Community Spirit – Episode 43
EVENTUALLY the tears subsided and Tasha wiped her eyes with her hands. She looked around the room.
“Mum, why have you got all this rubbish out of the cupboards?”
Jeannie looked around at the old DVDs, scented candles, broken ornaments and dusty picture frames and knew there was nothing of value. She’d have to be content with baking a few cakes for the fête.
“I was having a clear-out, that’s all,” she said as the doorbell rang. “Maybe that’s Cally coming back. You owe her an apology.”
“I know,” Tasha admitted, looking as pleased as if Jeannie had suggested she give up her mobile phone for a week.
It wasn’t Cally. It was Pamela.
“Just returning some Tupperware,” she said, handing over the brightly coloured dishes, then she fished in her handbag.
“There was one other thing,” she said. “In all the excitement of the curry and quiz night, we forgot to draw the raffle. I’ve just been to the Mucklebury Arms and Meredith did the honours. Guess what?”
Jeannie looked blank.
“You won!” Pamela cried. “Congratulations.”
She handed Jeannie an envelope which said Prize money with £50 written in neat handwriting below. On the top right-hand corner, in a different handwriting, was written Jeannie Dunn.
“Really?” Jeannie asked, suspicious. “This isn’t a ruse, is it?”
“Of course not,” Pamela replied curtly as Tasha came to join her mother.
Jeannie opened the envelope to find five crisp ten-pound notes inside.
“Thank you so much!” Jeannie cried.
“Don’t thank me. You bought the tickets, so one act of generosity is rewarded with another.”
Jeannie beamed.
“Actually, it was Nate who bought me the tickets as a thank-you for making the curries.”
“Then it’s him you need to thank,” Pamela said, backing out of the door. “Does this mean you’ll be able to have a stall on Saturday after all?”
The prize money, together with her earnings from Pamela’s dinner party, meant Jeannie now had the money she needed.
“Yes!” she said. “I’d love to.”