Mae had put four names on the sheet beside Ruby's stock list.
Ruby saw her own first. Then Mae, Dan, Jonah.
‘What's that?’
Mae glanced up from the laptop. ‘For tonight. We could all go down to the hall and work out where everything goes.’
‘Why all of us?’
‘Because we're all involved.’
‘Jonah's got his own stall.’
‘I know. He'll need to know where you are. Dan can show you the risers. Bev could let us in.’
Ruby took the sheet off the table. It wasn't a meeting she had agreed to, but her name looked quite settled there.
‘Have you arranged this?’
‘I've asked whether people can make it. Nothing's definite.’
‘Did you tell Dan I'd be there?’
Mae shut the laptop halfway. ‘I said it would make sense for you to be there.’
Ruby put the sheet down.
‘It doesn't make sense to me.’
‘It could save a lot of awkwardness on the day.’
‘Having the man I used to live with and the man I'm seeing in a room together won't save awkwardness.’
Mae held up one hand. ‘Fair. But they will be at the same market. We're not going to get through it pretending nobody knows anybody.’
Ruby had been feeling good all morning. She was tired in a pleasant way, her body still full of small reminders of Jonah's flat. Now she felt as if that private happiness had been dragged under the kitchen light.
‘We don't have to pretend,’ she said. ‘We also don't have to rehearse being normal for you.’
Mae's mouth tightened. ‘That's not what I'm asking.’
‘Then why does Jonah need to come?’
‘Because you like him, and I don't. Because Dan will be there, and it's better if everyone's met. Because I thought if we could actually talk—’
She stopped. Ruby waited.
‘You could see him properly?’ Ruby asked.
‘I've seen him properly.’
‘So there's no point.’
Mae looked hurt. Ruby could see it without being certain she'd done anything unfair.
‘I've spent days helping with this,’ Mae said.
‘I know. The sign's lovely. The stand plan's better. I want your help. I don't want this.’
It sounded abrupt. Ruby left it abrupt.
She opened her phone and called Bev. Mae sat back while it rang.
Bev answered from somewhere noisy. Ruby explained that there would be no group meeting tonight. She could check the equipment on her own if the hall was open. Jonah could make his own arrangements.
‘Fine by me,’ Bev said. ‘Mae asked for keys. I hadn't sorted them. You can come before four if you need to.’
‘Thank you.’
‘While I've got you, do you still want to know about hiring the little room for classes?’
Ruby looked at Mae, then away. ‘Yes, please.’
Bev told her there were two weekday evenings free after the market. Ruby asked her to send the rates. It felt good to be discussing a room with a price and a door she could open herself.
When the call ended, Mae was looking at her hands.
‘I've told Bev it isn't happening,’ Ruby said. ‘I'll tell Dan. You can still send the setup details. I just don't want you arranging anything personal.’
‘I wasn't calling it personal.’
‘It was.’
Mae nodded once, reluctantly. Ruby put her own stock list back in the middle of the table, with the four-name sheet underneath it.
Dan answered her message with Understood. Anything you need, ask. Ruby put the phone away.
‘He won't be angry with you,’ Ruby added.
Mae looked up. ‘I wasn't worried about that.’
‘All right.’
They worked in silence for several minutes. Mae marked three pieces as ready to pack. Ruby added two she'd brought back from the studio that morning. The interruption hadn't made them disappear. There was still work to finish.
At the bottom of the page Mae wrote tape, scissors, bags in her large clear hand. Ruby looked at it and felt the usual urge to make peace at once.
‘You can ask me first,’ she said. ‘That's all I'm saying.’
‘I thought I was doing something good.’
‘I know.’
Mae drew a line under the list. ‘I'll leave it.’
Ruby wanted to thank her, but it was something she should not have had to ask for. She got up and put on her coat instead.
At the hall she opened Dan's grey cover, stretched it over the table and stood back. The risers unfolded without a wobble. She put one bowl on the higher platform and another below it. The arrangement worked immediately.
She took a photograph for Mae, then hesitated before sending it. She didn't want the day to remain a quarrel, or to act as if nothing had happened.
She sent it with a simple message.
This is the layout. Your plan was right.
Mae replied with a red heart. Ruby returned one, then folded the equipment back into the store. She kept the keys until she'd told Bev she was leaving.
On her way home she opened the room-hire email. One date suited her. She wrote it on the back of her hand so she wouldn't forget to look properly later.