The Cosy Little Cupcake Van: A deliciously feel-good romance

by Annette Hannah

  ‘I was saved by a homeless charity who gave me a bed and then a job working for them and then they supported me into buying the van so I’m now completely self-sufficient. I can support myself, pay my own rent and I even have enough savings to pay for a round-the-world trip, which I’m hoping to do next year.’

  Camilla saw the reflections of the flames in his green eyes; she would never have guessed he’d had such a hard time as he’d seemed so cheery to her today. Then she realised that nobody would guess what had happened to her lately as she was also able to wear a mask in public.

  ‘I’m so sorry you went through all of that.’ She placed her gloved hand on his arm and he patted it gently. ‘Do you ever see your mum? And what about your siblings?’

  He took another swig of his drink and waved goodbye to some of the other stallholders who were leaving.

  ‘I don’t see her that often but I email and text her a lot. She’s not with him anymore thank God and my brothers and sister are older now so she is working and much happier. She constantly apologises to me but I’ve told her there’s no need. She felt she needed a man in her life at that time just for the security more than anything. I used to send her my wages but she doesn’t let me anymore as they’re all doing okay. What about you?’ He tentatively tapped her leg with his knee.

  ‘My story is quite complicated but the simplified version is that I lost my mum a little while ago and my world fell apart. Then as if that wasn’t bad enough, her husband destroyed her will and basically stole her house. The legal fees were exorbitant, and I lost my car and having split up with my boyfriend we lost our flat as I couldn’t afford it on my own. I was worried I’d have to sofa surf but then my friend offered me a room at the B&B in Bramblewood. I pretty much hibernated there for a week, drowning in my own sorrow, but then my other friend offered me a temporary job.’

  She could see by the look on his face that he felt terrible at upsetting her and didn’t want to push her.

  ‘I’m sorry; but to be honest your mum’s husband sounds like a right scumbag.’

  ‘Yes, it’s unbelievable isn’t it. He told me he was sorting everything out and then did a moonlight flit. There are some very greedy people in this world.’

  He squeezed her arm reassuringly. ‘I’ve heard about cases like this before. It then becomes one word against another with no legal proof. Wills are so flimsy and it’s unbelievable to think the most expensive thing you’ll ever own in your life can be written on a scrap of paper. A friend of mine thought his will was safely at the solicitor’s until he needed it and found that he should have been paying them annually to keep it otherwise it’s just gone.

  ‘Anyway, enough of this gloomy talk. It looks like you’re not doing too bad for yourself now with your own business.’

  She sniffed and nodded her head. ‘I’m doing okay actually.’

  ‘I know it won’t seem like it now but one day you’ll look back at all this and realise it’s what made you into the fabulous person that you are. Sometimes shitty things happen to good people but it’s how we deal with it that counts. You could hide away and bury yourself in self-pity or shrug it off and make your life the best it can be, knowing that you did it on your own.’

  ‘I like the sound of that,’ she said, ‘but I didn’t do it on my own, as my friends helped me a lot.’

  ‘That’s great but they could only do so much. Ultimately it has to come from you to work hard and carve out your own destiny and it looks to me like you’ve got that under control.’

  Camilla nodded; he was right. She had never got as much satisfaction as she did when she stepped inside her cupcake van and delivered a little piece of happiness everywhere she went. She felt sad about the house for her mum’s sake and tried hard not to dwell on that too much, but she had inherited her mum’s get up and go and her work ethic and nobody could take those attributes away from her.

  The bell rang abruptly for last orders and she stood up and put her arms in her coat and he helped her before he put on his own. He bid goodnight to the bar staff and held the door open for her.

  ‘You know there’s no shame in having been homeless; in fact don’t they say that everyone is just a couple of pay packets away from it? So I think you should maybe not be so hard on yourself and make sure you hold your head up high.’

  She smiled and nodded a thank you. She observed him looking at her face and self-consciously checked that her hair was tucked into her woolly bobble hat. He walked her to her van.

  ‘You love this van, don’t you?’ He laughed. ‘You just smiled at it like it was an old friend.’

  ‘I really do. Every time I see her, she makes me smile. I think she’s the first step to me gaining my independence back again and that feels good.’

  ‘You make me smile,’ he replied as he kissed her gently on the cheek. She felt the warmth of his lips defrost her cold skin.

  ‘Hey, have you got plans for Christmas Day?’ he asked after opening her van door for her. She hadn’t really wanted to think about Christmas. Since losing her mum Christmas didn’t hold the joy that it once did. Auntie Edie had invited her to Dorset to spend it with her and her daughter’s family; Carrie had mentioned she would be doing a special dinner at the B&B; and Lucy had invited her to the Signal Box Café where she was having a private family dinner. Camilla had felt extremely grateful for all the offers but couldn’t face the thought of bringing her sadness to other families who were feeling joyful.

  ‘I haven’t made my mind up yet. I’ve had lots of invites but I’m not really feeling it at the moment.’ She started up the engine.

  ‘How do you fancy spending it with me doing something worthwhile?’

  ‘That sounds good actually,’ she replied through lips that were now shivering in the cold. She passed him a business card. ‘Here’s my number. Just let me know where and when and I’ll be there.’

  He closed her door and waved her off out of the car park. She felt a warm comforting feeling inside and it wasn’t because she had just put the heating on full.

  Chapter 17

  Christmas Day arrived in the twinkling of a fairy light. Camilla had wished Carrie and Jim a merry Christmas and had given them a present over breakfast. She also gave each of Carrie’s cats a special new toy as she had become very fond of them; they were always there for a cuddle whenever she needed one. She hadn’t felt this excited for months and wolfed down her salmon and scrambled egg on toast in no time. She had a tiny sip of Bucks Fizz and then headed round to the Signal Box Café to load up the van with her creations.

  She drove the forty-five minutes to get to the leisure centre, which had kindly donated the use of their facilities to the charity. She was excited to see Ged in the car park unloading his van with some helpers. He waved to her and after passing a bin bag to another man he walked over to meet her.

  ‘Hi, cupcake queen, merry Christmas!’ he said kissing her on both cheeks.

  ‘Merry Christmas to you too.’ She smiled, feeling happier than she had done for a long time. ‘Now where do I need to put these?’ She gestured to some large plastic boxes in the van.

  ‘Wait, I’ll just go and get a trolley.’ He walked briskly to the door of the leisure centre and returned soon after with a trolley on which they loaded the boxes.

  ‘Looks like you’ve been busy,’ he remarked with a smile.

  ‘I think I got a little carried away.’ She smiled back. They entered the sports hall and she was fascinated with the buzz that surrounded her. Long trestle tables were set up at one end, which some helpers were laying with tablecloths, cutlery and glassware. The other end had more trestle tables on which the volunteers were laying out clean warm clothing and shoes and coats. Camilla had added to the clothing by asking around her friends and neighbours, all of whom had contributed to the worthy cause. She had also been in touch with shops and asked for donations of underwear and toiletries. As they approached the dining tables Ged explained the procedure.

  ‘The day starts earl
y and our homeless guests can arrive from ten thirty. They are taken to the clothes tables where they can choose some new clothes, then through to the changing rooms where they can shower and change into the fresh new outfits, and if they would like their original clothes washed then we can do that too and have them ready for when they leave.

  ‘We have so many volunteers here to help. We have legal people, people who can get them employed again and people who can help with paperwork and such like.’

  Camilla was impressed and so proud to be among such a fascinating group of people. ‘Is that a hairdresser setting up over there?’ she asked.

  Ged looked to the direction she was pointing. ‘Yes we have lots of hairdressers and barbers and it’s amazing the transformation you see to some of these people just with a bit of grooming and attention. D’you know I’ve met some of the most interesting people of my life in this place.’

  They reached the tables and proceeded to open the boxes that Camilla had brought with her. Ged’s eyes widened when he saw what she’d brought, and a sense of pride washed over her.

  ‘These are amazing,’ he said as he began to place them on the tables. A young woman with multi-coloured hair came over to kiss Ged hello. She had been placing Christmas crackers on the side plates.

  ‘Hi, Ged, what have you got here then?’ she enquired.

  ‘Hi, Jess, meet Camilla, our cupcake queen.’ Jess looked at her and nodded an indifferent hello. Camilla held out her hand but it wasn’t reciprocated.

  ‘So where are the cupcakes then?’ she asked looking puzzled.

  ‘They’re here, you nit,’ replied Ged playfully as he and Camilla placed the cupcakes, which were cleverly disguised as Christmas wreaths, onto the table. There were ten cupcakes in each wreath, Camilla had iced them so skilfully that it looked like ribbons and bows and even baubles were entwined with real fir leaves.

  Jess couldn’t hide how impressed she was. ‘I honestly thought they were real,’ she admitted.

  Camilla opened another box, which had some simple Christmas cakes that she had made with iced snow scenes on them, decorated with little Father Christmases and snowmen. They looked jolly and festive. Camilla and Ged placed one in the centre of each of the wreaths. They received lots of compliments from the other volunteers as they went about their business.

  Soon the hall was filled with people from all walks of life. A brass band and a choir had set up in the centre and they sang and played carols, which brought a tear to many an eye. Camilla was soon waiting on the tables and bringing food to hungry men, women and children. Some had dogs with them that they wouldn’t part with so they were given food too. Camilla got talking to a lawyer who was there to offer free legal advice but also helped out with the tea trolley.

  ‘What made you give up your time today?’ she asked.

  ‘I know what it’s like,’ he replied. ‘I’ve been there and this charity helped me back on my feet again. I lost my wife and child in an accident and I literally fell to pieces, turned to drink and lost absolutely everything. These wonderful people picked me back up again and put me back together piece by piece.’

  She gave him a hug and later mentioned her conversation to Ged. He wasn’t surprised. ‘Do you see that young man over there?’ He pointed to a smart young man who was laughing and joking with some of their guests. ‘He was made homeless because his family kicked him out for being gay.’

  Camilla’s hand covered her mouth in shock and pity for the young man. Ged continued, ‘He now owns his own business with pop-up restaurants. He’s amazing and he’s supplied all the food here today. Pretty much all of the volunteers here have been through the same thing our guests have been through.’

  ‘I feel so humbled to be here,’ she replied. Her problems were nothing compared to these wonderful people and she vowed never to feel sorry for herself again. The man who Camilla had been talking to earlier motioned to Ged to come with him. Ged put his hand gently at the small of Camilla’s back and led her toward the kitchen. ‘Now it’s our turn,’ he said. ‘And I don’t know about you, but I’m famished.’

  Camilla hadn’t realised that she would get fed too and happily moved her tray along the canteen-style café and joined the first shift of the volunteers to have their Christmas dinner. Serving their guests had made her tummy rumble; the roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings had smelt delicious and was fit for a king.

  After they’d eaten and Camilla had heard more fascinating stories of how people had overcome adversity, they went back to the main hall where the volunteers were now laying out camp beds, each with a pillow and blanket.

  ‘They’d love to do more,’ said Ged, ‘but there just isn’t enough money to go round so at least they get a decent meal and a dry bed once a year and a chance to be treated like a human being again.’

  Camilla was filled with admiration; she’d learnt that the charity provided a soup kitchen in London and a women and children’s shelter local to her. She was determined to help out more often. She saw Jess hanging around Ged quite a bit and could see that she was completely in love with him. She wondered if he knew. She figured he would be a hard one to pin down as he was such a free spirit. She really liked that about him. He exuded an energy that seemed inextinguishable. Even though he’d been through a hard time he didn’t have an ounce of self-pity.

  She decided then and there that she would not be the victim anymore. If there was something that she could change to improve a situation she would do but if not she would learn to accept it and move on. She would be forever grateful to Ged for enlightening her to this situation. These people were to be admired for the challenges they had faced and conquered, and the fact that they wanted to pay it back was admirable.

  As they parted later at the car park, she felt her emotions getting the better of her and planted a big kiss on his lips. His eyes widened and looked deep into hers but then they were interrupted by Jess who was calling for him to help her with something.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Ged, I don’t know what just came over me, I guess it’s been an emotional day. Heat radiated from her face; she was sure she could give the Santa a run for his money in the rosy-cheeked stakes.

  Ged squeezed her hand. ‘No problem. Thanks for coming and merry Christmas.’ He saluted to her then followed Jess back into the hall.

  When she got home, Camilla relayed the whole day – apart from the kiss – to Carrie and Jim over a couple of brandies and when she went to bed, she fell into a deep and contented sleep.

  Chapter 18

  Flicking through the local newspaper over an early breakfast, Camilla noticed a delightful cottage available for rent in Flowerpot Lane; she circled it in thick black pen, tore it out of the paper and slipped it into her coat pocket. She would transfer the number to her phone later. Her cupcakes were in such high demand that she was having to go to the Signal Box Café as soon as breakfast was over and then stay until the evening rush, by which time they almost wouldn’t know she had been there. That is of course apart from the delicious tell-tale smell of vanilla and chocolate that mingled in the air, along with the Signal Box specials of the day, which cooked in industrial-sized slow cookers.

  At four o’clock she had loaded her wares into the cupcake van and began her deliveries. Once she had finished, she was able to call the estate agent and arrange for a viewing. Her heart raced with excitement as she made her way around there, past The Unicorn pub, which she was glad to see again as she almost believed that she’d dreamt it.

  It would have been easy to imagine that she had been transported into the middle of the countryside, such was the rural feel of the leafy lane. Large, thatched cottages with extremely well kempt gardens lined the edges. After a little while the lane narrowed to allow only one car at a time and then she saw three cottages in a horseshoe shape. To the left was Angel Cottage, to the right Rose Cottage and straight ahead was the cottage with no name. It was painted white with black oak beams. The leaded windows were filthy and unlike its two pri
stine neighbours the garden was a tangled mess with some weeds reaching to her waist, but she didn’t care about that because the flutters in her stomach assured her that she had fallen in love at first sight.

  Relieved to be wearing jeans she tried to negotiate where once a path had been. Paint peeled off the unloved wooden front door and the window ledges, and she could see the remnants of a house martin nest in the eaves. She knocked on the heavy brass knocker though she was doubtful if anyone would answer as the place looked deserted. After waiting a little while she peered through the windows, wiping at the dirt with a tissue, then she heard voices coming from the garden. She went to the back gate, which had the same dried-up paint peeling off it and knocked on the wood.

  ‘Hello,’ she shouted.

  The voices got nearer, and she could hear the bolt unlocking and a man and woman came out. The woman offered her hand and introduced herself.

  ‘Hi, I’m Janet Ashcroft from Ashcroft and Barnes Estate Agent. You must be Miss Lockley. I’m so sorry but the previous appointment ran over a little and Mr Daniels has just agreed to take on the cottage I’m afraid so it’s no longer available.’

  Camilla’s hand went limp in hers as she stood open-mouthed looking at Blake in disbelief.

  He leaned and kissed her lightly on the cheek. ‘Cami, hi, how are you? I didn’t realise you were looking for somewhere to live?’

  Her hand instinctively reached to touch the place where his lips had been. The skin tingled; his aftershave lingered in the air around her and she breathed it in.