Chapter 8
Friday evening in the pub had been busy, but it was nothing compared to the number of people who crammed themselves in for the live music night on the Saturday. I purposefully turned up an hour earlier than Sam had requested because I was keen to make amends for arriving late the evening before. Had I not been so early, I never would have got parked, so that was something to bear in mind where my timekeeping was concerned.
‘I really am sorry about being late yesterday,’ I apologised again as soon as I stepped behind the bar.
Sam had barely said a word to me during the entire Friday shift, but with a steady stream of customers to serve, there hadn’t really been time to chat. I was probably making too much of his assumed bad mood, but thought it was wise to make amends. The last thing I needed was to pee off the boss just two shifts in.
‘Well, you’re here well ahead of your time tonight.’ He smiled, looking more like his usual relaxed self.
‘I’m not expecting you to pay me an extra hour though,’ I quickly qualified.
‘That’s all right then,’ he laughed. ‘It would be great if you could help Tess get ahead in the kitchen until things get more frantic out here.’
It seemed pretty full-on to me already, so he was obviously expecting a really full house.
‘Happy to,’ I said, hoping there was an apron large enough to cover the dress I’d decided to wear.
‘Oh, wow, Daisy,’ Tess said, smiling, when I joined her in the already hot kitchen. ‘You look gorgeous. I love that dress. Grab an apron from the back of the door.’
‘Thank you,’ I said gratefully. ‘I was hoping you’d have one that would cover it.’
The black, floaty skater dress, which was covered in different-sized gold stars, was my absolute favourite. I’d had it for ages, but hadn’t worn it for a while because Laurence hadn’t deemed it formal enough for evenings out. Not that I was thinking about those or him.
‘I thought it might be nice to make an effort as it’s an event night,’ I added, as I adjusted the apron straps to ensure maximum coverage.
That wasn’t entirely true. The deciding factor in picking it out had been knowing that Josh was going to be putting in an appearance and that the dress would give me an extra dose of confidence.
I’d taken my time over my hair and make-up too, which had the added bonus of keeping me in my room and out of Mum and Dad’s way. We were still skirting around each other a bit after Dad’s telephone blunder and I knew they were both still worried that Laurence might call the cottage. The terrified look on Dad’s face every time the phone rang was a dead giveaway and I hoped things between us would shake down soon. An atmosphere of underlying tension wouldn’t be good for any of us while we were trying to get used to living together again.
‘Well,’ said Tess, who looked hot and flustered as she worked away in front of the searing stove, ‘you’ve put me to shame.’
That hadn’t been my intention and what she was wearing looked lovely too.
‘Give me an hour in here with you,’ I said, deciding not to comment on her outfit in case she assumed I was only offering her a compliment because she’d given me one, ‘and I won’t look anything like as uncrumpled. Now, what can I do?’
I was assigned simple salad prep, but didn’t get to spend the whole hour in the kitchen as Sam needed me in the bar so he could help finish setting up the inside and outdoor areas where the musicians were going to perform. The first half of the evening was happening outside, with a local band playing and the second half was going to be an indoor open mic event. I wasn’t sure Wynmouth had that many musicians of note, so that was going to be interesting as well as entertaining.
‘Bear with me, folks,’ I said desperately, when I looked up and realised how many people were waiting to be served, while Sam was still busy elsewhere. ‘This is literally my third night on the job.’
My nerves frustratingly got the better of me once I’d seen the queue and the next two pints I attempted to pour were all froth.
‘You’re all right,’ said the guy at the head of the queue, while he patiently waited for me to have another go. ‘Don’t stress. No one’s in a rush.’
I appreciated his patience and the next attempt was perfect.
‘Thanks,’ I said, flashing him a smile as I handed over the glass. ‘You’re very kind.’
‘We all have to learn.’ He shrugged. ‘Keep the change.’
With my confidence restored, I’d only got two couples waiting when Sam finally made it back.
‘Sorry about that,’ he had to practically shout to make himself heard. ‘It took longer than I expected. You’ve done well to keep on top of everything, Daisy.’
‘I nearly didn’t,’ I called back, but there was no opportunity to elaborate.
By the time the band had set up and were ready to play in the small garden at the back of the pub, my feet were on fire and I was desperate to swap out the shoes I’d ignored Sam’s words of wisdom to wear for my comfy trainers again.
‘You were warned,’ he chuckled, when he spotted what I was doing.
‘I know,’ I said, having taken a few seconds to stand barefoot on the cool wooden floor and let my toes unclench. ‘And it’s a lesson learned. I think the trainers look better with the dress anyway.’
I wished I’d had the gumption to realise that when I’d got dressed back at home.
‘Textbook Daisy,’ I heard Penny laugh, while I was bent over tying the laces. ‘She’s always been the same. She always has to do things the hard way.’
‘How dare you!’ I pouted, pretending to be affronted, as I stood back up.
Penny had a twinkle in her green eyes and a smile on her full lips.
‘You’re going to dispute that, are you?’ she challenged me.
‘No,’ I huffed, knowing full well all of the occasions she could reel off to prove me wrong.
‘I should think not,’ she laughed.
‘What can I get you?’ I asked. ‘Are you going to have a drink or have you just come in here to tell tales about me?’
‘I’ll have a pint of Wherry, please.’ She grinned.
‘And I’ll pull it,’ said Sam, stepping in. ‘Daisy’s having mixed results at the pumps tonight.’
‘I thought I was doing all right,’ I said, deflating a little. ‘I tipped a couple away earlier, but the rest have been okay, haven’t they?’
‘You’re getting there,’ was as much as Sam was willing to say and I guessed I wasn’t quite up to the professional barkeeping standard just yet. ‘Why don’t you take a break while the band’s playing? It’ll probably be the only chance you get.’
‘Okay,’ I said keenly, filling up a glass with ice and water for myself. ‘I’m happy to take a load off for a few minutes. Do you want to listen to the band, Pen?’
‘No,’ she said, looking me up and down as I came out from behind the bar, ‘let’s grab a table while it’s quiet. I love that dress, by the way. Is it new?’
‘No,’ I told her, letting out a breath as I flopped on to a chair. ‘But those dungarees are, aren’t they?’
With her slightly fuller figure they looked perfect on her and the pattern was as bright and cheering as she was.
‘You know I can’t resist Lucy and Yak,’ she said with a grin. ‘You were saying about the dress?’
‘Oh, I’ve had it for ages,’ I vaguely elaborated, ‘but I thought I’d give it an airing tonight.’
‘Any particular reason why?’ Penny asked with emphasis, while looking at me wide-eyed over the top of her pint. ‘Any person in particular?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I demanded, narrowing my own eyes.
‘I can’t help wondering,’ she said, ‘if you’ve made an extra effort for the benefit of our American visitor?’
‘Who?’ I frowned.
She shook her head in disbelief.
‘From what I can make out,’ she carried on, ‘half the village is totally smitten with him and he’s all anyone can talk about at the school pick-up.’
‘You’re not ringing any bells,’ I blagged, pretending that I hadn’t even heard of any such American.
She let out a bark of laughter.
‘Liar, liar,’ she giggled. ‘I know for a fact that you’re aware of who I’m talking about because you spent the whole day on the beach with him yesterday.’
My mouth fell open in shock.
‘Don’t look like that,’ she tutted. ‘He’s the hot goss right now, and as a result of your beach frolics, so are you.’
‘There was no frolicking,’ I tutted back. ‘And we weren’t on the beach the whole day. We spent some time in the Wynbrook beach hut too.’
‘Did you now?’
‘And in the sea,’ I added, with a smile I couldn’t suppress. ‘We had a picnic and a chat. That’s all. Don’t forget I’m literally just days out of a long-term relationship, so you can keep your summer fling speculating to yourself.’
I might have been speculating as well, but I wasn’t about to make that common knowledge. Not even to one of my best friends.
‘Who said anything about a summer fling?’ Penny laughed.
‘Nick did,’ I batted back. ‘And you two seem pretty chatty these days, so I know you’ll have had your heads together and discussed it.’
She didn’t comment about that.
‘You might only be days out of a long-term relationship,’ she said instead, ‘but it was one that you were glad to see the back of.’
She had a point.
‘Anyway,’ I countered, ‘how can you accuse me of being dressed up for Josh when he isn’t even here tonight?’
‘Oh, Josh, is it?’ Penny said in a teasing tone.
‘You know it is,’ I nudged. ‘Are you smitten with him too?’
‘You must be joking,’ she spluttered. ‘I haven’t got time to wash my hair, let alone be smitten with anyone. My work–life balance is totally shot so I’ve no time for romance.’
I couldn’t help thinking that taking over Sophie’s beach café for the summer wasn’t going to help her address that balance.
‘Tell me about the café,’ I said, as keen to know the details as I was to change the subject. ‘Is it open now Sophie’s away? I haven’t been along the beach that way.’
The café was situated on the opposite side of the beach to the huts and so far, I hadn’t walked along the shore in that direction.
‘No,’ said Penny, ‘it’s closed at the moment, but I’ve been in today to check the fridge and freezer are running as they should be and as there’s quite a bit of stock in, I’ve decided I’m going to open it for a while tomorrow.’
I didn’t think that was a good idea.
‘Are you sure you can manage it?’ I asked cautiously. ‘You’ve still got two days left in school, haven’t you?’
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘the term ends on Tuesday, but we’re only tidying up, playing games and watching films now. Thankfully nothing too taxing.’
‘What about inset training?’
‘That’s scheduled for September, and I’ll get the classroom ready then too. I’ll be opening the café properly next Wednesday and then carrying on until Sophie returns. It’s always been closed on a Monday and Tuesday, but I might open in the afternoons if the beach is busy. Thankfully, all I’ve got to do is walk down the lane to decide.’
‘Your proximity to the beach will be a bonus,’ I agreed, ‘but I’m worried that you’re going to burn yourself out.’
‘You sound like Nick.’ Penny smiled, nudging me. ‘He’s worried about it too, but I can’t wait to get started. Sophie has agreed that I can add a couple of my own dishes to the menu.’
She did sound excited and I had no desire to dampen her enthusiasm. Her taking the café on was obviously more than a whim.
‘Well,’ I smiled, ‘I look forward to seeing you behind the counter and sampling what you’ve come up with. You can count on my business, that’s for sure.’
‘You’ll have to bring Josh along,’ she suggested and I rolled my eyes.
‘I’m sure Josh can find his own way,’ I responded. ‘Besides, who knows, I might never bump into him again.’
I knew I would, but I was trying hard to play down how I felt about him. Given that I was only days out of one relationship, I was rather floored that I had already met someone who might make me consider another – even if it was only going to be brief.
‘Er,’ said Penny, ‘I think you might bump into him.’
She gave me another nudge and I looked up just as Josh came bowling through the door with a guitar slung over one shoulder and, with terrifying tale-telling George, and his dog, Skipper, hot on his heels.
‘Looks like you’ve got competition,’ Penny said in a singsong voice and with a nod to George. I dug her in the ribs with my elbow. ‘Ow,’ she protested.
‘I’d better get back to work,’ I said, standing up and readjusting my dress. ‘We must have been longer than the few minutes Sam said I could take.’
I wished I had a mirror to look in, but I wasn’t going to ask Penny if she had one in her bag, otherwise I’d never hear the end of it.
‘You look lovely,’ she said softly and I gave her a grateful smile.
‘Good evening, guys,’ I said to both Josh and George, ‘what can I get you?’
Josh was looking at George as I stepped behind the bar, so he didn’t get the benefit of seeing me in my darling dress, but I did note how good he looked in his jeans and a navy shirt. The colour was the perfect foil for his tan and he smelt wonderful too.
‘Hey Daisy,’ he said, looking rather flustered when he turned to me, ‘a word with Sam, if he’s not too busy.’
‘I’ve got a minute to talk,’ said Sam, appearing with perfect timing. ‘Have you pair made up your minds then?’
‘We have,’ George said decisively.
I didn’t get the opportunity to hear what they’d decided about, as the band outside finished their set to rapturous cheers and applause and the bar started to fill up again. I collected as many empty glasses as I could find, while Sam and Tess worked the bar seamlessly between them.
‘Nice,’ said Penny, giving a surreptitious thumbs-up behind Josh’s back when I reached the table closest to hers.
‘Who’s nice?’ asked Nick, who she hadn’t realised had crept up behind her.
She leapt as high as the low-beamed ceiling and I laughed.
‘Serves you right,’ I giggled.
‘Daisy!’ called Sam, sounding flustered. ‘Can you give us a hand?’
I quickly deposited the empty glasses and started serving. I hoped he hadn’t thought I’d gone over to Penny to have another chat.
‘And last, but by no means least, we have a very special final act for this evening,’ Sam announced over the speaker an hour or so later.
Given the calibre of a few of the local acts who had taken a turn at the mic, I thought that special might be a bit of a stretch, but then, who was I to judge? I’d never have had the courage to stand up and sing in front of a packed pub, even if I could hold a note. Which I couldn’t.
‘This is their debut duet,’ Sam carried on, ‘so please give a warm welcome to… George and Josh!’
I spun around and looked at the tiny raised platform where the brave participants had been performing and saw Josh step up, looking green around the gills, and George, appearing as confident and poised as always. He stretched out his fingers in front of the keyboard, while Josh adjusted the strap of his guitar.
‘Did you know?’ Penny, who was sitting where she’d been all evening, only now with Nick, mouthed at me.
‘No,’ I mouthed back, shrugging my shoulders.
‘Hey,’ Josh said shakily into the microphone and I felt my heart swoop. ‘How you all doing this evening?’
There was a cheer from one of the women in the audience, which made a few of the other customers laugh and left me in no doubt of Josh’s popularity.
‘George and I thought we’d play a song you might already know,’ he said more confidently. ‘We hope you like it. Join in if you know the words.’
I was mesmerised as I watched him take a breath and swallow and when he started to play the opening bars of ‘Better Together’ by Jack Johnson, it was a struggle not to cry. I couldn’t risk looking at Penny again. She knew how much I loved the song, courtesy of a teacher we’d had at primary school who had introduced our class to the In Between Dreams album. This particular song was subsequently always played on Leavers’ Day and at various assemblies throughout the year and I’d loved it ever since.
Josh’s playing was perfect and his voice had a quality similar to Jack’s, while George’s accompaniment on the keyboard took the performance to an all-time emotional high. The pair of them, one older, one younger, performing so wonderfully together, was enchanting.
The bar was completely silent when they finished, aside from a few sniffs and Josh looked around, a frown forming.
‘We thought—’ he started to say, but was instantly drowned out by a sudden cacophony of clapping and foot stomping.
‘Again!’ someone shouted.
‘Play it again!’ someone else joined in and within seconds, everyone was demanding an encore.
I did cry then. I couldn’t stop the tears flowing as Josh grinned and George doffed his trademark hat. Throughout the second rendition everyone joined in, swaying if they were seated, dancing if they were on their feet and we all sang along. The third and final time, Josh barely took his eyes off me and I knew I’d never wanted to be with someone more.
‘Oh my god,’ cried Pen, once she’d made her way to me, her mascara as smudged as mine when Josh and George were finally able to leave the stage. ‘Did he know that was your favourite song?’
‘No,’ I said, trying to sound more together than I felt. ‘We’ve never talked about music. We’ve hardly talked about anything at all, really.’
‘It’s fate,’ she insisted, taking my hands and holding them in hers. ‘That’s what this is. You two are destined to be together.’
‘I don’t know about that,’ I laughed, though I was actually inclined to hope she was right, even if only in the short term, ‘but I do know that if I don’t start pulling pints soon, we’ll be stuck in here all night.’
I made my way to the bar and served as many of the extremely happy crowd as I could. I’d lost sight of Josh, but I could see George’s hat bobbing about and everyone wanted to buy the pair of them a drink.
‘That,’ I said to George, a while later, after he’d finally soaked up all the praise and reached the bar himself, ‘was phenomenal.’
‘It did go down rather well, didn’t it?’ he agreed. ‘Josh has the most amazing voice.’
‘He certainly does,’ I sighed dreamily, thinking I could have listened to him all evening. ‘Where is he?’
‘Outside cooling off.’ George grinned. ‘He made some excuse about ducking out to take his guitar back to the cottage. I think everyone’s reaction rather took him by surprise.’
‘I wouldn’t mind booking the pair of you as a main act at some point in the future,’ said Sam, who had come over to join us.
‘In that case,’ George laughed as Josh walked back in looking flushed, ‘we’d better add a few more songs to our setlist.’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Sam, ‘I reckon you could have played that one a dozen times over and everyone would have still wanted to hear it again.’
‘What did you think of it, Daisy?’ Josh asked, fixing me again with his beguiling eyes. ‘Did you like it?’
‘I loved it,’ I gulped, looking right back at him. With me behind the bar and him in front of it, we were face to face and I had to resist the urge to pull him across it and kiss the lips off him. ‘I’ve always loved it and you played it so beautifully, every time.’
He looked choked when I said that and I couldn’t believe he had no idea how talented he was.
‘I told you,’ said George, giving him a wink. ‘And now Sam wants to book us properly.’
Josh looked astounded.
‘You do?’ he croaked.
‘Absolutely,’ said Sam. ‘The pair of you will pack this place out.’
‘What do you say?’ George asked Josh.
‘I don’t know,’ he said hesitantly. ‘I need to think about it.’
As far as I was concerned there was nothing to think about, but he obviously had his reasons and I didn’t want to pry. Well, I did, but not in front of everyone else.
‘Crikey,’ said Sam, ‘look at the time. You’d better head home, Daisy.’
‘I don’t mind helping you clear up,’ I offered.
‘No,’ he insisted, ‘it’s fine. You get off.’
‘And I’m going too,’ said George, looking around for Skipper. ‘I need my beauty sleep if I’m going to be performing music as well as telling terrifying tempest-tossed tales.’
I laughed when he said that.
‘That’s right, isn’t it?’ he twinkled.
‘It was definitely something like that.’ I smiled, gathering up my bag with my discarded shoes in it.
‘I didn’t get the chance to say earlier,’ Josh said, as I joined him on the other side of the bar, ‘but you look really pretty tonight, Daisy.’
I wondered how much of my make-up was left. Probably not a lot, given my earlier teary moment, so I most likely looked less pretty than I had.
‘Thank you,’ I nonetheless graciously said.
‘I’ll walk you back to your car,’ he then offered. ‘Unless, you’d like me to walk back with you, George?’
‘No, no, dear boy,’ George said, waving the suggestion away. ‘You carry on.’
I had a feeling Josh and I weren’t going to make it as far as my car.