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Chapter 25
Amelia-Rose's wedding dress was completely ruined by the tears so she sadly packed it away.
She found her credit card and checkbook and started to think about how she could get to the local market town without transport since it was over 7 miles away.
Suddenly, there was a cheerful knock at the door. It was the postman. He handed over the mail with a formal smile.
"Thanks for putting up the poster, we already made several ticket sales and they were probably down to you."
"I'm glad I could help," she said. "I was just going out and it's a long walk down to the main road. I wonder if I could scrounge a lift from you?"
His face clouded over with concern.
"I'm afraid it's completely against company policy," he said. "I could lose my job."
Amelia-Rose looked disappointed.
"But I suppose if it is only down to the main road, nobody is going to see you," he relented.
Amelia-Rose gave him her best smile, grabbed her things and followed him down the pathway to his van.
As he carefully negotiated the small country roads, he introduced himself.
"You can call me Angus," he said. "Everyone around here calls me Angus."
"And you can call me Amelia-Rose. I hope that everyone around here will call me Amelia-Rose. Over the weekend I met lots of people who enjoy playing music. I didn't realize what a flourishing community you have around here."
"It's a great place to live, if you can afford it," said Angus. "But there aren't many jobs and the few that come up are usually reserved for friends of friends or family."
"That sounds a bit unfair. Surely it should go to the best person for the job."
Angus slowed down almost to a stop to allow a tractor to pass. He waved casually and called out a welcome to the driver through his open window.
"It's the art of the practical," he said. "Small country communities only ever survive by their fingertips. The smallest advantages have to be grasped with both hands. It's all very well being fair, but it doesn't put bread on the table. Outsiders are welcome, if they bring money with them or, better still, jobs. But you can't blame the country people for not wanting to be pushed out from where they have their roots."
Amelia-Rose nodded.
"I suppose I have always been lucky to have enough money in my pocket for my needs. My ex-husband was always a high earner and my only job was to look after him."
Angus looked sideways at her. "It's going to be a bit of a change for you then," he said. "I hope it doesn't come as a shock."
"I've always believed that there was plenty of ways for everybody to earn a living. My philosophy is if you're a hard worker you can make your way."
Angus looked unconvinced as he slowed down and stopped the van.
"I'll drop you off here," he said. "If you go round the corner, you will find the bus stop. I'd rather not take you all the way because somebody might see you."
Amelia-Rose jumped out quickly, thanked him and he drove off.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before the bus arrived. There hadn't been anybody else at the bus stop and when the bus came it was almost empty. Half-an-hour later, she was at her destination. Although it was the largest town for 20 miles around, it was very quiet. She soon found a small business where the car prices looked reasonable.
The car salesman was very old and doubled as the pump attendant for the petrol. But he had all the answers for her questions and, within 20 minutes, Amelia-Rose had decided on an old Citroen 2CV she felt had character and wouldn't use much petrol. The friendly man took her credit card and ran it through his online credit checking system.
He stopped suddenly looking surprised.
"I'm very sorry, m'dear, but your credit card company had just indicated for me to cut your card up. They won't give you the credit. I truly am sorry. You are welcome to buy the car of course if you could pay by check or maybe even cash."
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