Frank sighed. ‘So there’s been no increase in sales at all? Even with all this ghastly business about the quarry?’

Tom looked at him. ‘There’s been a slight uptick in sales.’ But not enough to make a huge difference over the future for the newspaper. He didn’t need to say the words out loud. Frank understood.

‘I see.’ Frank nodded thoughtfully. ‘Well, my niece keeps telling me that she’ll think of something. And I’ve learnt never to underestimate her.’

‘Absolutely,’ said Tom.

Lucy was certainly a positive force around the place. But without the extra funds coming in, he wasn’t sure how much longer they could afford to even pay her meagre wages.

He desperately didn’t want her to leave. He couldn’t imagine not seeing her every day. He kept trying to tell himself that it was because she was a friend. They had been through so much together. That was all.

Whatever it was, he hoped that particular argument would become more convincing. Because at that moment, he didn’t believe it himself.

48

The heat had built up until, by the end of the week, Cranbridge was in the middle of a full-on heatwave.

As a result, pace of life in the village had slowed down. Which was a good thing, thought Lucy. Because she had finished her tidying of the newspaper office and was pretty much twiddling her thumbs thinking of something to do.

By contrast, Molly was flat out with her social media accounts. So much so that when they went to sit by the river in their lunch break, Molly ended up dashing around taking photos of people enjoying their ice creams in the sunshine.

Lucy had even been coerced into paddling in the river to capture the moment for the next post.

‘Splash around a bit,’ called out Molly from the other side of the river.

Lucy looked at her. ‘Do you know how cold this is?’ she asked, before looking down at her feet in the clear water. Thank God she’d painted her toenails the previous evening whilst watching television with Molly.

‘Come on,’ said Molly. ‘Look as if you’re enjoying yourself.’

Lucy stuck her tongue out at Molly before finally breaking into a smile.

‘That’s great!’ called out Molly. ‘Let me just get a few more.’