Chapter 67
CHAPTER 67
W hen Gemma came into work the next morning, she still hadn’t fully erased the niggling sensation that came from the way Kent had said goodbye the night before. He had sent her a message apologising for the abrupt departure, but when she’d sent a follow-up asking if he wanted to chat on the phone, he’d said he needed to get a proper night’s sleep. She’d tried not to take the comment to heart—after all, they’d spent a crazy amount of time together over the last week, especially considering they hadn’t officially put a label on what they were doing. In her mind, they were a couple, but perhaps he saw things differently. Perhaps he was the type of guy who dated more than one woman before taking the American approach of ‘going steady’. No, she thought, dismissing the idea as soon as it formed. She knew how he felt about relationships—he’d told her that night in the yacht club. He was committed to her. She was sure. But perhaps she needed to hear him say it to stop feeling so insecure.
Knowing that the uncertainty would pester her until she spoke to him, Gemma left for work fifteen minutes earlier than usual, wanting to give herself time to have a proper conversation with Kent before the café opened. But when she arrived, she was surprised to find a customer already sitting outside the door.
“Margaret?”
“I’m sorry, Gemma,” Margaret said. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her hands trembling. “I know you’re not open yet. It’s just... I didn’t know where else to go. The family has all these questions, and there are forms and certificates, and I don’t want to deal with it. I don’t want to deal with any of it.”
“Oh Margaret, I’m so sorry,” Gemma said, knowing without doubt the reason her customer was there so early. Still, with tears in her eyes, Margaret confirmed what Gemma already knew.
“She’s gone, Gemma. My mother—she passed away last night.”
Hugs weren’t something they did with customers, excluding Graham, of course, and even so, Gemma got the feeling that wasn’t what Margaret wanted. She wanted a chance to block out the rest of the world. A chance to feel normal. And so, grabbing her keys from her bag, Gemma hurriedly opened the door before beckoning Margaret inside.
“Take a seat,” she said. “I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”
“I don’t want to put you to any trouble. You haven’t even opened up yet. I just thought maybe I could talk to you about her. You know, for old time’s sake. But it’s silly. I’m sorry. I’m putting you out.”
“You are absolutely not putting me out,” Gemma lied as she tried to figure out how to get everything done and still have time to talk to Margaret.
“It’s fine. Can you bear with me for two minutes so I can get the machine running?”
“Of course. Thank you, Gemma. I really appreciate it.”
“Honestly, it’s nothing. You take a seat. I’ll be over in a minute.”
Her conversation with Kent was going to have to wait, Gemma thought, though as she reached the coffee machine, the door from the kitchen swung open.
The first smile of the day from Kent was usually enough to make Gemma’s heart perform some serious acrobatics, though she didn’t even turn to look at him as she hurried to switch the water filters on. She needed to get Margaret her coffee ASAP.
“Great, you’re here. I was wondering if I could talk to you about something,” Kent said.
Gemma threw a glance towards the corner of the room, where Margaret was currently sitting with her hands buried in her head.
“Sorry,” she said. “She’s just lost her mum. I said she could come in. I’m going to grab her a drink and have a chat about things. It’s nothing important, is it?”
Kent coughed a little, then smiled and shook his head.
“I’ll talk to you later. There’s a guy coming in, though. He’s going to measure a few things,” Kent said.
“Okay,” Gemma replied, only half listening as she grabbed a coffee cup, before turning back to look at him. “Oh, can you grab me a fresh scone too, please? I know we said no freebies, but it can be from my lunch. I think she needs it.”
Kent lingered for a moment longer as if he was going to say something, but instead a smile curled up the corners of his lips.
“Sure. I’ll get that for you now.”