Louisa was smiling over at her, which was nice. She only hoped that Addie and Susanna would give her a chance when they knew everything. She was digging herself a rather big hole by keeping it quiet for so long.
‘I’ve lived on Anchor Island for almost fifty years,’ she continued. ‘When I first came here, I never expected it to become the community and the world that I’ve found myself in. Launching this business was scary, a leap into the unknown. I had no idea whether it would work or not, and I sometimes questioned whether I’d made the right choice. But, having been here, having established the Sweet Life Café as a part of the island, as much as the harbour and the fish and chip shop, the book shop, the bakery and the lovely inn, I am so pleased I didn’t give up, even when things got tough.
‘The Sweet Life Café, like any other business, has endured its tough times especially in the early days and then again when the world changed in 2020.’ She’d read this speech so many times she didn’t really need the notes in her hand, a hand that was shaking somewhat with all eyes on her. ‘It’s thanks to all of you, the local community, that I was able to keep on going. Instead of gathering here, there was home ordering and the reason I bought that lovely pink van outside.’ There were a few chuckles amongst her guests. ‘None of you could stop by for a chat like we’re doing now, but I had many a good conversation with a passerby on the street as I stood on the balcony upstairs, just trying to be a part of the world when I was on my own.’
She couldn’t look at her nieces now. She didn’t want to make them feel guilty – she was doing enough of that for the three of them. What she’d meant by her words was that during the pandemic she didn’t have all the customer interaction she was used to, and she’d felt it so badly on some days she’d wanted to curl up in a ball and cry or scream.
She hadn’t realised she’d stumbled until she felt Nancy’s hand on her shoulder and the chair suddenly behind her.
‘You okay?’ Nancy whispered in her ear.
‘All this standing up,’ said Gayle with a laugh for her guests’ benefit. ‘And at my age…’ Best to make a joke out of it – that would stop anyone thinking the worst, even if the worst might well be closer than she would like.
She took another sip of water before she smiled and said, ‘I have so many of you to thank, and I hope by letting you gorge yourselves with all the pudding you can eat – for free! – you realise how much you all mean to me.’
There were cries of approval and agreement and the clattering of spoons against bowls or glass vessels like a chant or round of applause.
She scanned the crowds for one of her favourite people. ‘I’d like to say a few special thank yous. Now, where is Moses?’
‘Here,’ came a low baritone of a voice, and she saw a hand go up from the chairs adjacent to the door. Moses was a slight man and dwarfed by some of the teenagers who could almost eat her out of pudding on some days.
‘Moses. A big thank you to you. You are one of my most dedicated supporters. How you stay so trim is beyond me.’
‘It’s the sea air,’ he called over from behind a cupped hand.
‘Well, I say a big thank you from the bottom of my heart. For anyone who doesn’t already know, Moses has been coming here since the day I opened, the day I had fewer than a dozen customers across six hours and wondered what on earth I’d done. Moses spread the word?—’
‘True that!’ he hollered.
‘Moses let everyone know about the Sweet Life Café and I think he’s been here every single Sunday, mostly to feed me information from across the Channel, letting me know what his niece in France has in the way of gossip on sweet treats – she works in one of the finest patisseries.’
She looked at Nancy, who was hovering nearby. She reached her hand out until her employee and good friend took it.
‘Nancy here came to me for a job when she’d raised her family and wanted to get back into the workplace. She told me straight that she would do anything to help – scrub floors, wash up, run errands, man the till. We’re similar in age and I had a feeling then that we were going to get on, but I had one test she needed to pass. I gave her a pudding and the fact she cleared her bowl meant she passed with flying colours.’
‘Luckily it didn’t contain walnuts,’ Nancy interrupted. ‘Can’t stand them. Mind you, I probably would’ve eaten them anyway just to get the job.’
Gayle kept looking at her employee, her friend. ‘Ever since that day you have been reliable. You’ve grown your talents, you’ve been fun to be around and you’ve been a constant companion.’ The room spun a little even though she was in a chair, and she took another sip of water.
Nancy wrapped her arms around Gayle and for a moment Gayle thought she might cry. But she had one more thank you to give.
She looked at Susanna and Addie this time, standing next to each other, together in the way they’d always been. ‘I want to thank my two beautiful nieces, Susanna and Addie.’ They both seemed so nervous, or maybe it was her who felt that way, and Susanna had been quiet ever since last night. ‘Thank you for coming back to the island, thank you for staying.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Life can be a real shit sometimes.’ She paused to let the giggles from the younger mob pass, the younger mob who never expected her vocabulary to contain anything but polite words. ‘Things don’t always go to plan. There are unimaginable losses but seeing you here now and the fine women you have become is a real blessing.’
She cleared her throat, emotions doing their best to trip her up. ‘It feels a little smug to say that this gathering is a celebration of me, of my life, but that’s what it is. I wanted to get everyone together, everyone I love and admire and cherish, at the Sweet Life Café. I decided at my age I’d rather do that now while I could be a part of it. And to have you both here, Addie and Susanna… well, it means everything.’
She was about to announce that everyone could continue with their pudding, choose another and another, until they were full to bursting, except Addie stepped forwards.
‘I’d like to say a few words,’ she said to Gayle. ‘If that’s all right.’
Gayle felt Nancy’s hand on her arm as she nodded, totally taken by surprise.
Addie stood to address the crowd, and although she was so suited to baking and a place like this, Gayle could well imagine her in an office. Even if she didn’t like her job and it wasn’t what she’d dreamed of doing, she wouldn’t mind betting Addie still did well and tried her very best.
‘I thought I’d say a few words on behalf of me and my sister, Susanna.’ She briefly looked across to Susanna who smiled back although she still wouldn’t look at Gayle. Maybe she was choked with emotion and too afraid she’d let herself go in front of all these people. After all, they’d had a wonderful catch up yesterday as the girls told her all about the holiday. The night before the girls left, they’d all had dinner together and it had been so… normal.
‘Susanna and I came here as young girls,’ said Addie. ‘Gayle opened up her home to us when life had been rather unfair. Neither of us ever forgot our time here and we never forgot the puddings or this place, which we were delighted to see hasn’t changed much.’ There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd and as Gayle adjusted to hearing her niece say such kind words it felt as though this was the moment she’d been waiting for, when her past met her present and there was a calming of the storm that had once tried to obliterate her family ties.
‘We’ve both been gone for a while,’ Addie continued, ‘but since we’ve been back on the island, we’ve come to learn how much a part of the community Aunt Gayle really is. We remember some of you from years ago. We have fond memories of cycling around the island, which, after living in a city, was something entirely new for us. Being back here has been quite a journey but thank you to everyone for making us feel welcome. And we’re thankful from the bottom of our hearts that there are so many people who care for our aunt in the way she deserves.’
