Chapter 37
ANOTHER PERFECT SUMMER’S day heralded the grand opening of the Hambleton Community Café.
Sunlight streamed through the windows of the converted village hall.
The brightly coloured bunting Margery had made for the fete hung in cheerful splendour alongside twinkling fairy lights, entwined along the beams. The glass countertops sparkled, soon to be filled with Helena’s baking.
Squashy, inviting sofas covered in colourful cushions lined the walls alongside chunky wooden coffee tables and an eclectic mixture of upcycled tables and chairs.
Helena felt so proud of the scene before her, she could burst. The finished effect of all that planning, all that hard work, was better than her wildest dreams had dared imagine.
It felt modern yet cosy, welcoming and uplifting.
At eight o’clock, Eileen, the cleaner, came bustling through the door. ‘Morning, morning!’ she called out in her sing-song Welsh accent. ‘All ready for the big day?’
‘I hope so!’ Helena smiled nervously.
‘It looks wonderful, Helena. Truly. Just unrecognisable from the musty old useless space it was. I came in here once, you know, years ago, when it used to be a polling station. I can’t get over the transformation!’
‘It’s amazing what a lick of paint and a new kitchen can do,’ Helena agreed. She could barely remember the place as it had been herself. There was no question that it looked a thousand times more appealing since the works had been carried out.
As Eileen set to work, ensuring everything was spic and span for their first day of business, Helena laid out the cakes and cookies she had made the evening before.
She took a tray of homemade rolls out of the oven, filling the room with the scent of freshly baked bread, and set them out on the cooling racks, putting the pastries she had just finished glazing in to bake.
It was an hour until the café was due to open its doors for the first time, and Helena had been at it since the crack of dawn, determined to make her first day of business a success.
Dawn arrived at half past eight to help finish setting up, and at nine o’clock Helena unlocked the door and turned the small sign to ‘Open.’
‘That’s it! We’re officially open for business,’ she squealed as she joined Dawn behind the counter. Dawn’s pink hair coordinated perfectly with the sugar pink of the iced buns, the diamond stud in her nose glinting in the sunlight.
As Eileen slumped with a contented sigh onto one of the sofas with a well-deserved cup of tea, the door opened and Nathalie came in, fresh from the school run, followed swiftly by Johnny, Margery and Derek.
Margery and Derek had become quite close in the weeks since they had met at the fete, they seemed to get on like a house on fire.
Helena found herself hoping that perhaps they might fall in love, a second chance at such a late stage in life.
What could be more romantic? Who knew what might happen?
And all as a result of the café… She chattered away to her very prompt set of customers, thrilled to see them, even though she had practically begged them to turn up for moral support.
‘It looks incredible, Helena, truly,’ Johnny said as he paid for the round of coffees and pastries. ‘I’m so proud of you.’
Helena felt herself well up. ‘I can’t believe we’re finally here,’ she said.
‘You’ve done such an incredible job.’
‘I could never have done it without you. I owe you big time.’
‘I loved every second,’ Johnny said, and he looked as though he really meant it. ‘We make a good team, don’t you think?’
‘We do!’ Helena laughed, giving him a playful shove.
‘And as for owing me… I am sure I can come up with something!’ he said, winking at her. One thick dark eyebrow arched up towards his hairline. She loved how much his eyebrows moved when he talked. It was as if they had a mind of their own.
‘Oh yes?’ she laughed. Could he be flirting with her? She chided herself for wishful thinking.
As he was about to reply Nathalie barged over and interrupted, ‘I have to have a piece of that chocolate cake,’ she demanded. ‘It looks to die for! And the coffee is unbelievable,’ she added.
‘Oh really? I’m so glad you like it.’
‘Like it? I bloody love it! This place is going to bankrupt us all we’ll be in here so often.’ Nathalie laughed. ‘You’ve absolutely smashed it Helena.’
Before long, a steady trickle of real customers started to appear.
Word of the café’s opening had clearly spread far and wide, as she had hoped it would.
All the flyers and the big launch at the fete had clearly paid off.
Interested to take a look at the newest local amenity, the punters kept on coming.
Just as it had been at Coffee Stop, there was a real boom in the morning, for those seeking their caffeine hit, then another surge at lunch, followed by a big after school rush.
Helena and Dawn took advantage of the quieter times to get on with baking, making soups and preparing the ingredients for their lunchtime menu of sandwiches and salads.
The day flew by, and before they knew it they were turning the sign back around to ‘Closed’ and beginning the clean down.
Helena’s back ached, her list of teething problems to smooth out felt enormous, but she also felt an immense satisfaction.
There had been no real disasters. Her thorough preparation and meticulous planning, along with Ahmed’s invaluable support and guidance, had paid off.
The café had been full of customers, they had had impressive takings for their first day, much better than expected, and the reaction from all those who had crossed the threshold had been nothing but positive.
During the weeks since the fete Helena had been so busy she had barely had time to think about Noah, for which she was grateful.
She had discovered that he had employed a woman called Sandra to do the housekeeping and childcare.
His new job still required him to be in the office every day.
Clearly, Noah had had no choice but to trust someone else with his son, having always been anti-babysitters when Helena had been around.
She was glad that the café was only open during the hours Noah was at work, so there was no chance of him popping in to catch her unawares.
She still hated crossing paths with him if it wasn’t on her own terms. On the occasions she had bumped into them unexpectedly she had felt very uncomfortable.
She could handle her weekend visits, because she felt in control of them, and had continued to spend an hour or two with Raffy each Sunday morning, quickly falling into a routine where she would pick him up, talk awkwardly with Noah for as short a time as she could manage, then take him back to Hazel Cottage.
She had decided to teach Raffy how to bake and, without mentioning it to Noah, they made cupcakes or cookies, shortbread and muffins, just as she had done with her mum when she was little.
It was strange how normal it had begun to feel already between them, as though their months apart had just melted away.
Noah was sticking firmly to his chosen script, modelling measured, calm behaviour during all contact she had with him, presenting himself in the best possible light.
It was bizarre, not to mention frustrating, to see how much he could do to run a household and organise Raffy when he chose to, though judging from the contents of his recycling boxes on the front porch he was using alcohol as a coping mechanism a little too liberally.
And no doubt without Sandra, things would be an entirely different story.
From what she could gather, she sounded like a force to be reckoned with, which was exactly what she needed to be to put up with an employer like Noah.
As the summer passed by, the café became more firmly established in the community day by day.
Helena, Eileen, Dawn and the group of volunteers who worked there, including Jennie who was on her summer holidays, soon became a closely-knit team.
Business boomed as parents cottoned onto the fact there was now a place with enough space for their kids to run around and make a mess outside of their own home.
The puzzles and toys were a huge success, providing hours of entertainment.
As was the small library they had built in the corner of the café, where people could donate and borrow books.
Johnny and Helena had worked together to replant the flower beds in front of the building, continuing Helena’s horticultural education, and they were now full to bursting with colour, butterflies and bees.
They had scattered wildflower seeds around the pond, its banks now rife with wild poppies, cornflowers and cow parsley.
Johnny had built an ingenious vertical herb garden out of old pallets along the side of the building, which people could help themselves to if they needed a sprig for their cooking, and which Helena used to garnish her quiches and salads.
He had also built an insect hotel which was very popular with the kids, and some stepping stones made of logs of varying heights which toddlers in particular loved climbing over as a miniature obstacle course.