Chapter Four
‘ H i, I’m from the bakery. Can I help you?’
Lowering her hands from her face, Tilly looked up at the woman who had spoken.
She fiddled with the oversized man’s watch on her wrist, the one her aunt had given her when she’d turned eighteen, the one she’d been told used to belong to her dad.
‘Oh, did you see me looking through the window? I’m so so sorry, I was just.. .’ She let her voice trail off.
‘It’s no bother.’ The woman smiled, her eyes lighting up with kindness. ‘I just spotted you and wondered if everything was okay. I’m sorry we’re closed, but if you need anything, I’m sure Elsie won’t mind if I serve you quickly.’
‘Oh no.’ Tilly shook her head as the heat of embarrassment flamed her face. ‘I wasn’t after anything. I’d never have... Sorry, I’d never have interrupted to try to buy something when I could see you were closed. It’s nothing.’
‘Okay, no worries. See you around.’ The woman began to turn back to the bakery.
Glancing at the ground beneath her shoes, Tilly then lifted her head.
She might as well ask now. She’d already interrupted and, besides, she most definitely didn’t want people thinking she’d peered through the window hoping to grab a couple of bread rolls.
‘I was going to knock and ask the owner, Enid, something. Penny from the cafe assured me she wouldn’t mind, and then when I saw there were so many people in there. ..’
Turning back, the woman perched on the bench next to her. ‘Elsie?’
‘Yes, sorry, Elsie.’ Where had Enid come from?
She was flustered. She could feel her heart racing inside her chest. She wasn’t used to doing things like this.
She ran the pad of her finger across her watch, encircling the silver face.
‘I wondered if she knew of anywhere that might have a room for the night. I’ve looked online and rung all the places I could find, but everywhere is full, and then I started asking the shopkeepers, thinking they might know of a little place which perhaps wasn’t very well advertised or wasn’t online. ’
‘Oh, right.’ The woman glanced across at the bakery. ‘I can definitely ask her. Penny was right; if anyone knows of a place, it’ll be Elsie. She’s lived here that long.’
‘Right. Thank you.’
‘I’m Lynsey, by the way.’ Lynsey pushed her hands against the wooden seat and stood up.
‘Nice to meet you, Lynsey. I’m Tilly.’ For the first time since the encounter, Tilly smiled, the panic subsiding.
‘I’ll go and check with Elsie.’ Lynsey pointed towards the bakery.
‘Are you sure you don’t mind? I really didn’t want to interrupt anything.
’ Gripping the edge of the seat, Tilly felt the nervous flutters erupting inside her again.
Why did she always feel like this? In any new situation?
She bit down on her bottom lip; she knew why.
It was because she’d spent the last few years in the comfort of her and her aunt’s home.
This, coming to a new place, a new part of the country, with no plans whatsoever, was so out of character she was bound to feel nervous.
Besides, it wasn’t every day she had to deal with being chucked out onto the streets, her home being repossessed and losing any sense of security.
‘No, not at all.’ Lynsey grinned. ‘I’ll be right back out.’
‘Thank you.’ Turning her head, Tilly watched as a young family made their way down the cobbled street, eating chips from cones they were carrying as they sauntered back from a day in the sunshine.
As the aroma of salt and vinegar wafted towards her, her stomach growled, her greasy lunch almost a forgotten memory.
Making herself stay seated as she waited for Lynsey to return, Tilly bit back the temptation to get up and return to her car. After all, it wasn’t as though she could go home. No, this was where she wanted to be. She felt strangely close to her aunt here, even if Tilly had never visited with her.
‘Hello, love. Tilly, is it?’
Turning, Tilly watched as an older woman with curly hair and pale blue eyes made her way towards her, pausing beside the bench as she carefully folded a tea towel over her arm.
She must be Elsie. She took a deep breath.
All she’d wanted to do was ask a simple question; the last thing she’d wanted was to tear anyone away from their family. ‘Hi, yes.’
‘I’m Elsie, and I understand you’re after a place to stay for the night, is that right?’ Elsie sat down on the bench next to her, bringing the tea towel into her lap.
‘Yes, someone recommended I ask you if you knew of anywhere that might have spaces.’ Tilly wrapped the strap of her handbag around her fingers. ‘I really didn’t mean to disturb you, though. That’s why I didn’t knock on the door when I realised how many people were inside.’
‘Oh, don’t worry about that.’ Elsie waved the apology away dismissively before chuckling. ‘I’m sure they can fend for themselves for a few minutes. Have you tried the little B&B at the top of the hill?
Tilly nodded. ‘Yes, they’re full for the next few weeks.’
‘Ah.’ Sucking on her teeth, Elsie grimaced. ‘And I’m guessing everywhere else you’ve tried is full?’
‘That’s right.’ Tilly shifted on the bench. ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find somewhere, but thank you for trying to help.’
‘How long are you down here for? I wonder if the pub can squeeze you in for the one night.’
‘No, they don’t have any vacancies either.
’ Shaking her head, Tilly sighed. She’d just have to go somewhere else.
She was sure that the further she travelled inland away from the coast, the better chance she’d have of being able to secure accommodation.
Yes, it wouldn’t be as convenient as staying in Penworth Bay itself, but there’d be nothing stopping her from driving in each day.
Not that she was really sure what she was hoping to gain from the trip, anyway.
‘I’m not sure how long I’m hoping to stay. ’
‘Oh, that must be nice. An extended break from work.’ Elsie smiled warmly and turned, looking towards the beach. ‘You’ve chosen the best place. Although of course, I may be a little biased.’
An extended break from work? Tilly took a shuddery breath in as it once again hit her that she had nothing to go back to her hometown for.
Nothing to go back to either. She suddenly felt trapped in the limbo land which her life had become, and she could feel sheer panic rising that she literally had nowhere to go, no form of income, nothing.
She had enough to get by on for a few weeks at the most, and that had been money which her aunt had saved in cash and forced her to take before she’d passed away.
She’d been limping by, quite literally, trying to draw out the inevitable.
And now it had come. Now she was left stranded, with nothing.
Now, she somehow had to rebuild her life from the bottom up.
She wiped a tear from her cheek. ‘I’m sorry, I. ..’
‘Hey, love. Don’t ever apologise for your feelings. Is there more besides not being able to find a room for tonight?’ Elsie placed her hand on Tilly’s forearm.
Tilly wasn’t sure why Elsie’s kindness hit her so hard.
Perhaps because her compassion reminded her of her aunt.
Perhaps because she hadn’t experienced another person’s kindness for so long.
‘I’m not really sure what I’m doing down here.
My aunt loved this place, spoke so fondly of Penworth Bay and the time she spent here, and I just..
. I know this sounds ridiculous, and it is.
I know that now, but I came here without any plans. ’
‘She sounds like a sensible lady, loving the bay.’ Elsie smiled.
‘She was.’ Tilly nodded. Her aunt had always been sensible.
Sensible to the point of planning every moment of the day from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to bed and yet here Tilly was, sitting on a bench and facing a night sleeping in her car because she hadn’t planned a single part of this trip.
Although in her defence, she hadn’t known today would be the day that the bailiffs would turn up on the doorstep.
She’d known it was coming, but she hadn’t known when.
Shifting position, Elsie turned towards her. ‘What are you looking for? In Penworth Bay, I mean?’
Tilly shrugged. ‘I don’t really know. I just wanted to spend some time here in my aunt’s favourite place.
A place I could remember her in. She passed away five months ago, and I just need to feel near her.
’ With her palm flat against the handbag in her lap, she could almost feel the photos from inside.
She was hoping for answers, answers about who she was, where she was from, about her dad, but she couldn’t say that.
It was bad enough she’d come down here on a last-minute whim, she couldn’t throw in that she was looking for something long gone too.
‘Okay.’ Elsie glanced across at the bakery.
A young girl was standing on the other side of the window, pulling funny faces and waving her hands in the air.
Elsie chuckled and waved back just as someone came up behind her, and the young girl’s face contorted into a grin before she disappeared.
‘That’s little Pippa. A right little character she is. ’
‘You should go back. I don’t want to keep you from your family.’
‘You’re okay, love. In fact, I may just have a solution to your problem.
You see the people in there, the people I’m having dinner with this evening, they’re friends, friends I call my bakery family.
You see, I run a scheme where I invite volunteers to come and work in the bakery with me and in return, instead of paying them, I offer them a place to stay, food to eat. ’
‘That’s lovely.’ Tilly followed Elsie’s gaze towards the bakery window.
‘It is. The volunteer who was supposed to come and assist during the school holidays has had to postpone her time here, though, so I have an opening.’
Tilly held her breath. Was she going to suggest what Tilly thought she was?
She’d heard of these volunteering schemes, swapping labour for accommodation and food.
In fact, she’d thought about doing something similar herself years ago when she was fresh out of college.
She’d planned to travel the world, staying and swapping skills for accommodation, but life had got in the way and she’d never really found the right time to revisit the dream.
‘You’re more than welcome to take up the position if you’d like?’ Elsie looked back at her and smiled, nodding towards the bakery. ‘They’re a lovely bunch, and I know they’d make you feel welcome.’
‘Really?’ She had!
‘It might be the perfect solution. If you’ve planned the time off work anyway and you’re looking to spend some time in the bay.’
‘I... I’d love that, please?’ Tilly grinned.
‘Perfect. Come on in, and I can introduce you to everyone. You’ll be just in time for dinner too.’ Standing up, Elsie flung the tea towel over her shoulder and indicated to Tilly to follow her.
Gnawing on her bottom lip, Tilly glanced between Elsie and the busy bakery again.
Could she really do this? Volunteer at Elsie’s bakery in return for accommodation and food?
It sounded too good to be true, but she supposed that at this point in time, she really did only have one choice.
And she wasn’t in the best position to be able to turn down the offer of a place to stay tonight, as well as the current work experience all employers seemed to be looking for.
Forcing herself to stand up, she swallowed the fear of meeting so many new people all at once and plastered a smile on her face.