‘I’m going to put the decorations up when I get a moment. They’ve obviously been pretty hard-pushed this last week .?.?.’
Oh God, she could literally hear the thought bubbles floating round the room:and you know why that is, because you bailed out and left them in the lurch.Or maybe that was just her paranoia. But probably not.
Pete nodded but Ally could tell he wasn’t really listening.
‘I .?.?. erm .?.?. I just had a quick look upstairs. There’s a lot of junk but you can see it’s really got potential .?.?.’
Oh God, another clanger. There was literally nothing she could say right now that wasn’t putting both feet in her mouth.
‘Yeah, it’s a good space all right.’
‘Pete, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.’ God, even that sounded presumptuous.
He shrugged. ‘Yeah, well, there you have it.’
That sounded pretty final, and she couldn’t think of anything to add. Everything felt wrong. She felt like a visitor and that felt wrong. She and Pete were talking to each other like strangers and that felt wrong too.
‘I’d .?.?. er .?.?. better get back down to Evelyn.’
‘Sure.’ His tone couldn’t have been more offhand as he turned away and continued working on the wall-to-ceiling shelves that Ally suspected Dave had only ordered to give his mate a job. Miserably, she crept back into the café as Evelyn was unlocking the door to a few people who were already queueing outside. Ally smiled and greeted them warmly – at least in the one day she was there, she could make as much of a difference as possible. She made four coffees while Evelyn made two avocado toasts and two eggs Benedict. After that there was a slight lull, so Ally set about putting up decorations. The ones in the window were fine but how the hell was she going to manage the high stuff?
‘Pete? Can you give me a hand out here, please?’ There was a silence. ‘Pete?’
‘I’m in the middle of something. Can it wait?’ he answered gruffly.
Oh, that was the first time he’d ever refused her anything. She felt a horrible sinking feeling, and then the thought of Francis surfaced, accompanied by the shock of seeing another girl’s intimate possessions in his bathroom. She’d had her chances in life .?.?. and blown them. And now everyone had moved on and she was left .?.?. nowhere.
Oh well, there was only one thing for it. She grabbed a high stool from the side table and carefully climbed on it – no point in doing herself in. Soon the place had a festive, if slightly retro, look. Ally recognised the decorations from her childhood, but that was exactly what Dave had intended. The Owl’s Nest reminded everyone of some place, or some time, when they’d felt at home. If only she could feel the way she used to about it. It was odd, but that lovely chemistry you stumbled upon sometimes in life, and maybe took for granted, was all too fragile. And once broken, how could you stick the pieces back together again?
Around ten thirty, Dave showed up, looking like he’d had at least a few hours’ sleep. He glanced around the café, an expression of relief on his face.
‘Who put all of these decorations up? Thank God! I’d a nightmare about being chased across the square by an army of angry Christmas trees.’
‘I’m glad that’s all it was,’ said Evelyn. ‘How’s the young fella doing?’
‘He got an infection yesterday, and they weren’t sure .?.?. how it was going to go, but it turns out he’s responding to the antibiotics so the doctors say he’ll be .?.?. OK.’
He slumped with relief against the counter.
‘Sit down, Dave, I’ll get you a coffee,’ said Ally, feeling relieved at having something to do.
‘Reminds me of home, Ally. You’ve done a great job, we’ve been really missing you.’
The remark was meant kindly, but it only made her feelworse.
All morning, a steady stream of customers dressed in earmuffs and sparkly scarves trooped through, including Noel and Christie, who were organising a carol-singing event in town and had to get their breakfast rolls for the day. Evelyn’s quiches were vanishing fast and the second lot she’d prepared were baking in the oven.
‘Evelyn, take your break, I’ll drop you down a nice big cappuccino,’ urged Ally. As she was frothing the milk, she noticed Evelyn producing the knitting from her bag and starting a new row, silently counting stitches as she went.
‘You’ve got loads done since last week. Do you think you’ll have it finished for Christmas?’ She could tell Evelyn was chuffed she’d noticed.
‘Well, it’s not for anyone else, so nobody’s waiting – I’ll get it done when it’s done.’
She was working through a complex pattern involving a wave design.
‘And is that stitch for something in particular?’
Evelyn frowned thoughtfully and smoothed out the knitting.
