“Does that mean I can finally take a hot bath in your house?”
“It means you can if you’re paying half the bills, yes.”
“Welshmen being tight with money really is an accurate stereotype, isn’t it?” I dodged the topic yet again. Despite us living in each other’s pockets near constantly, every time Llywelyn mentioned moving in with him I managed to move the conversation elsewhere.
“Not tight, I just wouldn’t mind you making the four nights a week you already stay with me more official.” Llywelyn had walked to the door that led down to the shop and was waiting for me to pass him.
“I’ll think about it.” I had been thinking about it, and I wanted nothing more than a life living with the man who had so effortlessly made my life better. But I worried it was too soon, and if it didn’t work out how I would show my face around the village afterward — whether it would be too messy to move in with Llywelyn and then out again. It seemed sometimes like all the oomph to make big changes in my life had been used up by my initial move to Hiraeth, and now I was stuck in a funny new status quo.
We descended together into the shop, and I had to take a second to stop myself from getting too emotional. Months of work had paid off well. With most of my money taken up with paying off my old landlord and buying this place, we had to do a lot ourselves and stick to a strict budget when renovating.The same old coffee bar had been polished to a sheen and stained a lighter colour, the front covered in sanded driftwood from the beach. There was a brand new coffee machine on top of it as well as a grill to one side, my biggest expenses. An old laptop I’d onceused for crunching big budget financial equations in the city was now in use as a cash register. Llywelyn had found some old railway sleepers and attached them as shelves to the walls, which now held jars of coffee beans and fancy teas that we had sourced locally. The tables and chairs were a higgledy collection of those sourced from charity shops across the west of Wales. I’d bought bookshelves from locals and from the school, as Llywelyn had replaced all theirs, and lined them all against the opposite wall. They were filled with donated books and those sourced from charity shops. Llywelyn had worked his magic with a sander and wood stain so that they all looked at least somewhat coherent.
On one hand, the place was a bit of a mess but on the other it all worked so well together and looked so homely that I was glad I’d had to stick to a budget. All that remained to be seen was whether the locals and the few tourists would provide enough income to the place to keep it going. My love for the place coupled very well with the anxiety that I’d fall flat on my arse and have nowhere to go back to.
Llywelyn rubbed a small circle into my back and spoke as if he had read my mind. “People are going to love this place. They already love you. I l—”
He was interrupted by a knocking at the door. I smiled at Glyn the baker and hurried to open it for him. He had a bag full of pastries and cakes that I’d ordered.
“Thanks so much Glyn, come on in.” I headed to the bar to start putting them out for presentation. 9:15am, just quarter of an hour until opening time. Glyn stood awkwardly in the shop, eyes drifting between me and Llywelyn. “Everything alright?” I asked.
“Yes, yes, of course. It’s just nice to see Llyw looking so happy. He deserves it.”
“No special man in the picture for you then?” asked Llywelyn.
“God, you’re getting worse than Beca. No. No one for me. Just me and my bakery.”
“Maybe we need to find you an extra sexy butcher or grocer to hook you up with. Or both!” I grinned, but Glyn only looked mildly amused.
“I’m a one man kind of guy, but I’m married to my bakes. Not sure I’ll ever find anyone…better go.” Glyn rushed out of the bakery before we could even say goodbye.
“Think he’s OK?” I asked.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine,” replied Llywelyn. “Just lonely being gay in Hiraeth for most people.”
“It’s odd, isn’t it?” I said. “So many gay men in one tiny village but none of you seemed compatible with one another. You’ve got the guy from the garage..”
“Alun? He’s with my sister.”
“No, the other one. The one with tattoos.”
“Oh, Max! Yeah, bit scruffy for me.” Llywelyn smirked.
“Then you have Glyn, Tudor…am I missing anyone?”
“Gavin Jones, head of the school. You won’t have met him yet but he’s a bit older than the current crop. I think he said he’s bringing someone to the opening today.” Llywelyn was looking at the shelf above my head as I finished presenting the pastries. “Is that shelf level do you think?”
“Yes, yes,” I said idly, then looked up to double check it was. “If you did it, it’s bound to be perfect.”
“Are you trying to get into my pants?” he asked playfully.
“Yes, always. Now get a bloody brush and dust that corner. I can see the cobwebs from here.” I slapped his bum and he moved away to the cleaning cupboard to get the cleaning stuff as I walked to the door and stepped outside.
Hiraeth Community Cafestood out in proud lettering above the window.
“Oh, open early are you?” said Beca. Before I could tell her that no, we weren’t, she had walked straight past me and into the cafe. A couple of elderly people from the village who had been milling around in the early morning seemed to follow her lead and I rushed inside to make sure they were all seated. By the time I’d served out their two tables with the coffee and tea requested, Nain had joined them — leaning in for a quick peck on he cheek before dropping into the seat reserved for her by Beca. I noticed her touch Beca’s arm in a way that surprised me, almost intimately. It wasn’t my place to ask so I took her order and brought back some complimentary muffins for the table too. By that time the cafe was filling even more and I could see the normally unflappable and rocksteady Llywelyn panicking as he tried to guide people to seats and take their orders.
“You grab some pastries and bring them over here,cariad. I’ll do the customer service bit.” I kissed him on the cheek and kept an eye on him as I helped Tudor find his place at a table. Glyn had reappeared and muttered something about closing the bakery for the morning as he took a seat by Tudor.
“Two lattes, please,” said Tudor. Glyn nodded the affirmative and I wondered why the two of them had never ended up together.
