Even from her place at the window seat, Lily could sense the deep love and admiration between the two siblings. She heard Chloe squeal, then slap her brother lightly on his shoulder before racing around the tree with him hot in pursuit
She sighed, her heart heavy after hearing the news. Chloe’s excellent exam results had come as a shock. Lily hadn’t even thought as far as her youngest member of staff getting good grades and leaving. But now she did, she realised that she didn’t want her to go yet. If she did, it would split up a fine team, although it might make her plan easier.
Trust you to get too close, she scolded herself.
‘What time is the taxi arriving?’ Chloe asked Lucy as she tottered around on new heels. She and Kate were going out to celebrate her exam results. Lucy had invited herself along too.
‘I haven’t ordered it yet.’ Lucy took another sip of her wine, not concerned in the slightest. ‘Kate wasn’t ready the last time I suggested it.’
But, unbeknown to Chloe, Kate was ready. She was looking through the living room window. Any minute now, she would see it.
Suddenly, she ran across the room, through the hallway and down the stairs like a shoplifter determined not to get caught. She gave Lucy a quick nod as she came into view. Lucy produced a tiny digital camera from her black clutch bag.
‘What the hell’s that racket?’ Chloe said, as she heard what could only be described as a foghorn coming from the square.
‘I’m not sure.’ Kate flung open the double doors. ‘Let’s go and see.’
‘Chloe! Surprise! It’s me! Chloe!’
Coming clearly into view, Chloe saw a white twelve-seater, stretch limousine. Manda was hanging out of the sun roof, flowers in one hand and a bottle in the other.
Chloe waved to her. ‘Manda! I’m here!’
The car blocked the street as it drew up level with them. Manda disappeared like a magicians rabbit until a chauffeur all dressed in white opened the rear side door and she jumped out.
‘What are you doing here?’ Chloe hugged her friend in delight. ‘It’s been ages since I’ve seen you. We have a lot of catching up to do.’
‘Couldn’t let this day go uncelebrated, could I?’ Manda grinned. ‘And I couldn’t celebrate our successes without seeing you.’
Chloe turned to face the others with probing eyes.
‘Erm…surprise,’ Kate smiled.
‘You!’ Chloe laughed and proceeded to jump up and down on the spot before hugging her too.
‘Come off it, Chloe.’ Manda handed her friend first the flowers and then the bottle, which turned out to be champagne. ‘You didn’t think your dad would let the day pass unnoticed, do you?’
‘Oh, but I thought –’
‘His idea,’ Kate admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. ‘He’s rang me more times than you this past week to get this sorted.’
‘Are you going to get in?’ Lily asked, joining them on the forecourt. ‘It’s rather an exciting car, something I’ve only ever seen in the newspapers or on the television. Shall I take some photographs?’
‘No, madam,’ the fine and dandy chauffeur interrupted, tipping his cap. ‘I have strict instructions to take you for a ride too.’ He waved her forward.
‘Oh, no,’ remarked Lily, her hand rising to her chest. ‘I won’t be able to get in that thing. It’s far too low for me.’
‘Lily, it has two settees,’ Chloe cried. She jumped in next to Manda who was hanging out of the sunroof again. ‘You can lie down, if you have to. We’ll only take you around the block, but you have to come with us.’
Lily didn’t have to be asked twice. Kate locked the coffee shop doors behind her and they all climbed in.
Lily had never been in a limousine before and was amazed to find out that it did in fact have settees either side of the darkened windows, as well as a television, a music centre, a mini-bar and…twelve bags of cheese and onion crisps!
‘They’re for me and Chloe,’ Manda explained as the chauffeur started the engine.
‘Right, ladies,’ he wound down the internal connecting window and pressed hard on his horn. ‘Get ready for the ride of your life!’
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Around two thirty, for about an hour every afternoon, was the quietest time in The Coffee Stop. Today, one of the tables was taken by a suited woman in her thirties, busy tapping away on her mobile phone. Another had a slightly teenage, slightly spotty boy with his slightly overweight girlfriend hell bent on getting it on right there at the table.
Chloe pointed over to where Lily and Alf were deep in conversation and had been since they’d arrived back from Hedworth forty minutes ago. ‘Just look at those two sitting over there.’
Kate looked across the room, pleased to see that she was talking about Alf and Lily.
‘They’d make a great couple, don’t you think?’
‘Hmm,’ Kate nodded. ‘It’s a shame Lily feels that sharing love again would betray Bernard’s memory.’
‘It was the same with my dad,’ Chloe added, casting her mind back to when her mum died. No one had expected Graham to stay single forever, but even she could tell by the way he acted that there had been much guilt on his part if he went out on a date. It wasn’t the dates that Chloe minded, though, more the long term relationship he had with Maddy.
Kate was behind the counter settling the bill for the suited woman when Will came in. Immediately, she felt her stomach squish around as he gave a slight wave before sitting down at table four.
‘Will’s back,’ said Chloe as she walked past. ‘It’s your turn to serve him.’
Kate smirked. ‘Why, have you gone off him all of a sudden?’
Chloe tried to look insulted but failed. ‘Come off it,’ she scoffed. ‘I never fancied him in the first place. He only has eyes for you.’
‘Oh, away with you,’ Kate brushed the comments off and picked up her notepad.
‘I’m serious.’ Chloe pushed the door into the kitchen. ‘It’s like you have a magnetic force around you. Hey, you’re blushing.’
Kate put a hand to her cheek as she walked across the room. Chloe was right, which had the added affect of making her blush even more.
‘Hi, Will. What can I get you?’
‘I’ll have a regular coffee and a cheese and tomato baguette please. No, actually, could you make that lemonade? It’s so warm today.’
‘It is, isn’t it?’ Kate busied herself writing down his order so that she couldn’t catch his eye, scared she’d blush even more. ‘It’s been a good week again so far but they’ve given out stormy weather for later. How about ice cream to follow?’
‘Sure….and, maybe – maybe I could take you out one night?’
Kate looked up as Will gave her that wonderful smile of his. Oh god, what was she going to do now? Her heart screamed yes, but her head said she wasn’t ready yet.
‘I’m sorry, I can’t,’ she told him.
Will’s smile faded and he started to fidget in his chair. ‘Oh, I…sorry. Just forget I said anything.’
‘No, I don’t mean…It’s just…’ Kate paused. What should she say? How could she get him to understand that it was too soon, yet she desperately wanted to go out with him too? ‘It’s just not perfect timing.’
Will raised his hands. ‘Hey, you don’t have to explain.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. ‘But if you do change your mind, you can always –’
Kate had stopped listening. As Lily had got to her feet, all signs of colour drained from her face. She held out her arm to steady herself, lunged forwards towards the chair in front and sat down with a thud.
Alf moved to her first. ‘Lily? Are you okay?’
‘I think so.’ Lily put her hand to her forehead, catching Kate’s worried look when she joined the two of them. Will had come over too, although he had the manners to stand a little way back.
‘Really, I’m fine,’ Lily reiterated.
‘But you’ve gone so pale.’
&nbs
p; ‘It’s nothing that a lie down won’t cure. I’m sure it’ll pass.’
Kate touched Lily’s elbow. ‘I’ll help you to your room.’
‘For goodness’ sake,’ Lily snapped, getting to her feet unaided. ‘I’m not an invalid. I can manage perfectly well by myself.’
Chloe had been out at the bank when Lily had been taken ill. Kate relayed the tale on her return.
‘How is she now?’ Chloe said afterwards.
Kate shrugged and then sighed. ‘Some of her colour has returned but she still looks pale. I’ll take her another drink later. She barely touched the last one.’
Ignoring her protests, Kate had helped Lily to her room where she’d practically collapsed onto her bed. She hadn’t said a word as she’d pulled the duvet back for her to climb into fully clothed.
‘Do you think she’s lost weight?’ asked Chloe.
Kate nodded, worried that Chloe had noticed too.
‘And Alf says she’s doesn’t want to go to bingo with him.’
‘Maybe she doesn’t feel like company all of the time.’
‘But she sits with us night after night.’ Chloe ripped open a bag of pound coins and emptied them into the till. ‘Lily and Rosie are permanent fixtures in the living room. Even when there’s no one there, more likely than not she waits up for us.’
‘She’s been through a rough few months when you think about it, though,’ Kate reasoned. ‘She’s lost her husband and she’s opened the café again. It must have taken a lot out of her.’
Chloe had an idea. ‘Maybe you should try and talk to her. If you don’t pry too much, she might tell you something.’
But Kate shook her head. ‘I’ve tried twice already. She just changes the subject. I’m not sure what to do.’
‘What about having a quiet word with Alf?’
Kate purposely stopped at his table the following afternoon. After much persuasion, Lily had taken a day off to recuperate. Chloe had called on Harry for some magazines and Lily had been banned from entering the shop until tomorrow.
‘Do you think Lily looks a little down in the dumps?’ Kate asked, passing Alf a free piece of sponge cake to enjoy with his coffee.
‘It’s hard to tell. For the life of me, I’ve never been able to work her out. ‘She never lets on how she’s feeling, especially when she isn’t too good. That’s always been her problem.’
Kate pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him. ‘We’re worried about her, Alf.’ She flashed him her best convincing smile. ‘Maybe you could talk to her?’
‘And what makes you think she’ll open her heart to me?’
‘She’s known you longer than us. With Irene away in Australia, you’re one of her closest friends.’
Alf raised his bushy eyebrows. ‘There’s a lot that you don’t know about Lily if you’re asking me as a close friend. You know she thinks a lot of you girls.’
Kate leaned forward so that table eight wouldn’t be able to hear her. ‘I didn’t mean that kind of a friend.’
Alf’s eyes began to twinkle. ‘She’s not interested in any more than friendship,’ he admitted, ‘though I have had some fun trying to persuade her otherwise.’
Kate got to her feet as the front door opened and two women rushed in from the rain shower. Then she sat down again.
‘Go on, please,’ she tried one last time. ‘Please see what’s bothering her. She won’t tell us.’
‘Have you tried hard enough?’
‘How hard is that?’
‘Extremely hard.’
‘I’ve tried a few times, but she changes the subject.’
‘Yes, she’s good at that.’ Pausing to stir his coffee before he spoke again, Alf continued. ‘Let me see what I can do.
‘Although I can’t promise anything,’ he warned quickly when he saw Kate’s face break into a smile.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Another week went by and as darker nights crept in slowly but surely, the clocks due to go back in a few weeks, trade at the coffee shop hadn’t slowed. Instead, Chloe had suggested hot chocolate and marshmallow specials at their last meeting, to start on the first of October. They’d produced flyers to pop on every table to raise a bit of interest.
At the end of her shift that day, Kate thankfully ushered the last two customers out and locked the door behind them. Busy daydreaming as she wiped clean the last two tables, Kate turned as she heard a noise behind her. She knew it wasn’t Chloe as she’d just gone upstairs.
Lily’s heels clicked slowly across the laminate flooring. Made up as immaculately as ever, her hair had been freshly set that morning when she’d popped into Hedworth to run some errands. But for all her radiant beauty, she still had a sad look in her eye.
‘All on your own?’ she asked as she got to Kate’s side.
‘Yes. What brings you down so late?’
‘I came to see how things are going with Chloe and Lucy.’
‘It’s got a little better,’ Kate answered. ‘And tonight will be a tester for them, I suppose. Can you believe I said I’d go out with the two of them on a Friday night? I must be mad. Still, if they bond over a dance and a drink, then it’ll be worth it.’
‘Sounds like fun. I hope it’s going to make things easier for you. I’m well aware that I can’t work as much as I used to.’
‘But we work for you! We enjoy it and we’re a team – well,’ Kate grinned, ‘most of the time we are.’
Lily leaned on the table for support and Kate drew out a chair for her. Lily sat down before continuing, ‘I feel like I’m not doing my share. It’s my business and I’m letting you do all the work.’
‘Isn’t that what you pay us to do?’
Lily smiled. ‘Let me help with the tables then,’ she tried instead. But she realised with a glance around that most of them had already been cleared. ‘By the way, have you decided what to do about Will yet?’
Kate had confided in Lily about her predicament but Lily had talked to her and made her see sense. Will was the first man to show an interest in Kate since she’d separated from Nick. It would have been hard for her, no matter who it was, but Lily said it was worth letting go every now and then, worth taking a chance. She reached into her apron pocket, her hand resting on the business card that Will had given to her. She’d been thinking of texting him all day.
‘Do you know what, Lily? I think I’m going to take a chance and go out with him for a drink. You never know – it might be fun.’ She grinned.
‘Well, the quicker you finish,’ Lily smiled before shooing her away as she got up again, ‘the quicker you can go and call him. Hand me that cloth.’
It had taken Kate an age to get ready before the three of them headed for Hedworth and Heroes Wine Bar. She’d been panicking all night about what the two younger women would be wearing. In the end, she’d chosen the easy way to be cool in dark skinny jeans and a deep orange top that accentuated the tone in her shoulders and upper arms. Still, she felt decidedly old as she watched a girl run along Hedworth High Street, her short, white skirt showing off toned legs, cropped top showing off her waist, blonde hair trailing behind her. The fella she was running towards came forward and twirled her round in his arms, the skirt leaving nothing to the imagination. Embarrassed – or was it jealous – she looked ahead of her, the sky revealing a menacing grey cloud between the buildings as they crossed over the road. At least it wasn’t raining yet.
‘What on earth’s that?’ Kate pointed down to Lucy’s hand, where there was a slither of leather in her palm. Lucy was as slightly dressed as the girl who had run past them earlier, in a denim mini skirt and ankle boots, her chest squashed into a tiny t-shirt.
‘My handbag,’ Lucy grinned. ‘Do you want to see what’s inside it?’
‘Is there room for anything?’
Lucy opened a zip at the side of the tiny black purse and pulled out a lipstick. ‘My key is in there,’ she pointed to another zip ‘and my money is in there. What more do I need?’
Ka
te gave her a blank look. ‘Hair brush, hair spray, blusher and brush. Mobile phone, credit card for emergencies.’
‘You bring all that with you on a night out?’ Chloe marvelled. ‘No wonder you’re tired at the end of it, with all that weight to haul around.’
‘That’s my summer essentials. There’s more in winter. Spare stockings, umbrella…’
The thud, thud of the lively up-tempo music meant all dialogue had to be suspended as they went into the venue. Heroes seemed to be as popular as they’d heard. Not a single inch of floor was left uncovered as they pushed their way to the bar. The drinks flowing freely, half-past eleven came round only too quickly. Kate took no persuading when Chloe suggested going on to a club. Stumbling as they walked to Rembrandts, they tried in vain to keep their hair in some sort of style as the shower that had been forecast turned nasty. Once inside, they flew up two flights of stairs to the first of three dance floors and made their way through the crowds until they found a space.
‘This is terrific,’ Lucy screamed at Kate over the sound of the music. ‘I’ve really enjoyed myself with you two tonight.’
Kate’s face lit up as if she hadn’t seen her in ages, rather than the minute or so it had been. ‘Hiya, Lucy,’ she slurred. ‘Where’ve you been?’
‘To the loo.’
‘Toodle-do?’ Kate laughed.
‘Where’s Chloe?’
Lucy pointed to her right where Chloe was dancing with a man who could really move around the floor. Her hair was being tossed provocatively in every direction as she worked her stuff.
‘Whoops.’ Kate felt herself fall forward again but managed to stay upright. God, she was wasted. She focused on Lucy and, when she could see only one of her, flung one arm around her neck and hugged her fiercely.
‘Whose round is it next?’
Lily switched on her bedside lamp, put on her reading glasses and looked at the clock. It only revealed what she already knew since she’d looked at it five minutes earlier. It was twenty to two in the morning. Even the mug of tea she’d got up to make hadn't settled her.
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