Chapter 37 #2
Maggie went to flip the sign on the front door from closed to open, and almost immediately, their first customer of the day appeared.
Roy Johnson from the council and his wife came bustling in, looking for something new to read and wanting to know if Daisy had any recommendations for historical fiction.
They’d had a brief conversation about GayesBooks with the conclusion that no one seemed to be any the wiser on the progression.
After Daisy had shown them a few books and then while she put the sale through the payment gateway, Mrs Johnson chatted about the weather, her grandson who was visiting from Scotland and the new family who had moved into the cottage at the end of her road.
It was the sort of conversation that Daisy loved having in the bookshop; all cosy and comfy, community and very Pretty Beach.
After the Johnsons had left, a steady stream of Sunday browsers began to arrive, with the bell above the door continuously tinkling.
There was a young couple who came in every weekend to look at the travel section, always talking about places they wanted to visit but never quite managing to book any trips.
A customer who bought detective novels by the armful came in and always wanted to discuss the plots in great detail.
There was a woman with a toddler who liked to sit in the children's corner and read picture books in a dramatic voice that made her little one giggle.
As it approached two, the rush was starting to wind down, and Daisy began to think about closing up for the afternoon.
She had planned to shut at three as usual, giving her enough time to get everything ready for Miles's visit.
The thought of the evening ahead made her stomach clench with nervousness again, despite the distraction of the busy morning and early afternoon.
As if reading her thoughts and the twist in her stomach, Maggie appeared at her elbow with a cup of coffee. 'Are you going to tell me what's really bothering you about tonight?'
'I don't know what you mean.'
'This isn't just first-time nerves about introducing the girls to a boyfriend. There's something else going on in that little brain box of yours.'
'I suppose I'm worried that if it goes well, then what? If the girls like him and he likes them and everything works out perfectly, then I have to figure out what comes next. And I have no idea what comes next.'
'Nobody ever knows what comes next, Daise. That's what makes life interesting.'
'Sometimes I liked it better when it was just me and the girls. It was simpler.'
'Simpler, but were you happier?'
'I knew where I stood. Now everything feels uncertain: Miles, the bookshop and my future. I thought I was so clever and had it all sorted, too.'
'Uncertainty can be good, though. It means possibilities and it keeps you on your toes.'
'It also means the possibility of everything going wrong.'
Maggie rolled her eyes. 'You are determined to expect disaster, aren't you? What if everything goes right instead?'
'Then I'll have to figure out how to be in a proper relationship while being a single mother to twins who are used to having me all to themselves. I'll have to trust that Miles really does want all of this and isn't just saying he does because he thinks that's what I want to hear.'
'Those are all solvable problems, Daise. Difficult, but solvable. I think tonight is going to be absolutely fine. I think the girls are going to adore Miles, he's going to be charmed by them, and you're going to wonder why you were so worried about it all.'
'And if you're wrong?'
'Then we'll deal with whatever happens. That's what we Henley women do, isn't it? We make the best of things.'
By three o'clock, the bookshop was empty except for one last customer, a woman who couldn't decide between two different crime novels. Daisy helped her weigh up the pros and cons of each book while wishing her out the door before she finally made her choice and headed out.
Daisy flipped the sign to closed and locked the front door, then stood for a moment looking around at the bookshop.
There were a few books scattered on tables where customers had been browsing, and the reading chairs were slightly out of position, but overall, the place hadn’t fared too badly.
It did all look very nice; a shabby little bookshop by the sea crammed full of books, little lamps, sweet plants, gigantic vases of bits from Susannah’s garden and beautiful old rugs on the floor.
'Right then. Time to go and collect those girls of yours and get ready for your big evening.’ Maggie chuckled.
As they locked up the bookshop and prepared to collect the twins from Susannah's, Daisy felt her anxiety ramping up again.
The distraction of the busy morning had helped, but now that evening was approaching and there was no more putting it off, all her worries came flooding back.
The bookshop had felt like a safe space all morning, filled with familiar customers and the comfortable routine of Sunday trading.
Now she had to go back to being just Daisy, the single mother who was about to properly introduce her daughters to the first man she had ever really cared about.
The thought made her stomach churn with a mixture of excitement and pure terror.
They made their way back through to the kitchen, where the smell of the beef filled the room. Daisy checked on it and was pleased to see it falling apart at the touch of a fork and filling the kitchen with a rich, savoury smell that meant roast was on the horizon.
'Well, you got one thing right, that smells incredible. If Miles doesn't appreciate a home-cooked roast dinner, then he's not worth keeping around.'
‘Yep, all I have to do is shove in the potatoes and Yorkshires. I’ve even prepped the veg and the gravy.’
‘It’s going to be fine, Daise. Trust me on this one. Right, I’ll go and collect those girls and you can get this show on the road. What's the worst that could happen?'
'Please don't ask that question. I can think of about seventeen different ways this could go horribly wrong.'
'And I can think of about eighteen ways it could go brilliantly right. Which makes me the winner, doesn't it?'
Daisy smiled. Trust Maggie to turn impending disaster into a competition.