The Second Chance Tea Shop

by Fay Keenan

  Matthew stirred slightly. ‘Just a couple more minutes,’ he said sleepily, putting an arm around her. But within moments, he was fast asleep again.

  Anna stayed awake a little while longer, but eventually she could feel her eyelids growing heavy before she, too, drifted off.

  23

  ‘No, that’s fine, Matt, there’s no need for you to make another trip until we’re all ready to sign the final drafts.’ Chris McIvor, Head of International Distribution for FastStream, was wrapping up the conversation. The deal had been a long time coming, and Matthew was relieved.

  ‘I’ll have the contracts looked over and sent onto you by the end of the week,’ Matthew said, glancing down at the paperwork on his desk, checking that the amendments he required were clearly indicated. Once again, he felt grateful he had at least spent time studying contract law, if not, in the event, practising it.

  As Matthew was mulling this over, he realised that McIvor was still speaking. ‘You know, Matt, I have to say, eleventh hour as his involvement was, it sure is nice to have your brother on board, too. Kind of underlines the fact that we’re dealing with a family business here.’

  ‘What?’ Matthew nearly dropped the phone. Scrambling to keep it close to his ear, he managed to lose the pen he was holding in his other hand and heard it clatter onto the flagstones. ‘I mean, yes, of course.’

  ‘Yeah, Jonathan’s a real operator, isn’t he? Charmed the pants off the board when he met them.’

  I’ll bet he did, Matthew thought. ‘I’m sure,’ he managed.

  ‘And it really impressed them, knowing the two of you had been working so closely together behind the scenes to make this collaboration a success. I mean, you’ve played your cards so close to your chest on this one, it was nice to find out a little more about what really goes on on your side of the pond!’

  ‘Great.’ Matthew laughed weakly. ‘I’m glad they felt that way.’ He ducked under his desk to retrieve his pen. ‘I’ll speak to you at the end of the week, then.’

  ‘Sure. Speak soon.’

  Not for the first time, Matthew was relieved they weren’t conducting the meeting by Skype. He’d really have struggled to explain how shocked he’d looked. Picking up the phone again, he dialled, took a deep breath and waited.

  ‘It’s Matthew. Come to the office. We need to talk.’

  *

  Anna, while grateful of the influx of students from St Jude’s after school ended in the afternoon, could really have done with a breather at times. Meredith was a popular student, and since she and Flynn had got together, they had started to drop into the tea shop when their lessons ended, holding hands over ‘their’ table, or giggling together on one of the sofas in the corner. Inevitably, their friends had started to accompany them, and Anna found the levels of mess on the tables and floor of the shop increasing in direct proportion to her turnover.

  While Meredith would often help to clear tables, she was so swept up in her newfound love for Flynn that she was just as likely to trail off after him when they’d finished their post-school snacks, leaving Anna or Lizzie, who both had children, albeit of contrasting ages, to wonder in exasperation about the state of her bedroom. On a few occasions, Matthew had, rather sheepishly, had to foot the bill for Meredith’s gargantuan appetite, which, unlike Anna’s, seemed in no way diminished by being in love, bringing over the cash for her purchases to Pippin Cottage later. Anna didn’t mind this arrangement, although it played havoc with the cashing up, but she did wonder if her takings were likely to dive if and when Flynn and Meredith broke up.

  Hearing the bell above the front door clanging, Anna braced herself for the St Jude’s invasion. Sure enough, Meredith, Flynn and a troupe of their friends barrelled through the door, blue striped shirts untucked, trailing school bags and folders and chattering non-stop.

  ‘It was so, like, not like that!’ said Meredith, simultaneously smiling at Flynn and waving at Anna. ‘I was only talking to Jess to tell her the best way to answer the question, wasn’t I Jess, and Ms Bradshaw gave me a behaviour log for it.’ Flumping down on the sofa in the corner of the tea shop, she slung her bag onto the low table and let out a melodramatic sigh. ‘Dad’ll ground me until the end of term if he finds out about it.’

  ‘How’s he going to know?’ Flynn asked.

  Two pairs of eyes swivelled simultaneously in Anna’s direction. She grinned. ‘I didn’t hear anything. But you need to pay your own bill this time.’

  Meredith grinned back. ‘Fair enough. Although it is my first ever behaviour log, so perhaps I should make a point of telling him. He might even be a little bit proud of me!’

  Anna’s grin broadened. ‘I wouldn’t count on it. Now what can I get you?’

  ‘Well, we’re celebrating,’ Meredith said. ‘Flynn passed his driving test this afternoon.’ She grinned at her boyfriend. ‘Although he’s not getting his car for a few weeks, so we’ll be relying on his mum for a little while yet.’

  Anna felt a prickle of unease. Trying to write it off as maternal instinct, she forced a smile. ‘Congratulations,’ she said, turning to Flynn. ‘Have a seat and I’ll bring you over some cake.’

  Some slices of Strawberry Line Gateau and a couple of glasses of elderflower cordial later, Meredith had almost forgotten her behaviour log. She and Flynn were cuddled up on the sofa, chatting amiably with their friends. Anna looked at them, and tried to dismiss her earlier feelings. Given what had happened to James, she was bound to find teenage drivers a tricky subject, but she had to remember that Flynn had proven himself to be nothing but responsible so far, as far as Meredith was concerned. Focussing on the here and now, Anna glanced at the cake crumbs on the floor and sighed inwardly. It was a far cry from the infamous food fight, thankfully, but she’d definitely need her dustpan and brush this evening.

  *

  ‘Why the hell didn’t you tell me Jonathan was back as an active partner on the board? I’ve been up to my bollocks in the American distribution deal, I couldn’t wade out if I was drowning, and now I find he’s swanned in and virtually closed it single-handed? What the fuck have you two been playing at?’

  ‘Look, just calm down.’ Jack took off his jacket and threw it over the chair opposite Matthew’s desk.

  ‘This had better be good,’ Matthew muttered. He resented, still, how his father could make him feel like a naughty schoolboy.

  ‘Jonathan rang me a while back,’ Jack began. ‘He’d heard through the grapevine we were courting FastStream, and wanted to offer some inside knowledge. He’s had some dealings with them before, and thought he could be of assistance.’

  ‘And you didn’t think to tell me?’ Matthew couldn’t sit down, instead, prowling the office like a caged tiger.

  ‘We didn’t want to say anything until we knew it would be of benefit,’ Jack replied. ‘He wanted to keep things low-key until he was sure he could be of help. I promised him I’d keep it under my hat until the right moment.’

  ‘So you’ve kept quiet about this for quite a while then?’ Matthew could feel his temper rising. ‘And now I’ve found out, purely by accident, you’re coming clean? Jesus, I must have sounded like the biggest twat on the phone to FastStream.’

  ‘Jonathan wanted to surprise you with it,’ Jack replied. ‘He feels he’s not been as… helpful as he should have been over the years.’

  ‘Surprise me?’ Matthew said bleakly. ‘Well, if nothing else, he’s done that.’ He came around the front of his desk. ‘Dad, when are you going to learn? I run this company now, not you. It’s been my blood, sweat and tears that have built this business into what it is over the past decade. Mine. I’ve put everything I had into it, and now you’re swanning in here and telling me you’ve made a unilateral decision to get Jonathan back in?’

  ‘Matthew, son,’ Jack stood up again, ‘Jonathan still holds a stake in the business. I thought it would be a chance to bring the two of you back together. You’ve been so far apart for so many years now. I’m sorry. But he has done
well.’

  ‘Of course he has,’ Matthew said bitterly. ‘He could have gone over there, pissed in a bottle and got them to drink it and you’d still think the sun shone out of his arse.’

  ‘Look,’ Jack tried again, ‘I know this has come as a bit of a shock, but surely anything that proves we’re pulling together can only be a good thing. You know how these Americans are. And Jonathan’s got the gift of the gab. With his talk and your brains, this could be a really big thing for us.’

  ‘I was handling it, Dad,’ Matthew ran a hand over his eyes. ‘A few more days and it would have been in the bag. I make the decisions.’

  ‘You’ve barely seen your brother in years. For the first time in his life he’s shown a real interest in the business. He wants to be involved again. What’s so wrong with that?’ Jack retorted.

  Hesitating for a moment longer, Matthew finally spoke. ‘OK, Dad. We’ll do it your way. Let Jonathan have a part in it. But if he fucks this up, I want him off the board. Permanently.’

  ‘Understood,’ Jack said quietly. ‘But give Jonathan a chance. Let him prove to you he can help to close this deal.’ He stood up from the chair, still tall, spare and elegant, even in his eightieth year. ‘Your mother would have been so sad to see the two of you still so far apart after all these years.’

  Matthew felt a jolt of compassion for the man in front of him. ‘Mum would have understood,’ he said gruffly. ‘Just don’t keep me in the dark any more, all right?’

  As Jack left his office, Matthew sank back into the chair behind his desk, head swimming. Jonathan’s hand in the deal was a huge risk and all of Matthew’s anger and bitterness threatened to come back to the fore. He had no idea how he was going to face his brother, and now Jonathan was, evidently, back on the board of the business as an active partner, Matthew couldn’t see how he could avoid that. Grabbing his mobile phone, he texted Anna and said he couldn’t see her that evening. This was one set of problems he couldn’t burden her with until he had it all straight in his own mind. Opening his bottom drawer, he pulled out a bottle of whisky and poured a slug into his coffee cup.

  24

  It was late in the evening when Meredith wandered into the living room. Matthew was slumped on the Chesterfield sofa, watching a repeat of the last international rugby game, recorded a few weeks back. She slid next to him and he put his arm around her.

  ‘Homework done?’ he asked.

  ‘Yup.’

  ‘Even that history essay?’

  ‘Did that one first.’

  Matthew looked surprised. ‘Well done.’

  ‘Wikipedia’s well useful!’ Meredith grinned.

  Matthew smiled. Meredith always managed to lift his spirits. Once again, as he had many times in the past, he thanked god she’d stayed with him.

  For a few minutes they watched the match in companionable silence. Then, as the referee called for half time and Matthew went to skip the recording forward, Meredith spoke.

  ‘I’ve had a few emails from Mum lately,’ she said.

  Matthew stopped fiddling with the remote. ‘Oh yes? How is she?’

  ‘Fine, I think. She’s got a role in a new play, but rehearsals don’t start until September.’

  ‘That’s nice.’ Matthew kept his voice carefully neutral.

  ‘The thing is, Dad,’ Meredith started to pick at the hem of her dark blue school skirt. ‘She’s kind of, like, asked if I want to fly out to Florida and spend the summer holiday with her.’

  Matthew went very still. Putting down the remote, he turned around to face his daughter. Seeing the apprehension on her face, his heart skipped a beat. ‘And would you like to go?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Meredith said carefully. ‘I mean, I’d love to go to America again, and I thought I might go with you when you sort out this deal thing. But she seems really keen to see me.’

  ‘Well you haven’t seen each other for a little while,’ Matthew replied, relieved that his voice didn’t betray the churning that had started in his stomach at the thought of Meredith going away. ‘Perhaps she wants to get to know you a bit better. And if you go with me, you’ll just be stuck in hotel rooms the whole time while I’m in meetings, so it won’t be much fun.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know – I quite like room service! But seriously, Dad. What do you think? Should I go?’

  ‘It’s entirely up to you, my darling. If you want to go, then you should go.’

  ‘But what about you? How will you manage without me?’

  Matthew smiled. ‘I’ll cope. Pat can come in for an extra hour or two a week to stop me being buried in dirty washing and takeaway wrappers!’

  ‘And you’ll have Anna to keep an eye on you,’ Meredith mused. ‘Dad, are you blushing?’

  ‘What? No, don’t be daft!’ Matthew cleared his throat and busied himself with cueing up the second half of the rugby match.

  ‘Well, Mum did say Todd’s villa in Florida has a pool and stables,’ Meredith said. ‘So if she gets too heavy, I can get out of her hair.’

  ‘Todd?’ Matthew said.

  ‘Oh, come on Dad, you know very well Todd’s her boyfriend.’

  ‘Oh. Right. Well then.’

  There was a small silence again.

  ‘So… you don’t mind if I go?’ Meredith sounded much younger than her years.

  Putting an arm back around his daughter’s shoulders, Matthew pulled her close. He breathed in the scent of coconut shampoo as she snuggled against him, remembering how her hair used to smell when she was a fraction of the age she was now.

  ‘If you want to, Meredith, then you go,’ he said gruffly. ‘I’ll be fine, and you’ve worked hard all year at school, that one behaviour log aside. You deserve a break. And if it all gets a bit too much, I can always fly over and collect you. I’ll be back in the US at some point to finish some things.’ That’s if Jonathan doesn’t get there first, he thought grimly.

  ‘Thanks Dad.’ Her voice was muffled against the fabric of his rugby shirt.

  ‘What date does she suggest you go over?’

  ‘A couple of days after term ends – back at the start of September.’

  Matthew fought a wave of desolation. ‘That’s quite a long time,’ he said guardedly. ‘What about your holiday work?’

  ‘Perhaps I could go for a month or so, and then see how I feel about staying.’

  ‘And Flynn would no doubt miss you,’ Matthew said, managing a wry smile.

  ‘That’s the other reason I’m a bit meh about going, to be honest, Dad. I mean, what if he dumps me while I’m away?’

  This time, Matthew had to fight back a grin. ‘If he really likes you, he’ll wait for you,’ he said. Secretly, he hoped by the time Meredith came back, perhaps it would be the other way round.

  ‘And there’s always Skype and Instagram,’ Meredith conceded. ‘So it won’t be that bad.’

  ‘Sounds like you’ve made a decision,’ Matthew said, trying to hold back the disappointment. He knew he had to let her go, but it didn’t make the decision any easier.

  Meredith smiled. ‘If you’re sure you’ll be OK.’

  ‘I did manage to take care of myself for quite a few years before you came along, daughter of mine,’ Matthew said, poking her in the ribs playfully.

  Meredith looked thoughtful. ‘It’ll be good to catch up with Mum, and this place of Todd’s sounds awesome. But if I don’t like it, I can still come back early, can’t I?’

  ‘Of course,’ Matthew said. ‘Just keep in touch and let me know.’

  ‘You’re the best!’ Meredith gave him a quick hug. ‘I’ll email Mum tomorrow and let her know.’ Bouncing off the sofa, she leaned over and kissed Matthew goodnight. ’See you in the morning.’

  ‘I’ll probably take Sefton out for a last run in a bit,’ Matthew said. ‘Will you be OK by yourself?’

  Meredith rolled her eyes. ‘Sure, Dad. Don’t spend too long round Anna’s – you’ve got work tomorrow, remember.’

  ‘I don’t know what you
mean,’ Matthew said. ‘Sefton’s particularly fond of the walk through the East Orchard at this time of night.’

  ‘Say hi to Anna for me!’ Meredith laughed. ‘And tell her I’ll pop over tomorrow.’

  ‘Will do.’ As he settled down to watch the rest of the rugby, Matthew’s thoughts veered between amusement his daughter was cross-questioning him about his love life and a sense of creeping unease about this renewal of relations with Tara.

  25

  The soft chime of the grandfather clock in the downstairs hall reminded Anna that she hadn’t eaten a proper meal all day. She’d grazed at the tea shop, but the lunchtime rush had put paid to actually sitting down and eating a proper sandwich, and she hadn’t felt like cooking for herself after being around food all day. Ellie had had tea at nursery so Anna had settled for a cup of tea and a biscuit and was putting the mug in the dishwasher when there was a soft tap at the back door.

  ‘Hey,’ she said as she opened the door. ‘I wasn’t sure I’d see you tonight.’

  Matthew stepped in out of the rain, which had begun abruptly and showed no sign of ceasing.

  ‘Just wondered if you fancied company,’ he said.

  ‘And what makes you think I don’t have some wild night planned?’ Anna teased.

  ‘I’ve just heard Charlotte telling Simon off for getting home too late to pick Evan up from nursery, so I’m guessing she’s not going to be dragging you out for a night on the tiles tonight!’ Matthew quipped.

  Anna grinned. ‘But I might have had a date with someone!’

  Matthew crossed the kitchen and put his arms around Anna’s waist. ‘I’d soon see him off!’