Chapter 5
She stepped out of the music shop and walked across the yard to Joss’s office. There were a surprising number of people still waiting, seated on sofas and easy chairs dotted around the room. She’d imagined he would have got through nearly all his morning clients.
Briony spotted a coffee machine on a trestle table along with milk, sugar, teabags, mugs and a plate of biscuits. She also noticed free newspapers, magazines, and a bookshelf of novels. It rather reminded her of the little church halls where people gathered for a cuppa, a scone, and a chat. She noticed another table with a plate of fruit scones and a large cake on a cake stand. There were disposable plates and forks. She imagined the scones and cake were homemade and that Joss had baked them himself. Emily had mentioned that Joss rather liked baking. She noted that there was no one taking money for the food and drinks and supposed it was all part of the free service.
Briony stood in the doorway, wondering where Joss was.
‘Hello, there.’ An older lady, very slim, dressed in skinny black jeans and a bright red jumper with sequins approached her. ‘You must be Briony.’
‘Um, yes.’
‘Emily said you were popping along today. I’m Cheryl, Emily’s mum. I help out here, looking after Joss’s clients and doing some secretarial bits and bobs.’
‘Oh, hello. I thought you were retired,’ blurted Briony. She looked away, embarrassed. ‘Sorry. It’s just that when I was chatting to Emily, she mentioned that you ran a guesthouse before you retired.’
Cheryl smiled. ‘That’s right. It’s the reason Emily called her boarding kennels The Four Paws Guest House when she took over the building. And yes, my husband and I did retire after I handed over the guesthouse to Emily, but then I got very bored, and being around my husband all day wasn’t helping at all. We’d worked hard all our lives. My husband, Gerald, worked on the fishing vessels. I was so used to being busy all the time, and meeting people, that I was starting to get depressed.’
‘Oh, dear. I’m sorry to hear that.’ Briony had always imagined that retirement would be blissful; spent just pottering about, doing your own thing. But how do you fill an entire day, a week, a month when you have absolutely nothing to do? She’d been at The Beach House for only a few days, and at first, she’d imagined she’d enjoy just hanging around, spending lazy days reading and going for long walks on the beach. Even if her grandmother had been there as she’d expected, and things had worked out as she’d hoped, she imagined she’d soon have become restless. It was why she’d jumped at the chance to work at the music shop.
Her thoughts turned to years gone by at The Beach House. In the photo album she’d found from when her great-grandparents were still alive, it was obvious that The Beach House had been quite the social hub, with lots of friends and relations visiting. It made Briony wonder how lonely her grandmother might feel, living in the house all alone, and wondered if that was why she fostered animals. They would give her company, and a purpose, beyond her private piano lessons.
‘Retirement is not all it’s cracked up to be, I can assure you,’ said Cheryl conversationally as she led Briony past the other people sitting in the waiting area. Briony noticed that a bamboo screen had been placed in the deep-recessed front window so that nobody could look in and see who was sitting in the waiting room.
Cheryl continued, ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love my husband. But I needed to get out of the house and do something different – preferably where I was surrounded by people.’
Briony looked at the full reception area and grinned. ‘Well, you’re certainly working in the right place. And Joss does all this for free?’
‘Yes. Of course. However there are some folks who insist on paying him for his time and expertise. But he only accepts money if people make a charitable donation towards helping Emily feed and rehome rescues.’
Briony nodded. ‘Then that’s what I’d like to do.’
Cheryl grinned. ‘Wonderful – but only give what you can afford. However small the donation might be, Emily would really appreciate it. What with the cost of living going through the roof, Emily has ended up in a bit of a pickle, financially speaking, taking in strays and abandoned pets. She’d never put a healthy animal down, but she isn’t a charity, obviously. The money has to come from somewhere. My husband and I help Emily out where we can.’
Cheryl glanced around the waiting room. ‘I do love my voluntary job here. There’s only so many garden centres you can visit, coffee shops you can waste time in and holidays you can go on before reality sets in.’
Briony nodded.
‘It was my husband who voiced how I’d been feeling. He said he was bored, and went out and got a part-time job as a delivery driver, delivering flowers for The Potting Shed across the yard. Their online business has really taken off, and although they could still cope with making up the bouquets, they needed someone to deliver the orders.’ She shook her head and smiled wistfully. ‘It’s funny, because we’d both been feeling like that for some time, unbeknown to each other, but we both felt guilty about it.’
‘I think couples need their own jobs, interests, and friends,’ said Briony, thinking of Freddie. She hadn’t felt guilty about applying to go on that eight-week research trip. In fact, she’d barely thought of him when she’d made the decision to go.
Cheryl smiled. ‘I think so too. Now, as you can see, we’re quite busy this morning. I think Joss’s morning clinic will overrun. But not to worry – Joss will get around to seeing you. We have a little ticket machine. It’s first come, first served, I’m afraid.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Briony wished she’d turned up first thing, instead of waiting until gone eleven. She sighed.
Cheryl must have caught the look on her face. ‘Sorry, he can’t book specific appointments as he doesn’t know how long each client will be. He would never turn anyone away, no matter how long their case takes, or how complex.’
Briony was glad to hear it. She didn’t know how long and drawn out or complex the legal fight to save The Beach House would turn out to be.
Cheryl handed her a ticket. ‘Now, take a seat, and have a cuppa and a slice of Joss’s delicious homemade cake, or a scone. Help yourself to a magazine or a book, if you like. There’s a selection of daily newspapers too.’
Briony looked at her ticket, and then around the crowded room, and said, ‘Do you think I’d have time to nip to the bookshop across the yard?’
Cheryl glanced around the room too. ‘Oh, I think so. Take your time. Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?’
Briony stopped at the door and turned around. An answer to the question of what’s happened to my grandmother, she thought, although she doubted she’d find that answer in the bookshop.