She had survived. And though embarrassment prickled under her skin, there was an odd comfort too – a sense of being drawn back into a world she previously had touched only in passing. In the peaceful glow of the shop, Bridie realised something unexpected: she felt a sense of belonging. Maybe, she thought, this was where she had belonged all along, in Suffolk, where she had grown up. Maybe she could begin again.
Chapter 25
Saturday morning in Aldeburgh dawned crisp and bright, the sky a pale winter blue, the light making the high street shine like polished glass. Bridie pulled her coat tighter around her as she walked towards The Two Magpies Café, Barney trotting happily at her side, his tail swinging like a metronome. She’d checked with her dad that Barney had had all his injections so he could be taken out on short walks. He kept stopping to sniff at doorsteps, lamp posts, a plant pot outside a cottage. Everything was new to him. In a way, it felt new to her too.
Hannah had said, ‘Go. I’ve got the shop. It’ll do you good to get out,’ when she’d asked if she could go to meet a friend during her morning coffee break at work. She’d promised she wouldn’t be long, but Hannah had just waved her off, telling her to take as long as she needed.
Bridie wondered how she’d found such kindness so quickly in this little pocket of Suffolk. She wasn’t sure she deserved it.
The Two Magpies Café was already buzzing, the windows steamed up, the smell of fresh pastries drifting out each time the door opened. She spotted Oliver immediately – the same table by the window, a mug of tea between his hands, the same easy half-smile when he saw her.
‘You came,’ he said, standing as she approached. ‘I wasn’t sure you’d remember.’
‘Of course I remembered,’ Bridie said as Barney jumped up, little front paws on her lap. ‘Down!’ Bridie commanded. She’d been practising with Barney in anticipation of taking him out into the high street. He was such a cute pup that she’d guessed it would probably take an age to walk down the street to the café, and it had – they’d stopped half a dozen times or more for strangers to say hello.
She told Oliver this. ‘That’s why I’m late!’
She had known that Barney would get excited and jump up. She’d issued the command so many times that she was bored of hearing herself. But each time, Barney obeyed, even in the café surrounded by distractions.
Oliver gave her a lop-sided grin. ‘I didn’t know you had a dog.’
‘Ah, yes. Well, it wasn’t exactly planned.’
‘Well, he’s better company than half the people I know – present company excluded, of course.’
Bridie laughed and took a seat opposite him and launched into how it had come about that she’d found herself with a pup, and a job, and a flat.
‘Wow! What a difference a week makes!’ said Oliver, scratching Barney behind the ears. ‘You know, if it doesn’t work out living in a flat with Barney, there’s still a spare room going in my place. And I have a garden.’
Bridie knew that she wouldn’t dream of moving in with Oliver – not that she had anything against house-sharing with him. She had an income, so she would be able to pay him some rent, but she was thinking it would be awkward if he started a relationship. She was wondering about the young mum who had approached his table when she was leaving the last time she’d seen him in there.
She said, ‘How did it go with the young lady?’
Oliver frowned. ‘What young lady?’
‘You know … last Saturday when I was leaving the café and a parent, a woman, had some question or other about her son’s schoolwork.’ Bridie had thought she was rather pretty.
‘Oh – that,’ he said dismissively. ‘I said I’d sort it out when I’m back at school.’
‘Ah, you didn’t stop and chat?’
‘Why would I? It’s work.’
Bridie nodded. Did Oliver not get that the young woman had just been using the homework as an excuse to join him? Bridie had caught the young woman and her friend looking at her curiously when she’d joined Oliver, clearly hoping that he was still single. Bridie had done her best to give that impression when she’d left, not wanting to dash any of the woman’s hopes that she might be in with a chance. She seemed nice.
Barney, who had been sitting sweetly under the table, suddenly jumped up, paws on Oliver’s lap, angling to be picked up.
‘Barney! Down!’
Barney turned his head and gave her the sad brown eyes routine.
She wagged her finger and pointed at the floor.
She ordered a coffee with Barney settled at her feet, and for a moment everything felt normal. But the envelope in her coat pocket felt like a stone dragging her down.
‘It’s nice,’ Oliver said after a sip of coffee, ‘seeing you again. Really nice. I know everything’s … different now, but I’m glad you’re back.’
Bridie knew what he meant; they weren’t teenagers anymore. She was surprised, though, at how quickly they’d slipped into their old easy familiarity considering they’d hardly spoken in fifteen years.
