by Georgia Hill
‘Sounds like hard work.’
‘That’s Life’s other surprise. Most of it is bloody hard work.’
‘Thanks, Mil. You really know how to cheer a girl up.’ Zoe was gloomy.
‘Anytime.’ Millie made to get up – there was a cider and sultana cake waiting to come out of the oven – but stopped and took Zoe’s hand in hers. ‘Talk to your parents, though, won’t you? Talk it through with them.’
‘And Sean.’
‘Of course. Sean too. Good girl.’
‘Millie,’ Zoe protested. ‘I’m nearly eighteen. All growed up.’
‘So you are, Zoe,’ Millie said softly. ‘So you are.’
Chapter 24
It was inevitable, in such a small town, that Millie bumped into Tessa.
Millie had popped in to see Biddy and was hurrying down the high street, a scampering Trevor at her heels. It was two days before the parties and she still had loads to do. She was desperate to get back to the café. She saw Tessa coming out of the chemist’s on the opposite side of the street. Millie walked on, hoping she hadn’t been spotted but Tessa waved and nipped across the road in front of the bus, which was groaning its way up the hill to Axminster.
‘Hi, Millie,’ she said cheerfully enough. ‘How are you doing?’
Millie let Tessa fuss Trevor before trusting herself to answer. ‘I’m okay.’ She tried for a civilised tone but was aware it sounded forced.
‘I loved my birthday present. Thank you so much. Gave me a right giggle when I opened it.’
Millie had given the mug to Sean to pass on to his mum. It had been the first time in many years she hadn’t celebrated a birthday with Tessa.
‘Heard the café’s being re-launched.’ Tessa nodded, her expression eager. ‘Sound! Hope it’s going well?’
‘Yes thank you.’
‘So, I’ll see you around, kiddo?’
‘Probably. Got to go. Lots to do.’
‘Aw, Mil, please don’t be like that.’ Tessa caught her arm.
Millie turned back, startled to see tears in her friend’s eyes.
‘I’m sorry, Millie. I’m really, really sorry. I thought you’d see why I had to do it.’
There was a pause. Tessa had been her best friend and she missed her so much. ‘I do, sort of,’ Millie admitted and looked down, scuffling her feet. ‘I just feel a bit –’
‘Shafted. Yeah, I get that. If it’s any consolation, the new job’s crap.’
‘Is it?’ Millie looked properly at Tessa for the first time. She was grey with fatigue.
‘They keep on at me to reduce costs, cut corners with cheaper ingredients. Non-organic stuff, like. Keep upping the targets too. I just can’t bake what they want, the way they want it. My bread’s too expensive.’ She gave a little hiccough. ‘And I’ve missed you so much, kiddo.’
Millie wasn’t quite ready to forgive. ‘You’ve caused me a lot of hassle.’ She jerked her head towards Berringtons. ‘I had to do a deal with the bakers.’ One look at Tessa, who was now distraught and had tears streaming down her face, had her opening her arms. ‘Oh I’ve missed you too, Tess. So much.’
They hugged, ignoring a startled tourist passing by and an overexcited Trevor, who was jumping up and trying to get in on the action.
‘Oh, babe, can I come back? Can I do some stuff for you again? I’ve got some great ideas. Only I can’t get out of my contract for a bit. It’s a bloody pain. Oh, I’m so sorry!’ Tessa’s words jumped over themselves and were soaked through with tears.
Eventually everything calmed down. Millie passed Tessa some tissues and they mopped each other up.
‘You’ve got mascara all down your cheek, I always told you to wear waterproof,’ Tessa sniffed. ‘Here, let me get it off.’
‘You don’t look too hot yourself,’ Millie countered. ‘Get down, Trevor,’ she added to the dog, who was beside himself, sensing the drama.
‘Never was a pretty crier, me.’ Tessa scrubbed her eyes. ‘Should have seen me after each of the kids were born. Total mess.’
‘Your Sean’s a bit of a superstar.’ Millie blew her nose and pocketed the tissues.
‘He is an’ all. Can’t be too awful a person if I produced him, can I?’ Tessa glanced at Millie, checking they were alright.
‘No. Although I think he’s got most of Ken’s genes.’
Tessa grinned. ‘If you’re back to insults we must be okay now.’
‘Of course we’re okay.’ Millie hugged her again then wagged a finger. ‘Don’t start crying again! I’m on my way back to the café. Fancy a coffee?’
Tessa put her arm through Millie’s. ‘You bet! Think we’ve got some catching up to do, haven’t we?’ She gave Millie a keen look. ‘For a start, I want all the goss on this hot man you’ve got in tow.’
Millie grinned at her friend. ‘I think we have. Not that we’ll have much time to chat. Got far too much to do and I’ve got just the job for you.’
Tessa groaned. ‘Well, I suppose I deserve that. Come on then, kiddo. We’d better get a move on.’
Chapter 25
It was two in the morning and Millie couldn’t sleep. As she sat in front of the computer, waiting for it to start up, she rubbed a weary hand over her face. Maybe it was the thought of the day ahead that was keeping her awake – or maybe it was what Tessa had told her.
They’d chatted while cleaning the big picture windows, making them sparkle in the last rays of the sun, which was glowing pink and orange as it sank into the sea. After telling Millie what an awful company Blue Elephant was to work for, Tessa had dropped her bombshell.
Millie jumped as the computer sprang into life. She put in her password. With her finger poised over Google, she hesitated. She was about to find out the truth.
Taking a deep breath, found the right key and pressed before she had time to think any more. To back out. She entered the name Tessa had told her to look for.
The room went very still. Millie’s existence shrank to the rectangle of light in front of her and the information displayed. A short paragraph written in stark black and white. But they were words that turned everything on its head.
The roar of the surf outside faded and was replaced by a louder one in her head. Her throat hurt with unshed tears. She blinked them back, rubbed her eyes and repeated the search. It brought up the same result.
An incandescent fury consumed her. If she thought Tessa’s betrayal had been bad, it was nothing to this. She slammed the laptop lid down and stalked up and down the sitting room, with a fierce energy fuelled by rage. And then, just as suddenly, the anger left her. She fell, boneless and trembling onto the sofa. Trevor crept next to her, pressing his little body against hers, sensing her distress.
Millie put her head in her hands, finally letting the tears fall. Trevor whined and licked the salt from her cheeks. She gathered him up and wept into his fur.
Chapter 26
There was no denying it, the afternoon tea party was a raging success. The sun shone, the guests flocked to the café dressed in their best, the food was appreciated and tea was dispensed in gallons from brown-Betty teapots borrowed from the W.I. Arthur put himself in charge of the music and a series of big-band favourites echoed around the walls of the sun terrace. The newly painted chairs and tables were put at the edge, leaving a space for dancing in the middle. Even the most elderly and frail joined in, not quite ready to let go of the dance steps of their youth. Biddy’s bunting fluttered in a warm spring breeze and the movement was echoed by the women’s pretty dresses as they danced.
The local newspaper sent along a journalist who interviewed Millie and a photographer who ate his own weight in cupcakes. Then they stayed to dance, promising to come along to the evening do as well. The party even gathered an audience of tourists and dog-walkers, who cheered and clapped at the end of each dance and took endless shots on their phones.
One part of Millie, the non broken-hearted part, enjoyed it all immensely. Over the years she had learned to be good a
t hiding her feelings and, today, she had never been more grateful for it. If she appeared blank-faced and exhausted she let people put it down to hard work.
Zoe came over after executing a nifty jitterbug with Beryl, aged seventy-eight. ‘Oh this is so much fun!’ she panted, out of breath. ‘It’s completely awesome. Everyone’s said how much they’ve enjoyed the Valentine’s-themed week too. Well done, Mil.’
‘Well done yourself,’ Millie managed. ‘You and Sean, and Arthur too, have worked on this just as hard.’
‘Has Granddad told you about Daisy?’ Zoe flung herself down on a lime-green chair.
‘No. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet.’
‘Come on,’ Zoe slapped the wall next to her. ‘Sit down for five minutes. You haven’t stopped all afternoon. You look knackered.’
‘Well, thank you.’ Millie perched on the wall.
‘Sorry, Millie. You know what I mean, though. Burning the candle at both ends. Isn’t that what Biddy would say?’
‘Something like that.’
‘In the Mood’ rang out, silencing them for a moment.
‘Oh, get a load of this! Clare dancing with Granddad! Hang on, I’ve got to get a pic.’ Zoe raced off, took the picture on her phone and returned, laughing. She showed Millie. ‘Never thought I’d see that, although she’s the biggest Strictly fan going. She’s going to get so much grief over this!’
Millie looked at the photograph, shielding the screen from the bright sun. Arthur and Clare had huge grins plastered across their faces as they attempted a sedate jive. She smiled. She was very fond of Arthur and it was good to see him having so much fun. She handed the phone back to Zoe. ‘At least she persuaded Arthur to give up being DJ for five minutes. What’s this about Daisy?’
‘Oh, yes,’ Zoe said, her attention on the phone as she scrolled down. ‘Apparently, and this is weirdness beyond a very weird thing, a mystery benefactor has paid for the operation. Daisy was taken in yesterday, had the op, all went well and the best thing of all, the tumour’s benign.’ Zoe grinned. ‘Isn’t that the greatest news ever? She got driven to Bristol in a special doggie ambulance. Must’ve cost a packet.’ She looked up. ‘You don’t look very relieved.’
‘I am.’ Millie forced a happy face. ‘Of course I am. I’m delighted for Arthur and Daisy.’ She knew exactly who had been behind it all. Who else would have the money for such a grand gesture? It would make what she had to do later all the more difficult. The music seemed too loud suddenly, the sun blinding her as it bounced off the terrace’s white walls. She had to get away. She watched as Arthur chivalrously led a beaming Clare back to her chair, where she sat with her great aunt. ‘Look, Zoe, I think I’m getting a headache,’ she began, ‘and I need to check on Trevor, he’s been cooped up in the flat –’
Zoe, however, had other ideas. ‘Hang on a mo’, Millie. You might be about to witness a first in Berecombe’s long and illustrious history.’
‘What?’ Millie couldn’t help but be irritable. She was genuinely developing a headache and needed to take something before it took hold. She still had a long day ahead of her before she could crawl into bed and cry.
‘Look,’ said Zoe wonderingly. ‘Granddad is about to ask Biddy for a dance. I think The Big Berecombe Reconciliation might be about to unfold!’
They watched as Arthur approached Biddy, who was sitting in the shade with some friends, Elvis on her knee. The music prevented them from hearing what he was saying but the meaning of his gestures was clear.
Arthur placed his hand on his heart and put his head on one side. Conciliatory. Then he bowed down low, holding out one hand. Biddy gave him an old-fashioned look, raised her brows and appeared to consider the matter. Millie and Zoe held their breath, then watched as Biddy handed Elvis to her neighbour and took Arthur’s hand in hers.
Arthur led her into a space that had magically appeared in the middle of the group of dancers. He bowed again before straightening and placing a reverent hand on Biddy’s waist. Biddy rested her hand carefully on his shoulder and they began a stately dance to a slow version of ‘Begin the Beguine’.
Millie and Zoe sighed in unison.
‘I think that was the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen,’ Millie said, through tears.
‘Way to go, Granddad.’ Zoe turned to Millie, her eyes shining. ‘Told him the flowers and grovelling apology would work.’
Millie watched as Arthur and Biddy danced. They were gazing into one another’s eyes with rapt attention. It looked as if their friendship, or romance, or whatever they had, was back on track. She was deeply glad for them. If only it could always be as easy as that. For what had been done to her, flowers and an apology, however grovelling, just wouldn’t be enough.
Chapter 27
The day, one that should have been filled with pleasure, ground on relentlessly. Millie thought it would never end.
The afternoon tea party segued into the evening celebrations. Biddy and Arthur and their friends said their farewells, saying how much everyone had enjoyed themselves and wasn’t it good to have some old-fashioned dancing for a change.
Arthur’s parting shot was a suggestion that it should become a regular event, one for which maybe she should think about charging. ‘It’s been wonderful, my dear. What a new start for Millie Vanilla’s! Enjoy your fireworks,’ he added, as he kissed her goodbye. ‘Dennis knows what he’s doing; he’ll put on a rare old show.’
Millie watched him as he led off an excited Trevor. Arthur was looking after him for the night as the dog hated fireworks. She felt oddly forlorn and vulnerable without Trevor at her side.
Zoe and Clare stayed on to help and were joined by Tessa, who brought Sean and Ken. They rearranged the chairs and tables on the terrace, this time in romantic twosomes. They added candles, Love Heart sweets and roses in bud vases and tied-on heart-shaped pink balloons. It made the café look very different. Sean changed the music to something more contemporary and the transformation from tea dance to Valentine’s party was complete. As dusk fell and the sea became an indigo backdrop, the candle-lit tables looked impossibly romantic.
The headache that had been niggling at the edge of her brain all day, intensified. As the thump of Rihanna started up, Millie wasn’t sure she didn’t prefer the dance tunes of earlier. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to enjoy what was turning out to be a hugely successful day for Millie Vanilla’s.
Gradually couples arrived. They began dancing, sat entwined over glasses of fruit punch or lolled on the hay bales in the secretive darkness of the beach.
Millie, having served the food and drink and reassured herself everyone was having a good time, found a quiet spot on the wall and sat down. Her exhaustion made everything seem as if it was happening a long, long way away.
‘This is a bit of alright.’ It was Tessa. She sat down beside Millie and put an arm around her. ‘Lucky the weather held. Could almost pretend it’s May. Well done, kiddo.’ She peered closer. ‘You okay?’
‘I’m fine,’ Millie lied. ‘And thanks, it’s going well, isn’t it? I was a bit worried we’d get gate-crashers, but George Small is doing a great job as a bouncer.’ They looked to where the burly farmer’s son was standing guard.
‘Take a tank to get past him,’ Tessa giggled.
Then Millie spotted Jed. Striding along under the white lights of the promenade. That easy, confident gait. As if he owned the world.
He came up to them. Tessa took one look at Millie’s face and said, ‘I’ll be over there if you need me, kiddo.’ Then, with rare tact, she melted away.
‘Millie, my darling!’
She let him pick her up, twirl her around. She even let him kiss her.
‘The place is looking marvellous. You’ve made it look marvellous. And I hear the tea dance went well. I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it. Ma wanted to discuss the house she’s thinking of buying. It’s pretty cool, actually. In Lyme, just up the hill, fantastic sea views, swimming pool. She’s quite keen on it. I can�
�t wait to show it off and introduce you to her. She’s going to love you. I love you, my Millie Fudge. My darling girl.’
His eyes were sparkling, his face aglow with excitement. When she didn’t respond he quietened.
‘Is everything okay? Is there a problem with the party?’
He caught her hands to his chest; she could feel his heart beating. Regularly. Not the jumping-about, dancing-all-over-the-place rhythm that hers was doing.
Loosening his grip, she took a deep, shuddering breath. Everything over the last few hours had been building up to this moment. To this confrontation. Looking into his concerned eyes she thought she’d never been more angry with anyone. Not even with her parents for dying so needlessly and leaving her all alone. She wasn’t going to blurt it out, but couldn’t help herself. She’d been bottling it all up for too long. Before she knew it the words came tumbling out. ‘When were you going to tell me, Jed?’
‘Tell you what, my love?’
‘That your real name is Jeremy Fitzroy-Henville and that you’ve been working as a management consultant for the Blue Elephant chain of cafés. The company which opened a branch in my home town and threatened to put me out of business. Might still close me down.’
Jed’s face tightened. A beat pulsed in his throat. He pulled his thumb into his temple, massaging it. ‘Who told you?’ he whispered, barely audible over the thump of the bass. He didn’t look at her.
Millie laughed, but there was no humour or warmth there. ‘Tessa told me she saw you go into a meeting at Blue Elephant. So I looked you up. Good old internet, eh? It comes in handy when your lover has lied to you.’
She turned away and looked out to the black sea, screwing her nails into her palms to stop herself crying. She was so damn furious with him.
‘Millie?’ Jed caught her by the arm.
‘Get your hands off me!’ she spat.
He dropped his hand and it hung limply against his side. ‘Millie, whatever I’ve done, I’ve never lied to you.’