The smell of bacon and coffee made her stomach grumble again. A little boy standing in front of her who had his hand tightly tucked away inside what looked to be his grandma’shand, turned around and looked at her stomach and giggled. Georgina scrunched up her nose and smiled. The queue soon thinned and before she knew it, she was at the front being greeted by Tammy.
Tammy wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, she already looked worn out. ‘Good morning, Georgina. What can I get you?’
‘Morning Tammy. Busy morning?’
Tammy nodded with a smile. ‘Yes, but I’m not complaining.’
Georgina nodded and smiled. ‘Just my usual please. Crispy bacon on buttered crusty bread and a mocha coffee.’ She held open her hand. ‘I have the exact money, but I’m sorry, there’s lots of twenty pence coins. I raided a money box this morning.’
Tammy took the money gratefully. ‘That’s fantastic. I was running out of change. Normally everyone pays by card, but this morning it’s been mostly cash payments. Sit down and I’ll bring your order over. Did you notice your dad is in here?’
‘Yes, I did. I’ll be sitting at his table.’ Tammy nodded. Georgina weaved through the bustling tearoom towards her father. ‘Morning dad. I’ve just come from Christine’s salon.’ Georgina plonked herself down in the chair opposite him.
Tom swallowed the food he was chewing. ‘Morning love. Have you just had your hair done? It looks very nice.’
Throwing her head back, Georgina belly laughed. She shook her head. ‘No. I didn’t have a hair appointment, I just called in. But thanks for the compliment all the same.’
Tom laughed. ‘You always look beautiful to me my little princess.’
Warmth spread across Georgina’s chest. Her father always knew the right things to say to brighten her day. ‘Have you finished an early job or are you about to start work dad?’
‘I had an early job—an emergency callout. No time for breakfast so I thought I’d reward myself with a sandwich and a slice of cake.’
Georgina eyed the larger than usual piece of carrot cake on a plate to the side of her father. ‘It must have been a very tricky job. Is that a double slice of cake?’
Tom roared with laughter. ‘Busted.’ He eyed the clipboard Georgina had placed on the table. ‘Only three names?’
Georgina sighed. ‘It’s hard dad. I thought I’d be able to charm people into signing up for the charity event when they refuelled at the petrol station, but I had zero takers. Now I’ve had to resort to house-to-house calls.’
Tom placed his hand on top of Georgina’s. ‘You’ll do fine. It’s early days. You still have a couple of weeks.’
A grimace formed on Georgina’s lips. ‘I hope you are right dad.’
Tammy appeared with Georgina’s order. ‘There you go.’
Georgina gave Tammy a warm smile. ‘Thank you. That looks fabulous. I’m already salivating.’
Tammy chuckled but continued to hover by the table. Georgina looked up at her expectantly. Tammy laid a cap down on the counter. ‘The man you came into the tearoom with yesterday left his cap. I wondered if you’d be seeing him again soon to return it.’
Tom looked at Georgina, his brow rising sharply, his eyes full of questions.
Georgina was instantly flustered. ‘Ye-yes. I’ll give it to him.’ Tammy shimmied her eyebrows as she backed away, a message she was impressed by the owner of the cap. Georgina looked up into her father’s curious eyes. ‘My car broke down yesterday and Matt from gave me a lift home. We both called in here to get food.’
Tom’s brow furrowed, his brain ticking as if he was trying to place the name. ‘Matt? Is that Matt Harris? Robert’s son from Harris’s Garage?’
Georgina’s eyes lit up. ‘Yes. That’s him. Do you know the family?’
Tom nodded enthusiastically. ‘Yeees. I know the Harris’s well. I did a job in the garage not too long ago. Nice family. I actually have my breakdown cover with them.’ Tom’s brow turned into a frown. ‘What’s happened with your car?’
Georgina took a bite of her sandwich. Her eyes rolled in ecstacy. She held her finger up while she chewed. Swallowing the delicious mouthful of flavours, she nodded as she answered. ‘It’s fine. It’s all under control Dad. Matt is going to do the work on it.’
‘Do you have the money to fix it? I can give it to you. I know you are a bit short at the moment.’
Georgina shook her head. ‘I don’t need any money. Matt and I have worked out an agreement. He’s going to fix the car in exchange for me answering his phone for a few days while his parents are on holiday.’
‘That’s very generous of him.’
‘That’s what I said. I was a little unsure at first as I know nothing about him or his family. I’ve never seen them at any annual events here in the bay. But now both Christine and you have put my mind at ease. I’ll give him a call when I leave here and arrange when he wants me to start.’
