Effie sucked in a breath, feeling suddenly very exposed. They chatted for a few more minutes about the party, Lola gushing about how she couldn’t wait to see Alf’s face when she brought out the cake. Effie filled them in on her plans for the bookshop, Jake discussed his photography plans, including making sure Alf had a record of his party as a keepsake.
‘Ah! I’ve forgotten my camera!’ Jake exclaimed. ‘Effie, are you OK if I leave you? I just need to go home and get it. I’ll be two ticks.’
Feeling a bit more at ease from the cider and from talking to Lola and Tristan, she nodded her head. ‘I think I’m going to be all right.’
‘Thank you, I won’t be long, promise.’ He gave her arm a quick pat as he made his way towards the exit.
‘Oh my!’ Lola exclaimed as her eyes followed Jake out of the hall.
‘Not matchmaking again are you, my love?’ Tristan warned.
‘Would I?’
Tristan turned to Effie. ‘She can’t help herself, but, I would say Lola’s got a pretty good track record. Freya and Angelo. Then, there was us, but I was smitten from the moment I saw her, just took her a few months to catch up.’
‘I’m so glad I did.’ Lola smiled up at him.
Their love for each other was so strong that Effie almost felt as if she was intruding.
‘How are you finding Polcarrow?’ Tristan asked.
‘It’s lovely, but I’ve not seen much of it, been so busy with trying to sort the shop out,’ she explained.
Lola slipped her hand out of Tristan’s arm. ‘In that case, let me introduce you to everyone.’
‘Everyone?’ Effie gulped, glancing around the room.
‘Yes, then I can fill you in on all the little bits and pieces you need to know as an incomer,’ Lola whispered as she slipped her arm through Effie’s and started to lead her around the hall.
First, Lola introduced her to Sue and Cathy, prominent members, and friendly rivals, in charge of the village committee. Cathy narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the idea of a bookshop opening, whereas Sue almost combusted with excitement on the spot.
‘A bookshop? In Polcarrow? That is amazing! You will be able to order things in, won’t you?’
Effie nodded. ‘Of course! Anything you like. We’re opening on Easter Saturday.’
‘Two weeks!’ Sue exclaimed. ‘That’s not long, but I’ve been hearing you’ve had some help.’ Sue signalled towards the curly-haired woman Jake had pointed out as his mum.
Joining them, she gave Effie a quick once-over before holding out her hand and pulling Effie into a hug. ‘I’m Jan, you must be Effie. I’m so pleased to put a face to the name Jake keeps mentioning. He’s such a good lad, so happy he’s home. So, tell us more about this bookshop? How’s it all going?’
As Effie chatted to her captive audience, she grew more and more at ease. She enjoyed seeing people’s reactions to the bookshop, which were, thankfully, mostly excited and positive, peppered with questions about if she’d be running a book club, or what sort of books they’d be stocking, and wasn’t it nice that the village would have a bookshop rather than having to order from big business off the internet.
As Effie answered questions and discovered things about the village and its inhabitants, she began to relax, to feel herself start to gently ebb into the flow of village life. Coming to Polcarrow didn’t seem quite the disaster it had on Monday morning.
Chapter Fifteen
Effie was busy chatting to Lola’s friend and barista, Freya, when Jake returned. She was enjoying connecting with someone her own age, someone who’d also moved to Polcarrow after a disastrous end to her life in London.
‘That’s absolutely amazing,’ Effie gasped in response to Freya telling her how she’d fled down to Cornwall to escape a failed relationship and how Polcarrow, and a little help from Lola and Angelo, had helped her resurrect a completely dead artistic career.
‘I know! Sometimes I pinch myself.’ Freya took a sip of her drink. ‘I had been selling my work in a gallery in St Ives but I want more creative control. Angelo and I are planning on opening a mini gallery. There’s some space behind Lola’s café. No idea how successful it’ll be, but I need to try.’
‘I’m sure it’ll work out. It makes me feel better about the bookshop if there’s other businesses for people to visit. Polcarrow is lovely, so I can see why Clive wanted to open a shop here, but . . .’
‘It’s the arse end of nowhere,’ Freya quipped.
Effie couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I might have put it a bit more eloquently.’
Freya shrugged. ‘But it’s true. However, there’s some magic here. People seem to be drawn here. Lola came because of a note in her grandmother’s recipe book, Tristan because he was burned out, Angelo because he was fleeing his entire life. I think this is a place people come to heal,’ Freya said philosophically. ‘Things here have a habit of working out. Hey, has Lola been all smug about your friendship with Jake?’
