Christmas Cheer at the Cornish Bakery (Escape To… The Cornish Bakery #26)
Chapter One
‘We’re coming into Penworth Bay.’ The cheerful bus driver called over his shoulder.
Looking up from the romance book she was devouring, Merri glanced out of the bus window and smiled. She was here. Back in Penworth Bay, the place she’d come to volunteer for a few weeks over the summer.
Closing her book, she slipped it into her rucksack before standing and gripping hold of the grab handles over her head as she made her way to the front of the bus.
As the bus slowed to a stop at the bus stop outside the pub, Merri pulled her rucksack onto her shoulder and picked up the small wicker basket she’d weaved for Elsie and grinned at the driver. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ The bus driver pointed to her rucksack. ‘Did you have any luggage in the boot?’
‘Nope. Just these.’ Merri held her hand up in a wave before stepping down onto the pavement.
She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the familiar salty fresh air.
It felt good to be back. Really good. She’d enjoyed her escape to the bay during the summer.
And it had been exactly that – an escape.
An escape from her flatmate, Aggie, who seemed convinced that the whole world was against her, an escape from her job and, more than anything, an escape from her solitary way of living.
At Elsie’s bakery, Merri had leaned what it was like to be surrounded by people who cared, people who actually appeared to want her there rather than Aggie who, if Merri hadn’t been giving her the rent money each month would much rather live in their flat with just herself and her boyfriend.
As the bus idled at the side of the road, Merri stepped aside to allow others to jump aboard and turned to face down the hill.
From here she had the perfect view of the ocean, Daisy and Ollie’s restaurant, Baywater Delights, which stood off to the left, and the small row of shops, including Elsie’s bakery to the right. Perfect.
‘Merri!’
Turning in the direction her name was called, Merri grinned as Tilly, one of Elsie’s previous volunteers who had been working in the bakery and shown her the ropes when she’d visited in the summer, ran across the road towards her. ‘Tilly!’
‘It’s so good to see you. How was your journey?’ Wrapping her arms around her, Tilly hugged her tight.
‘Good, good.’ Being careful not to knock the willow basket into her friend's back as she squeezed her in return, Merri stepped back and grimaced. ‘Well, well if you miss out the whole bit about me jumping on the wrong train and almost ending up in Manchester.’
‘Manchester? Seriously? That’s in completely the wrong direction.’ Tilly laughed as she held out her hand, pointing at Merri’s rucksack. ‘Let me take that for you.’
‘No, I’m good. Thanks though. I’ve been cramped up on uncomfortable seat after uncomfortable seat, so it feels good to have something to do, even if it is just carrying this old thing.
’ Laughing, she hoicked it further up her shoulder.
‘I am starving though. I can’t wait to get to the bakery and grab one of Elsie’s cheese and onion pasties.
I’m ashamed to admit I’ve been dreaming about them. ’
‘Haha, so that’s why you’re back then. Not because you’ve missed us.’ Tilly linked arms with her as they began walking down the hill towards the beach below and the bakery.
‘That too.’ Merri grinned. Yep, definitely that too. She’d missed Brooke, Elsie, Ian, Teresa, Molly and Wendy but most of all Tilly, who had really helped her settle into the bay and train her up in the bakery. ‘I’m guessing you’re still working in the bakery? You mentioned you might be leaving?’
‘I’m still there, but I do have a job at a lovely bookshop lined up in a village just outside Trestow for the new year.’ Tilly smiled.
‘Ooh, congratulations! That sounds amazing! I always wanted to work in a bookshop.’
‘Same here. After spending so long out of the workforce whilst I cared for my aunt, I don’t think I’d ever have managed to get a job if I hadn’t volunteered at the bakery and got some up-to-date retail experience.
’ Tilly glanced across at Merri. ‘It’s still going to be crazy busy though.
Diane is coming back from maternity leave in a couple of days to work part-time, but Teresa is going to visit Gavin’s family for Christmas, and her last shift was today. ’
‘Yikes, so that’s just Brooke, you, me and Diane part-time to cover everything?
I’m guessing someone will be working on the coffee and cake counter, so just two or three people behind the bakery counter, depending on Diane’s hours?
’ The bakery had been busy during the summer holidays when she’d last volunteered, and she didn’t expect it to be much quieter at this time of the year.
Yes, there wouldn’t be all the holidaymakers, but they’d be some who came to visit a gorgeous place like Penworth Bay for the holidays, and with that on top of increased business from the regular customers due to it being Christmas, they were all in for a busy few weeks.
‘That’s right. It’ll be fine though. We’ll cope.’ Tilly crossed her fingers in front of her. ‘Hopefully!’
‘I’m guessing Ian will hop in if he’s needed, anyway.’ Tilly shrugged. Elsie’s husband had jumped behind the counter and helped Elsie with the baking numerous times during the time she’d volunteered there, so at least they’d have backup.
‘Umm, nope. Ian’s covering shifts at Daisy and Ollie’s restaurant.’
‘Baywater Delights, right?’ Merri crinkled her nose as a raindrop landed on her forehead before dribbling down her nose.
‘That’s right.’ Leaning forward, Tilly pointed towards Merri’s basket. ‘Ooh, that’s lovely!’
‘Thanks. I went on a willow weaving course a few weeks back. While I was here over the summer, I promised myself to start doing something I wanted to do. You know, try to enjoy life a bit rather than just going to work and then home to spend the evenings holed up in my bedroom whilst my flatmate Aggie parades around the place with her boyfriend.’ She swallowed.
That had sounded daft. Not that Tilly would judge her, but still. ..
‘I love that. I think it’s important to try new things. Heck, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t. And neither would you!’ Tilly rubbed Merri’s arm. ‘You’re really talented. That basket looks absolutely amazing.’
‘Thanks.’ Merri gripped the basket a little tighter. She was proud of how far her weaving skills had come on during the course, and it felt good to be able to use her creativity again. She couldn’t remember the last time she had.
Pulling her hood up, Tilly quickened her pace until they were almost jogging. ‘Come on, let’s get in the warm and get your basket in the dry.’
As they made their way to the bottom of the hill, Merri paused and filled her lungs with the familiar fresh salty sea air. She’d missed this. At home she was lucky if she didn’t get a lungful of the fumes from someone’s car backfiring; here, though she didn’t think she’d ever take this for granted.
‘We’ll get soaked standing here.’ Tilly laughed as she pulled Merri towards the small row of shops and the bakery.
‘Sorry!’ Shaking her head, Merri allowed herself to be guided towards the warm lights of the bakery, the only shop in the row which still appeared open this evening. ‘Is the bakery still open ?’
‘No, Wendy and Molly are working late on a last-minute wedding.’ Reaching the door, Tilly opened it and ushered Merri inside.
Stepping into the welcome warmth of the bakery, Merri spun around slowly on the spot, taking in the large bakery counter to the left, the small coffee and cake counter nestled at the back of the shop floor behind the tables and chairs scattered in the middle and the counter on the opposite side of the room which displayed the delicately decorated wedding cakes Wendy had so expertly created as well as photographs from some of the weddings they’d planned which adorned the wall behind.
The fleeting nerves she’d felt on the journey down here subsided and instead were replaced with excitement.
Ever since she’d left Penworth Bay two months ago, she’d been looking forward to returning again, and volunteering here in Elsie’s bakery with her had taught Merri so much.
So much about herself and her life she hadn’t really thought about before.
It had taught her that although she liked her job back home, working for a small paper supply company, it wasn’t where she wanted to be for the rest of her working life.
However much she liked working for her boss, Brian, she was sick of, once again, being solitary.
Her, Brian and the enthusiastic but stern Martha, who she worked in the office with, were all the people besides Aggie she really spoke to on a daily basis.
In contrast, Elsie’s bakery was a hive of energy both among the close team of people working here but also with the local residents, visitors and tourists who popped by.
The vibrancy of the place, the noise, the very atmosphere — that’s what Merri had so thrived on over the summer.
‘Tilly? Merri? Is that you two?’ Elsie’s voice wafted through from the kitchen at the back of the bakery before the kitchen door swung open and she hurried out, her arms wide open ready to draw Merri in for a hug. ‘Merri, love! How lovely to have you back with us.’
‘Hi, Elsie. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back.’ Sinking into Elsie’s arms, Merri hugged her back before stepping away and slipping her rucksack from her shoulder. ‘Thank you for having me back, and so soon too.’
‘No, thank you for coming back. It’s lovely to see you again.’
Merri fiddled with her necklace before taking a deep breath and holding the basket she’d made in front of her.
‘You probably don’t remember, but when I was here last, you encouraged me to start doing something I enjoyed again and, well, I took a course on willow weaving so to thank you for your encouragement I wanted to give you this. ’
Holding her hands against her cheeks, Elsie grinned before taking the basket and turning it over in her hands. ‘You made this?’
‘Yes.’ Merri shoved her hands in her pockets.
‘It’s stunning. It’s absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much, love.’ Stepping forward, Elsie gave her a quick hug with her free hand. ‘And I know exactly what I’m going to use this for. One of the bread baskets we keep on the counter is breaking, and this will be perfect to replace it.’
Merri swallowed as panic rose from the pit of her stomach. If Elsie used it as a breadbasket, it would be on show to every customer who walked through the door. ‘It’s probably not good enough for that.’
‘Oh, it really is. It’s perfect. You have a real talent here, Merri, love.’ Elsie smiled warmly. ‘And I’m not just saying that; people would pay good money for something like this.’
Merri cleared her throat, hoping her voice wouldn’t give away how much Elsie’s comment meant to her. ‘Thanks.’
‘It really is wonderful, love.’ Elsie rubbed Merri’s forearm before turning to the bakery counter and placing it on the counter before picking up one of the existing bread baskets and turning it over to show a piece of unravelling willow.
‘Perfect timing, Merri. Now you must be starving after your long journey?’
‘A bit.’ Merri nodded. That was an understatement. After almost missing her first connecting train, she’d skipped even grabbing a coffee when she’d had to swap trains again, let alone getting something to eat.
Elsie glanced across at Tilly. ‘Is Isaac still coming for dinner? It’ll be ready soon.’
‘Yep. He’ll be here in five.’ Tilly sniffed the air. ‘Whatever it is you’re cooking smells delicious.’
Elsie chuckled. ‘That’s not for now. What you can smell are some pies I’m baking for the pub. Ian has just popped out to grab us all a chippie dinner.’
‘Well, they smell good. I might have to drag Isaac to the pub for dinner tomorrow then, just so I can sample them.’ Tilly pulled her mobile from her pocket as it began to ring. ‘Sorry, that’s him now. I’ll see how long he’s going to be.’
‘I’ve made a few extra pies, so I’ll bag you and Isaac some up before you leave tonight.’ Elsie turned to Merri as Tilly began speaking into her mobile. ‘Are you okay telling Wendy and Molly dinner’s almost here?’
‘Will do.’ Placing her rucksack on the floor next to the counter, Merri headed towards the small office Wendy and Molly worked in.
She already felt at home. As soon as she’d walked inside, she’d been reminded of how welcome she’d been on her last visit.
It had been the right decision coming back.
And for Christmas too. She had the distinct feeling this might just be the Christmas she needed.