Chapter 5 #3
‘Well, for a start, he’s not my bloke, he’s got a perfectly good woman of his own, apparently. And you worked with kids for ages, doing all sorts of things that are harder than storytelling. And there’s lots of room. And… actually, I’d really like it if you came in with us.’
‘Would you, honestly?’
‘’Course I would. The fiancée will be arriving soon.
I’ll need some moral support. You could offer to work for nothing to start with and keep signing on, couldn’t you?
You’re allowed to do a few hours a week volunteering, I think.
Anyway, it’s time you stopped putting yourself down and got on with your life.
You’ll be twenty-nine next birthday, won’t you? ’
Stan grinned, and gave his sister a push, nearly knocking her into the road.
‘That’s rich coming from you, Mabel. It was only last week that you were saying your own life was going nowhere.
Anyway, what’s your… I mean, what’s this Leo going to think if you turn up with your little brother in tow and then say you’ve taken me on without asking permission?
And what about Jess? You told Mum that she was going to help with doing up the shop. She hates me.’
‘Jess doesn’t hate you. She was just annoyed when you said you’d take her and George to the cinema that time, and then you didn’t show up. They waited for ages.’
‘I told her what happened. My mate with the van let me down. It was totally Kev’s fault. I was fed up too, you know. I love all the Kung Fu Panda films. I was as gutted as George when we missed the new one.’
‘Well, you can explain again when you see her, because I’ve got a good feeling about this, and you really need to get away from home, Stan.
You’ll just end up spending your spare time making jam, and cat sitting when the parents go off on their gourmet food, wine and painting weekends in France.
Come and meet Leo now. He’ll think you’re ace.
You might need to smarten up a touch if it does work out, though. ’
Mab looked down at Stan’s feet, in their worn orange high-tops.
His shorts hung low and he was wearing a tatty shirt that had once been red.
It was hard to see him in chinos and a polo shirt, somehow.
As a token gesture, she fished a rubber hair band out of her pocket and gave it to her brother and after a moment’s thought he dragged his mop of hair into a ponytail.
‘How’s that? Better?’
‘Well, it’s a start. Come on, we’ve got persuading to do.’
They cut through the recreation ground until they reached the riverside path and carried on past the bridge leading to the entrance of the ruined castle where Jess’s mum Nina worked as curator.
Mab glanced across to see if Nina was there today and spotted her standing by her booth.
She was nearly as slim and blonde as her daughter, although there were now a few grey streaks in her neatly bobbed hair.
Nina was in the middle of trying to organise a group of pensioners on an outing who were muttering and jostling each other as they tried to get nearer to their guide. Mab waved, and shouted, ‘Hi, Nina!’
Jess’s mum raised her eyebrows at Mab, gave a final instruction to the tour guide and watched as her grumbling charges were shepherded into the castle. This done, Nina turned and glared at Stan.
‘See, even her mum hates me,’ he muttered, smiling in what he hoped was a winning way.
Nina ignored the smile. ‘Interesting news about the new café, love,’ she shouted to Mab.
‘Yes, it sounds great. I’ll come round and tell you more about it soon. We’ve got to dash now. See you!’
‘What’s it going to be called, this new place?’ asked Stan, as they hurried on towards the town.
‘It’s The Chocolate Cake Bookstore. I think it’s as good a name as any and it should get people over the threshold even if it’s just to see how chocolate is involved in selling books.
I hope there’ll be loads of squidgy things to eat in the café.
I did wonder about a chocolate fountain but probably that would be a step too far.
Imagine the mess and finger marks? And that reminds me, it’s nearly lunchtime.
We can’t go to Beattie’s after yesterday. Let’s check out the other opposition.’
As Mab and Stan came to the marketplace, they saw the signs for Ye Olde Crusty Cob Emporium.
They queued up hopefully, but were uninspired by the rows of flabby sandwiches, with nothing in the least bit crusty to be seen.
Mab settled for a rather solid flapjack, thankful not to be feeling sick, and Stan chose two sausage rolls, pale and slightly bendy.
‘We can do so much better than this,’ said Mab, chewing manfully. Stan nodded, trying to swallow the dry pastry.
Dropping the remains of their lunch in a nearby bin, Mab and Stan set off again for the empty shop.
As they turned the corner, Mab’s stomach lurched when she noticed a familiar figure standing outside Beattie’s Bakehouse.
The woman was smoking furiously, and had her back to them, jacket collar turned up, and thin shoulders hunched as if it was midwinter, rather than a breezy spring day.
‘It’s Beattie,’ Mab hissed. ‘Quickly, get inside before she sees us.’
‘Why? She’s only having a fag.’
‘I know… oh, never mind now, just let’s—’
But as Mab spoke, Beattie Crabtree spun around to face them. Her auburn hair was scraped back so tightly that her whole face looked stretched, although the angry lines around her mouth were still clearly visible.
‘Ha! So the last of the Three Musketeers is here. Your sidekicks are in there waiting for you. I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes, taking up with that scruffy young individual. I thought you were a girl with some sense, Mabel. We need to talk. Urgently.’
Mab cleared her throat and wondered how to deal with this in a stress-free way. It was hard to relax around Beattie. How could the woman possibly know about their plans, though? She decided to bite the bullet.
‘So, you’ve heard about the developments here, Beattie?’
‘Developments? Is that what you’re calling a cowboy get-rich-quick scheme that’s going to bankrupt honest, hard-working local businesses?’
‘Well, I don’t think bankrupting people is in the plan.’
‘Oh, you don’t? Well, how are we supposed to keep our heads above water when someone comes along and takes all our customers, answer me that, Mabel?
You know that Edward and I have been trying to buy this place for years, but the silly old bat told me she was renting it on a long lease. If I’d known that she owned it…’
‘How dare you say such horrible things about Angelica?’ burst out Mab, fury overcoming her fear of Beattie. ‘She was a good customer of yours for years, and she never said a bad word against you, even when you brought in all those disgusting health food ideas.’
‘What do you mean, disgusting? How rude. I’m trying to raise the standards around here, and help people to kick their terrible eating habits.
Our cakes are delicious. You should know, you eat enough of them.
’ She glanced at Mab’s waistline as she spoke and Mab instinctively pulled her stomach in.
Their eyes met, and Mab saw an unfamiliar look of fear on Beattie’s face.
As Beattie threw her cigarette butt on the ground and stamped on it, Mab took hold of her brother’s arm and began to guide him towards the door of Leo’s shop.
Beattie reached out a tentative hand. ‘Look, Mabel, we really do need to talk about this. I would hate for it to affect our… er… friendship.’ The two women exchanged a long look, and for once Mab felt in control of the situation.
‘Yes, we do need to have a chat, Beattie, but I’m quite busy right now. Give me a call later, OK? Or better still, tomorrow.’
At the sound of the front door banging shut behind Mab and Stan, Leo came down the stairs two at a time. He was already covered in brick dust, but he was suddenly so pleased to see Mab that he hugged her enthusiastically, regardless of the white powder that he was transferring to her clothes.
‘Hey, Mab, I’ve got something to show you. I’ve just started knocking out the little wall between that pantry place and the living room. It’s only a thin partition, as it turns out. It’ll make a great space for entertaining.’
‘Oh. Well, so long as it wasn’t a load-bearing wall. But Leo, how has Beattie Crabtree heard about the new café already? She must be a mind reader. Or maybe she’s got this place bugged.’ Somehow, that idea didn’t sound too far-fetched today.
Leo shrugged. ‘Oh, yeah, I bumped into Edward earlier. Jess had a huge row with him this morning when he saw her coming in here, didn’t you, love?’
Jess had also come downstairs and now stood by Leo, apparently fascinated by the toe of her sneaker.
‘Yes, erm… I accidentally spilled the beans about the shop, just before I told him he was a useless, sadistic great idiot. Anyway, it’s fine, because Leo’s had a rethink, and he says I can move in here with George in a couple of days, when his dad and all the brothers go home.
My catering experience should come in handy, he says. ’
Jess looked up pleadingly at Mab but then scowled as she spotted Stan.
Leo could see that Mab was struggling to take all this in, and he wasn’t surprised; he felt the same himself.
Mab frowned. ‘So you told Edward about our plans, Jess? Was that wise, do you think? And you’re going to be living here too? That makes things a bit tricky.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I know I shouldn’t have done this without checking first, but I told my brother he could maybe run the crèche and move in too. He’ll do it for nothing to begin with. What do you reckon, Leo?’ Mab turned and pulled Stan forward. ‘This is my little brother Stan.’
There was a brief pause. Mab held her breath. Leo must be wondering how much more surreal today was going to get. This must seem like a step too far, surely. It was turning into some kind of sitcom. Luckily, she’d correctly judged their new friend’s ability to think on his feet.
‘Well, hi, Stan,’ Leo said. ‘This wasn’t quite how I’d planned my first day in business, but the one thing we’re not going to be is lonely.
My own lot are due any minute now. I’m not sure how or if I can pay you and Jess at the moment but you’re welcome to move in after the Bank Holiday.
We’ll worry about all the details later. ’
There was a loud crash as the front door rocked on its hinges. A booming voice yelled, ‘Leo? Are you in there, bonny lad?’
‘We’re here, Dad. Come on up; you’re just in time for a beer,’ Leo called back.
He pulled what was clearly meant to be a long-suffering face but Mab was touched to see that he couldn’t hide his delight at his family’s arrival.
‘Well, that’s the peace totally shattered,’ said Leo.
‘I only hope they’re in the mood for work. ’