‘That’s Austen,’ she replied, pointing to the poetry session woman with the bundles of paper under her arm wearing a berry-pink puffa coat and big plasticky eyeglasses. Radia pointed in the face of the second woman, darker, wilder, and dressed in red dungarees and combat boots. ‘That’s Auntie Patti. You should just call her Patti, though.’
Through smiles indulgently acknowledging the precociousness of the little girl, everyone nodded their greetings and Austen went about setting up for the poetry session that had been her own especial responsibility on the volunteers’ rota for the last eighteen months, except when she was visiting her parents and leading writing workshops in her native Manchester.
‘So, do I do anything?’ Annie asked, remembering that the little shop she’d come to think of as her own little sanctuary was still very much a co-op and she was, in fact, just passing through.
‘Youcan make the strawberry squash,’ Radia told her.
‘All right, bossy boots,’ her aunt intervened. ‘Why don’tyoumake the squash, Rads?’
Patti parted with a grocery bag of, it turned out, all kinds of British biscuits, most of which Annie hadn’t seen in nine years. ‘But usually someone does put the kiddies’ biscuits on a plate,’ she told Annie.
Radia was making a dash for the cafe, so Annie followed her in search of a plate.
The shop had fallen completely quiet now that it was almost four. Thankfully, Annie had easily managed both the cafe and bookselling by herself as Harri still hadn’t returned from his search for firewood.
He’d messaged a while ago to say he felt like some ‘alone time’. She’d only really minded his absence when the cappuccino orders were coming thick and fast around two and she’d been forced to tell a teensy lie about the machine being broken and how she could only offer teas and hot cocoa.
Still, it was getting late now. Where was he hiding himself? Before sorting the biscuits, she checked her phone again and found something new there that made her gasp: a blue ‘thumbs up’ on the photo she’d sent to Cassidy, the one of her and Harri turning the shop sign on their first morning here.
This, Annie had excitedly concluded, was a breakthrough. She’d immediately messaged back with a tumble of words.
Cass!! R u OK? Can you talk? I’m still in England. Msg me any time. Imiss you!!
There’d been no reply but her message was marked as ‘read’. She’d taken this as encouragement and not a further knockback. Cassidy was out there making contact in her own way. She only worried what it meant for her safety. Was Deadbeat Dave still hanging around watching her every move?
‘You’re mixing up the chocolate fingers with the Jammie Dodgers!’ a small voice shrieked, pulling her focus back to her job.
‘Shouldn’t I be?’ Annie asked the solemn little girl.
She was making a big mess of her own at the sink with a jug of sticky pink syrup, and the cold-water faucet was running way too hard and splashing all over the counter. ‘Show me how you do it, then.’ Annie turned down the water pressure then let Radia take over biscuit-arranging duties.
When they presented themselves back in the shop with the drinks and plastic beakers on the tray that Radia had known the precise location of, Annie heard Patti excusing herself, saying she had to get to the Big House for the test run of the outdoor cinema projector. Jasper Gold was waiting for her, she said. Patti had kissed Austen on the mouth in such a way that made Annie’s heart heavy. Was literally everyone in Clove Lore loved up?
‘You guys make me feel more single than ever,’ she said, making the women beam.
Patti blew a kiss to Radia and left, telling the little girl that Austen would be taking her home after poetry time.
Austen was saying something about being all set up, just waiting on the kids to turn up, when Radia spoke over her. ‘We live in the cottage with the red door, Down-along.’
‘All of you?’ Annie replied.
‘Yeah, with Mum and Monty,’ the girl said, taking a couple of Party Ring biscuits, just to test them out. ‘And Austen sleeps over when she’s not in Manchester.’
‘That’s nice.’ Annie reached for a chocolate finger since they seemed to be fair game. ‘I love these. These and Creme Eggs,’ she said conspiratorially.
Radia wasn’t much interested. ‘Mum and Monty are having a baby,’ the little girl put in.
Annie had never heard the word ‘baby’ infused with so much horror. She glanced at Austen who confirmed it was true. ‘Yep, and she’s not quite adjusted to the idea yet, have you, Rads?’ Austen’s accent was so different to Harri’s, thought Annie. She sounded more like someone fromCoronation Street(one of her old favourites back in Aber), than anyone she’d ever met. It truly was a marvellous voice.
‘Ah!’ Annie said, crouching down beside the child. ‘I don’t have brothers or sisters. I always wanted one. You might find this baby’s kinda fun to have around… eventually.’
The look on Radia’s face said she’d heard all this before and it wasnothelping.
‘Maybe not.’ Annie stood again and bit into her biscuit.
‘You got the pens and paper ready, Rads?’ Austen asked, and this pulled the little girl out of her anti-baby funk, setting her to work.
Austen had finished arranging the chairs and beanbags into a little circle near the stairs and came to stand beside Annie, grabbing a Jammie Dodger as she went. ‘Are you staying for the session?’
