Chapter 3
Carrie woke at seven the next morning to sunlight streaming through the windows. She’d forgotten to draw the curtains in her tired state the night before.
She got up, excited at the prospect of her first day running the bookshop, and padded across the hallway to Poppy’s room where she found her daughter still fast asleep.
She could leave her for a little while longer while she made herself a coffee.
At thirty-four she must be getting old, she thought, finding herself far too excited to experiment with the Nespresso machine.
After some fiddling with the pods, she had a lovely hot latte.
She debated settling down with her book again, but suspected time would slip away.
The shop presumably opened at nine like it used to, and she didn’t want to be late.
For the first time, nerves that she was going to be in charge of her aunt’s business for the next month set in, and she felt her stomach clench.
It couldn’t be that difficult, could it?
She wasn’t a complete novice she reassured, having helped out in the shop at eighteen — though that was of course years ago and her aunt and uncle had been around then.
Thankfully she wasn’t going to be completely alone, at least not today.
Auntie Mary had said there’d be someone in to help her this morning. It would be fine.
She took out a loaf of bread from the cupboard and some butter and jam. A sleepy Poppy made her way down the stairs.
“Good morning, Pumpkin. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. That bed is really comfy. I like having lots of pillows.” Poppy yawned dramatically. She climbed on to one of the stools at the island in the middle of the kitchen.
“I’m going to make some toast, would you like some?”
“Yes, please,” Poppy said.
Carrie made them both a couple of slices of toast with jam and poured Poppy some juice.
“We’ll need to be downstairs by ten to nine ready to open up,” she explained.
“We don’t have far to walk to get to work,” joked Poppy.
Poppy had a bowl of Rice Krispies next while Carrie tidied up and then went to shower while Poppy got dressed and made her bed.
They were both ready to go by quarter to nine, armed with an Americano for Carrie and a bag full of things to keep Poppy occupied, although the little girl was absolutely determined that she was going to be running the shop and wouldn’t have time for drawing or puzzles in between helping customers.
They went downstairs and Carrie set Poppy to turning on all the lamps around the shop.
The till looked very new and very different from the one she’d used the last time she was helping out in the shop .
. . Her heart lifted when she saw a binder labelled For Carrie underneath the counter next to a laptop.
She opened the binder and discovered step-by-step instructions on how to use the till and also the safe, which was kept in the office, the door to which was behind the shop’s counter. Most of the takings would be card payments so she didn’t need to worry too much about that.
As Poppy walked around the shop straightening books importantly, Carrie speed-read through all the instructions her aunt had left her. It all seemed simple enough, but she’d definitely need some practice. It was just unfortunate that she was going to be practising on paying customers.
She discovered the laptop was usually kept open on the counter to look up any books being enquired about, and to then order them from the distributor her aunt used, or, if it was a rare or collectable book, there was a list of contacts who might be able to help her source it.
The bookbinders next door was top of the list, Carrie noticed, but with a name she didn’t recognise attached to it.
The old bookbinder had presumably retired and the business taken over by someone else.
Carrie took a moment to go up to the first floor and take a look around the second-hand and collectables area.
Hundreds of books vied for space on the shelves and glass cabinets.
There was a large wooden table in the middle of the space with a box of disposable gloves on, to be worn to protect the valuable books from damage when they were being examined, and Carrie noticed the windows had a film on them to stop sun bleaching.
At nine o’clock, Carrie lifted Poppy up so she could solemnly turn the sign on the door from Closed to Open.
And they waited for customers. Carrie read through the binder she’d been left in more detail and drank her coffee while Poppy finally accepted that the shop was perfectly tidy and the books expertly positioned and sat down at a table with her drawing pad and pencils.
Where was the person Auntie Mary had promised would come and show her the ropes?
The silence was so deafening after half an hour that Carrie turned on the radio behind the counter to the local radio station.
She’d suspected that her aunt’s shop wouldn’t be exactly heaving, but was this usual?
Finally, at five minutes to ten, heralded by the ding of the bell, the door of the shop opened. Carrie saw Poppy jump to attention, ready to help their first customer with whatever they needed.
A pretty young woman with dark hair piled up on her head in a bun apparently held together with a pencil came over to the till with a shy smile on her face.
Her brown eyes were huge behind her glasses.
She was easily under five foot tall and wore a floral cotton dress with a pale pink cardigan on top and plimsolls on her feet.
“Hello,” said Carrie, brightly. “How may I help you?”
“Hi, you must be Carrie,” replied the woman in a quiet voice with a light Welsh accent. “I’m Seren. I work here part-time. Mary asked me to come in for a few hours this morning to show you the ropes.”
“Oh, brilliant,” said Carrie, relief flooding through her as she realised she really wasn’t being left to figure out the scary till all by herself.
“You know the shop doesn’t open until ten, right?” Seren asked.
“No, I didn’t!” Carrie laughed. “I’ve been standing here for almost an hour wondering why there were no customers.”
“It’s usually slow to start anyway,” said Seren, smiling shyly. “Why don’t I make us both a hot drink and I can talk you through things? Tea or coffee?”
“That sounds brilliant,” said Carrie, gratefully. “A tea would be lovely, thanks. White, no sugar, please.”
Seren went into the kitchen to make the drinks and the shop bell jingled once again. Another woman maybe a few years younger than Carrie entered, carrying a paper bag. She had light brown, shoulder-length hair and wore an apron with The First Sip written on it over jeans and a stripy top.
“Carrie, right?” she said, coming over to the counter. “I’m Lucy. I run the coffee shop next door. I just wanted to pop in to welcome you with some freshly baked pains au chocolat.” She handed over the paper bag with a smile. It smelled amazing. Poppy was over in a shot.
“That’s so kind,” said Carrie. “Yes, I’m Carrie, and this is my daughter, Poppy. It’s lovely to meet you.”
“And you. Please, just pop next door if there’s anything I can help with.”
“Thank you.”
“I hope we get the chance to have a proper chat soon,” Lucy said. “Unfortunately I’ve got to get back to the shop now. I’m training up a new barista, and I’ve left her in charge.”
“Thanks again,” Carrie said.
“No worries,” called out Lucy, opening the shop door. A fat tortoiseshell cat sauntered in as Lucy was leaving. She held the door for it and seemed to think its entrance was perfectly normal.
The cat glared at Carrie as if offended by her presence in her domain and stalked across the shop floor. She jumped up on to one of the armchairs, turned around, arranged herself perfectly and lay down. She closed her eyes, presumably to block out the annoyance that was Carrie and Poppy.
Seren came back out from the kitchen carrying two steaming mugs.
“Thank you so much,” said Carrie. “This is my daughter, Poppy, by the way. She’s basically going to be in charge here.”
Seren laughed. “It’s lovely to meet you, Poppy.”
It was Poppy’s turn to smile shyly.
“Lucy just popped in from next door to introduce herself and brought us some pastries.” Carrie opened the bag to show Seren.
“Oh lovely,” said Seren. “Lucy’s the best, and she makes the most amazing treats.”
“Can we eat them now?” asked Poppy, hopefully.
“Of course,” Carrie replied. “Would you grab us some plates from the kitchen, Pumpkin?”
“Sure!”
“They should be in the cupboard under the toaster,” Seren called out as Poppy headed to the kitchen.
“We appear to have a visitor.” Carrie nodded to the sleeping cat in the corner.
“Oh, that’s Tabitha,” Seren explained. “She belongs next door, at the bookbinders, but spends most of her time here where she gets to sleep in more comfortable surroundings.”
“I was guessing she had a home. She doesn’t exactly look malnourished.”
Seren grinned. “No, I swear she gets fatter every time I see her.”
Poppy returned with the plates. The warm, flaky pains au chocolat really were delicious.
They were just finishing them when the bell above the shop door rang and the first customers of the day arrived.
Tabitha opened one eye lazily to check if they were worthy of her notice but seemed to decide they weren’t and closed it again.
* * *
A couple of hours later and Carrie felt she was getting the hang of the till. There had been a steady stream of customers, though at least half were friends of her aunt’s coming to say hello. She’d even managed to take orders for a couple of books.
Poppy had moved closer and closer to Tabitha as the morning went on.
The little girl was now sitting with her back against the chair that the cat was still asleep on.
Her daughter seemed happy, but Carrie was worried about her getting bored later in the day.
She’d promised they could go down to the beach as soon as the shop closed, though.