It didn’t look as if the conversation was going to finish anytime soon, and so Olivia wound her way through the crowd, grabbing her coat from an empty pew and then heading out into the cold, dark night.
The air was so sharp it nearly stole her breath, and clouds had moved over the moon, making the blackness seem almost impenetrable. The Christmas tree and fairy lights spangling the high street were all turned off, awaiting the official Turning on the Lights ceremony, and just like they’d sung in the Advent carols, the world seemed hushed and expectant, waiting…but for what?
Nothing, Olivia couldn’t keep from thinking rather flatly as she walked in the dark towards home. Nothing but more of the same. And for the first time in a long while, that thought didn’t fill her with optimism or happiness.
Struggling against a terrible, towering disappointment that she knew was unwarranted considering the situation, she unlocked the door to Tea on the Lea and breathed in the faint scent of cinnamon and spice from her earlier baking. It looked like the evening was shaping up to be exactly what she’d thought it would be earlier—a lot of mince pies and the company of her ornery cat. With a sigh, Olivia closed the door and locked it, and then turned towards the kitchen.
Chapter Five
Tea on the Lea was filled with festive smells and sights as Olivia bustled around at five o’clock on Wednesday evening, in preparation for the village’s Turning on the Lights ceremony.
Mallory and Abby had offered to help, and were decked out in white T-shirts and black miniskirts, with red velvet bows in their hair as they assembled trays of various Christmas goodies—mince pies, shortbread, gingerbread, and Olivia’s red velvet cupcakes decorated with holly piped in green royal icing. A huge pot of mulled wine was simmering on the stove, along with spiced apple cider for children and teetotallers. Christmas carols blasted from the speakers stuck in the corner and the shop was awash with fairy lights, holly, and red velvet ribbon. It was as Christmassy as she could make it, and with the high street filling up with families intent on seeing the switch-on, Olivia was hopeful of generating some business.
“Why didn’t you do this last year?” Mallory asked as she loaded up another tray in the kitchen. Olivia had spent the last forty-eight hours elbow-deep in flour; she’d even dreamed of shortcrust pastry last night. It had been more of a nightmare, with the pastry falling apart in her hands time and time again, and she’d actually woken up in a cold sweat, relieved that it was nothing but a dream, and about pastry at that.
“I didn’t think of it,” she told Mallory, “and more’s the pity.” Last year she had been focused on Alice and Henry’s wedding, and transferring the business from her mother’s name to her own. She hadn’t thought beyond either of those things. “Hopefully it will become a tradition now, along with the evening I’m planning next week.” She’d fanned out the invitations by the front door, the red and green lettering promising plenty of Christmas treats, a quiz, and carol singing.
“It should become a tradition,” Tina volunteered from her place at a table, where she was sticking cloves in several oranges to add to the spicy and festive scent of the shop. “I’m ashamed I never thought of it, for all these years.”
“Mum said they’ve only been doing the switching-on-the-lights thing for a few years,” Mallory offered. “So maybe you didn’t have the opportunity.”
Olivia was just glad her mum had agreed to come out for the evening. She’d resisted when Olivia had rung her on Monday, asking if she wanted to come, but then finally, after much cajoling and chivvying, she had agreed. Olivia had driven to Witney to pick her up, leaving Mallory with the awesome responsibility of taking the last batch of shortbread out on time, which she’d thankfully done.
Since she’d arrived Tina had kept busy in her corner, and Olivia had far more clove-stuck oranges than she actually needed, but at least her mum was staying busy and seemed happy. It made Olivia realise, with one of those funny little pangs, how much she hadn’t been busy or happy in the last year and a half she’d been in the shop. How slowly but surely she’d let go of her responsibilities while Olivia had taken over, too busy really to notice how little her mum did, or how adrift she had started to seem.
“It does seem like a nice tradition,” Tina said as she continued with her cloves. “Both the switching on of the lights and keeping the shop open. You’ve done well, Olivia. So well.” She smiled wistfully, and Olivia suppressed another of those pangs.
“Thanks, Mum, but you’re the one who kept this shop going for so long. It still feels much more of your place than mine.” Which wasn’t entirely true, considering how many hours Olivia spent there, but she wanted her mother to feel a part of things.
“Oh, no.” Tina shook her head. “This is all yours now, Olivia.”
“How is it going?” Ellie cried gaily as she came into the shop with her husband, Oliver, a bespectacled cutie who gave Olivia a charmingly bashful smile.
“Good, I think.” Olivia tucked a wisp of decidedly frizzy hair behind her ear. “We officially open our doors in…” She checked her watch. “Five minutes.”
“Well, I think everything looks fab. So Christmassy. And someone said it might snow!” Someone was always saying it might snow, and occasionally it did. Olivia just smiled and then Ellie angled a little closer and dropped her voice to a rather theatrical whisper. “And what about Cupcake Man?”
Cupcake
