by Agatha Frost
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Chapter One
“Cheap, sugar-filled nonsense!” Dot exclaimed, turning to face the room as she crushed a Happy Bean coffee cup in her fist. “This is not what Peridale is about.”
There was a murmur of agreement among the dozen people in the village hall. Barker squeezed Julia’s hand reassuringly as they listened from the front seats.
“We cannot let these corporate bullies push us around!” Dot cried, tossing the cup vehemently to the floor. “We must protect our way of life!”
Julia looked around the village hall, glad to see some of the familiar faces she hadn’t seen since the new chain coffee shop had sprung up in the village, seemingly overnight.
“You may nod your head now, Amy Clark, but you’re no better than the rest of them!” Dot pulled a small notepad from the breast pocket of her white blouse, licked her finger, and flicked through the pages until she landed on what she was looking for. “I saw you on Thursday, walking to the library with one of their cups in your hand!”
Amy Clark dropped her head and glanced apologetically at Julia. She smiled back to try and let her know it was okay, even if she did feel a little betrayed.
“And you, Shilpa Patil!” Dot cried, turning on her heels and extending a finger into the sea of faces as she flicked to the next page. “Don’t think I didn’t see you sneaking back into the post office with one of their sandwiches!”
Shilpa opened her mouth to defend herself before catching Julia’s eyes and joining Amy in looking down at the floor.
“Processed rubbish!” Dot exclaimed as she tucked the notepad back into her blouse. She began to pace the small village hall as she adjusted the brooch holding her stiff collar in place, her pleated skirt fluttering side to side and her sensible shoes clicking on the polished wooden floor. “Doesn’t this village mean anything to any of you?”
There was another murmur as all eyes landed on the floor. Julia wasn’t sure if it was from remorse or out of fear of what Dot would do if they continued to stare at her.
“It’s open a lot later than Julia’s café,” Father David offered, still in his black robes and dog collar. “I’m usually at the church late in the evenings.”
“And it’s cheaper,” Imogen Carter dared to mumble. “Julia doesn’t make chai lattes, and I really like them.”
“You only had to ask,” Julia said, the hurt evident in her voice. “I would make anything for any of you. You should know that.”
They squirmed in their seats, glancing guiltily at each other. Harriet Barnes from the florist mouthed an apology to Julia, which she was grateful for. Julia clenched Barker’s hand tightly, turning back to her gran as Dot stared out at the room with crossed arms and pursed lips.
“When that place opened up two weeks ago, you all swore you wouldn’t desert my granddaughter!” Dot started again, her tone suddenly softer. “But one by one, like sheep being led to slaughter, you’ve betrayed the only woman in this village who has been there for every single one of you since her café opened! Two years of service, and for what?”
“Gran,” Julia said with a shake of her head. “That’s enough.”
“No, she’s right, Julia!” Jessie, Julia’s young apprentice and lodger cried, jumping up from her seat next to her. “You said it yourself! The café’s sales have never been so low!”
Julia squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, her cheeks blushing from embarrassment. She had been ignoring that the sales had barely been covering the bills since the coffee shop had opened across the village green, but hearing Jessie say the words aloud only cemented how much trouble her business was in.
“It’s not just us!” Emily Burns, Julia’s closest neighbour called out. “The tourists have been going there too.”
“But it’s not the tourists who keep the café afloat when it’s cold, or raining,” Dot said, pinching between her eyes. “It’s you people. The villagers. Julia’s café is the beating heart of Peridale, and you’re happy to watch it die.”
“We came to this meeting, didn’t we?” Amy Clark, the elderly organist from the church said, suddenly sitting up, her brows furrowed. “Why else would we be here if we didn’t care?”
“Because she threatened to cut the heads off my beloved roses!” Emily said, pointing at Dot.
“And she told me she’d start catching the bus to a post office out of the village if I didn’t come!” Shilpa said. “I’m a local business too!”
“Do you serve coffee, Shilpa?” Dot asked.
“Well, no, but –”
“Then this meeting isn’t about you!” Dot snapped as she began to pace back and forth again. “Do you people want to help, or not?”
“What can we do?” Emily asked.
A devious grin spread across Dot’s face. She scurried across the hall to the table at the side of the room, which usually contained refreshments for the different village meetings. Instead of refreshments, there were two large brown cardboard boxes that Julia hadn’t noticed until now.
“We protest!” Dot announced as she pulled a Stanley knife from her small handbag. “This Saturday!”
Julia’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. She exhaled and looked up at the ceiling, wondering if the last two weeks had been nothing more than a cruel nightmare. When she looked back at Dot as she sliced the knife down the tape holding the box together, she knew it was all too real. She had dreamed of owning a café since she was a little girl, and she could feel that dream decaying crumb by crumb.
“Isn’t that illegal?” Amy asked, shifting in her seat. “I’m not going to prison for the sake of a café, no offence, Julia.”
Julia shook her head to let her know no offence was taken.
“It’s not illegal if we don’t block the road, harass people, or stop entry to the building,” Barker announced, letting go of Julia’s hand to stand up and face the group. “I’ve already asked a couple of boys at the station to supervise, and they’re more than happy to help.”
Julia stared curiously at Barker, and then at Jessie. It was clear Dot had already let them in on her plans. Dot pulled a white t-shirt out of the box and let it hang proudly down her front.
“‘Choose Local Coffee’,” Dot announced, reading upside down from the black slogan on the t-shirt. “I got the idea from that campaign George Michael did in the eighties. We wear these on Saturday, and we let people know that there is an alternative to that soulless machine! Are you getting all of this, Johnny?”
Johnny Watson, who had been scribbling down everything Dot had just said for an article for The Peridale Post looked up and nodded. He adjusted his glasses and returned to his note taking.
“I foresaw this would happen!” Evelyn from the B&B announced as she clutched at the glittery brooch holding her purple turban in place, apparently channelling her psychic powers once more. “The cards mentioned a disruption in the village! I should have taken them more seriously!”
People looked awkwardly at each other as Evelyn began to hum and rock back and forth with her fingers pressed at her temples. As though to provide a distraction, Barker dragged off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt to reveal that he was already wearing one of the t-shirts. Jessie pulled off her black hoody and stood defiantly next to Barker in her own t-shirt.
“This is important,” Jessie called out, planting her hands on her hips. “Whether you like it or not, you’re all responsible for keeping local businesses open. Who is with us?”
A couple of people mumbled, but nobody immediately stood up. Julia looked out into the sea of faces, wondering if any of them would have come if Dot hadn’t threatened them. Emily Burns eventually stood up, dragging Amy Clark up with her. Julia’s heart warmed a little.
“
Of course, we are with you, Julia,” Emily called out, looking encouragingly at the others. “We just didn’t realise the harm we were doing.”
“I only really drink Moroccan tea, but I’m sure you’ll put that on the menu if I give you some more,” Evelyn said as she darted up, her purple caftan fluttering dramatically around her. “I’m with you! The cards predicted I would join a cause this week. How exciting!”
One by one the people in the room stood up and stepped forwards to collect a t-shirt from Dot. As they passed Julia, they all mumbled their apologies with their t-shirts clenched in their hands.
“Is this a private meeting or can anybody join?” a voice called from the back of the room, turning everyone’s heads.
When Julia saw Anthony Kennedy’s face, she suddenly felt sick. Jessie stepped forward, her fists clenched by her side, but Barker put out a hand to hold her back.
“You are not welcome here,” Dot called, pushing through the crowd so that she was face to face with the man who had brought Happy Bean to the village. “Get out!”
“‘Choose Local Coffee’?” Anthony read aloud, a smirk tickling his lips as he ran his fingers through his blow-dried blonde hair. “You realise I am local, don’t you? I was born in this village, and I’ve lived here for sixty-two years!”
Barker wrapped his hand around Julia’s again, squeezing harder than ever before. She was unable to look at the man who was single-handily destroying her business.
“You’re a traitor!” Dot cried, wagging a finger in his face. “This village isn’t about franchises and corporations. It’s about real people. You know how much Julia loves that café!”
“It’s not personal,” he said, stepping around Dot to look at Julia. “It’s just business.”
Julia avoided Anthony’s eyes. She knew the betrayal hurt so bitterly because her gran was right; Anthony did know how much Julia had always wanted to run her own café.
“You were the best man at Julia’s father’s wedding!” Dot announced, turning back to the crowd to make sure they were listening. “You’ve known her since the day she was born. This is personal.”
Julia’s stomach squirmed uncomfortably. She wanted nothing more than to retreat to the safety of her cottage and bury her head in some baking to take her away from the stress.
“Julia, love,” Anthony called out, stepping around Dot. “It is just business!”
Daring to look up, Julia met Anthony’s eyes, but she didn’t see an ounce of compassion or remorse in his eyes, she just saw the cold and ruthless gaze she had come to know from the man. She looked away, scared she was going to say something she would regret in front of the people who were here to help her.
Anthony laughed coldly and dropped his gaze. He turned on the spot, his Cuban heels squeaking on the polished floor. Before he reached the door, he stopped in his tracks and looked into the crowd. He opened his mouth to speak, before shaking his head and marching out of the village hall as he pulled a packet of cigarettes from his jacket’s inside pocket. Julia looked in the direction of what had caught Anthony’s attention. She was surprised to see Anthony’s teenage son, Gareth Kennedy, among the faces there to support her.
“How do you even know that guy?” Jessie asked. “He’s a slime ball.”
“He was my father’s business partner,” Julia said as her heart rate slowed down. “They ran the antique barn together.”
Julia swallowed a lump in her throat, knowing he had been much more than that. She had called him Uncle Anthony, even after she had figured out that he wasn’t really her uncle. He was as much a part of her childhood memories as her mother and father, or Dot and her sister, Sue.
“Come to spy?” Dot asked Gareth, marching towards him in a similar fashion she had his father. “You can get out too!”
“I agree with you,” Gareth said, catching Julia’s eye. “It’s not right what he’s done.”
Julia didn’t know Gareth that well, but she appreciated the support all the same. He was seventeen, the same age as Jessie, and had come to Anthony and his wife, Rosemary, later in life, which had surprised everyone, including Julia. Anthony had never made it a secret that he never had any desire to have children.
Dot pursed her lips at the young boy before throwing him a t-shirt and scurrying back to the front of the group. Gareth looked down at the shirt in his hands as he chewed the inside of his cheek. There was no denying he was his father’s son. Gareth’s hair might have been styled a little more modern than his father’s blow-dried mullet, but it was still the same golden hue. They also shared the same blue eyes, strong nose and jaw, and broad frame.
“We’ll meet at midday on Saturday!” Dot announced, waving her hands to hush the chattering group. “Spread the word! We need all of the people we can get.”
There was a final murmur of agreement before people filtered out of the room. When they were alone in the village hall, Julia let out a sigh of relief as she sat back in her seat.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked, looking down at the t-shirt in her hands. “It seems a little extreme.”
“You’ve worked too hard for this,” Dot said, sitting next to Julia and taking her hand. “This was all you talked about as a little girl. Even when you were in London for all those years, you’d still tell me on the phone how you were desperate to run your own café one day, even if Jerrad didn’t care about what you wanted.”
Dot suddenly bit her tongue, her eyes widening when she realised what she had said. They both turned to Barker, who looked confused at the pair of them.
“Who’s Jerrad?” he asked quickly.
Julia opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. It had been five months since she had met Barker, but the time had never felt right to tell him about her twelve-year marriage. Her cheeks burned brightly as her mind turned to soup.
“Did I miss it?” Sue called out as she hurried into the village hall, her hands in the small of her back with her small bump poking out of her blue nurse’s uniform. “The traffic was murder!”
An audible sigh of relief left the mouths of Jessie, Dot, and Julia. Glad of the distraction, Julia hurried over and kissed Sue on the cheek before passing her a t-shirt.
“We’re protesting,” Julia said, glancing at Barker out of the corner of her eyes as he continued to stare suspiciously at her. “On Saturday. How’s the shrimp?”
“According to Neil, it’s now the size of a lime,” Sue said as she rubbed the small, yet definite bump. “He’s been reading books in the library, bless him, although it feels more like a melon at the moment. I have my twelve-week scan next week.”
The conversation stayed firmly on Sue’s pregnancy while they stacked the chairs. As they left the bright lights of the village hall and walked out into the warm summer’s evening, it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Julia that Barker was unusually silent.
“Don’t worry, Julia,” Dot said, squeezing Julia’s shoulders as she looked across the village green at her dark café. “We’ll fix this.”
She smiled and nodded, turning her attention to the coffee shop, which was still illuminating the village green. Half a dozen people were lining up at the counter to get their drinks, some of them clutching white t-shirts in their hands.
Sue climbed into her car, and Dot hurried across the village green towards her cottage, leaving the three of them standing outside the village hall. Julia glanced at her aqua blue Ford Anglia, which was still parked next to her café. She pulled her keys from her pocket and turned to Barker, expecting him to repeat his question from earlier.
“Let’s get a takeaway,” Barker said, setting off towards Julia’s car. “I’m starving.”
“I want Indian,” Jessie said, nudging Barker in the ribs with her elbow. “You picked last time. Can I drive home, Julia?”
“You failed your test!” Barker said with a chuckle as he climbed into the passenger seat of the car. “You almost killed that woman!”
“She was faking it,” Jessie mumbled with a roll o
f her eyes as she sat in the back seat. “I barely hit her.”
Julia pushed her key into the ignition. Her heart fluttered as she breathed freely, glad he had chosen not to push the subject at that moment. She knew she had to tell Barker the truth about her divorce eventually, but the longer she left it, the harder she knew it would be to reveal the only thing she had been keeping from him.
As she drove past Happy Bean, she dared to throw a glance in its direction. Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted Anthony staring out at them in the dark, his eyes trained on her car. A cold shudder ran down her spine. Even though she was hopeful, it felt like it was going to take more than a protest to turn her fortunes around.
Chapter Two
Julia rose with the sun on Saturday morning. She had nervously baked four different cakes and over fifty cupcakes before Jessie’s alarm rang, which she subsequently ignored for almost ten minutes before finally dragging herself out of bed. She grunted at Julia as she stumbled into the bathroom, the hood of her black dressing gown pulled low over her scruffy hair and half-closed eyes.
While Jessie showered, Julia made two cups of peppermint and liquorice tea. It had become a ritual for them to drink Julia’s favourite tea with breakfast as they discussed the day ahead, even if Jessie never finished a full cup. Julia’s hands were shaking with nerves, but she wanted to keep things as normal as possible for the both of them, even if the sky was falling in.
She sipped the tea, and its familiar sweetness soothed her. Mowgli, her grey Maine Coon, squeezed through the open kitchen window and padded across the counter towards her, leaving behind a trail of muddy paw prints and bringing in the scent of lavender from the garden. He nudged her, before jumping down to his bowl and loudly meowing. She grabbed a pouch of food from Mowgli’s cupboard and squeezed half of the meat into his bowl. A knock at the door startled them both.