Chapter Seven
‘ W ow, that was some first day for you.’ Teresa, who had been working behind the coffee and cake counter serving drinks and snacks to people who had chosen to sit inside the bakery and take a moment out of their busy day, walked across to the counter, a tray full of mugs in her hands.
‘Yep. But it’s a true reflection of the bakery during the summer holiday season.’ Brooke turned the small sign hanging in the door's window from Open to Closed . ‘It’s like this most days when the sun’s out at least.’
‘I’m not sure my feet can take it. I might need to invest in a comfier pair of trainers.’ With her hand leaning on the counter, Lynsey slipped her trainers off and kicked them to the side. ‘This is my first summer too, Tilly, so you’re not alone.’
Pulling her apron over her head, Tilly smiled at Lynsey. ‘I didn’t realise you were new here.’
‘Ah, yes. I’ve only been working here for a couple of months. Came to volunteer, like you, in the spring and decided to stay...’ Lynsey grinned and picked up a mug from the tray. ‘Thanks, Teresa.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Teresa picked up another mug and held it out towards Tilly. ‘Here you go.’
‘Thanks.’ Taking the mug, Tilly raised it to her lips, inhaling the bittier fragrance of a good coffee.
Now that the customers had gone, and she’d stopped, she felt shattered.
Not that she was surprised, this was the first time she’d spent the whole day on her feet in years, and she had a feeling she’d know about it later.
‘What are your plans this evening? Me and my partner, Zac, are going to go and watch that new film at the cinema in Trestow, the next town along, if you fancy coming with us?’ Lynsey lowered her mug.
‘Umm, thanks, but I think I might just take a little wander around the bay. Yesterday I was so focused on trying to find somewhere to stay for the night that I didn’t really have a chance to enjoy it.’ Tilly took a sip of her coffee.
‘Have you been here before?’ Settling her back against the back counter, Brooke wrapped her hands around her mug. ‘What brought you to the bay?’
‘Ah.’ Tilly glanced down into her mug. The last few bubbles lingering on the surface of the coffee from where it had been poured popped one by one.
She wasn’t surprised the question had come up.
After all, most people have a reason to travel somewhere, and everyone was aware she’d turned up in the bay with no accommodation arrangements, it was clear she was here for a reason, or else she’d have just moved on to somewhere with vacancies.
But did she dare tell them the truth? She’d told Elsie she was here because it had been her aunt’s favourite place, and that was true, but there was a little more to it.
She glanced back towards her handbag, which she’d hung on the hooks by the door up to the flat after she’d taken her lunch.
‘My aunt always spoke so fondly of this place.’
‘Oh, that’s nice. Did she come a lot? Elsie will probably know her if she did.’ Teresa shifted position so that she too was leaning against the counter.
‘That’s true. Elsie literally knows everyone.’ Brooke laughed.
‘She’s not been for years. As far as I know, she only came once before I was born.
So years ago.’ Tilly shifted on her feet.
She might only have known the three of them for such a short time, but she could tell they were kind, and perhaps sharing the real reason she was here wasn’t such a bad idea.
‘I wanted to come to take a look myself, to see why Penworth Bay was so special to her, but there’s another reason too. ..’
‘Ooh, what’s the other reason?’ Brooke grinned.
‘I... umm... I never knew my dad, and he used to live here.’ After blurting out the words, Tilly felt a fierce glow erupt across her cheeks.
‘And you want to find him?’ Teresa widened her eyes and glanced towards the kitchen door. ‘Do you know any details about him? Elsie and Ian might know him. You might be able to meet him.’
Tilly shook her head quickly. ‘No, he passed away shortly after my mum got pregnant. But I have a couple of old photos, and I’d really like to look around, see if I can work out where they were taken.
’ She shrugged. ‘I might be able to at least figure out a little about him by asking around, perhaps. Maybe find out who he was.’
Placing her mug down on the counter, Brooke held her palms against her cheeks. ‘This sounds like something that should be on TV.’
‘Like those Long Lost Family shows.’ After taking her apron off, Lynsey folded it on top of the counter.
‘Have you got the photos with you? We might just be able to point you in the right direction.’ Teresa stepped forward.
‘Yes, I do.’ Tilly grabbed her bag from the hook and returned to the counter. After taking out the photo wallet she’d been carrying around with her, she pulled out the photos, looking at them before she lined them up on the counter.
‘Ooh, let’s take a look.’ Brooke carefully picked one up, holding it at the very edge of the image.
Stepping back, Tilly bit down on her bottom lip, her stomach churning.
If they could point her in the right direction, she might actually make some progress.
She might be in with a chance of discovering who her dad was.
Growing up, she’d never really had a desire to find out about his life.
She’d just taken it for what it was. Her aunt had given her a great life, and Tilly had been happy, but now, with her passing she suddenly felt a need to find out a little more about who she was, where she’d come from, and with each passing day, she could feel that need growing.
‘This one! That’s one of the cottages on the farm just outside the bay.
I’m sure of it.’ Teresa held up the image of Tilly’s parents standing in front of a small cottage, their arms wrapped around each other, huge grins plastered to their faces.
‘One of the ones on the land of Grove Farm. Pippa had a school trip to the farm, and I’m almost certain we walked past this one. ’
‘Grove Farm?’ Tilly gripped her mug tightly in her hands.
‘Yep. Which way did you drive into the bay?’ Teresa carefully laid the photo back down.
Glancing out of the large window onto the street, Tilly tried to get her bearings before pointing to the left. ‘That way, I think.’
‘Fab. Then you’d have driven past a small dirt track leading off the main road. Go up there, and you’ll spot the cottages.’
Tilly nodded. It all sounded so easy. Although she supposed it would only lead her to where the photo had been taken.
She still had no idea if the cottage in the background was anything to do with her dad at all.
They might have literally just been going for a walk and taken the picture on a whim, but it was a start.
She only had the photos, so she’d take them as the first clues.
They were better than nothing. ‘Thanks.’
‘Ooh, this is so exciting.’ Stepping forward, Brooke picked up the picture Teresa had just put down. ‘Are you going to go there today?’
Glancing at the clock on the wall behind the counter, Tilly nodded.
It was only just past closing time, and the sun would still be up for hours.
Even if she happened to get lost, she had plenty of time.
There was nothing stopping her, so why did she suddenly feel a flutter of nerves in the pit of her stomach?
It wasn’t as though she was about to find anyone related to her or anyone who had anything to do with her dad.
It was so long ago now that anyone who had known him would have likely moved on by now. ‘Yes, I think I will.’
‘That’s super exciting. Just imagine what you might find out. Hopefully, you’ll get some answers which might lead you to your next clue.’ Brooke peered closer at the old photograph. ‘Do you think he lived here? Is that your mum? Did she live here too?’
‘Yes, it’s my mum, but no, she and my aunt were just visiting.
They were working down here for the holidays, I believe.
’ Of all the times her aunt had spoken of Penworth Bay, Tilly was quickly realising she hadn’t given her many actual details.
Nothing usable to help her trace anything about her dad.
Yes, she’d told her stories of the bay, of what it was like here, but now Tilly was here, now she’d decided to take up the impossible task of searching for answers, she was quickly realising her aunt had left out so many details.
‘I don’t actually know much about my dad. At all really.’
Lynsey frowned. ‘Well, hopefully you’ll get some answers soon enough.’
‘I hope so.’ She wasn’t even sure why it mattered so much to her now.
She was under no illusion that she’d find any loving relatives, or if she did, that she’d be welcomed into their world as though she’d always been a part of it.
Fairytales were just that, tales. Imagination.
And this was reality. Her reality. The best she could hope for was to meet somebody who had known him all those years ago and could tell her a little about him.
Anything about him, just something so he became a tangible person in her mind rather than the shrouded mystery he’d been all her life.
But even then, she knew she was probably asking for too much, and the last thing she wanted to do was to get her hopes up.
Life wasn’t like that for her. Good things didn’t come easily.
A loud ringtone erupted from Teresa’s pocket, and she quickly pulled out her mobile, mouthing sorry as she answered it. ‘Hey, Gavin.’
As Teresa walked away, talking intently on the phone, Tilly slipped her photos back into the paper wallet as Lynsey and Brooke finished their coffees.
‘Sorry, that was Gavin. Rueben has just thrown up in the back of the car on the way home from holiday club. I’d better run.’ Teresa glanced at the tray of now-empty mugs.
‘I’ll put them in the dishwasher. You go.’ Brooke shooed her away with her hand. ‘I hope Rueben’s okay.’
‘Thanks. I just hope he’s not picked up some bug.’ Teresa grimaced as she grabbed her bag and pulled out her car keys. ‘Good luck, Tilly. I hope you get some answers.’
‘Thanks. I hope your son gets better soon.’ Tilly waved the photo wallet as Teresa flew out of the bakery door, the small bell tinkling ferociously above the door.
Slipping the wallet back into her bag, Tilly was suddenly unsure if she had the strength to go exploring this evening.
But she guessed it would be nothing more than a walk.
She wouldn’t get any answers, but hopefully she’d be able to get a little sense of who he was.
Who both her parents were. Of course, her aunt had always spoken about her sister, so even though Tilly didn’t remember her, she felt as though she knew her on some level.