“Wonderful. I’ll message you details when I get to the shop.”
“I’ll see you both later then,” Lucy said, before she returned behind the counter to take another customer’s order.
“I’m so grateful to you for coming and looking after the shop for me, Carrie,” said Auntie Mary. “You have no idea how lovely it was for me to be able to go away knowing it was in good hands.”
“It’s been brilliant. Seren was such a help and Poppy and I have had a fantastic time.”
“Yes, I can see you have. You’ve looked so relaxed and happy, until today that is.”
Carrie gave a little shrug. “Of course, I’m sorry to leave. Who knew that such an out-of-the-blue offer would turn out so brilliantly? Auntie Mary, I have to ask, how on earth did you have the time to get everything ready for Poppy and me to come to stay as well as writing out all those instructions for the shop and getting ready for an unexpected month-long trip yourself in less than forty-eight hours?”
“Well, the flat was practically ready for guests. You know I’ve been renting it out as an Airbnb...”
“But why didn’t you have any guests booked in for the whole of the summer holidays? I hope you didn’t cancel bookings for us. We could have just stayed in your house... And a lot of the books seemed very specifically chosen for us.”
Auntie Mary sighed. “All right, all right. You’ve caught me out.” She laughed. “My holiday wasn’t quite as last minute as I may have led you to believe. I’d been speaking with your mother and she was worried about you. She said you didn’t seem to be moving forward and she was concerned about how you were centring your life around Tony and when he decided he’d be free to see Poppy.”
“She never said,” Carrie murmured. Her mum had always been such an amazing source of support for her and Poppy. Shedidn’t like to think of her worrying about them this way, and not talking to Carrie about her concerns.
“She didn’t want to put any pressure on you to get away for a bit,” Auntie Mary explained. “I’d booked my cruise a while ago but knew you wouldn’t agree to come unless I left it until the last minute. I may have counted on you feeling guilty about me not having time to find anyone else.”
“You sneaky thing! I don’t know whether to thank you or be cross with you.”
“I was sneaky,” admitted Auntie Mary. “But it was for a good reason. You know your mum and I adore you and only want what’s best for you.” She reached over and gave Carrie a hug. “And it sounds like the two of you have had a wonderful summer.”
“We have,” agreed Carrie.
“And now that you’ve spent some time looking after the shop and have a feel for what it’s like, I have something to ask you,” said Aunt Mary. “I was actually planning to wait to speak to you about this until just before you were going to leave, but it turns out that’s now. The fact is that it’s time for me to step back from the shop. I’m not getting any younger, and I’d like to be able to travel more. I’d still want to be involved in the vintage book section, but I was wondering if you’d be interested in managing the bookshop for me? It’s lovely having you and Poppy around, and you’ve done a wonderful job here. The flat would be included in the job offer and the primary school here is supposed to be excellent and has space for Poppy.”
“I’m sorry?” Carrie’s mind was struggling to catch up with what Auntie Mary had just said.
Her aunt continued to speak but Carrie wasn’t quite sure what she was saying, catching snippets like “It could be perfect” and “You both seem so happy”, then “Could you at least consider it?” Carrie shook her head, encouraging focus.
“Wow,” she finally said. “Wow.” What an honour. “Thank you so much for asking.” She was completely taken aback...She knew how much her aunt loved her bookshop. It was part of her, especially since she’d worked so hard transforming it after Carrie’s uncle had died. She’d heard her aunt say that it was the shop that had kept her going during that horrible time. “I’m honoured that you think I’m up to the task.”
“You’re more than up to it,” said Auntie Mary. “You’ve definitely proved that. Not that there was ever a doubt in my mind.”
Carrie attempted to voice her thoughts. “If it was just me I needed to think about, I’d jump at the chance,” Carrie now explained, “but Poppy’s really looking forward to seeing her dad when we get back. It wouldn’t be fair to keep her so far away from him permanently.”
Auntie Mary scoffed, “That useless layabout.”
“Tony’s been making an effort... He’s employed and he’s asked to see Poppy,” said Carrie. She didn’t know why she continued to feel the need to protect her ex-boyfriend, but she would never bad-mouth him for Poppy’s sake. He’d left her with a tiny baby and this summer had pretty much confirmed for her that he would barely have any relationship with his daughter if it wasn’t for her pushing him into it. It’s not even like he contributed monetarily towards Poppy, but while he showed any interest in her at all, Poppy had to have a relationship with her dad. Carrie knew what it was like to grow up without a father and she wouldn’t be responsible for the same thing happening to her little girl. Any romantic feelings she had for her ex were now well and truly gone, of that she was certain, but she did wish he would grow up and take responsibility for his daughter who needed to spend time with her daddy.
Mary shrugged and said, “Cornwall is hardly the other side of the world.”
“I know, but it means he won’t be able to pop by and see Poppy whenever he wants.”
“Does he do that now?” asked Aunt Mary.
“No,” admitted Carrie.
“You can’t live your life taking someone else into account when they don’t do the same for you.”
“It’s not as simple as that.”
“Of course it is,” said Aunt Mary. “What has he ever done for you and Poppy? It’s OK to put yourself first, Carrie. I actually wonder how long it would have been before he’d noticed you weren’t in London if you hadn’t told him you were coming away.”
Carrie felt like she’d been slapped. Auntie Mary knew nothing about her and Poppy’s relationship with Tony. She wasn’t sure Auntie Mary had even met Tony properly, thanks to his uncanny ability to get out of anything to do with her family. Unlike Michael, she couldn’t help thinking.
