Page 31 of The Breakup Bookshop

I’m lying in a very strange position on the ground taking videos of my new cabinet for a DIY transformation TikTok when Donna’s voice fills the space.

‘Ava, why are you lying on the floor like a murder victim?’

‘I’m filming.’

‘Oh, shit, sorry,’ she replies, before gasping and whispering, ‘Oh shit, quieter sorry.’

‘It’s fine, I’ll play music over it anyway,’ I say, as I scramble to my feet. ‘May I introduce you to my new cabinet? Isn’t she a beauty?’

Donna runs her fingers along the gilded edges. ‘Ah, yes, she’s gorgeous. God bless her, and all who sail in her. I take it you’ll be painting her?’

‘Bright yellow.’

‘Course you are,’ she says. ‘You are to interiors what I am to hair: always desperate to get a makeover on the go. Speaking of which, we could get you booked in for your own transformation before the bookshop opening. Have you decided on a date?’

‘Next Saturday.’

‘And is Rory going to paint your mural on time? Or was that a drunken promise?’

‘Yes, he’s starting it tomorrow. Very reluctantly, but he’s doing it. I think I had a bit too much on the old whisky front… Suppose I got a bit swept up in the moment – not by Rory!’ I say, feeling the need to explain myself, although Donna doesn’t seem concerned. ‘It was everyone else’s company. What about you and Finlay, though? What’s the deal between you two?’

‘No idea what you mean.’ She shrugs, although her cheeks flush again. ‘How did you manage to get Eilidh on a night out, anyway? I didn’t want to say while she was sitting there, but she’s not been seen inside a bar in the village for about a decade!’

I note Donna’s fly attempt to change the subject from Finlay and make a mental note to revisit it at a later date.

‘I asked her when I went to speak to her about financial planning.’

‘Did you meet her husband?’

I shake my head, vowing to keep Eilidh’s secret. I know the last thing she needs right now is to be the centre of the village’s gossip mill.

‘He’s a tosser,’ Donna whispers, even though there is no one around. ‘Total waste of space.’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘Just passing on an opinion, based on fact,’ she says, tapping the side of her nose to indicate she has a secret. I wonder if the whole village knows about Mark’s indiscretions. ‘He’s always been up his own arse, thinking he was too good for this place. When he first moved here, he made such a big deal of the fact that he sacrificed everything to come to live in Ullapool because that’s what Eilidh wanted. And then she stopped coming to all the usual events she used to love: the fete, the bake sales, the ceilidhs, everything. We’ve barely seen her since she married him even though she’s just up the road. No one would be sorry to see the back of him.’

I look over Donna’s shoulder to see Eilidh at the shop’s front door.

‘Eilidh!’ I exclaim. ‘Come in!’

Donna almost jumps out of her skin.

‘Oh, Ava, hi, sorry to interrupt,’ Eilidh says. ‘And hi, Donna! How are you?’

Donna shifts awkwardly from one foot to the other, wondering if she’s been caught in the middle of her gossip session. ‘I’m great, thanks. You?’

‘I was just popping by to thank Ava for this book,’ Eilidh smiles, handing the paperback to me. ‘I couldn’t put it down. When I got back from the pub, I had to stay up all night and finish it. It sounds silly, but it feels so good to finish a book again! It’s like I’m me again, you know?’

I’m so pleased to hear it that I don’t even question how Eilidh managed to keep her eyes open, never mind read abook, after our whisky-fuelled session. Scottish people must be born with some sort of magical whisky-repelling powers. My head gives another timely thump, like it’s agreeing with me.

‘Oh my God, Eilidh, I know exactly what you mean!’ Donna says. ‘I’ve started a book that Ava gave me, too, and I’m loving it. It feels so good to be reading again.’

‘We should start a book club,’ I suggest. ‘We could get together, drink some wine and chat about our latest reads?’

‘Not whisky?’ Eilidh asks, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

‘Definitely not,’ I shudder. ‘I’ve banned myself.’