Summer at the Cornish Cafe

by Phillipa Ashley

  ‘You look busy,’ says Robyn cheerily. ‘Has Cal made you go up that ladder?’ Robyn raises an eyebrow as I walk up to her.

  ‘I wanted to learn how to mend my roof.’

  ‘You wouldn’t get me up there,’ she says.

  ‘And you wouldn’t get me up there.’ I’m still not that keen on horses but Robyn’s horse, Roxy, is quiet and steady, so when she stops in the yard and jumps off, I don’t mind giving it a quick pat on the neck.

  Roxy snickers loudly, making me jump and Robyn laughs. ‘You should ask Cal to teach you how to ride.’

  I cringe. ‘That’s probably not a good idea.’

  ‘You’d love it and Cal is a good teacher. He helped me when I was little – my mum used to go mad at the things he encouraged me to do but I loved it. I love it now.’

  ‘What am I teaching Demi?’ Cal comes up to us, wiping his hands on a rag. He nuzzles Roxy, calling her a ‘darling’ and a ‘sweetheart’ and she makes a soft whinnying noise.

  ‘I was suggesting that you could teach Demi to ride,’ says Robyn mischievously.

  ‘There isn’t a horse for me.’

  ‘There’s a pony at Bosinney that you could have. Or you could ride Dexter.’

  She’s trying to matchmake us. Considering the excruciating conversation we just had, I could shrivel up.

  ‘Dexter is too big,’ says Cal quietly.

  ‘There you are. Cal knows I’d be hopeless.’

  ‘I didn’t say that and you wouldn’t.’

  Robyn laughs in delight. ‘There! Cal thinks you can do it so I know you can. You can both come to Bosinney and see how you get on with my old pony, Harry. It can’t be any scarier than being up on the roof.’

  Leaving Roxy tied to an old hitching post by the water trough, Robyn follows us into the kitchen for a drink.

  ‘I’m going to wash my hands.’ Cal marches off with the embarrassment of a man asked to throw a box of Tampax in his shopping trolley.

  ‘How are things?’ I ask while we sit in the kitchen eating the fairings I made earlier.

  Her face falls. ‘Crap. Andi says her dad and mum are watching her like hawks. She can’t even get out of the house without saying where she’s going so they keep having rows.’

  ‘I’m sorry. Andi’s lovely and I can see how happy she is when she’s with you.’

  ‘Can you? Still it turned out OK here with Cal, didn’t it?’ she adds slyly.

  ‘That depends on whether his planning appeal works,’ I say, ignoring her hint.

  ‘I hope so. Your ideas sound fantastic. Cal was raving about them the other day. I could see him coming back to life now he has the park to focus on and you’ve been such a help. You’ve transformed him and I really think he might be getting over Isla at last.’ She reaches for another fairing from the barrel. ‘Mmm, these are delicious.’

  ‘Thanks, hun. It’s great that Cal likes my ideas and I’d do everything I can to help him with the business but that’s all there is between us: work. Please don’t think there’s anything, you know, romantic because there isn’t.’ And definitely not now.

  She munches her biscuit before replying. ‘OK. Whatever you say. I only want you and Cal to be as happy as me and Andi, but of course, I wouldn’t dream of interfering.’

  We talk more about the gig and Andi but as I wave her off on Roxy, I’m sure she hasn’t taken a scrap of notice of anything I’ve said.

  ‘Cal …’ I say as he rebuilds Polly’s chicken run a few days after Robyn’s visit. Cal suggested it so that she can increase the egg production and get in and out of the run more easily to feed them and collect the eggs. It’s a fine evening, and the sun is a sliver of gold on the horizon in a pink coral sky.

  ‘Hmm.’ He takes a tack from his mouth ready to secure the wire to the post.

  ‘You know Robyn was here the other day.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  I have to stop talking while he hammers the tack to fix the netting to the post.

  I take a deep breath. ‘There’s something I need to tell you.’

  Cal’s face gives nothing away as I tell him about Robyn and Andi. I’ve been agonising over whether to share their secret for a while now and decided that I can trust Cal not to let on. I thought he might be able to help them.

  ‘So, you now know why Robyn hasn’t been totally happy,’ I say, hoping for a positive reaction.

  He blows out a long breath, his work abandoned. ‘I guessed something was troubling her and suspected it was her love life but I’d no idea Andi Cade was involved. I thought they were just friends.’ He winces. ‘Nice girl, apart from her relatives, and you’re right, Mawgan would not understand.’

  ‘Even so, I don’t think they should be kept apart and I wondered could you let her and Andi rent one of the cottages here?’

  Cal shakes his head. ‘I don’t think that’s a great idea.’

  ‘You’re not scared of what Mawgan will do to you if you encourage them? Or your uncle?’

  He snorts. ‘Of course I’m not scared of Mawgan and we don’t know how Uncle Rory will react if Robyn tells them the truth. He may surprise her.’

  ‘You know the Cades will go mad. Please think about it. I can’t bear the thought of them being apart.’

  ‘It’s not that simple. I’m happy to have them here at a peppercorn rent even though I can’t really spare the cottage but it would be better if Robyn and Andi sorted stuff out with their families and moved away to their own place. Frankly, I think they should break away and make their own lives.’

  ‘But they’re students. They have no money and Andi’s terrified of what Mawgan will do when she finds out the truth. Mawgan already suspects …’

  ‘Does she?’ He winces. The wind ruffles his hair, softly tweaking the shorter curls he sports since he had it cut. ‘Even if I thought it was a good idea to invite them to live here, I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to give them a home. What if it all goes tits up, as it well could, and I have to sell up; then they’ll be back to square one.’

  ‘Is it that serious?’

  ‘You know it is.’ The pink glow of the setting sun softens his features.

  ‘But that could be months away or never. You love Robyn and you want her to be happy and everyone seems to be against them. You want to help the community and people who can’t stand up for themselves, then start close to home.’

  He shakes his head at me. ‘Demi, has anyone ever told you you can be a bloody pain in the arse?’

  ‘Yes. You have. Frequently. So promise me you will reconsider having them live here.’

  He lets out a long sigh. ‘I’ll think about it. Now let me get this run finished before it goes dark.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Sometimes Cal can be full of surprises. After I told him about Robyn, he called her to offer her and Andi temporary use of one of the other staff cottages, if they’re prepared to do some work on it. I know he’s anxious for Robyn’s sake about the possible fallout if they do move in here. Although I’ve had a text from Robyn, she didn’t mention my intervention with him. Maybe she thinks he decided to make the gesture, all by himself.

  I can hear her old Corsa pulling into the newly gravelled car park outside reception now. I was sorting out some more of the vintage junk I found in the loft above the barn but I head out to meet her and fling my arms around her.

  ‘How are you, hun? I hope I did the right thing in asking Cal for his help.’

  Robyn pauses before she replies quietly. ‘Thanks, it was a lovely thought and I’m relieved that Cal knows, to be honest, but I’ve told Andi we can’t move in here after all.’

  ‘What? I’m sorry, but maybe it’s for the best, for a few days anyway.’

  ‘Not a few days. Not for a few weeks …’ Robyn goes on. ‘Luke asked me not to do it. He said that the shock could be too much for Dad.’

  ‘What? Surely your dad wants you to be happy, and how dare Luke say that to you!’

  ‘I think Luke’s worr
ied that Dad can’t take any more stress at the moment. The party cost a lot of money because Dad insisted on having it at Bosinney and he’s not that flush with spare cash anyway. Most of it is invested in the business and I think he worries about whether Isla and Luke are as happy as they make out.’

  ‘Really?’ My skin prickles.

  ‘Dad worried Isla might not go through with the wedding, especially if she and Luke leave it too long.’

  ‘Do you think so?’

  ‘I think she genuinely loves Luke.’ Robyn’s voice trails off, as if she’s changed her mind about something. ‘I know I’ll never stop loving Andi, no matter how far apart we are,’ she goes on after a pause.

  I wonder if Robyn was going to say that Cal still loves Isla, but didn’t want to hurt me. Even though I know that’s probably true, in my heart, and even though I know it doesn’t mean Cal can’t love someone else, it cuts me deeply. I realise that’s a selfish thought so I refocus on Robyn.

  ‘Have you told Cal you can’t move in here yet?’

  ‘No, I was hoping he’d be here. Do you know where he is?’

  ‘He’s in the house. Someone phoned him from the council. I’m so sorry, Robyn. There must be a way through this.’

  ‘Andi will be upset but maybe it’s better like this, until my dad’s in a better frame of mind.’

  ‘Can’t you and Andi get jobs and move away after college?’

  ‘Maybe, but that’s over a year away, even if we can get jobs and afford the rent. Even if my dad and Luke were cool with that and supported us, and there’s no way they will be, Mawgan and her dad will create hell if I move in with Andi. I should have realised that. They hate Cal, for some reason, and I don’t really know why.’

  ‘Why do Mawgan and her father hate him so much? It can’t be because he wouldn’t sleep with her. Is she really that petty?’

  ‘I don’t know but she has something on Luke and Dad. She has tentacles everywhere.’

  I want to laugh at the image of Mawgan like the octo-witch in The Little Mermaid but I feel terrible for Robyn and helpless to do anything for her. And I’m hurting too. Cal will probably lose Kilhallon and he’s lost Isla and I can never have him.

  But I still have a job and a home, and Mitch and new friends like Robyn and Nina and the girls. I have skills and a future. Things are a zillion times better than a few months ago, so why am I digging my nails into my palm and trying not to cry?

  For the next few days, I keep my head down and try to focus on my work while Cal goes away on a heritage building course. We have to carry on believing there is a slim chance that we can get the development moving again. I also called Robyn and asked her if she wanted to help design a new logo for the cafe signage and menus. She seemed to perk up a little when I mentioned it, but only because it would give her an excuse to meet up with Andi and work on it together. I couldn’t really offer them any payment other than cake but she didn’t seem to mind.

  While Mitch and I are out on our evening walk, I see Cal down below in the cove. He’s skimming stones on the sea. I watch him for a while from on high, wondering whether to disturb him or not but Mitch solves my dilemma by spotting – or scenting – him and tearing down the cliff path like a lunatic. Cal turns at the sound of Mitch’s barking and smiles briefly. Mitch skips around his feet while I hurry to catch him up.

  ‘Here, this is better than chasing stones,’ he says, launching a twisted stick of driftwood into the edge of the waves. They’re big tonight and the breeze drives the salty spray through the air. Mitch races into the water, grabs the stick and runs back.

  ‘Hi, Mitch spotted you. How was the course?’

  ‘OK. Interesting, I guess, if you like lime plastering.’

  ‘You have white stuff in your hair.’

  He pats his dark curls and gives a wry smile. ‘Do I?’

  Cal wrestles the stick from Mitch’s mouth and tosses it back into the water. Mitch gallops off again.

  ‘He’ll do that all night if you let him.’

  He smiles. ‘Yeah, but at least one of us is happy.’

  ‘Are you sure everything’s OK?’

  ‘What? Apart from Andi and Robyn being miserable and the fact that someone else has applied for planning permission on Kilhallon.’

  My stomach twists. I knew something else was wrong. ‘What? How can they when you own it?’

  ‘At the moment I do, but the planning system entitles anyone to apply for permission to develop a plot of land, whoever owns it.’

  ‘But that’s mad. Who is it? I bet it’s the Cades.’

  He gives a bitter smile. ‘Officially it’s called Parson Holdings but I bumped into my bank manager on my way back from the course and she let on that Parson Holdings is a holding company of the Cades so that confirms that they’re behind it.’

  ‘You have to do something. We have to.’

  ‘I can’t do anything without proof. Perhaps, if I could find some hard evidence that the Cades have been involved in blocking the planning process by illegal means, then I could try and stop them.’

  Mitch nudges Cal to play tug of war with the stick.

  ‘I’ve been trying to keep this from you while I tried to find a solution but you deserve to know the whole truth,’ he says, wrestling for the stick with Mitch. ‘We’re going to lose everything to Mawgan unless we win the planning appeal and the builders are demanding payment for the work they’ve done so far.’

  ‘I’ve saved up a bit of money. A couple of hundred, but it’s better than nothing.’

  ‘No!’ Abandoning the game, he looks horrified. ‘Has it come to this? You offering me your last penny?’

  His dark eyes are full of sadness. ‘I’m sorry I got you into this. You must regret coming here.’

  ‘Me, regret coming here? No way. I don’t regret a thing, apart from having to put up with your moods, of course.’

  He smiles briefly.

  ‘You have helped me, even if you don’t think so. I have a hell of a lot more than I did a few months ago.’

  ‘No. Everything you have is your own doing. Talent, enthusiasm, a maddening ability to see the best in everything and I don’t regret bringing you here. I’ll never regret it and I would cut off my right arm to change things. But I should start looking for a new job and home and so should you. Unless we can win the planning appeal next week, the resort is never going to happen and the Cades will own Kilhallon before we ever get it off the ground.’

  ‘Fingers crossed, everything crossed. We have to keep hoping.’

  He smiles. ‘Yes, there’s always hope.’

  My footsteps echo on the floorboards. A thick layer of dust coats the carved chest that’s probably been here since the days of smugglers and wreckers. The walls are yellow where the paintings of dead rabbits and pheasants once hung and the hearth is cold. There’s no Polly shouting ‘Demi, are you going to be in that bathroom all day?’ from the kitchen. No Cal tip-tapping away in his study. No ping of email arriving. No muttered curses …

  That’s how I’ve always imagined it would be if – when – the Cades take over at Kilhallon. The planning appeal is due to be heard later today and the atmosphere is as gloomy as a November evening on the moors. Polly told me that Cal has been up half the night and refused to let either of us go to the appeal with him to support him.

  It seems pointless to dust the china or even open the windows to let some air in. I pick up a Toby jug of a pirate and rub its blackened teeth, half-heartedly. Its eyebrows remind me of Mawgan’s.

  I wonder if the Cades will demolish all the buildings or just convert them into one mega pad complete with underground swimming pool and staff quarters. Even though Kilhallon is listed, Cal said that a convenient fire would destroy it in a few hours. That’s what happened to the water mill in St Trenyan that the Cades converted into flats.

  ‘Demi?’ Robyn leans against the doorway of the sitting room. She looks thin and frail and tears run down her cheeks.

  Leaving the jug on
the window, I run to meet her. ‘What’s happened? Is it Cal?’

  ‘N– no. He’s OK. It’s me and Andi. I think it’s over between us.’

  Anger fires me up. ‘What? Why?’

  I give her a huge hug but her hands hang limply by their sides.

  ‘I – I decided it was better to end things cleanly for both of us.’

  I stare at her face, seeing there’s nothing clean about this ending. ‘I’m so sorry. I’d really hoped you’d decided to come and live here and to tell your families together after all.’

  ‘I had – we both had – but I told Luke first because I’d hoped he might have had a change of heart and would help me break the news to my dad. I was wrong.’

  ‘Did he bully you? He shouldn’t be allowed to do that.’

  ‘No, he didn’t shout; in fact, he went very quiet. It was weird. I actually thought he was going to cry.’

  ‘It’s your life!’

  Robyn takes the tissue I offer and blows her nose. ‘He told me it was my decision to move in with Andi but he warned me again that it could cause a lot of trouble.’

  ‘It’s the twenty-first century! That’s disgusting and vile. You need to be honest with him, now more than ever.’

  ‘Luke says not. He says Dad was worried that I was involved with someone, and that it might be Andi but that he couldn’t believe it.’

  I hold her by the shoulders, suddenly feeling like the big sister neither us of ever had, even though I’m the younger of us. ‘Robyn, even if it’s tough, you have to be strong enough to make your own choices, no matter who you upset and hurt. Luke’s wrong to use emotional blackmail on you.’

  ‘But it’s not that easy! You’re not in my position and even if we did break away from our families, what would happen to Andi? I can’t do this to her; not now. It’s not the right time. And there’s something else. I think Luke’s involved with Mawgan. I think that’s why he really doesn’t want me to move in with Andi, because it would make the Cades furious.’

  ‘Luke told you that?’

  ‘No, but I’ve heard him on his mobile to Mawgan. I worked it out. I’m sure Mawgan has some kind of hold over him.’