‘I… thought I’d leave that email to you and your gran.’
‘Don’t feel you can’t contact him. I can’t be an arse over this venture anymore. Like it or not guests are imminent, so it makes sense to keep him in the loop.’
I gave a thumbs-up.
‘Gran will certainly want to be involved at every level.’ He paused. ‘I’m just a little worried about the evenings. We can run trips into Tortola, but it isn’t as if we have bars here or—’
‘Rick – that’s the point. The island’s remoteness, that’s its selling point. That doesn’t mean it’s dull here, more that it’s exclusive, away from the general public.’
‘We’ll still need to occupy visitors after dinner. However, this week I’m going to need that time to catch up with Jackie, paperwork and be at the Games Room. I can’t abandon the volunteers completely, they’ve spent good money to be here. I’ve also got to have an in depth talk with Lee and Gran about exact pricing.’
‘Why don’t we Skype her this afternoon before going to the airport? Then she can discuss our views with your brother. This Jason has paid an all-inclusive price, hasn’t he, for everything that takes place on the island, so we’ll just charge for excursions, and he and his friends will pay for their own entertainment on Tortola. That might be the way to proceed.’
‘Yes, that could work.’ He sighed. ‘Then there’s Chatty… I’ve missed the little chap these last few days. I haven’t spent nearly as much time with him – and I bet he’s missing you.’
I smiled at the thought of his cheeky blond face. Eyes were so important for connecting with people – and even my cat Nelly. But I still felt close to blind Chatty through his whistles and squeaks, through his expressions and playful actions. ‘How about I sit with Lee’s friend and his party? I’m used to schmoozing clients at the hotel. I can help Nia serve the food and drink. It’s only for a few nights.’
‘I… I can’t thank you enough,’ he said and put his empty plate on the side table.
‘What about Jonas and Benedikt? They could play the guitar and piano together. And Jonas is really ace on the harmonica.’ This would be the perfect opportunity for them to spend time sharing their love of music. I really had to see Jonas and catch up on any gossip! ‘I’ll pop into the canteen at lunchtime to ask them. They might want to come over this afternoon to practise.’
‘More beer and crisps required I suppose.’ He grinned.
‘So there are six guests – are they made up of couples?’
‘Presumably,’ said Rick. ‘My brother is going to text me their names and exact flight details this morning.’ He frowned. ‘You said a few moments ago that Nia teaching guests to cook tied into another idea you’d had.’
I closed the laptop, put it back on the ground and turned to face Rick. This might be difficult but profits were profits and he had to start bringing them in.
‘It’s purely from a business point of view. We could run it past Margot this afternoon. There’s a chance you may not like it as it’s not wholly authentic. It will mean some last-minute tweaks to the website and a sign making, plus gardening work and…’ I swallowed, anxious yet excited about explaining more.
‘I’m all ears.’
‘People, men and women, the world over… everyone loves chocolate. I felt a real buzz when I saw the cacao trees on the turtle trip. You’ve practically got a whole orchard of them. Can’t you see? It’s a USP – a unique selling point – for Seagrass Island. You and your family haven’t ever given this house a name, have you?’
He looked puzzled. ‘No.’
‘I think you should call it Cacao House. Get a sign made. We need to dig up a few cacao trees and replant them in the front, perhaps replacing some of the powder puff ones. Then I’ll re-take the photo that tops each page on the website.’ I was rambling now. ‘I’ve looked it up online – I believe, on a very small scale, you could produce your own brand of chocolate just for the family and visitors. The pods are ready for harvest and they mature several times a year. Think how much that would appeal to guests – to make their own bars? You could cordon off the trees and turn that area into an orchard, so that it doesn’t overrun the indigenous species – I know that was a concern of yours.’
‘Chocolate?Cacao House? But this is our home. That name doesn’t mean anything to us.’
‘No, but… whatever it takes, right?’
Reluctantly, he nodded.
‘Cacao isn’t a common word back home – I’d mention on the website that it’s pronounced Ka-Cow. There must be a sign-maker on Tortola who could fix you up with one and perhaps illustrate it with, say, a bean pod.’
He rubbed the stubble on his chin that was looking more like a beard after not having time to shave for a few days. ‘It sounds complicated.’
‘It wouldn’t have to be ready – obviously – for this week’s impromptu guests. But I can’t see it taking long to set up. Visitors could pick their own beans – that’s another activity open to us, a trek over to the orchard.’
‘Chocolate-making?’ He shook his head. ‘What about equipment?’
I raised the palm of my hand. ‘Hold on.’ I got YouTube up on the screen and found the clip I’d watched yesterday. Rick studied it until the end.
‘We’d probably need a proofer,’ he said. ‘And a sous vide. We’ve already got a coffee grinder.’
‘Yes, I checked with Nia. I reckon, tops, it means investing a few hundred pounds – which, in the bigger picture, isn’t that much for the traction I think this will give us when it comes to bookings.’ I was smiling and talking at the same time. It ached! ‘It will be a steep learning experience, no doubt about it, and it may not work – guests making chocolate out the pods they’ve actually picked – due to the fermentation process in the proofer taking around five days to get the slime off the beans. But we can have a stock all ready for roasting and grinding.’
