CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
It was Wednesday – and I was going solo for the first time with the Travelling Cake Van.
Ellie had been in hospital for a few days but thankfully, the doctors seemed pleased with her and were allowing her to go home later today on the strict proviso that she was to relax and do nothing taxing.
I’d been a little nervous at the thought of doing the cake run myself, but once I was driving out into the countryside, window open a crack to let in the fresh April air, I found I was quite enjoying myself.
When I arrived at my second stop in Risley Common, Rosie was there waiting – without Amelie this time. She asked where Ellie was and I told her what had happened.
‘Oh, that’s awful. I do hope she’s okay. And the baby, of course. I can’t imagine how I’d have felt if something like that had happened while I was carrying Amelie.’
I nodded. ‘She definitely had us all worried for a while there. But it’s looking good. So where is she today? Amelie?’
‘Oh, she’s at home with her gran. My mum’s come to stay for a few weeks. She and my stepdad have been living in Spain for the past five years, although I think Mum’s homesick so I don’t think it’ll be too long before they come back home to the UK.’ She crossed her fingers and smiled. ‘They hate not being able to see their granddaughter regularly.’
‘I’m not surprised. I absolutely loved the curry you gave me, by the way.’
‘Really?’ Rosie flushed with pleasure. ‘You never know, do you? If people are going to like your food.’ She glanced inside the van. ‘Can I take that lovely lemon drizzle loaf cake, please?’
‘You’re a great cook,’ I told her honestly, as I popped the cake in her box. ‘I’d seriously pay good money to eat that curry in a restaurant.’
‘You would?’
‘Absolutely. I was actually thinking on the way here that you’d do really well at the farmers’ market in Lockley Meadow?’ I shrugged. ‘I could find out from Ellie how to go about contacting the council to get a pitch... and all the rules and regulations about food hygiene, that sort of thing?’
Rosie laughed in disbelief. She was looking at me as if I’d casually suggested she should set up a stall on Jupiter. But I spotted a tiny gleam of hope in her eyes as well.
She stepped back as I served the other customers.
When I’d finished, she came over. ‘Did you mean I could produce food on a big scale from my kitchen to sell at the market?’ She frowned. ‘But do you really think people would buy it?’
I smiled. ‘I’m absolutely sure they would. You could have a pot of it on the go at the stall and let potential customers taste it. Seriously, Rosie, the aroma of those spices would really tempt people in. It smelled absolutely delicious when I was heating it up in my kitchen and it tasted just as good.’
She was staring at me in amazement, and I could tell she was already turning the idea over in her mind.
‘That would be so good ,’ she murmured. Her eyes were bright and she looked quite flushed. ‘If it could work, I mean.’ She shrugged. ‘I really don’t want to be on benefits. I want to set an example to Amelie as a strong, independent, hard-working woman.’ She shook her head. ‘Honestly, if I could start my own business and make it a success, it would be all my dreams come true at once.’
‘Well, there’s no reason why it can’t become a reality. You’re passionate about good food – and a great cook as well. And you strike me as someone who’s prepared to really put in the work to succeed.’ I shrugged. ‘I’m sure if you needed any business advice, Ellie would be only too happy to help.’
‘Gosh.’ She smiled at me. ‘You’ve certainly given me something to think about, Katja. Thank you.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Sorry, I’ve kept you talking for too long. You’d better get on to your next stop.’
I smiled. ‘Which just happens to be Lockley Meadow farmers’ market.’
She nodded. ‘By the time you come back next week, I’ll have set the wheels in motion. I hope.’ She made an excited, nervous face.
‘You can do it, Rosie. You’ve got a great product and the motivation to succeed. See you next week.’
‘Tell Ellie I hope she’s feeling much better now,’ she called, as I hopped back into the van.
I glanced back at her in the rear-view mirror as I drove away.
Rosie’s energy had changed.
She was smiling and there was a spring in her step that wasn’t there before...
*****
It was Lockley Meadow next stop – and already, the butterflies were getting into gear at the thought of seeing Caleb again.
After he’d dropped Maisie and me at my flat the other day – after driving Ellie and Zak to the hospital – I’d made him a coffee and asked politely about his eco houses. I could see the passion in his eyes as he spoke and I actually found myself genuinely interested in the whole idea of living sustainably. Caleb made it sound fascinating. (Although being able to gaze into his piercing blue eyes as he talked added immeasurably to my over-all fascination.)
Our parting, though, was stiff and polite, mainly because having acknowledged to myself that I was attracted to him, I was now desperate he should never find out.
So it was awkward, in other words. But then, there was nothing new there...
I was half-hoping I’d see him today and half-hoping I wouldn’t, and the conflicting feelings were making my insides churn horribly.
But then five minutes along the road, I wondered if I’d even make it to Lockley Meadow because the van was starting to judder again.
My heart sank.
Please, please, please don’t break down on me now!
Ellie had talked to Sam about the van and he’d recommended she take it to a mechanic friend of his to look at. But her pregnancy scare had obviously wiped everything else from her mind.
I slowed down a little and drove along with my heart in my mouth and everything crossed. And to my relief, I managed to make it to our pitch at the farmers’ market with no more juddering. I just hoped it would be okay to make the onward journey to Primrose Wood.
I was feeling so tense when I arrived, I had to reverse and re-position the van a good few times before it was in exactly the right place. But finally, I emerged to greet the handful of customers who’d made a beeline for the van as soon as I arrived.
I glanced over at the building site entrance but there was no sign of Caleb. Not that this was very reassuring. He was probably at the market somewhere.
I’d just served the last person in the small queue, when to my surprise I heard my name being called through what sounded like a megaphone. ‘Katja the cake lady!’ boomed the voice, rather too close to my ear for comfort.
When I turned, Ivan was standing there grinning like a Cheshire cat at me. He was holding a metal contraption I recognised as an old-fashioned loud hailer. ‘I was watching your efforts at parking just there,’ he said. ‘Did you bribe your driving examiner?’
‘Oh, ha ha. Not that old chestnut. Women are such terrible drivers?’
‘Would I say that?’ He pretended to be mortally offended. ‘No, you’re just more cautious, which is no bad thing. I always say women drive like they’re in a funeral procession, whereas men drive as if they want to be in the coffin.’
I had to laugh at that. ‘Talk about a generalisation!’
He shrugged. ‘Name me a female Formula 1 racing driver.’
‘Women are much too sensible to hurl themselves round a twisty track at a hundred miles an hour.’
‘Now who’s generalising? I know loads of women who love speed.’
I gave him a knowing look. ‘I bet you do, Ivan. I bet you do.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Oh, nothing.’ I grinned at him, enjoying the banter. ‘So are you going to try and persuade me to go on a date with you today or have you already got some other poor unsuspecting female lined up for tonight?’
‘What a thing to say!’ He raised the loud hailer to his mouth. ‘I am genuinely crushed.’ Eyes turned in his direction at the loud announcement and I chuckled.
‘No, you’re not.’
‘You know me too well.’
‘Your latest weird acquisition from the antiques stall?’ I indicated the loud hailer.
‘Great, isn’t it?’ He held it up for me to admire.
‘Erm . . . no comment.’
‘Any Vicky sponge this week?’ He walked over to the van and peered in at the cakes.
I chuckled. ‘Never heard it called that. But yes, would you like a slice of Victoria sandwich cake ?’
‘Please. It’s my all-time favourite, thanks to my granny, bless her, who made the best Vicky sponge ever.’
‘There you go. You’ve got the very last slice,’ I said, popping it into the bag he was holding out. ‘Oh, actually, there’s another whole cake here that needs to be cut up. Do you want another slice?’
He shook his head, grinning. ‘Got to look after my waistline, you know.’ He patted his entirely flat stomach. Then he glanced behind me. ‘Sorry, boss. I know my hour’s up but this woman here insisted on chatting me up and asking me out.’
I spun round and Caleb was standing there.
Ivan shrugged. ‘What could I do? I’m too much of a gentleman to refuse a lady outright. So I had to let her down gently.’
Grinning, I made an indignant ‘as if’ noise.
‘Right.’ Caleb ignored me and looked at Ivan. ‘Well, just remember we’re tackling the roads at the back of the estate this afternoon?’
Caleb’s mouth said he was smiling but there was a coldness in his eyes that told me he wasn’t best pleased with Ivan.
‘I know, boss. I’m heading back there now. And I can work late if need be.’ He winked at me, did a mock salute at his boss and walked away, whistling.
I was expecting Caleb to at least say hello. But he went straight over to peruse this week’s cake offerings. ‘I’ll take a brownie, please,’ he said, digging into his jeans pocket for change.
He was still avoiding my eye, so I smiled and said, ‘Thanks again for giving Maisie and me a lift. You’ve got a big fan there, what with the hedgehog house and everything.’
He nodded. ‘Maisie’s a great kid. Thanks.’ He handed over the cash.
Raising his eyes to mine at last, he asked how Ellie was doing, so I explained.
‘Well, tell her I was asking after her, will you?’
‘I will,’ I replied, matching his solemn expression.
He lifted his hand, said goodbye and walked off.
An uncomfortable sick feeling washed around inside me as I watched him go.
Had I done something to annoy him?
As far as I could make out, the only thing I’d done was indulge in some silly banter with Ivan that didn’t mean anything. That wasn’t exactly against the law, was it?
Men!
Richard used to have these weird moods where I’d totally think I’d done something to upset him because every time I asked him if there was something wrong, he’d say he was fine. And then it would turn out later that his football team had lost – or he’d had a bad round at golf or something!
Feeling decidedly grumpy and finding myself for once in sympathy with Mo’s take on the opposite sex, I got back behind the wheel. If I left now, I’d have plenty of time to eat my sandwich in the lay-by on the way to Primrose Wood.
But driving off the green, I felt the van shudder again and my heart lurched in dismay.
Nooooo!
Hopefully the engine just needed warming up a bit.
Gritting my teeth in concentration, I drove very slowly onto the road that circled the green and which would take me back to join the main road to Primrose Wood.
But seconds later, the van gave the biggest shudder of all, as if it was in its final death throes, then it conked out.
I knew even before I tried to start it again that it would be useless. The van had something seriously wrong with it. And of course, it was Sod’s Law that it should break down right next to the entrance to the building site!
A car peeped its horn and I turned in a panic. Someone was right behind me, but with cars parked along the pavement side, the van was now completely blocking the street.
I dug my hands into my hair in despair, wondering what to do. I obviously couldn’t just leave the van there, and I definitely wasn’t about to disturb Ellie who was resting at home.
Aaargh!
What to do?
I shrugged at the driver behind in the rear-view mirror to tell him there was nothing I could do, and I saw him start reversing and begin what looked like being a fifteen-point-turn in the narrow space that was available to him.
What I needed was a push to get the van off the road.
Glancing wildly in the direction of the building site, I saw Caleb walking across to the house nearest the entrance. So I hopped out of the van and ran across to him. I was dreading having to ask him for help after his earlier surly mood, but what else could I do? Surely a few of the guys on site would help me move the van?
He looked surprised to see me and I quickly explained what had happened.
Nodding, he was about to speak, when looking over my shoulder, his expression changed to one of alarm. ‘Did you put the handbrake on?’
‘What?’ As I processed what he meant, he was already running in the direction of the van, which to my horror was trundling away. It was moving very slowly but moving nonetheless. The street must be on a slight incline...
My heart thudding in horror, I ran after Caleb. He was out on the street but I could see the van slowly gathering speed.
It wasn’t just the van I was worried about.
It was all the expensive-looking cars parked along the pavement that wouldn’t be quite so expensive if the cake van smashed into them!