“Starving,” declared Poppy.
“Thank goodness, so am I,” Carrie said, laughing. “How about we get fish and chips and eat them on the beach?”
“Yes, please!”
“Excellent. Get your shoes back on. We’ll pop to the supermarket after we’ve eaten to get some things in for breakfast tomorrow.”
Carrie went down to the kitchen and noticed an envelope addressed to her on the counter by the Nespresso machine. She opened it and smiled at her aunt’s familiar spidery handwriting.
Dear Carrie and Poppy, I hope you have a wonderful stay. So looking forward to seeing you when I get back. The kitchen is stocked for you. Love, Auntie Mary.
Carrie shook her head fondly at her aunt’s generosity and opened the fridge. It was indeed full of food for them, including two bottles of prosecco chilling for Carrie. The goodies in the freezer included meat and fish and some sourdough pizzas — and when she checked the cupboards, she found bread, potatoes and other basics like tea and coffee pods for the machine. There really was plenty for them to eat and drink. She’d promised Poppy they’d go out though and Carrie was tired from the driveso cooking, albeit popping pizzas in the oven, could wait for another day.
They headed out the front of the bookshop so that Poppy could see it properly for the first time.
The building’s red brick glowed in the early evening light, highlighting the wisteria growing up one side and its grey slate roof. The bay windows on each side of the blue door, held book displays; one had a seaside setting full of beach reads with bold, bright colours, and the other advertised a huge variety of romantasy books. The large signage proudly announced,The Happily Ever After Bookshop. As well as the name change, it seemed smarter than Carrie remembered from her childhood, while retaining its charm.
On one side of the shop was a sweet looking coffee place called The First Sip, which her mum had recommended. The last time Carrie had visited, it had been an art gallery. The old bookbinders was still on the other side of the bookshop. It looked exactly the same, or maybe a teeny bit shabbier. Mr Williams who ran it must be well into his seventies by now, Carrie realised.
“I think it’s the most loveliest bookshop in the world,” declared Poppy, as they stood looking at it.
“I agree,” said Carrie, putting her arm around her daughter. “Shall we go and get those fish and chips then?”
They walked down towards the beach and Poppy spotted the castle on the hill in the town’s park again.
“Is that really a castle?” she asked, screwing up her nose.
“Yep. There are lots of castles in Cornwall,” Carrie said.
“That doesn’t look much like a castle...” Poppy squinted.
“Well, it’s the ruins of one.” Poppy was not looking convinced. “We’ll go to explore it one day,” Carrie promised.
“It smells really good here,” said Poppy, giving an exaggerated sniff.
“I love the smell of the sea,” Carrie replied. “There’s the fish and chip shop, on that corner. This is the one my uncle always used to take me to.”
The chip shop was busy with a queue going out of the door, but the two women working there were clearly veterans and served so quickly and efficiently that Carrie and Poppy soon had their order of chicken nuggets and chips and an orange juice for Poppy, and cod and chips and a coke for Carrie.
They carried their goodies down to the beach and settled down on a large rock to enjoy their feast. They both sat cross-legged with their food parcels in their laps and watched the waves as they ate. The clouds from earlier in the day had largely cleared and sunlight glinted off the water.
There were quite a few people on the beach taking an early evening stroll, several of them with dogs which Poppy loved pointing out.
“Look at that little one,” she said. “He’s so cute.”
Carrie turned her attention to where her daughter was indicating and saw possibly the ugliest dog she’d ever seen. It appeared to be a cross between a chihuahua, a pug and possibly a gerbil. It was tiny and as it got closer, she could see it had a tooth sticking out of its mouth at an angle. Poor little thing, it really did look a state, but its tail was wagging and it seemed happy as it careered around, barking at the waves when they got too close.
Her eyes travelled to the man walking behind. Presumably the dog’s owner. There seemed to be something familiar about him... He was tall, and walked stooped over a little, as if embarrassed by his height. His hair was dark brown, almost black, and looked like it needed a cut. It seemed to be annoying him judging by the way he kept brushing it away from his face. He turned his head and Carrie got a proper look. He wore wire-framed glasses and had dark eyes. His face was long andwith perfectly sculpted cheekbones. He had a whole Benedict Cumberbatch vibe going on, she realised. The shorts and T-shirt he wore were wrong somehow; he definitely seemed more a thick jumper and jeans kind of person. Did she know him from somewhere?
The man’s phone rang and he stopped to answer it. His little dog continued sniffing around, moving closer to Carrie and Poppy. His nose went up in the air as he clearly caught a whiff of their food and he came over, his tail wagging even faster than before. He put his front paws on the rock they sat on and gazed up at them beseechingly. He really was very cute despite not being at all handsome.
Poppy reached down to pet him.
“Pumpkin, you know you shouldn’t touch a dog until you’ve checked if they’re friendly or not,” Carrie said. She glanced over at the owner to see if she could catch his attention, but he was completely absorbed in his telephone call.
“Mummy, he’s so friendly.” Poppy laughed delightedly. “Look at him!”
Carrie had to agree that the dog currently gently licking her daughter’s fingers was unlikely to be a threat.
