I knew now was my time to flex the big guns, even if I wouldn’t have them for much longer if all my plans went the way I wanted them to. “James Evans, Senior Executive at Jacobson and Co.”
Mr Edwards balked. Jacobson had snatched a few promising acquisitions from under his company years ago, and if he washigher up in the company he’d know how rapidly we were outpacing them in…well, everything.
“I had been assured that this was anexclusivechance to pick up real estate in a bustling seaside village. I was willing to overlook the lack of bustle, but I’m certainly not going to enter a bidding war for this…place. Good day, sir.” Mr Edwards gave each of us a look like we’d gone off and flouted out of the shop.
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to chase away potential business,” I said.
“No worry lad, the parish council would have stopped me selling before I even had a chance to put it to them…and I’m not sure I would have wanted to sell to that man anyway. My nephew Hywel travels everywhere, and when I mentioned selling up he started sending these business lot.” Mr Prentis gave a small smile. “This place seems destined to hang like a millstone around my neck until I pop my clogs.”
Mr Prentis slid one hand down the wooden counter that I’d polished to a shine. “I always thought this place was beautiful,” he said. “I just didn’t want to run it into my eighties. Llywelyn and another certain someone did a brilliant job at bringing it up to snuff.” He gave me a meaningful look and I blushed.
“How do you know I was involved?” I asked.
“When you’re friends with Glynis and Beca, there are no secrets in this town.” Mr Prentis pulled off the tarpaulin from one of the tables and sat down in a little chair, then gestured for me to sit opposite. I sat down and shrugged Llywelyn’s coat off onto the back of the chair. “I moved here from Cardiff in 1965, all in pursuit of a man. Perhaps it was stupid, moving from the big city to such a small and close minded town. But I got my man. And the village came to terms with it, in time. He’s been gone for 5 years now, but I can’t regret what I did for a second. We had a wonderful life. And since he died, I’ve had a wonderful support network here.”
He stopped for a second and looked around the place with pride. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been to live openly so long ago.
“You see, I loved my man. But I fell in love with this village just as much as I fell in love with him, despite the challenges they both caused me.”
“I know how you felt,” I said.
“I know you do. This place has an uncanny way of bringing lovers together. But it’s dying slowly now. Needs new blood, our Hiraeth.”
“I…agree,” I said with some hesitation. Knowing what I could say next could change the course of my life.
“Wonderful…” Mr Prentis said. “I don’t suppose a young London lad like you can find any work in a place like Hiraeth?”
“Well…actually. I wanted to ask how much you wanted for this place,” I said.
“How much I…? Oh, I understand — As I did mention, the parish council is likely to block any sales to larger companies, so I’m not sure Jacobson would be the best fit.”
“Mr Prentis…I would like to buy the cafe. Not my company. Me.” There. I’d said it. It was finally out in the open to someone, a life changing decision that had formed in my mind almost overnight.
“Well…” Mr Prentis rather dramatically took a pad of paper out of his chest pocket, wrote down a number and slid it over to my side of the desk.
“Twentythousand?” I said incredulously.
“I mean, that does include the flat as living space upstairs and I can negotiate if you feel it’s too much…” said Mr Prentis.
“Too much?” I asked. “I feel like I’m robbing you. I’ve got that much, easy.”
“Don’t be so silly, lad. It’ll be much easier with the parish council to sell to someone with some connection to thecommunity, and it’ll be bloody hard work to get back up and running again. I’ve got money now and I don’t want this place going to waste out of greed.”
“Well…thank you,” I said. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say thank you, and call your solicitor.” Mr Prentis winked at me. “I presume you’ll be going back to London soon?”
“Yes, but I’ll call you as soon as I can,” I said. He scribbled his number on another scrap of paper from his notepad.
“I’ll wait to hear from you.”
“What was his name, Mr Prentis? The man you loved?” I didn’t know why I had been compelled to ask.
“His name was Llywelyn.” Mr Prentis smiled knowingly. “They get their hooks into us city boys.”
I gave a nod, stood up and walked to the door, giving one last smile and wave as I left. I had just made the biggest and most risky decision of my life but I felt like I was walking on air.
There was a queue stretching out of the door of the bakery, and I waited patiently behind Beca. The poor guy looked inundated inside, but everyone seemed to be in a patient mood and there were no grumbles that I could hear.
