At the bakery Harvey reeled off the orders – the usual ham and cheese for Clarke, egg and cress for Tim, a roll filled with roast beef and horseradish for Bruce. And for himself, Harvey humoured Celeste who loved to experiment with flavours. Last week it had been a poppyseed bagel with smoked salmon, capers, juicy tomato and red onion, today it was pulled pork with portobello mushrooms and lashings of chipotle sauce.
Celeste, in her usual white apron with a cloud of bakery dust puffing against her forearms as she loaded more bloomer loaves into the rack, memorised his order and pulled on plastic gloves ready to handle the long ciabatta roll and position the fillings. She slit the bread down the side just as the door opened and let in a welcoming cool breeze from the outside.
Blacksmith Lucy had come into the bakery and watched Celeste making up Harvey’s part of the order. ‘That looks interesting.’ After a brief recap of what it would be she said, ‘I’ll take one of those too please.’
Harvey laughed as Celeste generously added the chipotle sauce. ‘You might want to go easy on the sauce,’ he warned Lucy. ‘Rumour has it, it’ll blow your head off.’
‘I can handle it,’ she smiled.
‘How are you enjoying the Cove?’ He didn’t see her around much but when he did she seemed content, always polite without giving too much away.
‘I’m slowly getting used to it. I found it a bit quiet at first but there aren’t many villages or towns that have this kind of character anymore.’
‘Fred better watch out, you’ll take over completely one day. How’s he doing?’
‘He’s still with his sister in Cambridgeshire, he checks in every now and then, but he’s dropped more than a few hints that he might not want to come back permanently.’
Celeste’s ears pricked up as she added Harvey’s wrapped lunch to the bag with the others and then pushed pulled pork into the second ciabatta roll for Lucy before scooping up more of the portobello mushrooms. ‘Fred said he’d work until he was no longer standing.’ Head tilted to one side, she said, ‘It’ll be a shame not to see him return.’ When Lucy pointed out she had flour in her hair a smile stretched out the freckles that ran along the bridge of her nose and across high cheek bones. Both she and Jade were tall and willowy with the trademark Irish porcelain skin and darker-than-ebony hair, and the flour stood out more than it would on anyone else.
‘For what it’s worth he sounded jolly enough on the phone and he intends to come back for the ball in a few weeks,’ Lucy assured her as she did the honours and brushed the flour away for Celeste, who still had her gloves on and wouldn’t take them off until she finished handling the ingredients. ‘When I first took over, he seemed strung out, perhaps he needed the rest and some time away has made him see that working late in his life is good in some ways but not others.’
‘He’s better off with his sister,’ said Harvey after paying his bill by contactless and slipping the card back into his wallet. ‘She’s only a couple of years younger, they’ll be good company for each other.’
‘It’s nice he has someone,’ Lucy smiled.
Harvey wondered what Lucy’s story was, he hadn’t seen or heard of any men hanging around. Did she have someone too? She was attractive but she clearly liked to keep her private life just that, so he didn’t grill her. ‘Thanks, Celeste.’ He picked up the big paper bag filled with his orders as Celeste and Lucy chatted away in the way women did, speculating about what the old beach shop would possibly become. According to Celeste the new owner planned to demolish it and put something else in its place. But Harvey left them to it. He’d never been good at small talk and always envied Barney for his ability to chat to anyone and everyone. Barney was one of the few men Harvey knew who could talk as much as any female.
He climbed into his pickup out front but before he could drive away a voice asked, ‘What are you smiling at?’ It was Melissa, she’d poked her head through the open passenger-side window as he put down the sandwiches and started up the engine.
‘I’m hungry and in about twenty minutes I get to sink my teeth into a blow-your-head-off-chipotle-sauce-laden lunch.’
She looked down at the bag and the wrapped-up parcels tucked inside. ‘I tried that yesterday, you’ll like it. She made the sauce herself, you know.’
‘A woman of many talents.’
‘Do you have a minute or are you racing back to work?’
‘I’ve got a minute.’ For her he had so much more. ‘Hop in.’
She climbed into the passenger seat and held the lunch bag on her lap but not before he got a welcome glimpse of the top of her leg as her shorts rode up. ‘I think we should find Lois,’ she said without preamble.
His first reaction was to ask why bother but instead he went for, ‘Nice idea, but how do you suggest we do that?’
‘I’m not too sure, but…will you help me?’
‘You’re serious?’
‘Never been more serious. Barney saw the barn transformed ready for the ball and we both saw the emotion on his face. The fact he has this dress, the note, that he has never told us anything about Lois but has said he regrets not making amends with his past, all tells me he never got any kind of closure. It’s holding him back. I know it is. It’s what’s behind his warnings for me not to have any regrets either, and I think it’s why he can’t be bothered to even try to get back to normal. And let’s face it, he’s never going to tell us anything.’
‘You’re right about that.’
‘So you’ll help?’
He puffed out his cheeks. ‘You don’t think we should take the hint, that he really doesn’t want us to pry?’
‘This is too important to ignore, Harvey. I might be grasping at straws but I’d rather try something than nothing.’
‘You’re worried he’ll get worse when you leave.’
‘Maybe. And I’m not big-noting myself or anything like that.’
‘I didn’t mean to imply that you were. I get it, you’re worried that if he’s not pushed, he’ll keep on the path he’s found himself on and give up.’
‘Exactly. Whatever happened to him and to Lois, he needs to deal with it and then move on.’
‘Ever the optimist,’ said Harvey.
‘Pessimist,’ she batted back.
‘He might be angry if we interfere.’
With an accepting smile she replied, ‘If we get nowhere then he’ll never know, will he?’
‘I can’t help wondering whether at seventy-one years old, he’s got a right to be left in peace, a right to make his own decisions whether we approve of them or not.’
She thought about it but not for long before she lifted up the bag and climbed out, then settled the bag back onto the passenger seat for him. Leaning in through the passenger window again, she said, ‘Seven o’clock tonight in the beer garden at the pub, we’ll talk. Enjoy your lunch.’
And with that she left him to drive back to his job and attempt to concentrate.
But this time it wasn’t Barney occupying his thoughts, it was her, the closeness he hadn’t felt in a long while and that had been building up ever so slowly since she showed up in the village. And the way she’d talked to him just now? There was no tension, just a sense of togetherness, maybe a light flirtation even, working towards something they both wanted.
Or was he kidding himself and very soon she’d jump into her car, drive back to Berkshire and forget all about this brief hiatus?
*
Melissa often shopped when she was overseas, it was a good way to fill in time until the next flight, you got to find bargains and unique items. As a result the wardrobe in her flat was bursting and it meant that when she came away to the Cove, she’d been able to fill her suitcase with plenty of outfits so that she wouldn’t have to constantly face doing laundry. But it also meant that she had options and she’d tried on three different dresses in an effort to decide what to wear to the pub to meet Harvey. Cursing herself for her indecisiveness, she settled on a polka-dot ruffle-neck dress that wrapped around and tied at th
e waist.
Today hadn’t been a scorching summer’s day as it could sometimes be at this time of year, but the evening was muggy, the temperature hadn’t dropped much at all, and as she walked over to where Harvey was already sitting at a picnic-style table in the beer garden of The Copper Plough, she went from feeling comfortable to unnerved as he watched her. It was almost as though time had stood still and they were exactly the same Harvey and Melissa who had come here after work to meet for drinks, the same couple who had won the pub quiz more times than they could count, the same people who’d thought they’d be together forever.
She was going to ask him if he’d like a drink but as she got closer she saw he’d already bought two beers.
‘Thank you.’ She sat down and clinked her bottle against his. ‘Cheers.’
‘Cheers. Nice evening for it.’ He took a swig. ‘You look good. Sorry, am I still allowed to say that?’
She smiled. ‘Of course you are.’
‘You never used to wear your hair that way.’
She’d pinned it all up loosely into a bun with strands hanging down. ‘It’s laziness, I really should put it up more neatly.’
‘Don’t.’
Uncomfortable at the focus she moved the subject on to Barney and what they should do.
‘I’m still not completely convinced we should start trying to unearth Barney’s secrets,’ Harvey admitted, ‘but I’m trying to stay open-minded.’
‘I don’t want to upset Barney either, and I do have my reservations, but I’m only here until a couple of days after the Wedding Dress Ball and I can’t waste any more time.’
‘What if we can’t find anything out at all?’
‘Then we let it go.’
She tried to ignore the zip of electricity through her body when he finished the rest of his beer and tilted back his head, revealing the stubble that ran part-way down his throat. She could remember scraping her face against it as they lay next to one another, the feel of it when it got softer if he didn’t get around to shaving.
He caught her staring but she was rescued when he had a brief exchange with a couple of men who walked by. Harvey introduced her and told her they worked for the same company he did. They were out with a group at the other side of the beer garden helping one of the men to wet the baby’s head after his wife delivered a second son earlier that day. As they talked Melissa watched the men. This was one of the reasons she didn’t talk to Jay about her life in Heritage Cove. He wouldn’t understand. He’d never lived in a small village or town where people knew one another and quite often the intricacies of their lives. They’d never taken the time to get to know anyone else on their own streets, not even their neighbours. Everyone was so busy going about their everyday lives, they didn’t have the time to stop and say a simple hello, a smile in greeting was as far as it went. Jay wasn’t much of a fan of cosy pubs like this one either, preferring modern and spacious rather than quaint and characterful, restaurants and bars that erred on the pricey side with portions that left you somewhat wanting rather than a pub with hearty meals that made a half-empty stomach an impossibility.
‘I think he’ll be soaking the baby’s head before long,’ Harvey said when the men went back to the group.
‘I’m sorry, did you want to join them?’
‘I can do that any other time.’
She looked over to where the group were getting well into the celebrations, pints lined up in wait on the table. ‘I hope that guy’s wife doesn’t mind him being that merry when he gets home.’
‘She’s in hospital for a couple of days so I think he may well be making the most of his freedom while he can, he has his dad babysitting. How about you?’ He sipped his beer. ‘Do you see kids in your future?’
Where had that question come from? ‘Hadn’t thought about it.’
‘No? Not even with your other half, you must talk about it? I always imagined you with a family one day.’
‘I could say the same about you.’
‘Not met the right person.’
She gulped back her beer. ‘We need to make a plan, about Barney.’
With what could’ve been a faint eye-roll, she wasn’t sure, he asked, ‘Where do you suggest we start?’
‘I’ve been thinking about this.’ In between deciding what to wear and applying her make-up ready to meet the man who wasn’t even her boyfriend let alone fiancé. ‘Do you remember him telling us that he lived in a Norfolk village?’
‘That narrows it down,’ he harrumphed.
She plonked her beer bottle on the table, missing the cardboard mat entirely. This was what was hard between them, the not knowing whether he was happy to be spending time with her and trying to help Barney or whether he was still so angry with her for how things worked out that he couldn’t move past it. ‘Look, maybe we should forget it, you’re obviously so sure we won’t find anything that you don’t want to try.’
‘I never said that. I apologise for the sarcasm. Continue.’
Tears began to form, something she hadn’t predicted, certainly not tonight on a balmy summer’s evening in one of the prettiest beer gardens she’d seen in a long while. The rear windows of the pub had flower boxes filled with the brightest petals, variegated ivy covered the walls, blue flowers on the wisteria going over the back door added a pop of colour and well-tended flowerbeds added a sweet seasonal aroma to the air.
‘Melissa, I really am sorry. I’m being a dickhead.’
‘You are.’ But her tears weren’t because of the way he’d bitten her head off, she could handle a bit of attitude, it was more to do with her mounting confusion. Lately it was as though she had two lives, one here, one in Windsor. And it was as though she’d passed the optimum mourning for her parents by going to their graveside and dealing with her emotions, and next in line to process was her feelings about this man sitting opposite her.
Her voice wobbled. ‘We have to do this before I leave. I can’t bear the thought of this being the start of the end for Barney.’
‘You always were good at drama,’ he teased.
‘If you’re referring to my god-awful performance in Aladdin at the playhouse then please, I beg you not to bring that up. Not my finest moment – I forgot half my lines.’
‘You did just fine.’ He took a swig of beer after smiling as he remembered the night she was talking about. ‘Right, what do you have in mind to get going with the search for answers?’
‘I think we should go back to the village in Norfolk. Barney has talked about living there, we know how much he loved to sail, he’s never made a secret of going to a marina and hanging out there a lot as a kid and as a teen. What we don’t know is what happened to bring him to Heritage Cove.’
‘I can’t remember what the Norfolk village is called.’
‘Me neither. So we’re going to have to do some detective work to find out where it was.’
‘Challenge accepted,’ he grinned, bringing out his phone as she did the same.
Between them they found maps and lists of towns and villages in Norfolk online, but none of them stood out as having been a place Barney had mentioned. There was one that kind of did but both Harvey and Melissa remembered it had been somewhere Barney holidayed several times as a boy, another stood out until Harvey recalled that it was only because there had been a street festival there and Barney had supplied apples for the cider-making contest.
They were well through their second drinks when Melissa’s phone rang and Jay’s name popped up on the caller display. She let it ring out but felt guilty. ‘I should really call him back.’
‘It’s fine, you do what you need to do.’ And if Harvey was bothered he didn’t let it show. ‘The name of the village might come to one of us when we least expect it. Maybe sitting here trying to remember is making it harder. You go and make your call, I need to get back to Winnie, she’s been on her own for a while today.’
‘I can always take her for a walk when you’re too busy.’ Was she offering for Winni
e’s benefit or so she could be more involved with Harvey? She didn’t want to think about the truth behind that one.
‘I appreciate the offer, I’ll let you know.’ He picked up the empty bottles. ‘I’ll visit Barney in the morning and see if I can get him talking about the elusive village.’
‘Be subtle.’
‘Goes without saying.’ And with a touch on her shoulder that sent goose pimples shooting all the way down her arm, he left her to it.
*
The next day Harvey went to see Barney and watched him pottering around the kitchen. ‘You’re moving a lot better. It’s good to see you out of that chair.’
‘That chair and I are good friends. I need my rest, remember.’
Harvey wished he hadn’t mentioned it because Barney had already gone back to the chair in question. ‘Remember to look out for Winnie. She has a habit of lying right in your path, I don’t want her tripping you up.’ She was currently settled on the floor between the table and the armchair, out of the way for now and within reach for Barney.’
‘She’s fine, stop fussing. It’s good to have her around, I miss having a dog.’
‘You could get another.’
Barney swooshed a hand through the air to get rid of the suggestion, his other hand still on Winnie’s ear, tickling it the way she liked it. ‘I’m too old. And it would live longer than me, it wouldn’t be fair.’
‘If you keep talking like that you’ll make yourself old, whether you are or not.’ Harvey made them both a cup of tea and delivered Barney’s to the table by the armchair. ‘It’s a pity you’re not up for a walk down to the cove.’
‘I wish I was.’
‘Soon, maybe.’
‘Maybe. I’d love to get some sea air, it’s the way I grew up.’
Harvey leapt in at the chance of delving more. ‘Norfolk, wasn’t it?’
‘That’s right, on the coast. Near the water. But the path down to the cove, wouldn’t be a good idea. I know you’re all for me pushing my recovery but even you must see that would be madness. The ground’s uneven, the rail’s not sturdy enough for me to use. It’ll have to wait.’
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