Chapter 31
Scrambled, a local favourite on the café scene, was a hive of activity. Jenni stood in line and ordered a flat white with oat milk.
‘You’re not normally in at the weekend,’ shouted Ana, as she fought to be heard over the hiss of steam as she heated the milk, swirling it around in the stainless steel jug. She ran the place with a cool, unflustered manner, no matter how busy it got.
‘I know. I’m meeting someone who bought some clothes off me at the fair, but got the wrong size, so we’re doing an exchange.’
‘Your stall looked really great. I popped by in the afternoon, but you’d slipped away to grab some lunch, I think,’ Ana said, wiping the nozzle of the steamer with a cloth before pouring the hot milk over the shot of espresso waiting in the cup.
Behind her in the queue, Jenni could hear a mother telling off her child for grabbing a chocolate bar from the counter, before hastily giving it back, just in time to avoid the start of a tantrum.
Thank goodness for that, thought Jenni. The café was too busy for a full-on meltdown today.
‘Ah, thanks, Ana. I wasn’t sure what to expect, to be honest, but it was a fun day, wasn’t it?’
Ana had been manning The Scrambler, the café’s mobile coffee van, that day, and she could often be found at other events, serving their speciality teas and coffees to a grateful crowd.
‘It was great – manic though. I was shattered by the end. Here you go, love.’
Jenni tapped her card on the machine, inwardly baulking at the price. But Ana made an excellent coffee, so it was worth it.
She dropped an extra pound into the tip jar before rushing to grab a recently vacated table at the back of the café, before anyone else could sit down.
Congratulating herself on securing the much-coveted corner table, Jenni settled herself in the seat facing the door and large bay window that looked out onto the Green.
The pretty yellow gingham curtains were pulled back to let the light in, and she looked out on the view as she placed her coffee carefully down on the table.
Taking off her coat, she draped it on the wooden chair opposite, just to make it clear that she’d claimed it and no, it couldn’t be taken, then she took out the replacement clothes from her bag.
She tucked a long curl of hair behind her ear and lifted her cup to take a sip. It was ridiculous, but she felt really nervous.
She gave herself a talking to: there was absolutely no reason to have butterflies, she just had to swap the clothes and then, job done, go home.
But her stomach kept flipping when she remembered how intense he’d looked while browsing through the items on her stall, sunlight highlighting the fair hair on his forearms, and the way his T-shirt fitted so snuggly against his obvious six-pack…
Urgh, what’s wrong with me? she wondered.
To distract herself, she picked up her phone to check Instagram. She’d been adding more photos of her clothing to her grid, and several people had tagged her in their posts. She’d even had a few DMs asking where they could buy her stock.
She was wondering if she should set up a website, and, although she hardly dared voice the ambition, a tiny part of her dreamed of packing in the day job and making House of Oscar a full-time business. Perhaps she should think about setting up an Etsy shop first.
She was just about to like one of Tim’s post – a picture of him walking in the park with Janice – when she sensed someone striding through the café and looked up to see a tall curly-haired man navigating his way past the pushchairs and organic cotton tote bags overflowing with equally organic fruit and vegetables.
He looked around, spotting her and raising his hand in greeting, just as he tripped on a Dachshund that was napping, snoring gently in the middle of the floor. Jenni couldn’t help but laugh as he stumbled towards her, coming to an ungainly halt in front of her.
‘Well, that was quite the entrance.’
He gave a rueful grin. ‘Well, firefighters are highly skilled professionals trained to navigate even the most dangerous terrain.’
‘But not handbag-sized dogs and pesticide-free fruit?’ she teased. ‘Don’t underestimate them, you know. Small canines and killer apples are the bane of my life.’
Ben ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up on one side. ‘Is it okay to grab this chair?’
‘Oh yes, of course. I saved it for you. Here, hand me that coat, I just hung all my things on it to keep it safe.’
Ben handed her the rucksack and jacket hanging off the back of the chair, and shuffled closer to the table to allow someone to pass behind him, gently knocking knees with Jenni.
‘Sorry about that,’ he said, as Jenni pulled her leg away.
‘It’s fine, don’t worry, it’s a small table,’ she replied, flustered, rearranging her feet. Though she was curious to know if the jolt of electricity she’d felt was down to him or a dodgy plug socket.
There was an awkward pause as they looked at each other, uncertain who should speak.
Ben got in first. ‘Thanks for meeting so we can swap clothes. I mean, not our clothes, obviously,’ he hastily amended, reddening slightly, wondering what the hell was wrong with him.
Jenni laughed. ‘I’m sorry the other ones didn’t fit. I hope your niece wasn’t too disappointed?’
‘She loved them,’ he said. ‘And wanted to wear them straight away. I don’t know how I got the size so wrong, to be honest!’
His smile turned to a wince as he remembered the subsequent tantrum.
‘Oh dear! It’s hard to guess, I suppose, kids grow so quickly.
My friend, Amy – you know, the one whose house caught fire?
– I’m constantly shocked by how much bigger her two are every time I see them.
I’ve turned into that annoying adult who always goes on about how they’ve got so big. Like, duh, of course you’ve grown!’
Ben nodded in agreement. ‘I’m the same. But Evie is very bossy, she’s always telling me off.’ He told Jenni about the time Evie had had a meltdown when he wouldn’t stop singing along to a song she loved. ‘She certainly knows her own mind!’ Ben finished.
‘She sounds a bit scary. In a lovely way, of course,’ Jenni added hastily, not wanting to offend, but Ben nodded in agreement.
‘Delightful, but definitely terrifying, just like her mother, my sister, to be honest.’
There was a pause in the conversation before Jenni handed over the new outfit. ‘Here. I hope this fits.’
‘Thank you. I think she’ll love it, she’s into bold colours at the moment. And here are the originals back.’ He passed Jenni a bag with the clothes carefully folded inside and made to stand, pushing back his chair.
With a pang of disappointment, Jenni realised he was about to leave. But then Ben asked, ‘I, um, I don’t suppose you fancy another coffee, do you?’
The surprise must have shown on her face, as he hastily continued, ‘I’m sure you’re busy, I just thought, well, I—’
‘I’d like that,’ Jenni interrupted with a smile. ‘I’m not in a rush to get back; another coffee would be nice.’
‘Okay, great. What would you like?’
She gave him her order and watched as he made his way to the counter. The café was less crowded now – no trip hazards in the aisles – and he ordered their drinks from Ana with a smile.
As he looked through his wallet for cash, Ana glanced over at Jenni with raised eyebrows and a grin.
Jenni felt herself blush.
Now they’d agreed to stay for a bit longer, she was feeling a bit anxious. What if they had absolutely nothing to talk about?
But as he returned to the table, hot coffees in hand and a warm smile on his face, she was pleased that she didn’t need to say goodbye just yet.