James grinned. “Me too.”
“And you’re ready for a baby?” Blunt as ever, she knew Lee would have chastised her had she been awake - but she wasn’t, so she pressed on anyway, knowing that she was only checking for the good of her friend.
“Ready?” James shrugged. “Is anyone ever truly ready for a baby? Especially when it wasn’t planned. But I am excited, and I am fully in this - I can’t promise to be the best dad in the world, but I can definitely try my best.” He had a feeling he was being tested, and although he wasn’t sure what the consequences of failing could be, he definitely wanted to succeed.
“Good. That’s a good attitude to have to all this - she wouldn’t have tried to persuade you to stay, you know, if it was all too much for you.”
“I know that,” James said. “But I want to stay. Believe me, it would take an awful lot more than that for me to walk away.”
Gina smiled. “Glad to hear it. Just made sure you accept your child for whatever it wants to be.”
He had a feeling there was more to that comment than was apparent, but didn’t push for more. “If I can be half the parent that my parents were to me, I’ll be happy. They’ve always pushed me to achieve my dreams, but they’ve always supported me - and my brother and sister - in whatever would make us happy.”
Gina nodded, and seemed to think through that for a few moments.
The conversation moved on to the cafe, and how different it was to run a business with someone than just working for somebody, and all the while Lee slept on, regaining the energy that had been leeched from her through the day.
Chapter 13
Lee barely remembered moving from the sofa to the bed, but when she woke up the next morning - thankfully one where she didn’t have to open up early - she was cocooned in the duvet and James’ arms, feeling a lot more refreshed after an extremely long sleep. She didn’t move for a few minutes, trying to decide what time it was. She knew she’d gone to sleep really early, so for all she knew it was still too early to get up - but she wouldn’t complain at lying in bed with James for a few more hours, no matter if awake or asleep.
Slowly, she turned her head and tried to glance at the alarm clock on James’ side of the bed. She was fairly sure it said seven something, so not too early, but earlier than was necessary. James, she knew, was working that day, and it made her feel a shiver of nervousness at the thought of him going out and risking his life every day. She knew it was a low risk; she knew it was something she needed to get past, but she didn’t think it was going to be that easy to forget the fear from yesterday that had taken over her body.
She planned to be in for nine, to try to make up for how little use she had been yesterday - and she was going to offer Gina the following day off, since Tom would be coming in for his shift anyway and Lee was happy to open up and close to give Gina the full day.
Mentally, she began to compose the message she knew she needed to send to her mum and sister, inviting them for Easter lunch without arousing their suspicion about the reason for the invite. She wasn’t sure there was a way she could do that without her mum asking a lot of questions, or making assumptions - but she thought that James had a point. Telling them together would certainly soften any disapproval.
When the call of her bladder was too loud to ignore, she slunk out of the bed without waking James and returned ten minutes later, with a mug of tea for her and a coffee for him, as well as a few slices of toast. She would like to say it was just because she wanted to bring her beloved breakfast in bed, but she also knew she needed to eat fairly immediately to keep the sickness from creeping up again.
James wasn’t awake when she re-entered, and while she waited for the smell of coffee and toast to rouse him, she drafted a text to her mum and sister.
Hiya, hope you’re both well! Wondered if you fancied coming down next weekend for Easter lunch - hope this isn’t too late notice, would be lovely to see you both. XX
She hit send before she could stop herself, then leant back against the pillows to eat the toast, trying hard - and failing - to stop the crumbs from falling onto the sheet. She watched James sleep, feeling content in that moment.
“You’re getting crumbs in the bed,” James muttered, rolling over and stretching.
“Perks of being pregnant,” Lee said, pointing out the coffee waiting for him on the bedside table. “Only way to keep the sickness at bay.”
“Well, I guess I can’t argue with that then.” He sat up to sip his coffee, allowing his brain a few minutes to wake up.
“I text my mum and sister,” Lee told him. “And invited them for that Easter lunch.”
“That’s great. I’m speaking to mum this afternoon, I’ll ask her and dad to come, and then get them to pass it on to the others.”
“And you’re sure they’ll be excited?”
James rolled over to lie close to her, toast now finished, and slowly leant in for a kiss. “One hundred percent sure.”
***
It wasn’t until lunchtime, when Lee was busily serving coffees, cakes and the odd hot chocolate, that she felt her phone vibrate in her apron pocket. She smiled at the lady at the counter, and offered to carry the plate over to the table for her so she didn’t have to struggle, before checking it.
Sounds great sis, not too late for me - I’ll try to grab a lift with mum! Just let me know the address. Xxx
“Lee, dear, how lovely to see you,” a familiar voice made Lee drop her phone back in her pocket and glance up. The door had been propped open thanks to the sudden sunshine that had appeared that morning, so Lee had not heard the bell that usually alerted her to a new customer.
“Val!” she said, a real smile make all her features lift. “Nice to see you too. Sit down, I’ll bring over your usual.”
She watched as Val slowly walked to a table for two, and struggled to see how her hands shook as she tried to pull the chair out. She didn’t want to offend the lady by offering to help - but she certainly didn’t want her to have to struggle. Once Val was safely seated, she started making the coffee, frothing the milk carefully as she’d been taught and pouring it on to the shot of coffee to make a leaf-like pattern. She wasn’t as skilled as many she’d seen on the internet, but it was certainly a passable looking coffee.
Lee glanced over at Tom, who had arrived bang on time for his first shift, and was currently being shown by Gina how to grind the coffee. Feeling like they could cope if a customer came in, she took the seat opposite Val’s, feeling grateful for the chance to sit down and have a nibble on a plain biscuit.
“Hiring new blood?” Val asked, glancing around her former establishment approvingly. “Must be doing well!”
“We’re doing okay,” Lee said with a nod. “Enough that we need someone else so we can have a bit of time off every now and again, that’s for sure!”
“And you’re looking well, dear - is everything going okay for you, outside of the cafe?”
Lee grinned. “Yeah, things are great Val, thank you. Totnes is definitely good for me.”
“Oh, it is for everyone. And James is okay? I heard about that awful business up the road yesterday.”
Lee shuddered. She’d made James promise that morning to keep safe, and to let her know when he finished that he was fine - but she didn’t like to think of the possible dangers that could occur.
“He’s fine, thanks. It was scary…but he’s fine.”
“Good, good, he’s a nice young man that one, he deserves to be happy.” She took a sip of her coffee, smacking her lips together as she put the cup back down. “Now, I’m glad you’ve got a minute to sit with an old woman like me, because I had a favour to ask.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes. Now, I heard what you did for Shelley from the doctors’ surgery, and I know you were a lawyer back in Bristol - a very good one, from what I hear.” Lee blushed, although she had no idea where on earth Val could have got her information.
“Anyway, I’ll get to the point. A
friend of mine is having real trouble with her will. There’s all sorts of complications with children and step-children and remarrying and what not, and although her eldest has been giving her advice… well, I’d sleep easier in my bed if a professional had taken a look, made sure she’s not having the wool pulled over her eyes by anyone.” She patted Lee’s hand. “I know this place keeps you busy, but I wondered if you could take a look, one evening?”
Lee didn’t have to think. “Of course I can. James is working Wednesday night, how about I come and take a look then, after I’ve finished here?”
“Wonderful. Thank you - it means a lot. She really is a dear friend, and I just get a feeling about it all sometimes… well, I’ll get her to come over to mine, then you can have your dinner too, if you like?”
“Oh, I don’t want to be a pain.”
“Not a pain, I wouldn’t have offered otherwise. Here, I’ll leave my address, then I’ll expect you around six on Wednesday, okay?”
As Val carefully noted her address onto Lee’s order pad, she heard Gina cheer and turned her head.
“He makes an amazing latte!” Gina said, pointing at the milky coffee next to a smiling Tom and beaming. Clearly, he was a good fit for the business.
Chapter 14
Once the final customer was out of the door on Wednesday, Lee locked up and speedily cleaned the cafe, knowing that, as she was opening up in the morning, she could always do a deeper clean when she got in. She found she was keen to get to Val’s home and look into this will. Ever since Shelley had asked her to look into her rights in her job - something which had clearly worked out well for Shelley, who had popped in the day before to let Lee know that she had been offered a contract extending past the due date of her baby - Lee couldn’t shake off the feeling that she wasn’t done with her work as a lawyer. In the moments when the cafe was quiet, she found herself wondering if she had thrown her life away - not with settling down here, and not about the baby, but where her career was concerned. It had been so much hard work getting to the point where she had been - a qualified lawyer, partner by thirty, generally too busy to take on more work. And now… she loved the cafe. She loved talking to people every day, feeling physically exhausted at the end of work and falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, being the boss and making the decisions…
But it wasn’t the same rush as she had felt when she won a case, or when she had stayed up all night researching to make sure she could counter every argument the opposition would throw at her in court. And each taste of dealing with the law again was making her hungry to revisit that aspect of her life. So, the prospect of another opportunity to use those skills that evening was enough to make her whiz through the cleaning and be out the door and in the car before six o’clock.
Val didn’t live far from the cafe, but Lee felt too tired to walk there and then back to her own flat later that evening, so it seemed to make more sense to take the car. Down a winding side street that Lee had never ventured down before, she stopped outside the red front door as she had been instructed and double checked the number Val had written down.
It was a pretty little bungalow, with old fashioned windows that were cut into quarters and ivy hanging from baskets beneath the top floor windows. The sun was already very low in the sky and dusk was fast approaching; Lee couldn’t wait to see what Totnes would be like in the summer - especially living such a close drive from so many beaches.
The knocker on the door was a horseshoe, and Lee knocked on it and waited for only a few seconds before Val’s face appeared at the door.
“Come in, come in, we’re in kitchen,” she said, stepping back to let Lee pass. The walls were lined with pictures, although the light was too low for Lee to be able to make out who was in each image. She was ushered into a warm kitchen, where a lady of a similar age to Val was sat at the table. Her hair was a vivid red, which Lee presumed was dye, and she wore a bright red lipstick that brought out the colour even more.
“Tracy, this is Lee, Lee, Tracy.” Val made the introductions as she clicked down the button on the kettle.
“Thank you so much for taking the time to do this,” Tracy said. “Val says I am too trusting for my own good, and when she said she had a friend who was a lawyer - well, that seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.”
“No problem at all,” Lee said with a smile. “I miss it, to be honest. Being a lawyer. So it’s nice to have a chance to dip my toe back in it.”
Val scrutinised her for a moment as she made the drinks. “You’re not regretting setting up the cafe, are you?” she asked. “It was all so quick, I hope you don’t feel like you made a mistake.”
“Not at all!” Lee said quickly. “No, setting up the cafe has been one of the best moves I’ve ever made, I promise. It just doesn’t change that I spent so much of my adult life as a lawyer and now I’ve left it all behind.”
Lee took a breath; that was far more than she had planned to share. She didn’t know what it was about Val, but some quality in her always seemed to make Lee speak more openly and honestly than she did to anyone else - anyone other than James, perhaps. She found an urge to tell Val about the baby, about this happiness she had found when she thought her life had been torn apart for good - but now wasn’t the time. She needed to tell her mum, her sister, James’ family - and then she could tell Val the good news.
“Anyway,” Lee said, keen to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Let me take a look at this will…”
The two older women sat quietly drinking their tea, letting Lee digest the document. She had brought a notebook with her and, between sips of tea, she made notes of things to question - mainly clarifications on certain relationships.
It was nearly half an hour later when Lee felt ready to discuss it with Tracy, and Lee’s questions generally seemed to be easy to answer - although most of them led to more note-taking.
“Are you married at the minute, Tracy?”
“No dear. I’ve been with Charles for ten years, but we’re not married.”
“Right, well that would be the first thing I’d look at then - you’ve not mentioned here anything about him. Sorry to be blunt - I don’t know if it’s because you’re thinking he’ll pass away first, or that it will go to him automatically. But if you pass away first he’ll get nothing - including the house if it’s in your name.”
Tracy looked a little white, and Val rose to make them all another cup of tea.
“I’m sorry if this is upsetting,” Lee said.
“No, no, I just didn’t realise how vulnerable it all was, that’s all. Carry on, please dear. I’m okay.”
Okay. So, does your partner have any children?” Lee asked.
Tracy nodded. “Yes, my stepchildren. There's three of them.”
“And three of your own children, correct?” Lee asked. Tracy nodded. “And do you want to leave anything to your stepchildren?” Lee queried.
“Yes, definitely,” Tracy said. “Since the money is both Charles’ and mine, we thought we would just split the money six ways after we’ve both gone.”
Lee glanced at the document again. “That's not what it says here,” she said. “The thing is, if they're not your biological children - or at least your adopted children - you need to put it in writing specifically what you want them to get. You can't just say children.”
“See,” Val said, “I told you it was a good idea to get it looked at. I knew it wasn't clear enough.” Tracy looked a little distressed.
“I didn't realise it’d all have to be so clear. My son said he'd researched it all on the internet and I just needed to make it clear that I wanted to split it between the kids and then get it witnessed.”
“And that's the other thing,” Lee said. “Your witnesses can't be anyone who would benefit from the will - so not your sons, nor your partner. It needs to be someone who doesn't have an interest in it.”
“That makes sense,” Val said. Tracy nodded, seeming to be out of words.
&nbs
p; “Look,” Lee said, “don't panic. I can get this rewritten, it's not difficult, and get it back to you. I'm happy to witness it as well, if you like - perhaps Val and I could witness it and that way there's no issues.”
Tracy's face brightened. “Are you sure? That seems like an awful lot of work. Let me at least pay you for it.”
Lee shook her head. “No, it's fine, honestly, I can write wills with my eyes closed these days - it's just about being really specific, so I'll get some more notes off you now and then I'll take it home and get it written up and have it back to you by Friday. Does that sound okay?”
“Perfect,” Tracy said. “Although I’d feel better giving you something for it.”
“Val’s offered me dinner,” Lee said. “That's plenty of payment, honestly.” She didn't want to take money off an old lady for something that would probably take her an hour at most. It felt good to be using her skills to help people; to make people happy; to solve problems.
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