‘Glad to be back, Chef!’ She gave him a mock salute.
There was no sign of Pete but the Christmas tree they’d bought jointly twinkled enchantingly, transforming the café into a magical space.
Ally immediately began setting up the tables and placing a sprig of holly on each one. Then she slipped behind the counter and began stacking the gourmet sandwiches in order, ready topop in the toaster: Reuben with pastrami, mozzarella and pickle on sourdough; bacon, fluffy omelette and cheese on a chewy bagel; chicken Parmesan torpedoes, made from nutty sesame dough with a drizzle of basil pesto .?.?. It was no wonder there was already a queue outside at 8.25 a.m., waiting for the place to open. Ally worked fast as barista, and she greeted the customers, while Dave was calling in the orders and doing food with Evelyn. Far from having lost her touch, Ally felt like she’d never been away, and had even benefited from the break.
‘Good to see you back, Ally, we missed you,’ said Niamh, the gym bunny, as she paid for Americanos and chia pots for herself and her friend, who were taking the morning off to go Christmas shopping. Noel and Christie ordered, respectively, a chorizo and egg sandwich and a smoked salmon with whipped sour cream and pickled red onions, as they were going to collect for charity on Henry Street.
The next couple of hours were a blur of activity, until a lull at ten thirty, which gave Ally a chance to catch her breath and look around. There was still no sign of Pete. Glancing across, she caught Evelyn’s eye; she was looking at her intently.
‘Oh, by the way,’ said Dave, waving an Americano, ‘Pete’s moving in upstairs. We were going over some ideas last night, so he’s out buying materials right now.’
Ally’s heart leaped annoyingly at the mention of his name. Her head was doing really well, whereas her wretched, disobedient, unwise heart insisted on going rogue. Well, it could feel whatever it wanted, there was no way it was getting in the driver’s seat.
Just then there was a noise from the back door, where Pete could be seen hauling in an antique-looking radiator, while Patsy was just visible, peeping over his shoulder from a backpack.
‘I’ve three more in the van,’ he announced briskly. ‘Friend ofmine owed me a favour.’
Ally was wondering where on earth the money was coming from to cover said renovation, when Dave broke in. ‘It’s my idea to get the job done,’ he explained. ‘I own the property and it’ll add to the value if there’s residential units available for rent. Plus, there’s tax relief on it, even if the budget is pretty tight, but I trust my friend Pete here to make the best use of the cash.’
‘This is really exciting,’ exclaimed Ally. ‘When’re you planning on starting?’
Pete looked at his watch. ‘Half an hour? By the way, Ally, I’m planning on getting this place cleared fast, so labour is key. You don’t happen to know anyone who’d like a day’s work on Saturday?’
‘And wouldn’t mind working for crap wages?’ added Dave. ‘Lunch included, though.’
That’d make a difference, she thought. Well, she could ask DIY Fergus. Christmas was coming, and frankly, he had more energy than he knew what to do with, not to mention an unexpected bill for the washing machine.
She fired off a text to that effect to William and waited for a reply.
The café grew busy leading up to lunchtime, so she’d no time to think about anything else but coffee and clearing for the next three hours. At ten past two, she looked at her phone to see a reply from William:
Sure, he’s well up for it and he’s roped in our other housemate. ’Bout time for a bit of honest labouring ??!
Great, at least she’d been able to make a contribution to the project.
There was the usual trickle of afternoon customers, mostly just ordering cake or scones, so by half three Evelyn was sitting at the little table by the wall, doing her knitting, while Ally dropped her down a mug of tea. She glanced around and, seeing that everyone had what they needed for the moment, settled down opposite the older woman, grateful to take the weight off her feet.
‘Sorry for being nosy, but .?.?. the bit you’re doing now, what’s that bobble pattern?’
Evelyn smoothed out what turned out to be one of the front panels of her cardigan.
‘So .?.?. the front is all about .?.?. whatever you want it to be about.’
Ally gave her a quizzical look. ‘How do you mean?’
‘The front is all about .?.?. wishes.’
‘Kind of knitting up the future? So, what are your hopes for the future, Evelyn?’
‘Mine? Ah .?.?. never mind about mine. What are yours, more to the point?’
‘So, it works for anyone, not just yourself?’ she asked.
‘Certainly, it does.’
Ally sighed – she couldn’t think where to begin.
‘Oh, Evelyn, it’s just everything is such a shambles. If my life were knitting, it’d look just like a big ball of tangled-up wool that a cat had a fight with.’
