Stirred with Love (9 page)

‘What about a couple of settees?’ Chloe pointed over to the bay window. ‘Maybe over there? People walking past would be able to see customers relaxing.’

‘It’s a very good idea,’ said Lily. ‘But I don’t want to spend too much.’

‘Sorry,’ muttered Chloe. ‘My dad says I never understand the true value of money.’

‘Well, perhaps even you will be surprised when you see the finished result,’ said Lily. ‘I just want to hear all of your ideas first. Anyway, am I right in saying that the gingham look is out?’

The two younger women looked at one another before nodding their heads.

‘So, what’s next?’

‘We need really big coffee cups,’ stated Chloe. ‘As big as boats.’

‘And maybe we could wear a uniform to give off the right image?’ said Kate. ‘I think a black waistcoat over a white shirt looks particularly smart and business like. We could have the coffee shop name embroidered across it, which is another thing we need to sort out.’

‘Was the old café busy, Lily?’ Chloe wanted to know.

‘Yes,’ said Lily. ‘It got busier as the week went on. There’s an open air market, run by the council, set up on the public car park around the corner. Hopefully, that will be every Thursday taken care of as trade used to be steady all day. Monday and Wednesday’s are still bingo days in Hedworth, so there may be a bit more trade in the morning but it usually slackened off in the afternoon. Fridays were always busy but Saturday mornings could be just as hectic with the men who do the overtime coming in. Perhaps they’ll come back again once we re-open.’

‘I like the sound of that,’ Chloe grinned. Now that she had finished with Christian she was desperate to see what Somerley had to offer in the way of good looking talent.

Lily slowly rose to her feet and started to clear the table. ‘I’m extremely pleased with your ideas,’ she said. ‘I’m going to fetch you the catalogues so that you can make a list of what you like and then we’ll go through it. And Kate, can you start a list of things to do, please? Obviously I know a lot of suppliers we can still use but I’m always open to suggestions.’

Kate got up to help her, nodding eagerly.

‘What else is there around here?’ Chloe asked. When she’d arrived this afternoon, Somerley hadn’t made any more of an impression on her than the first time she’d driven through it a month ago. Apart from the busy main roads, the side streets around the square were quiet and deserted. Before parking around the back of the building, she’d prayed there would be more people around during the week or else she’d die of boredom.

‘Well, apart from the row of shops here in Somerley, there’s a retail park about three miles away, with a few well known stores. But if it’s more of a variety that you’re after, I’d suggest a drive into Hedworth. It’s got everything you can think of and it’ll only take you ten minutes.’

‘Is it busier there?’

‘Yes, the shopping centre is expanding at the same rate as the housing market. There are flats and apartment blocks popping up everywhere. Which is such a shame, as when I first arrived here, all I could see in the distance were rolling fields, farms and outbuildings, cows and horses.’

Chloe’s heart sank at the same time as her shoulders. It sounded like she was in the middle of nowhere. She’d only spotted two pubs within staggering distance so far, and both of them looked like they’d be full of pensioners. She’d have to drag Kate along to Hedworth as soon as possible to check out the nightlife.

‘Come on,’ said Lily, ignoring the look of despair in Chloe’s eyes. ‘I’ll show you around downstairs and then you can help yourself to a meal, I’m sure?’

Lily had been worrying about the eating situation for the past week. She had toyed with the idea of giving Kate and Chloe the money and letting them get what they wanted but hadn’t thought it an ideal situation if they were hungry soon after they arrived. She knew she wouldn’t have liked to start a new job where she was asked to do her own shopping.

So Lily filled her shopping trolley high with everything she thought young women would like. The industrial freezer that took up most of one wall in the tiny kitchen was packed full with every type of convenience food she could get her hands on. There was plenty of fresh produce in the fridge too. She had no idea what they would eat. And she was sure jobs like the weekly, or monthly, shop would be put on a rota system once everything was running smoothly.

‘Do you fancy a walk afterwards?’ Kate asked Chloe. She was eager to explore the surrounding streets, as well as take the opportunity to get to know her new work colleague, and Rosie would need to go out soon. ‘Get the feel of the place?’

‘Do you think we could go for the walk first?’ said Chloe. ‘Via the chip shop I spotted. I’m too tired to cook anything and I’m starving.’

Lily and Kate shared a smile but for different reasons. After all the cake she’d eaten, Kate felt stuffed to capacity. Lily, however, was delighted that she had a huge bag of frozen chips in the freezer.

Chloe could feel both of them staring. ‘I’m a growing girl,’ she retorted, throwing her hands up in the air. ‘I’m not at the age where I need to watch my diet.’

Yes, Kate mused. Eighteen without a care in the world.

Full after their takeaway food, Kate and Chloe had opened a bottle of wine and started the process of getting to know one another. Already it was nine-thirty and they were both tired after the excitement of the day. They were in Lily’s living room upstairs. Part of the refurbishment would include its decoration so for the moment all it had in it were two battered armchairs, a mismatched settee, a mahogany sideboard and a television with a lamp on its top. Kate was snuggled into one of the chairs, with Rosie fast asleep in the tiniest gap between her legs and the arm. Chloe was sprawled full length on the settee, her pumps lying dejected on the carpet. Neither of them had the energy to watch the police drama that had started fifteen minutes ago. Lily had gone to bed.

Chloe glanced across to see that Kate had fallen asleep. She hoped sleep would come to her as easily tonight because paranoia was starting to creep in.

Would she like it here?

Was she going to settle in?

Would Lily like her?

Would Kate like her?

More to the point, would she get on with Kate? It was vital that she did as they were going to be spending a lot of time together soon. Kate seemed nice, from first impressions. But what if they didn’t like each other?

What if they hated each other after a week or two?

What if…?

Chloe didn’t have time to finish the sentence. For as quick as her mind started to work overtime, her eyes began to close.

Lily couldn’t believe how tired she was as she settled back into bed that night. She’d gone into the living room earlier to check on Kate and Chloe only to find them both asleep. She’d felt like a wicked step-mother as she’d woken them up. Now, every once in a while she heard a door open and shut. In the distance, she could hear unfamiliar music playing on one of their radios. It wasn’t too loud. Lily was simply used to the quiet, living on her own for a while.

Pleased with how their first staff meeting had gone, at ten thirty-five, on the last Sunday in May, Lily switched off the lamp at the side of her bed and wondered, for the first time since she could remember, what tomorrow would bring.

And, for the first time since she could remember, she felt a tiny flutter of excitement inside her stomach.

CHAPTER TEN

Kate found herself awake early on her first full day in Somerley so, after lying in the silence of the strange surroundings for ages, she got up. It seemed odd going downstairs to use the toaster in the cafe, and then sitting in a room of empty tables, but there was nowhere to make food upstairs yet and the room that would eventually be turned back into a kitchen was full of boxes ready to be taken to the incinerator.

She’d just returned from taking Rosie around the block when Chloe walked in.

‘Morning.’ She smiled. ‘I’ve just had a toasted bagel. Would you like one?’

‘Please.’ Chloe nodded. ‘Where’s Lily?’

‘She went to meet a friend – Irene, I think she said her name was. Did you sleep okay? My bed was really comfortable. I went out like a light but I woke up really early.’

‘Me too. God, it was so hot last night. And it looks like it’ll be the same today.’

‘Don’t get too excited. It’s given out storms for this afternoon.’

Chloe walked over to the bay window, flicking the strap of her vest back onto her shoulder. The sky was clear at the moment but she knew the unpredictable British weather could change that in a matter of minutes. Not good for a fashion conscious teenager with a tendency for frizzy hair the minute a single raindrop touched it.

In the centre of the square outside was a huge oak tree, obviously taking centre-stage there long before the block-paving and wrought iron fencing had been added. There was a triangle section of grass decorating each corner, with four wooden benches underneath the shade of the branches. Already there were a scattering of people around and several groups of school children walking past and through.

The church to her left, scaffolding erected around its walls, dominated one complete side of the square. Chloe strained to get a glimpse of the builders but was disappointed to see they were still in their van – probably having their breakfasts, she surmised. Well, they’d have to change that habit once they were open for business.

She heard Kate come up behind her and took the plate and mug that she held out. ‘What shall we do today?’ she asked.

‘I suppose we should make a start on the simple decorating materials,’ said Kate. ‘Paint and brushes and the likes. I’ve made a list.’

Chloe kept her sigh to herself and sat down at the nearest table. Not exactly the shopping she had in mind, but still.

Kate pulled out a chair and sat down beside Chloe. ‘Sometimes I can’t believe I’ve given up my job to come and work in a café. I suppose I’m excited now I’m here, but I still wonder if I’ve done the right thing.’

‘I’m only planning on staying for the summer until I go to uni.’ Chloe held her cup carefully between the tips of her fingers, blowing on the liquid in an attempt to cool it a little. ‘It’s just an adventure for me.’

Although Kate knew she was leaving a past behind, she could understand that a summer away from home before going to university was just a means to an end. Though when she’d been eighteen, there would have been absolutely no way that she’d have worked in a café – or coffee shop even.

‘So, come on then,’ said Chloe. ‘I’ve known you a few hours now. What exactly did bring you to Somerley?’ Kate had told Chloe last night that she had recently split up with her husband and even she, the queen of prying, couldn’t ask her about it as soon as they had met. But she was desperate to know now.

Kate didn’t want to be reminded of Nick. Being on her own was a struggle and she’d get used to it, no doubt. She’d already done it for four weeks. But, in the meantime, how did she explain to an eighteen-year old what she had been, and was still going through? Chloe was bound to see the world through those stupid rose-tinted glasses. She wasn’t old enough to have suffered any real heartache.

Kate was stuck. What should she say? Mind your own business, no matter how she put it, clearly sounded rude. Maybe she should tell her a white lie until she knew her better.

‘I went away for the weekend, to a hen party,’ she blurted out regardless, ‘and when I got home my husband had moved his stuff out without saying a word.’

Chloe’s vibrantly made-up eyes widened and she put down her coffee. ‘Sorry, I’m not known for my tact.’

A silence fell between them. Kate raised her eyes to the ceiling to stop the tears overflowing, blinking rapidly.

‘That must have been tough,’ Chloe said quietly. ‘Look, I know I’m eighteen, but I’ve been told on
numerous
occasions that I’d make a good agony aunt.’

Kate smiled and quickly wiped away a tear. ‘Thanks, Chloe. I’ll bear that in mind.’

‘Good. My rate is eighty pounds an hour. But for you I’ll make an exception!’

‘That’s the third time we’ve passed that bleeding carpet store.’ From the passenger seat of Kate’s car, Chloe pointed it out as they crawled along in the busy traffic forty minutes later. ‘We’re after a retail park. It’s only three miles away. It can’t be that hard to find.’

Kate indicated right, turned into a side street and parked up. ‘This town is supposed to be small,’ she mumbled and tried to unfold the map to find their location. In anguish, she threw it on the back seat. ‘I’m hopeless with directions.’

‘Where’s the sat-nav when you need it?’

‘Never mind sat-nav.’ Kate wound down her window as a man approached them on the pavement. ‘There are simpler ways of getting what we want. Excuse me!’

Once they’d located the D-I-Y superstore, they spent an hour searching for everything on Kate’s list.

‘It’s a good job we decided not to paint all the tables and chairs,’ she groaned as she pushed the loaded trolley towards her car. ‘This is heavy enough as it is. I knew I should have put my flatties on.’

As she struggled to manoeuvre it, Chloe grabbed one end of the handle and they steered together.

‘I hope we’ve remembered everything,’ said Chloe. ‘I don’t fancy coming back here in a hurry.’

‘But you’ve spent a fortune in
Next
!’

Chloe smiled. ‘Well, there has to be some consolation.’

Kate attempted to crush the last tin of emulsion into the boot of the car. Admitting defeat, she threw it on to the back seat where it landed with a thud before rolling onto the floor.

‘I’m glad they do refunds,’ Chloe added.

Kate slammed the tailgate down. ‘Well, I’m not taking any of my tins back. I have to dampen down some of the pink with that creamy colour I found. Pink must be Lily’s favourite colour.’

‘I was referring to
Next
,’ said Chloe.

Kate smiled.

Chloe watched Kate as she returned the trolley. Her manner had been positive when they’d first met yesterday and she seemed like someone who would listen as well as share her own problems. Maybe she’d turn out to be the older sister she’d always craved. Or she could be another Maddy. Chloe shuddered, no thanks.