She had also decided to use the last of her savings – money she’d put by to surprise Dominic on their wedding day with a voucher for an all-day session in a recording studio so he could make a professional demo of his music, plus whatever was left of her security deposit after her landlord sent her the snagging list – to invest in new aprons, tea towels and table linen made from organic cotton and embroidered with a seaside-inspired design. Now that she had made a commitment to the café, she intended to give it everything she had. If nothing else, hard work had the benefit of keeping her demons at bay and she was pleased to see that she hadn’t thought of her ex-fiancé living the high life on their hard-earned wedding fund for over thirty minutes – that was progress, wasn’t it?
However, as the week sped by and opening day loomed, it became increasingly apparent that she couldn’t run the café by herself – she needed help. She needed an experienced waitress, someone who could slide straight in and hit the ground running, and before she had thought it through properly, she had shared her dilemma with Jay who had nipped over for a cup of his ubiquitous black coffee and a slice of the caramelised apple cake topped with cider buttercream and hazelnut brittle that she had been trialling that afternoon.
‘Oh my God, darling, I have the perfect solution!’
‘You do?’
‘Yes! Hang on.’
And to her surprise, he popped the last of his cake into his mouth and shot out of the café leaving an industrial-strength cloud of oriental aftershave in his wake. Every day that week Jay had made it his mission to call on her, to ask how she was getting on, never deviating from his favourite outfit of black dress pants and an open-necked black shirt with sleeves rolled up his forearms to reveal a tantalising ripple of espresso-coloured hairs. She wondered if he’d been a model on the Parisian catwalks before coming to run a florist’s shop in deepest darkest Cornwall and if so, why he had given it up. There was a story there and she intended to find it. Jay wasn’t the only purveyor of grapevine gossip.
Within minutes, Jay reappeared holding a huge bouquet of pale-pink roses aloft, which should have been her first clue.
‘Ta-dah! These are for you, darling.’
‘Thanks, Jay, I—’
‘And allow me to introduce you to the wonderful Talia. Talia, this is Katie Campbell – she’s the brave soul who’s taken over this abandoned old café from Agatha and is intent on turning it into a sparkling princess fit to greet her very own Prince Charming. And guess what? She’s looking for a someone to provide all her waitressing needs!’
Jay looked so pleased with himself that Katie relegated his previous comments about Talia’s floral ineptitude to the back of her mind – maybe she was better at serving salmon sandwiches than twisting twine around tulips. Anyway, desperate times called for desperate measures if she was going to be ready to open the café on time tomorrow night.
‘Hi Katie, I’ve heard all about you from Oscar.’
Katie took one look at the erstwhile trainee florist and liked her immediately. With a sleek sheet of toffee-coloured hair poking from under a clashing moss green hat that looked like it had been hand-woven from floristry tape, she looked more sixties flower-power girl than twenty-first-century teenager. Instead of the standard outfit of knee-less washed-out jeans and T-shirt, she sported a geometric-patterned jumpsuit and a pair of raffia wedges.
‘Hi, Talia, it’s great to meet you.’
‘Oh, I knew I was going to meet you today, and that you would be offering me my old job back.’
‘You did?’ Katie smiled, wondering how she could possibly have known that when she hadn’t known herself.
‘Yes, it was written in the stars – well, my horoscope to be precise. I’m a Libra, you see, and today is the day when I’m going to be offered something that’s going to change my life for ever.’
Katie’s heart sank. Not another resident of Perrinby whose future she held in the palm of her hand! She didn’t think she could cope with the pressure. Maybe it would be better all-round if she found someone else to help her in the café – on a temporary basis, on the understanding that it would be a strict three-month contract only – instead of being the person responsible for Talia’s destiny. She could feel a headache coming on just thinking about it.
‘Oh my God. These are just amazing! Did you make them, Katie? They’re like something out of a French patisserie shop window!’
Talia reached for one of the clotted cream cupcakes decorated with swirls of home-made strawberry jam buttercream and topped with sugar-paste butterflies that Katie had made the previous night when the sleep fairies had eluded her. It had been a while since she had really indulged in a session of extreme cake baking and sugar crafting, and she had pulled out all the stops just so she could convince herself that she could still produce a cake worthy of tempting the paying public to part with their cash.
She had also whipped up a huge chocolate sponge, covered it with ganache and decorated the top with the immortal words: Agatha’s Beachside Café. The result, at two o’clock in the morning, had added another golden coin of contentment to her depleted coffers, knowing that in culinary terms at least, she could still hack it – there was not a splodge of dog food in sight!
‘I’m glad you like them – they’re for the launch party tonight, and I’ve just got to put the finishing touches to two vats of home-made soup.’
‘Which, might I add, smells absolutely divine,’ said Jay, laying his palm on his chest as he inhaled the fragrance of lemon grass and coconut milk. ‘I’ll be waiting in line on your doorstep at six o’clock sharp.’
‘Count me in, too,’ announced Oscar, appearing on the threshold, snatching up one of the cupcakes and devouring it in one mouthful as though not a crumb of sustenance had passed his lips all day. He then rolled his eyes in theatrical ecstasy when the flavours hit his taste buds. ‘Am … az … ing! You should do this for a living.’
‘Funny.’
Katie paused to take in everything she had achieved in the space of just over a week. The window seat was now upholstered in a vibrant multi-striped fabric – with a couple of cream lamb’s wool rugs she’d found in Agatha’s old bedroom to add some texture – upon which she had arranged a cornucopia of cushions, from fuchsia to orange, turquoise to saffron, embroidered, sequinned, and tie-dyed. There were dreamcatchers and wind chimes and fairy lights framing the window and several exotic flower arrangements that showcased Jay’s indubitable talents to perfection.
To break up the clinical starkness of the white walls, Oscar had donated several of his more exuberant paintings, and along with the pastel-painted furniture, the eclectic vibe was complete. Bright spring sunlight sliced through the wide bay window and a CD player pumped out a mix of soft jazz tunes. Even without the benefit of customers, the whole café exuded a laid-back, positive, relaxing feel that she hoped reflected what she was trying to achieve: a place to escape and enjoy a treat that wouldn’t cost the earth – in both senses of the word.
She loved it all, but she knew the reason everything was on track for that evening’s launch – to which she had invited all the local business owners and their families – was down to the energetic enthusiasm and hard work of Oscar and Jay. It was truly community spirit in action from the outset and she vowed to offer them her own support in return.