The Hotel at Honeymoon Station : A totally heartwarming romance about new beginnings

by Tilly Tennant

  ‘Oh,’ Tia said, looking as if she thought she might notice.

  ‘That’s alright,’ Emma said. ‘We don’t mind them at all.’ Whether they did or didn’t, there was no use complaining because the bats were there and nothing was going to change that. Really they didn’t have a lot of choice, as June’s cottage was the only one available to rent in Honeymoon.

  ‘I suppose bats are protected too,’ Tia said.

  ‘Oh yes.’ June nodded vigorously. ‘Some folks love them but knowing they’re there puts some off so I always mention it. Whether I like them or not they’re there and I can’t move them, so guests can take it or leave it.’

  ‘We’re fine with them,’ Emma said.

  ‘You’re staying a good while too,’ June said. ‘You’d be surprised how quickly you’ll get used to hearing them up there and forget they even exist.’

  Tia and Emma both smiled, though Emma doubted they’d forget the existence of a roof full of bats if they were that noisy.

  ‘I should mention that there’s also a little family of field mice in the shed in the garden,’ June added, ‘but they’re doing no harm and as long as you keep the back door closed they shouldn’t trouble you in the house. I haven’t the heart to get rid of them.’

  ‘Oh, right,’ Emma said. Bats and mice now – rather than open a hotel, they ought to be thinking about a zoo.

  ‘I’m a few doors down,’ June continued. ‘Knock if there’s anything you need. In the morning the chickens sometimes give me more eggs than I can eat – when they do I’ll pop a few over for you.’

  ‘That sounds lovely,’ Emma said.

  ‘Have you always lived in Honeymoon?’ Tia asked.

  June nodded. ‘Born and raised here. Wouldn’t thank you for a mansion anywhere else. My mother was born here and her mother before her. In fact, the house you’re staying in was my mother’s. She left it to me when she died, and as I rather liked the one I’m in now I thought I could get a nice little income from it to save for my twilight years.’

  ‘And has it?’ Tia asked.

  ‘Oh yes!’ June said. ‘I could have rented it twenty times over for everyone who’s stayed here. Such a lovely little spot and close to the New Forest for your walkers. That’s mostly who I get, ramblers and birdwatchers. Suits me just fine that way.’

  ‘That’s good,’ Tia said. Emma could tell by the way her face had lit up that she was doing little mental calculations and deciding that it boded well for their venture that they at least had some ready custom once the hotel was open for business. Emma shared her optimism to a certain extent, but she had to temper it by reminding herself they had a long way to go to get it up and running before they could even think about guests.

  ‘Would you like me to show you where everything is?’ June asked.

  ‘Oh, don’t worry,’ Emma said, glancing at Tia who nodded agreement, ‘I’m sure we’ll manage, and you’re only down the street if we can’t. I think we’re just going to unload the car for now and then head out to get some lunch.’

  ‘Ah, well, if you’re after a hearty one, then the pub does a nice steak that’s really local. In fact, you can probably see the cows from the window.’

  Emma wasn’t sure she was completely OK with watching a cow wander around the field while she ate its best mate but she smiled. ‘Maybe something lighter for now – is there anywhere else?’

  ‘If you’re after a quicker bite then Honeymoon Café does salads and sandwiches and that sort of thing.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Emma said.

  June held out the keys and Emma let Tia take them. She was bouncing around like an excited toddler and it seemed a shame to deprive her of the grand opening of their new home – at least, what would be their home for the next few months.

  ‘Don’t forget, I’m only a hop away,’ June called as she started to walk back to her own cottage.

  ‘We won’t!’ Tia called after her. She turned to Emma with that manic grin Emma was already beginning to recognise well. ‘We’re here! This is actually happening and I still can’t actually believe it!’

  ‘Neither can I,’ Emma said with a smile. ‘I’m sure I’m going to wake to find it’s all been a crazy dream.’

  ‘You got the crazy bit right,’ Tia replied. ‘But then, what life is worth living without a bit of crazy in it?’

  They settled on a lighter lunch in consideration of a busy afternoon. A sleep-inducing mound of chips and half a chicken or steak might sound good but it wouldn’t exactly keep them nimble. So they followed June’s recommendation and sought out Honeymoon Café. Not that it took a lot of seeking in a village as small as Honeymoon – across the main street and set back a little on a tiny cul-de-sac (which was essentially half a dozen houses in a little semicircle) was about as far as they needed to go.

  ‘It’s very cute,’ Tia said.

  ‘It’s very seventies,’ Emma replied, and Tia grinned before pushing the door open. Emma followed her in and they were greeted by a very pretty, petite girl with dark hair and a starched white apron over a calf-length dress. She looked about twelve, but from her demeanour Emma guessed straight away that she was one of those baby-faced women who looked a lot younger than they actually were.

  ‘Hi!’ the girl called as she rushed over. ‘Would you like a table or is it takeaway?’

  ‘A table please,’ Tia said.

  ‘No problem,’ the girl said, and she gestured around the empty dining room. ‘Sit where you like and I’ll bring some menus over.’

  They settled at a table by a window dressed in lacy curtains.

  ‘It’s so quaint,’ Tia said in a whisper that was a bit too loud for Emma to be comfortable about it.

  ‘I wonder when it was last decorated,’ Emma replied, her voice lower still, but then she blushed as she looked up to see the girl was already back at their table, fumbling with their menus and blushing herself.

  ‘I know it looks a bit dated,’ she said apologetically. ‘You’ll have to excuse that – we only bought it this year and we’re still working on getting it done. I’ve made a few changes…’ She pointed to a brightly tiled floor. ‘That’s ours.’

  ‘It’s lovely,’ Emma said, feeling awful for her overheard comment and deciding to keep her mouth shut for evermore after today.

  ‘We had to do structural repairs too,’ the girl said. ‘A new roof and chimney.’

  Tia smiled at her. ‘I can see how that might hold up other things. Do I detect a northern accent?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ the girl said. ‘Though I’ve been in Dorset for a few years now. I lived with my cousin for a while in another village down the road. She has a bakery and a café there; taught me the whole business, and then I got married and we wanted something of our own. This place went on the market at just the right time. We bought it earlier this year but my husband has only just been able to join me because he had to wait for his army discharge.’

  She flushed with obvious pride at the mention of her husband, and Emma had to wonder if she’d ever meet a man who was so clearly all the stars in her sky.

  ‘That’s another reason why we’ve been a bit slow with the renovations,’ the girl added. ‘Are you both on holiday?’

  ‘Actually, we’re starting a business here too,’ Tia said. ‘Don’t worry, though, it’s not going to be a café and it’s a couple of miles out.’

  ‘Oh,’ the girl said, ‘I didn’t mean… It’s just we’re not exactly rushed off our feet here. We knew it would be a small place but we’d hoped for passing trade and holidaymakers… I suppose it’s quite early in the season yet,’ she concluded lamely.

  The comment left Emma troubled again by how quiet the village seemed. A lack of passing trade didn’t sound good. In fact, the only person they’d met so far who seemed to get on OK was June.

  ‘Maybe we’ll make things better for you,’ Tia said. ‘We’re opening a hotel.’

  ‘A hotel!’ the girl said. ‘Where?’

  ‘At the old railway station.�
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  The girl’s eyes widened. ‘Honeymoon Station?’

  ‘Actually, we’re renovating the old station building; we’re going to convert it into guest rooms, maybe even have a gym and spa, that sort of thing.’

  ‘Wow, that would certainly attract visitors,’ the girl said. ‘But won’t you have a restaurant on site?’

  ‘We might,’ Tia said. ‘But people don’t always eat every meal in their accommodation, do they? I know I don’t – I’d rather try out places in the local area. And with a lot more accommodation near the village you should get more holidaymakers passing through and so more trade. I think everyone wins.’

  ‘Oh,’ the girl said. ‘Tariq will be so pleased. He’s been so worried about this decision ever since we got here. I don’t mind admitting to you it hasn’t been as easy as we’d imagined.’

  Emma tried to look sympathetic but her stomach was sinking. This really wasn’t what she needed to hear right now.

  ‘I’m Darcie by the way,’ the girl said. ‘I’m so pleased you came in today – I feel like it was such a stroke of luck.’

  ‘Tia… and this is my friend Emma. Old school friend actually. So Tariq is…’

  ‘My husband. We got married last year. I met him while I was working at my cousin’s bakery. He’s such a sweetie – if you met him you wouldn’t imagine him being a tough, burly soldier at all.’

  ‘I hope we get to meet him soon then,’ Tia said. ‘It’ll be nice knowing there’s someone else in the village a little bit in the same boat as us, you know what I mean?’

  ‘Oh absolutely!’ Darcie beamed. ‘It’ll be so nice! Any way we can help, you must let us know. I mean, it might not be a lot in the end but we’ve at least been here a few months so we are a little bit more familiar with the village. Where are you living? You can’t be staying at the station?’

  ‘Oh no,’ Emma said. ‘God no! We’re renting a cottage.’

  ‘From June?’ Darcie asked. ‘She’s lovely.’

  ‘She seems very nice,’ Emma said.

  ‘Everyone is very sweet here,’ Darcie said. ‘Well mostly, but you get that everywhere, don’t you? I was a bit worried when we first arrived, how people would take us, you know. I think the lady who owned the café before was very well loved and everyone was apparently very sad when she died suddenly, and Tariq and I are outsiders, and… well, I don’t want to be negative. We needn’t have worried, though. We love being here; we just wish there was a bit more trade because that’s our biggest worry now and we don’t want to lose this place just as we get it right.’ Darcie drew a breath. ‘But you’re here now, and that’s very exciting.’ She bounced on the balls of her feet as if trying to contain that excitement. ‘I have such a good feeling about this.’

  ‘Me too,’ Tia said.

  Emma wanted so badly to be swept up by that same optimism. She was envious of how quickly Tia and Darcie had decided their futures suddenly looked much rosier than they had a moment before, just because they’d met. But life had taught her that optimism was often misplaced and what looked rosy didn’t always turn out to be. Nonetheless, she put on her bravest smile and agreed that she had a good feeling about things too.

  ‘Oh, I almost forgot,’ Darcie said with a sweet little tinkle of a laugh, ‘menus! Here you go! I’ll just be cleaning the counter – give me a whistle when you’ve decided what you’re having.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Emma said, taking her menu.

  Darcie left them.

  ‘She’s adorable,’ Tia said in a low voice.

  ‘She’s lovely,’ Emma agreed, putting the menu up to her face.

  ‘Are you alright?’

  Emma lowered it again to look at her friend. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

  ‘I don’t know. Since we got here you just seem a bit… subdued. Not got cold feet already, have you? I hope not, but if you have we need to talk about it.’

  ‘I’m just tired,’ she said, looking at her menu again.

  ‘Emma…’

  Emma let out a sigh and looked up at Tia once more. ‘It just seems so daunting, doesn’t it? Now that we’re here, I mean. I can’t help but wonder if we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. And the village is so small, much smaller than I thought it would be, and it’s so quiet, and then Darcie just told us there was a lack of trade—’

  ‘She said there was a lack of passing trade. That’s because there’s no reason for people to visit here yet – at least, anyone who doesn’t want to walk or look at wildlife. But you heard June: the cottage is never empty and she could rent it out twenty times over to those people. The custom is there, I just know it is. We have to find the means to bring it to us. Honeymoon could thrive once we’re open.’

  ‘Do you think the people of Honeymoon are ready for it to be thriving?’

  ‘We own the station now,’ Tia said, though looking more doubtful. ‘People round here must have known it was for sale and that the buyer would want to do something commercial with it. Us converting it into a hotel shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.’

  ‘It might not be a surprise but that doesn’t mean they have to like it.’

  Tia sat back in her chair. ‘Come on, Em, it’s not like it’s going to be The Ivy. It’s just a little guest house of twenty or so rooms – at least it will be. I think they’ll be fine. I mean, June didn’t seem concerned and we already know Darcie is going to be happy about it.’

  The door to the café opened and two men walked in. They looked remarkably alike, both tall and dark-haired, with a cheeky twinkle in their brown eyes. One was broader-shouldered than the other and looked as if he might be very familiar with the inside of a gym, whereas the other had more of an athletic build, indicating he might be a runner rather than a lifter.

  ‘Oh hi!’ Darcie said, glancing up from a spot on the counter she’d been scrubbing at. ‘Are you looking for Tariq?’

  ‘Are we early?’ the broader man asked.

  ‘Oh no, he’s in the back. Go through – he’ll show you what needs doing.’

  The two men glanced at Emma and Tia, gave a good-natured nod and smile, then followed Darcie through a door behind the counter.

  ‘Well,’ Tia said approvingly, ‘if those are some of the locals we have to persuade, then I think I might find a way to make the process very enjoyable.’

  Emma laughed, despite her anxieties still being very much on her mind. ‘You go for it. I’m off men so you won’t get any competition from me.’

  Tia grinned. A moment later Darcie came back through. ‘Friends of yours?’ Tia asked her.

  ‘They’re doing some work on the café,’ Darcie said.

  ‘They’re builders?’

  ‘Sort of everything. Name a trade, they can probably do it. Everyone in the village goes to them; they’re really good at what they do.’

  ‘I’ll bet they are,’ Tia almost purred. ‘So if we wanted their assistance, who would we ask for?’

  ‘Blake and Aidan,’ Darcie said. ‘They’re brothers. I think their surname is Ronson, but if you just said Blake and Aidan to anyone they’d know who you meant.’

  Emma looked at Tia. ‘We already have builders coming.’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Tia said, ‘but you never know when you might need other little jobs doing. It’s good to have a backup plan, isn’t it? And when our contractors leave we’ll need help with maintenance too.’

  ‘I suppose we will,’ Emma said.

  ‘You could do a lot worse than those two,’ Darcie put in.

  ‘Just what I was thinking,’ Tia said, and Emma got the distinct impression she wasn’t talking about building work.

  Chapter Eleven

  After a fresh salad served with crusty bread and a succulent breast of chicken, Emma felt brighter. Perhaps her low mood as they’d come away from Honeymoon Station earlier that day had been down to fatigue after all, and with a good plate of food inside her, a rest and a chat to Darcie and her husband Tariq – who’d come out to join her and meet them after Darcie had exci
tedly told him of their plans – she felt a lot better. Tariq had been every bit as pleased by their arrival as Darcie, and as a bonus the distractions of Blake and Aidan hadn’t materialised again, meaning Tia’s thoughts were back on track too. They had a lot to do and even more riding on the station house’s success – the last thing they needed was for one of them to get involved in an ill-advised fling, and it might not help their cause with the locals either. That was assuming either of the men were even single.

  ‘We’d better get a few bits to tide us over,’ Tia said as they left Honeymoon Café and stepped back onto the high street. ‘What about that little convenience store along the road?’

  ‘Wouldn’t it be easier to drive straight out to the supermarket?’ Emma asked. ‘We passed one on the way in, didn’t we? It was only about ten miles out – wouldn’t take long in the car and there’ll be more choice than the local shop.’

  ‘There might be,’ Tia said, ‘but there won’t be locals in there. At least, we wouldn’t know it if there were. We need to spend our money here for a while, get people used to seeing us around and let them see we want to support the village by shopping here.’

  ‘Ah.’ Emma smiled. ‘Hearts and minds.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘You’re good at this.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘At least it’s not far away,’ Emma added.

  ‘Nothing’s far away in Honeymoon.’

  ‘I’m still deciding if that’s a good thing,’ Emma said.

  ‘Well it’s a thing so we’ll have to make the best of it.’

  In the time it had taken to have this brief discussion they’d arrived at the door of the shop. It was a converted cottage with a parking bay barely big enough for two cars that had been cut into the pavement. The smaller windows that graced the residential cottages along the row had been removed and replaced by one larger window, which displayed goods, ads for special offers, plus a corkboard covered in cards and posters to publicise local events, lost pets and found items that wanted returning.

  ‘Oh, hello,’ the lady at the counter said as they came in. She was small and perhaps about sixty, and if someone had wanted to print a photographic definition of the word jolly in the dictionary, they could have done a lot worse than insert a picture of her face. She smiled at them from beneath quite generous greying eyebrows, her hair similarly unruly, a crocodile clip struggling to contain it. But she was very welcoming and pleased to see them, and it seemed like a good sign.