Effie smiled her gratitude at her, but neither of them needed to remind the other that Clive was a total pushover when it came to his spoilt, entitled son.
Chapter Forty-Three
Effie settled back into the familiarity of home more quickly than she had anticipated or liked. It was like pulling on a comfy sweater and being embraced by its softness. Working beside Maddie was always fun, and although Effie had enjoyed having free rein in the Polcarrow shop, it was nice to be able to bounce ideas around with her friend and colleague. Over cups of tea and boxes of Zoey’s baking, they planned out pirate- and fairy-tale-themed events for the local children and reorganised the stockroom, filling up the bargain boxes with an eclectic mix of folklore and military history that had been gathering dust.
Her evenings were spent nestled back in the family home. They took it in turns to cook depending on their schedules, sharing bottles of wine and after-dinner games of Scrabble. Effie had never minded living at home but as she crawled into bed each night she couldn’t help but admit to herself that she had liked the freedom of having her own place. She’d got used to it far more quickly than she’d expected. Effie took some comfort in this. Perhaps she’d look for her own flat in Penzance. The thought no longer terrified her.
What she missed the most, though, was her morning swim. Yes, she could pack a bag and traipse down to the seafront but it wasn’t as convenient as just crossing the road in her flip-flops and then warming up with a hot chocolate in Lola’s. Effie’s heart ached when she thought of her friends in Polcarrow. As they’d practically lived in each other’s pockets Effie didn’t have anyone’s number to check in with how things were going. She sometimes brought up Freya’s social media and hovered, tempted to message, but Effie also didn’t know if she wanted to find out what Zach had been up to. What if he was making a better job of the shop than she had?
The other issue with Polcarrow and social media was Jake. Effie had really thought there was something growing between them, but the more she looked, all she saw were posts of him and Tara looking very much in love. She was embarrassed to admit, even to herself, that when he’d said he wasn’t ready for a relationship, she’d hoped that in time he’d change his mind, and she’d finally get her fairy-tale happy-ever-after.
Effie typed out numerous messages to Jake but never sent them. In the end, she blocked both his and Tara’s profiles to save her sanity, then deleted his number to remove the temptation to text. Polcarrow had been wonderful, but Effie couldn’t help but think that chapter of her life was over. It had allowed her to grow, given her a chance to realise just what she was capable of. Now, she just had to make sure her roots didn’t take too strong a hold back home. Home was comfort but now she knew there was a lot more out there, a host of adventures and possibilities over the horizon. Effie wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she knew it was something different from the safe life she’d lived since graduating from university.
Chapter Forty-Four
‘Your loyalty is remarkable,’ Maddie said as she placed a cup of tea in front of Effie.
‘Thanks. What do you mean?’ She glanced up from where she was flicking through a supply catalogue, marking up some accessories they could buy to shore up the summer reading campaign she was planning on running. Effie thought adults, not just kids, deserved a reward for spending the sunny season with a book. Despite everything, she was looking forward to spearheading the campaign.
‘All this.’ Maddie gestured to Effie’s lists and mood board. ‘Just playing devil’s advocate here, but, what if it isn’t just Zach being Zach? What if you’re right and Clive is unhappy and couldn’t face telling you?’
Effie pressed her lips together. ‘I’ve been trying not to dwell on that possibility. How likely do you think it is?’
‘Not very,’ Maddie admitted. ‘If he wanted Zach to run the shop, he’d have asked him first. But – we know Clive doesn’t have much backbone when it comes to Zach. And he doesn’t like confrontation.’
Effie considered this. ‘True.’ She cast her mind back to the shop opening, Clive dodging as much responsibility as possible. ‘He allowed me to run with my ideas and he liked them.’ Even to herself, Effie felt like she sounded as if she was clutching at straws. Then it crept up on her like a rising tide. All the terse phone calls at the beginning of the venture. Had Clive really given her free rein or had she got swept up in the vision she’d had since childhood? Her own cosy little bookshop with sea views? Had she pushed her own agenda onto him because the premises were in such a mess?
‘Clive will be back soon so we can find out then,’ Effie said firmly.
‘What will you do if this was his idea?’
It was as if Maddie had thrown a bucket of cold water over her. What would she do? She wouldn’t be able to stay working at the shop after such disappointment, would she? ‘I don’t know.’ Effie managed a weak smile. ‘Let’s think about that when it comes to it.’
Effie turned back to her summer reading mood board to distract herself from the possibility that, underneath all his amiable bluster, Clive wasn’t happy with how she’d been running the shop. Maybe it hadn’t been doing as well as Effie had thought? She had been somewhat distracted by Jake and everything else that had been going on in Polcarrow. Maybe she had really messed it all up?
Suddenly, the plan to fill the Penzance shop window display with a deckchair and beach balls seemed less enticing. So did the summer romance reading list she was compiling. Effie pushed her notes aside and buried her head in her hands. She cast her mind back over everything she’d done since heading off to Polcarrow, trying to find the moment she’d managed to get it wrong enough to be demoted.
She was so engrossed in wading through memories that she didn’t realise Maddie was calling her name until she placed a hand on her shoulder and jolted her back to the present.
‘What is it?’
‘Effie, there’s some people out there for you.’ Excitement radiated off Maddie as she inclined her head and wiggled her eyebrows as if trying to communicate something using an indecipherable facial code.
‘Can’t you deal with them? I’m really not in a people mood.’ She leaned back in the chair.
Before Maddie could say anything else, Effie heard her name being called by a voice that stilled her heart.
‘Effie!’ It came again, kick starting her into action.
She froze. It was a voice she’d hoped to hear again but never expected to.
‘See,’ Maddie said with a satisfied smile.
‘How do I look?’ Effie leapt up, smoothing her hands over her dungarees, brushing off biscuit crumbs. Why hadn’t she’d had the foresight to put on a dress or makeup.
‘You look fine.’
‘Only fine?’ She panicked.
