Chapter 18
After nipping back home to get his wallet, Marc undertook a hectic morning of last-minute school-shoe shopping, and then a long, frustrating trawl around the local Aldi supermarket.
Two five-year-olds weren’t the ideal shopping partners, but, Marc figured, that was the price he paid for not getting his act together to organise a delivery.
However, as he navigated the busy aisles, he found it easier than he’d anticipated.
The boys, though needing to be dissuaded from randomly filling the shopping trolley with sweets and cakes, were well behaved, and even managed not to bicker until they got back to the car.
While at the supermarket, he glanced at the range of birthday cakes on sale, but, while colourful, none of them seemed quite right.
Since the boys’ birthday was so close to Christmas, he’d always tried hard to make the distinction between the two celebrations, as well as treating them as individuals, and as it was also their first birthday in the lake house, he wanted something extra special.
Two pairs of school shoes had been bought earlier that morning, and as the boys fell silent on the drive home, engrossed in a DVD of their favourite Marvel movie, Captain America, Marc breathed a sigh of relief.
It was nearly lunchtime, and, mindful of the frozen goods in the thermal shopping bag in the boot, he decided not to pull into the vacant parking spot outside Hope’s Café, but to take a walk back out to the café with the boys a bit later.
He didn’t feel comfortable not paying for the coffee – he felt as though he wasn’t supporting a lovely local business by accepting it – so decided he was going to pop back in and pay for it.
A small voice in the back of his mind teased him that it was because he wanted to see Lauren again.
He tried to ignore it and focus on what to get the boys for lunch.
God, it was hard work doing all of this on his own.
Pushing aside that thought, he roused the boys and they’d soon unloaded the shopping and sorted a quick sandwich.
Unfortunately, the boys seemed disinclined to go out again and were far more interested in their Lego than a trip to the café.
Marc was torn: he could just bundle them back into the car, nip into the café and settle his debt with Lauren, and come back again, but, reluctant to disturb his sons, who were, for once, cooperating over building an Avengers style skyscraper for Captain America and Iron Man, he began to feel less and less like going out.
Instead, he settled his guilty conscience by looking up the phone number of the café and, when the lunchtime rush was over, giving Lauren a call.
As the phone rang, he thought back to their somewhat awkward meeting that morning.
The understanding in Lauren’s eyes had put him at ease, and she made him the best espresso he’d tasted outside his favourite café in Toulouse.
He pictured the smile on her face, and the scattering of freckles over her snub nose and found himself smiling at the memory as he waited for her to answer the call.
‘Hello?’
‘Er, hi,’ Marc stammered, feeling a little fluttering of butterflies in his stomach when he heard her voice. ‘It’s Marc. Marc Hathaway?’
‘Oh, hello. How are you? Did you manage to get the boys some shoes?’
The warmth and genuine interest in her voice immediately calmed the flapping of imaginary wings in his stomach. ‘Yeah.’ He laughed. ‘It was touch and go, but we got there in the end.’
‘So, what can I do for you?’ There was a clinking of crockery in the background, and Marc wondered if the café was still busy.
‘I’ve just called to settle up for my coffee,’ he said, staring at the digits on his bank card. ‘I didn’t want to leave you short at the end of the day.’
‘Oh, you don’t have to do that,’ Lauren replied. ‘I told you it was on the house.’
‘That’s really sweet of you, but I’d feel better if I paid for it. I want to support small businesses, not take advantage of them.’
‘Honestly, just think of it as a gift – I know the boys’ll try to drag you in again sometime!’ Lauren gave a nervous giggle.
‘Well… if you’re sure. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’
There was a pause on the line, and Marc scrabbled around for something else to say.
He liked Lauren’s voice. It was calm and quiet, and he recognised an accent – from the north?
– that made her flatten her vowels and round out her speech in a friendly way.
Seizing the idea as it came to him, before it could get away, he spoke again hurriedly.
‘I don’t suppose you sell whole cakes to order, do you? It’s the boys’ birthday next week and I’m running out of ideas.’
‘How odd,’ Lauren replied. ‘You’re the second person who’s asked me that this week! Perhaps fate is telling me something.’
‘So, er, do you?’
‘Not normally, no.’ Lauren paused, before adding somewhat shyly, ‘But there’s always a first time. What kind of cake did you want?’
‘Well…’ Double-checking that Liam and Luca weren’t going to come downstairs any time soon, Marc outlined their likes and dislikes.
‘I don’t know what the best thing to do would be,’ he added as he finished filling in Lauren, ‘but if it’s easier just to do the one cake and split it in two, or make two smaller ones, I’m happy for you to do either. ’
‘Okay.’
Marc heard Lauren breathing out. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah. Um… the only thing is, I’m not quite sure what to charge. Can I price it up and get back to you?’
‘Of course.’ Marc smiled. He suddenly wished he was having this conversation in person, instead of over the phone.
Lauren sounded so nervous about taking the commission, even though he’d seen the wonderful cakes she baked for the café.
‘Look, if you’re too busy, then don’t worry about it. I can sort something else out.’
‘No, no, it’s not that. I, er, just don’t want the boys to be disappointed.’
‘They won’t be. If your creation looks even vaguely like a bloody Minecraft character or an Octonaut, they’ll be over the moon.’
‘Thanks. Octonauts and Minecraft it is.’ There was a pause on the end of the line, before she added, ‘I’ve got to go – a couple of customers have just come in.’
‘Okay. Take care, Lauren, and see you soon.’
As he ended the call, Marc shook his head.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about Lauren made his protective instincts go into overdrive.
He was touched that she wanted to do a good job for the boys but also intrigued.
Perhaps it was her habit of second-guessing herself that he was drawn to.
For the first time since he’d lost Tessa, he found himself thinking about a woman long after he’d ended the call.