I can’t take it in. I’m still too dumbfounded to speak.
Mum rushes on, ‘You’d still be running the place and making all the decisions, but Betty and Doreen would finance the initial stage and help you out in the café. You wouldn’t mind that, would you?’
‘No, of course not. But …’
‘But?’
‘It’s far too big a gamble, Mum. What if they invest their money, thinking it’s all going to be fabulous, then it fails spectacularly. I’d feel absolutely terrible. And I wouldn’t be able to pay them back. At least not straight away.’
She nods. ‘I know. And of course nothing is guaranteed in business. But Betty and Doreen are both intelligent women. They know all about the risks in ventures like this, but they’re both convinced that a treehouse café would be something really special and they want to be part of it.’ She smiles. ‘I think they’re looking for a bit of excitement in their lives. You wouldn’t deny them that, now, would you?’
‘But how would I pay them back?’
Mum frowns. ‘I’m not great with legal stuff but Betty seems to think there’s a way for you to pay them back gradually, from the proceeds of the business.’
I shake my head slowly. ‘But you’re always so cautious, Mum. It’s Dad who’s the adventurous one. I can’t believe you’re so enthusiastic about this … this wild idea!’
She smiles sadly. ‘Listen, love, if I’ve learned anything from your dad being so ill, it’s that you only have one life to live and it can be over in a flash. Just like that.’ She snaps her fingers. ‘So why not really live it while you can? Have an adventure. Take a risk.’ She shrugs. ‘As long as it’s a calculated risk, of course.’
I take a deep breath and stare out over the garden to the fields beyond, and Lake Heath in the distance. Something stirs inside. A little leap of excitement at the thought of what a café in Dad’s treehouse could be like.
‘Well, what do you think?’ asks Mum.
‘I think … ’ Turning towards her, I can’t believe what I’m about to say. I’m quivering inside with a strange sort of nervous exhilaration ‘I think Betty and Doreen are right. People would be fascinated to come up here and drink their coffee among the treetops.’
I swallow hard.
‘I think it might actually work, Mum.’
*****
Later, after I’ve waved Mum off on the London train, I walk home, deep in thought. Wandering out into the garden, I climb the ladder to the treehouse and sit on the window seat inside, staring out at Honey Cottage. A summer breeze drifts in through the open window and I try to imagine what it would be like to have enough room up here for tables and chairs, and a proper walkway entrance so everyone – young and old – was able to come inside.
Could it really work?
Before we parted, Mum said she was going to transfer a little money into my account so I could keep going financially while I decided what to do. I hated the thought of taking what little savings she had, but she was really insistent.
She took my hands and said, ‘I believe in you, love. Your dad and I both do. You’ll be a success, whatever you decide to do.’
I grimace, remembering her words. They both believe in me. No pressure there, then!
One of the things that makes me very wary is having to get Theo involved. I’d need his carpenter friend’s contact details.
My heart sinks every time I imagine seeking him out at the gym. I’m not at all sure I want to see Theo again after what happened the other night. It will just be so awkward. I’ll have to make it very clear that all I need from him is his help with the treehouse café – namely, an introduction to his friend, Jake.
From now on, as far as my relationship with Theo Steel is concerned, it has to be strictly business …
Chapter 26
It’s a week later, and I’m sitting in the back seat of Theo Steel’s car, trying to hear what he and Paloma are talking about in the front.
We began by trying to have a three-way conversation, but I was finding it too much of a strain having to lean forward all the time to hear, so eventually I sat back and took out my notebook and pen, pretending I needed to plan my baking for the following week. The week since Mum dropped the bombshell that Betty and Doreen wanted to invest in the café has taken its toll on me and I feel really tired. All I want to do is relax and watch the scenery go by. The trouble is, I also want to know what’s being said in the front!
We’re on our way to meet Theo’s carpenter friend, Jake, who lives near Brighton and has a business creating bespoke playhouses. Apparently, Theo knows him from way back, when they went to school together in Lake Heath, and he’s already spoken to him about the possibility of building a treehouse big enough to house a café.
I love the whole idea of extending Dad’s lovely treehouse into a café and my heart beats a little faster every time I imagine what it would look like. But it still seems pretty unreal to me somehow. There are so many practical uncertainties to consider, and the financing of it is worrying me the most. I mean, a bespoke treehouse is not going to come cheap, and it’s Betty and Doreen’s money!
Feeling a bit left out, I lean forward slightly and manage to catch a snatch of their conversation.
‘Oh God, what a poser!’ Paloma turns to Theo’s profile and laughs.
‘I know. So this poor guy
