Brian nodded. ‘It’s a fantastic opportunity. Look, Effie, you’re almost thirty years old, we love having you here and you can stay here forever if you wish, but aren’t you curious about what lies over the horizon?’
‘Maybe a little bit,’ Effie admitted, ‘but you know I didn’t enjoy moving away to university.’
‘That was London. This is Polcarrow. It’s thirty-five minutes away. The worst that could happen is that seagull comes back for a second bite of sausage roll,’ Brian pointed out gently. ‘Clive must think highly of you to trust you with this. You’re long overdue a promotion too. You work so hard there.’
‘You could come home any time, and we could come and visit you,’ Rosemary reminded her before glancing at her husband. ‘We’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time you spread your wings a little more.’
Effie shot a look between her parents. ‘You want me to leave?’
‘No, love, don’t be silly, we love you being here, us a cosy little three, but we’ve both seen so much of the world, it’d be a shame if you didn’t even explore it a bit,’ Rosemary pushed gently.
Effie nodded. ‘I told Clive I’d think about it. He’s given me until Friday. I didn’t want to leap right in without properly considering it first.’
‘Whatever you decide to do, Effie love, we’ll support you,’ Brian said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.
‘Thanks, Dad.’ She squeezed his hand back. ‘But I think we all know what my decision will be,’ she said, beaming happily at them both, the possibility of her future unfurling inside her.
Chapter Three
Effie had always been drawn to the sea, pulled by its power as if she too was part of the tide. All her teenage angst and woes had been worked through whilst wading through the shallows, the waves rippling over her toes, but she’d never quite dared to venture in above her knees. The sea was powerful, and like a lot of things, Effie was afraid of that power. As she’d grown older, she’d come to respect the sea, accepting it as a part of her Cornish roots, and now it was as much part of her as it was the landscape.
She’d started sea swimming after she’d come home from London. The city had clung to her skin, got under her nails, dulled her shine. The only way she knew to cleanse herself was to go, full body, into the sea. Effie still recalled the first wince as the cold water closed in around her, how on the count of three she’d submerged herself, leaving only her head above the surface, teeth chattering, gasping for breath, but feeling more alive than she’d ever felt before. Effie always felt a little mad to say the sea had purified her, but she truly believed it had.
However, that Friday morning she didn’t have time for a dip before work. Instead, she stood on the promenade, takeaway tea in her hand, half a nibbled almond croissant in her pocket, staring out to sea. She breathed in and out with the tide, her gaze focused on St Michael’s Mount further round the bay, and allowed the ebb and flow of the waves to soothe her.
It had been quite an emotionally stressful week as she’d considered Clive’s offer, turning it over and over like sea glass in the sunshine, looking for imperfections, checking out its beauty. It had been difficult to keep the proposition from her colleagues and guilt over hiding such a large secret had niggled at her. Effie knew she had her parents’ blessing, and it was their unwavering support that had helped her make her decision. Effie now held that response in her heart, all she needed to do was to gather up the courage and share it with Clive.
After crumbling the remaining half of her croissant for the circling gulls, despite knowing full well they shouldn’t be encouraged to scavenge, Effie tossed her empty cup in the bin and made her way across the road and around the corner towards Books by the Sea, which was tucked just away from the seafront in the main shopping street.
Pausing briefly outside, Effie took in the dark blue sign, the window display she’d spent an afternoon setting up with Zoey, filling it with an assortment of children’s books for World Book Day. They’d had a lot of fun dressing up as their favourite characters, Effie having chosen Alice in Wonderland, and greeting the children as they came in to choose books with their vouchers.
Eight years she’d been here, unpacking boxes, filling shelves, listening to customers and holidaymakers share their stories. Monday morning coffee and pastries with Maddie and Zoey, the occasional quiz night and after-work drinks. A whole community bundled into one small shop. A life and contentment an eighteen-year-old Effie had thought she’d only find if she spread her wings.
And now? Well, there was only one thing for it. Time to seize her destiny. Pushing open the door, she stepped into the shop with its well-worn shelves filled on one side with brightly coloured new paperbacks and on the other, crammed with tattered, well-loved second-hand books. Effie breathed in the aroma of old paper and furniture polish, followed the light filtering through the window towards the counter, which was stacked with postcards, notebooks and pens. She’d loved visiting the shop as a child, had enjoyed getting lost within its eclectic collections. She still had her first ever Jane Austen that she’d picked off one of the shelves as a teenager, so finding a job here had been a dream come true.
‘Good morning,’ she greeted Zoey who was setting up the till for the day’s trade, before making her way through to the little storeroom that doubled up as a closet and break room. Effie hung up her coat, put her bag in her locker, then, smoothing down her mermaid braid, clenched her fists and made her way down to Clive’s office. This time she knocked firmly.
‘Come in!’
Effie pushed the door open, stepped inside with more confidence than she’d had on Monday, and closed it. She didn’t sit down, instead she stood, her back to the door.
‘Effie! How are you? Have you thought any more about my offer?’
Effie nodded. ‘Yes, yes I have.’
‘And?’ His face was hopeful.
‘I have a question. Is this temporary or will I be there running the shop permanently?’
‘I’ve taken the lease on for a year, so we can see how it goes, no pressure, but your future there will be based on the shop’s success and since you’re such a hard worker, I don’t have any fears that we’ll be closing after a year. So it’ll be a year in the first instance. That’s why I want you at the helm, to give it it’s best chance. Of course, if things go awry, we’ll all have to reconsider, but I’m confident that won’t happen.’
Satisfied with his response, Effie continued, ‘Will I be running it alone? What about breaks and holidays and things?’
Clive swallowed. ‘Well, as I said, to begin with, setting it up, you’ll be doing it alone. Just do what you need to, shut for half an hour. When it gets to high season we can employ someone in the holidays to help out and stuff. How does that sound?’
It was a vague answer but the excitement of opening the shop overruled any sensibilities over running logistics. Effie bit her lip, counted to ten and said, ‘I accept. I’d be delighted to run the Polcarrow shop, it’s too close to my own dream to turn down.’ A joyful smile spread across her face, a smile Effie felt right to the core of her being. She knew she’d made the right choice. Her future glittered before her and rather than being anxious, Effie found that she was excited and hopeful.
‘So, what’s all this for?’ Maddie narrowed her eyes at the tray of doughnuts Clive was hovering behind in the staffroom Friday lunchtime.
