Page 57 of Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm

Flora blushed whilst Nico smiled in return.

‘Let me give you both a hug,’ said Grams, pulling them both forward into a group hug. ‘You’ve done the farm proud with all your hard work.’

Flora gave her grandmother a squeeze, accidentally squeezing Nico’s hand at the same time. She quickly stepped backwards.

‘Well, I’ll do one last walk around before leaving them to it this evening,’ she said.

‘I’ll join you,’ said Grams.

They left Nico to walk across the courtyard. But once at the gate, Flora stopped at the sound of laughter and conversation drifting past the open gate.

It was such a happy scene, she thought. Some people were sitting outside their tents, with a glass of wine enjoying the warmth of the sun before it began to sank down behind the hills. The view across the valley that evening was stunning, lit from the golden rays of the sun.

People with young families were enjoying the wildflower meadows, the children letting off steam. There were even a few spirited card games going on. Some people had takeaway pizza boxes from Platform 1 and Flora was glad that everyone was benefitting from the good fortunes of Strawberry Hill Farm.

And hopefully it was good fortune, she thought. Hopefully, this was a good omen because didn’t they deserve a bit of luck after so much misfortune? Surely even the weather would hold for them this time?

She suddenly felt a hand come into hers and turned her head to see Grams looking a little tearful.

‘Are you okay?’ Flora asked, aghast. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘Absolutely nothing, my darling girl,’ said Grams, reaching up with her other weathered hand to stroke her granddaughter’s cheek. ‘Just that you did it.’

‘With a lot of help from Nico,’ Flora added.

Grams nodded. ‘Yes, he helped. But I was thinking back to before he came. All that hardship. All those wet, muddy days, weeks and months. All that worry. And now?’ She turned her head to look over the campsite. ‘Now, life has finally returned to the farm. It almost feels like it did years and years ago. When everyone used to come and help us pick the strawberries.’

‘You know, we could start that up again,’ said Flora, suddenly thinking of an idea.

‘What? Pick your own?’ said Grams, looking delighted.

‘Why not?’ Flora looked at the field full of happy campers. ‘I think the campers would enjoy it. It’ll save us some of the back-breaking work. And perhaps the old ways will help us get through all these new days.’

‘Sometimes change isn’t as bad as you think,’ said Grams. ‘It might even be good.’

‘I think you’re right,’ conceded Flora, laughing as she drew her grandmother into a hug.

And maybe Grams was right. Maybe she needed to embrace change and learn to let go a bit. For all of their sakes.

34

Nico was feeling immensely relieved that all the campers seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Still, he waited for Flora and Grams to return to ask if there were any problems.

‘Not at all,’ said Flora, with a relieved smile when they arrived back at the farmhouse.

‘Can I ask you something?’ he asked Flora, as Grams headed inside. ‘Do you think there’s enough for people to do here?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Should we provide games or something else?’ he suggested. ‘I know we’ve got the view and all that, and people come here to relax, but isn’t that going to be a bit boring for some people?’

‘There’s enough in the local area to keep them busy,’ Flora told him. ‘There’s a nice walk into Cranbridge. Food and drink nearby. Maybe people just want to sit and do nothing but read a book or whatever. Sounds like bliss to me.’

He was surprised to see her smile to herself. ‘I would have thought you’d hate just sitting around doing nothing,’ he told her.

‘Chance would be a fine thing,’ she replied. ‘Imagine having the time to do absolutely nothing but watch the clouds go by.’