Chapter 3 #2
Annabelle chuckled and opened the cupboard that held her mugs, which were all gloriously matching cream with little hand-painted patterns.
‘You should know by now I run a strict “no crumb left behind” policy. Also, Piers cleaned up after breakfast. I think he’s afraid of what happens if I find a crust under the toaster.
’ She put two mugs on the island and opened a tea tin, then moved over to a boiling water tap and filled the teapot.
Of course, she had a boiling water tap. ‘How’s the shop doing?
Have you had a busy day?’ she asked over her shoulder.
‘Good.’ Daisy pulled her hair out of its topknot, ran her fingers through it and twisted it all up again.
‘It’s all been a bit bonkers today. I had something to sort out for Pete, the bakery admin and I had to clean the shop before opening tomorrow.
Also, someone posted a reel of the shop that has gone everywhere.
Did Maggie tell you? People tagged their book clubs and all sorts.
I got an email from a woman in Hampshire asking if I’ll post her a personalised book bundle because she “trusts my taste implicitly”. ’
Annabelle jiggled the lid on the teapot. ‘Ooh, I haven’t seen that! Well, you do have excellent taste. That and you’re good at talking about books without sounding like you’re trying to sell them, which I reckon is a very niche skill.’
‘It’s all a bit strange. Lovely, but strange.’ Daisy thought about the fact that while far from rolling around in money, overall, the fact that she was no longer paying rent had worked for her like a charm.
‘A strange success.’
‘Yeah, it has taken off quite well. Lotta’s involvement was gold, I reckon.’
Annabelle nodded in agreement. ‘Yeah. It certainly helped it get some traction right from the word go.’
‘For sure. However, I can’t help wondering how long it’ll last. You know? It’s very early days.’
Annabelle poured the tea, pushed a little jug of milk across the counter, and raised her eyebrows. ‘Why wouldn’t it last?’
‘Because it’s me. I’ve spent the better part of the last few years just about holding things together. I can do panic, I can do scraping by, but success? That’s uncharted territory for me. It feels weird.’
‘Rubbish!’ Annabelle handed Daisy a mug. ‘You’ve worked your socks off. You didn’t just luck into this, Daise. You made it happen. Remember all those nights you stayed there working until the early hours, got a few hours’ sleep and then started again all before the twins were even up?’
‘Yeah, well, I also nearly set fire to the back room last week with a dodgy lamp. So, I’m not exactly businesswoman of the year.’
Annabelle chuckled. ‘You didn’t mention that in your last update on Instagram.’
‘No, because you’d have taken the lamp away and replaced it with something worth more than my car.’ Daisy stared into her mug. ‘I just hope I don’t mess it all up.’
Annabelle gave her a look, one that had followed Daisy since they were little.
Half loving, half “pull yourself together”.
‘You won’t. You’ll worry, you’ll overthink, you’ll question everything, but you won’t mess it up.
The Henley family won’t let you. We are Henley girls, we do not mess things up. ’
You don’t.
As they sipped their tea, the sounds of the girls wafted down from upstairs: a thud, followed by shrieking laughter and then the squeak of a door opening and slamming.
Annabelle didn’t even flinch. ‘They’re fine.’
‘They packed last night like they were heading off on a ten-day expedition.’
‘They’re funny. Once you’ve gone, we’ll walk to the park and I’ll get them supper.’
Daisy glanced over at the large fridge tucked behind a cleverly disguised cabinet. ‘What have they got? Something Ottolenghi-inspired? Prepped by candlelight while you sipped wine and listened to Radio 4.’
Annabelle didn’t miss a beat. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, it was Nigella. Anyway, you’re the one who is going to be surrounded by romance and candlelight this evening, not me. How is it with Miles?’
‘It’s been good. Nice. Easy. I really cannot complain…’
Annabelle narrowed her eyes. ‘But? I am feeling there is a “but” here.’
Daisy twisted her tea mug slowly. ‘No “but”, really. I would only say this to you, I just still feel like I’ve got one foot out the door half the time. Like if I let myself get too comfortable, something will go wrong. Do you know what I mean?’
Annabelle leant both elbows on the island and looked at Daisy intently. ‘Daise, I love you dearly, but if you’re waiting for the universe to send you a handwritten guarantee that nothing will ever hurt you or go wrong again, you’re going to be waiting a long time.’
‘I know. It’s just… I can’t go back to not feeling like I, well, I don’t know.’
‘You’ll be fine.’
‘Yeah.’
‘So, what’s the plan tonight?’
‘As I said, he’s bringing Thai.’
‘Sounds awful,’ Annabelle deadpanned. ‘Thai and a sleepover with a very nice man. While I will be up to my elbows in glitter glue and bath time negotiations.’
‘You love it.’
‘I do. But I also love that you’re having something good happen finally. It’s so nice to see you happy with someone.’
Daisy looked around again and thought about the fact that the kitchen behind the bookshop was cobbled together, half-finished and always at the bottom of her to-do list. Annabelle’s kitchen was just so and very finished; bowls in the right places, copper pots hanging from a rack above the cooker, stools tucked in at perfect angles.
The kind of place where you could throw open the doors to guests and not have to do a mad five-minute dash clean before anyone arrived.
‘I do. I hope. How do you keep it all like this all the time?’
‘I don’t have twins, or a bookshop, or half the amount of chaos you do.’
Daisy raised her eyebrows. ‘You also have a very nice husband who does his fair share.’
‘He’s my secret weapon.’
Daisy stood and stretched her arms above her head. ‘I'd better head back.’
She called the girls, hugged and kissed them goodbye, reminded them not to leave their toothbrushes on the floor, and promised to collect them after breakfast.
Annabelle walked her to the door, slipping her feet into sandals as they went.
The sky had darkened a touch more and the wind had picked up further.
Daisy could smell the storm that had been threatening all day.
‘A storm is coming in. I can smell it. I’ll message in the morning.
If the girls start climbing the walls, just feed them toast and stick on a Disney film. ’
‘We’ll be fine. I know what to do. You go and have a nice evening.’
Daisy kissed her on the cheek and stepped out onto the path. She heard one of the girls yell something incomprehensible from upstairs, followed by a gaggle of giggles.
She smiled to herself and headed off, popped one green and one red wine gum in her mouth and made her way through the back streets of Old Town Pretty Beach as the sky began to shift to a blue-grey shade that she knew always came before rain.
The wind had picked up a little bit more, lights were glowing behind windows and the air smelled of a late summer evening and the sea.
As she strolled, she nodded. A good day and a feeling of calm that she’d built a nice little life and was back in Pretty Beach.
It wasn’t perfect, but for Daisy Henley, it was pretty close.
All she needed was for nothing to change, but what were the chances of that?