Our eyes lock and my heart gives a funny little skip. Back in the day, we used to crave time alone together like this, away from family, teachers, school friends. We had our favourite places to meet. There was a secluded spot by the stream running through the woods in Lake Heath. It was our special place …
‘Penny for them?’ I whisper.
He smiles sadly. ‘We were good together, you and I. Weren’t we?’
‘We were,’ I agree, giving him the reassurance he seems to need. I sit down next to him and we smile at each other. He reaches over and takes my hand, and my heart does another funny little flutter.
‘I’m sorry about you and Lucy,’ I say carefully. ‘But maybe it’s for the best? I always thought you were much too good for her.’
He squeezes my hand and shifts in his chair, never taking his eyes off my face, and I wonder if he’s going to kiss me. My heart starts to beat faster.
Then the door opens and in walk Doreen and Betty, exclaiming over how hot it is outside. Betty fans her face with her purse.
For a moment, I feel disorientated, still inhabiting the distant past, down by the stream with Jason. Then I remember where I am and rise swiftly to my feet, clicking smoothly into professional mode.
‘Ladies! Great to see you. What can I get you today?’
*****
That night, I lie in a bath of scented bubbles, reflecting on the day.
My eyes feel heavy with tiredness.
It was a real body blow, seeing that article in the local paper about Lucy and Olivia, reporting how well the Clean Food Café was performing. That kind of publicity is like gold dust and will no doubt have even more intrigued customers beating a path to their door.
I hold up the soggy sponge and squeeze it slowly, watching the hot water cascade down my arm. There’s no doubt about it. Lucy is winning the battle of the Hart’s End cafés hands down, and I’ve no idea what to do to reverse the trend. Or even if it’s possible. Maybe Lucy possesses an instinct for business that I just don’t have.
I throw down the sponge, making a satisfying splash.
I will not be beaten by a horrible bully like Lucy Slater! Business acumen can be learned, can’t it? Just like most skills. I’m certainly not giving up – not yet, anyway. I just have to find that Unique Selling Point that Paloma is always talking about.
Thinking of Paloma, I start wondering whether she’s heard anything from Sylvia. Paloma’s been so bloody brave, forging on with her career and life in general since Linda passed away. It would be so wonderful if she were to track her birth mother down. But what are the chances? For every ecstatic reunion, there’s sure to be a not-so-happy ending also. That’s just the way life is.
I lever myself out of the scented water and reach for a bath towel. Family is everything. I can’t imagine what it’s like to feel totally alone in the world. The thought of losing Dad makes my heart contract painfully.
Paloma is amazing. I don’t think I’d be half as brave as her if the worst were to happen …
Chapter 20
A week goes by and the buzz around Lucy & Olivia’s Clean Food Café is showing no signs of dispersing.
In humiliating contrast, business is far from brisk at The Twilight Café. Starbucks, it’s fair to say, can definitely rest easy.
I can actually count the number of regular customers on the fingers of two hands – possibly three, if you factor in our local postie, who often calls for a quick espresso after finishing his rounds. I feel silly now thinking of how excited I was before the café opened – what high hopes I had for its success.
On the plus side, after doing the accounts, I was able to report to Paloma that the café almost broke even last week.
That, of course, was down to the loyal patronage of friends like Betty and Doreen, who’ve been in for coffee and cake practically every day since I opened. The girls I was friendly with at school have also been great at showing their support. Some of them are mums now, and they’ve started meeting here several times a week. They bring their toddlers and babies to play in the pre-school activity area I’ve set up, while they drink strong coffee and chat gloomily about how lack of sleep can actually kill you.
Some of Mum’s friends from the WI also come in from time to time. They think it’s an absolute scandal how Lucy sabotaged my big opening day, and they’re apparently spreading the word, hoping that people will start boycotting the Clean Food Café. (She’s not just ‘Lucy’ to them any more, she’s ‘That Lucy Slater’.)
I’m so thankful to the people who are supporting me. They keep me going through my most despairing times, such as the mornings when I don’t have a single customer through the door.
Today, I’ve got the ‘mums and babies’ in, which I like. It’s a stark contrast to the dead silence I’ve grown to dread. Betty is also here with her daughter, Jess, and sitting at another table are a couple I don’t know at all, which is quite a novelty. I’m relatively run off my feet this afternoon!
I’m through the back, stacking cups and plates into the dishwasher when I hear the door open. Checking my reflection in the little mirror by the fridge, I try out a welcoming smile and then hurry through to greet the arrivals.
One customer. My heart skips nervously.
Theo Steel.
He’s dressed in worn jeans and a white polo shirt, the usual sports bag hitched high over his shoulder. He glances around him then spots me behind the counter and strolls over, fixing me with one of his lazy smiles. Several of the mums lose track of their conversation, I notice, preferring to study Theo’s progress instead.
‘Twilight. Hello. You’re busy.’ He glances round approvingly.
‘This is unusual,’
