Chapter Four
After all the customers were seated and enjoying their drinks, cakes, and freshly baked mince pies, Merri grabbed the cloth and an empty tray to start clearing the tables people had already vacated.
Gabby, Nick and their team of colleagues were still sitting at the table closest to the window and were all enjoying their second round of drinks as well as their carefully chosen selection of cakes.
Apart from them, most of the other customers from earlier had gone and been replaced with new faces.
Even Mrs Peters and her granddaughter had left after chatting for over an hour.
Just as she walked towards the first table to clear, the bell above the bakery door chimed, announcing a new arrival as Teresa’s daughter, Pippa, flew through the bakery.
Hugging the tray to her chest to avoid getting in her path, Merri watched as the young girl ran towards the kitchen door, her arms wide open and her two plaits flying behind her.
‘Nanna Elsie!’ Pippa screeched excitedly just as Elsie emerged from the kitchen.
‘Pippa! What’s all this? I could hear you in the kitchen.’ Elsie chuckled as she flung the tea towel she was carrying over her shoulder before bending down and drawing Pippa into a hug.
‘We’re going on holiday, and Mummy said we could pop by and choose something for our road trip.’ Pippa spoke so quickly it was difficult to distinguish the end of one word from the beginning of the next.
‘I heard.’ Straightening her back again, Elsie pointed to Pippa’s plaits. ‘I like these.’
‘Thank you. Mummy did them this morning.’ Twirling around on the spot, Pippa laughed as her plaits whipped her face when she stopped suddenly. ‘She says I look like Rapunzel.’
‘You do indeed. And talking about your Mummy, where is she? I hope you’ve not run off from her?’ Taking Pippa’s hand, Elsie walked towards the door.
‘She’s just outside. It looks like Rueben is tying his laces.’ Gabby called across from her table.
‘Oh good.’ Elsie nodded before looking back at Pippa. ‘Why don’t you come with me and see what we can find for your road trip? I might just have something special in the kitchen. Straight out of the oven.’
‘Yes! I like warm food. Especially when you make it.’ Clapping her hands excitedly, Pippa followed Elsie back through the bakery towards the kitchen.
Passing beside Merri, Elsie touched her gently on the arm. ‘Will you tell Teresa where we are, please, love?’
‘Yes, of course.’ Merri nodded before turning back to the table in front of her and lowered the tray now that the coast was clear.
This is what had drawn her into coming back to the bakery and Penworth Bay again — the welcoming atmosphere and the way Elsie treated everyone like family.
Like her family who she cared for and loved.
Merri, although just a volunteer, had been no exception, and she’d soon discovered that Gabby, Tilly, Wendy, Molly and even Diane and Teresa had all arrived in the bay as volunteers too.
For the first time since moving out of Nile’s flat and her dad announcing he was going to remarry, she felt at home here.
She glanced up as the bell above the door chimed again, this time announcing the arrival of a very flustered Teresa followed by Rueben and Toby.
‘Morning, Merri. Has Pippa run in here?’ Glancing furtively around the bakery, Teresa stepped around the customers surrounding the bakery counter to join Merri.
‘Hi. Yes, she’s gone through to the kitchen with Elsie.’ Merri straightened her back from where she’d been wiping the table.
‘Fab, thank you. I tell you that one never ceases to surprise me. I told her to stand still whilst I helped Rueben with his laces, so what does she do? Run off.’ Teresa rolled her eyes before placing her hands on Rueben and Toby.
‘Why don’t you two go on through and see what they’re up to?
Pippa has no doubt talked Elsie into finding some goodies for her. ’
‘Haha, I think that’s exactly what they’re doing.
’ Merri grinned. Elsie and Ian were honorary grandparents to all the children of the bakery family, Pippa, Rueben, Toby, Wendy’s son, Hudson, Diane’s girl, Esme and Daisy and Ollie’s little Bonnie too.
Elsie and Ian’s relationship with them reminded her of the times she went to stay with her own grandparents for the holidays, only the bakery family children had them around all the time rather than for weeks here and there throughout the year.
Shaking her head, Teresa watched her boys head towards the kitchen before looking back towards Merri. ‘We were supposed to leave for the in-laws at seven this morning.’
‘Oh no, what happened?’ Merri glanced towards the clock above the coffee and cake counter, the time reading eleven twenty.
‘What didn’t happen? First off, the usual, I found out Pippa had unpacked what I’d packed for her and repacked it herself with all summer dresses and sparkly t-shirts, so that took a bit of time unearthing the clothes she’d discarded and then hidden.
And then just as we get out of the bay, we only get a flat, so poor Gavin is changing it whilst I’ve brought the kids here to distract them. ’
Merri grimaced. From what little she’d seen of Pippa, it sounded just like something she’d do. ‘I bet you can’t wait to be on your way then.’
‘Exactly. I’m focusing on being pampered and looked after once I get there. Cups of tea made for me, the kids entertained and generally being able to put my feet up for a couple of weeks.’ Teresa sighed. ‘We’ll get there.’
‘You will.’ Merri nodded. She had no experience of trying to get ready to go on holiday with three kids.
Being an only child and not really having any close friends, she didn’t even have someone else’s secondhand experience to fall back on.
The closest she’d come to hearing about life with children was from Martha, who she worked in the office with, and even then, Merri didn’t think Martha’s wayward teenage son’s antics could be compared to that of three young kids. ‘And it’ll be worth it when you do.’
‘I hope so.’ Teresa relaxed a little, the tension visibly vanishing from her shoulders. ‘And what’s a road trip without some treats from Elsie’s?’
‘Exactly.’ Merri glanced towards the bakery counter where Diane was wildly waving her arms towards them from behind the group of customers she was serving. ‘It’s Diane’s first day back from maternity leave today, and I have a feeling she wants to catch you.’
After glancing over her shoulder, Teresa laughed. ‘Aw, I can’t believe I’m missing her first day back. I’ll go and have a quick chat before I go through to the kitchen. Just give me a shout if you hear Elsie screaming with exasperation.’
‘Haha, I will.’ Merri grinned as she watched Teresa head towards the bakery counter before turning around and picking up the tray laden with used crockery.
Elsie referred to the people who worked here and who had volunteered here in the past as her bakery family, and from what Merri had seen, that’s exactly what they were, family.
They may not be blood-related, but the family unit was as strong as though they all were.
‘Was that Teresa?’ Brooke emerged from behind the large Christmas tree and called towards Merri.
‘Yes, they’ve popped in for snacks for the car.’ Merri tilted the tray, trying to shift the weight of the crockery into the middle to make the load more balanced.
‘Ooh, I’ll pop over and say hi then.’ Frowning, Brooke pulled a strand of silver lametta from her hair.
‘Wait, you’ve got another piece...’ Merri nodded towards Brooke’s right shoulder. ‘On your shoulder.’
Craning her neck down, Brooke plucked another silver lametta strand from the wool of her jumper before twirling both pieces around her fingers. ‘Thanks, wouldn’t want to drop any of that stuff into a pile of pasties or something.’
‘No, imagine plucking that from between your teeth.’ Merri laughed.
‘Haha, exactly.’ Grinning, Brooke headed towards the bakery counter.
Turning towards the coffee and cake counter, Merri checked there were still no new customers before heading towards the kitchen.
If she could get the empty tables cleared and cleaned before the lunchtime rush, she’d feel as though she were on top of things.
Glancing towards the left, she spotted a lone mug on the table closest to the Christmas tree.
She could probably fit that one on the tray.
After walking across to the table, she balanced the tray on the edge of it before stacking the mug on top of a plate and straightening her back again.
She’d wiped the table down when she’d dropped these off.
Just as she began to walk towards the kitchen again, she felt the toe of her trainer catch on something and lurched forward, the mugs and plates teetering on the tray.
As she tried to steady herself, she realised that whatever she’d tripped over had now wrapped around her trainer and, against all her will, she felt herself losing her balance.
As she fell, she lost grip on the tray, and the crockery landed with a clatter in front of her.
Throwing her hands out to break her fall, she felt dregs of coffee, hot chocolate and tea spraying down on her as a large thud sounded behind her followed by a series of smaller thumps and clangs.
She heard a couple of screams as chairs were pushed back, their legs scraping across the black-and-white tiles of the bakery floor.