‘Okay.’ Cat pushed open the swing door with her bum and they went back into the lounge to eat the rest of the delicious food, yet Nell wasn’t totally satisfied. There was something deeper going on, Nell was sure of it. She had a feeling it was to do with this wedding dress business and if Cat wasn’t going to stand up for herself, she was going to have to do it for her.
Chapter 8
Tom’s Saturday morning ended up far busier than usual. After he’d arrived, he kept his coat on because the shop was so cold his teeth were chattering. He couldn’t have the heating on too much as it dried the flowers out and lowered their shelf life, but he popped it on now to heat the place up a little. Settled at his workstation, he also pulled out some fingerless gloves.
The shop smelled like Christmas and orders for festive wreaths were coming in thick and fast. They were his speciality in the town, and he’d also decided to make a range of garlands like the one he’d made for Nell. The child within him had run riot and he’d begun a range of ‘Santa Stop Here’ signs using driftwood from the beach. He always loved using natural materials collected from the pebbly beach of Swallowtail Bay, though he drew the line at seaweed and anything that smelled remotely fishy. No one wanted that in their home at Christmas or any other time of the year. The first few mock-ups he’d made were looking pretty good.
Though he’d arrived there at a little before six-thirty, with the sky as dark as night and the sun still hiding behind the horizon, time flew by as he worked and the next time he checked the large clock on the wall above the flowers, he’d been there for almost two hours. The shop was finally beginning to warm up a little and a pale white sky was visible through the window when Janie arrived at a quarter to nine. She came through the door looking like an Eskimo. Her eyes were only just poking out between the pink scarf wrapped over her mouth and the matching hat pulled down tightly onto her head. Her hands were covered in big fluffy mittens. Even though it was only her pale blue eyes that were visible, Tom could see she was as cheerful as ever from the sheer light and joy shining out from them. It was a pleasure seeing and working with her, and to Tom she was feeling more and more like a little sister every day. ‘Morning, Janie. Bit cold at the bus stop, was it?’
‘Freezing this morning,’ she replied, unwrapping the layers. ‘I thought my toes were going to drop off.’
‘Well, I’ve got the heating on, so you’ll warm up nice and quick. What do you think to this one?’ he asked, showing her one of the driftwood Santa Stop Here signs as she readied herself for the day. A bright red, jolly Santa winked back at her.
‘I love it. I think they’ll sell out straight away. They’re so perfect for Swallowtail Bay. The seaside meets Christmas. We should have a bucket of those out front.’
Tom stood back and admired his handiwork. Janie was right. It really was the seaside meets Christmas. He’d never thought of it in those terms, but she was definitely onto something there. Something a little bit different but still festive. She had a good brain for marketing. Maybe he should get her to look at the hotel stuff.
‘I can’t believe how cold it’s got. Do you think it’ll snow?’ Janie asked with childlike enthusiasm at the prospect of the white stuff floating down and covering everything in a seamless blanket that called out to be stepped on.
‘I don’t think it’s quite cold enough for that, but you never know. I did have to de-ice the car this morning so if the temperature keeps dropping, it might.’
When Tom had driven to the shop earlier that morning the pavement glistened under the lamplight. He’d sat in the car watching the windscreen de-frost which was actually helpful as it gave his eyes time to adjust to the dimness around him. He was going to have to go to the optician’s soon but the thought brought with it an element of fear. The headaches were increasing in intensity and frequency and the thought that something was seriously wrong sprang into his mind and with it, panic. If something serious was wrong with him, like a brain tumour, what would happen to Grandad Nigel?
His parents had emigrated to Australia a decade ago and weren’t going to move back to look after either him or his grandad. The thought of Nigel being left without any visitors, sad and lonely, like some of the people in the care home, almost broke Tom’s heart. Seeing Janie’s happy face as she began to gather things together for her first job of the day pushed the gloomy thoughts down and he blamed needing a sugar boost.
‘Right, Janie, shall I make us a nice hot chocolate each? I’ve even stocked up on squirty cream and marshmallows and if you ask me, it’s the perfect way to start the day.’
‘You’re the best boss ever.’
Tom left his tools, headed out to the back of the shop and made them hot chocolates, even using their Christmas mugs. His had a picture of a snowman on it and Janie’s a llama in a scarf. After squirting as much cream on the top as he could manage without it being bigger than the cup itself and smattering the marshmallows all over the top,
