Page 8 of Whispers from the Past

‘In all seriousness though, I need to expand my reading circle,’ Holly said as she composed herself.

‘I’ll fix you up with a reading list.’

‘Love it. But can I make one request? Can the books be poo free please? It’s all Natalie wants to read about at the moment. And there is only so much poo I can take!’

‘I’m really hoping that Natalie isn’t an elderly regular at the pub with a worrying fascination about fecal matter.’

‘Who says fecal matter?!’ Holly burst out laughing.

‘It’s a perfectly acceptable phrase.’

‘Yes, if you’re a nurse! Just say poo Rose. Poo, poo, poo…’

‘Are you sure it’s this Natalie who is obsessed with poo and not you?’

‘Most definitely Natalie. And have no fear, none of my regulars are fixated on fecal matter’, Rose laughed at Holly’s emphasis on those last words. ‘Natalie is my three year old daughter.’

‘Ok, now I know I’m going to sound clichéd here. Or like some distant aunt who you don’t see regularly, but you don’t look old enough to have a three year old daughter.’

‘I’ll accept that compliment Rose, but sadly I am very much old enough for a three year old. You know though, I hoped we’d be friends when I saw how much you’d riled up my brother, but after giving me a free compliment like that, now I know we’ll be friends. I need people like you in my life.’

‘Honestly Holly, you look great.’

‘It’s amazing what concealer and blusher can do. Ok, so hit me with some non poo related book recommendations please. But first, let’s get out of this room so I can show you the delights of Robin Hood’s Bay.’

Rose slipped the five books back into the bookcase and picked up her bag from the kitchen work surface. Just before she descended the stairs after Holly, she looked back happily at her new home.

* * *

When Rose had said she wanted to explore the Bay, she hadn’t really prepared herself for what that would mean with Holly. She was briefly shown the useful things like the post office and the village shop. But that was more down to luck as they just happened to be en-route to the place that Holly was determined to show her. After walking down the cobbles of King Street, she found herself on the beach. But this wasn’t where they stopped - which was good as the wind was biting through her jacket. And this was her warmer jacket. Yet the cotton lining of her denim jacket was still not warm enough for March in Yorkshire.

‘Holly, where are we going?’

‘It’s just round this corner.’

As they rounded said corner, Rose found herself standing in front of an old brick outhouse.

‘This is my other baby,’ Holly proudly announced.

‘What is it?’

‘What is it? It’s my brewery.’

‘Your brewery?’

Holly nodded and excitedly made her way towards the large curved doors. Rose followed, still a little confused. As she entered the old brick building she was not expecting to find crisp tiled walls and copper contraptions connected with tubes. The room was home to what looked like two huge bronzed spiders.

‘Isn’t it wonderful?’ Holly beamed. And it was. Rose had never seen anything like it. And twenty minutes later she’d been given a whistle stop tour of craft brewing. She could see why Holly was so proud, this was quite an achievement.

‘How did you get into it?’ Rose asked.

‘Mine and Luke’s Dad used to own the pub and he liked to dabble with brewing his own beers. So he and a few mates built this as their man cave. If we ever needed to find our Dad, and he wasn’t behind the bar of the pub, he’d be here with one of his friends. When he died, he left the pub and the micro brewery to me and Luke. Now I know this might be hard to believe at the moment, but Luke really is a great big brother. One example of that is when he gave me his half of the pub. He said the garage was doing well enough and he wanted me to have the pub.’

Rose was momentarily taken aback by this new information as she tried to reconcile this version of Luke compared with the man she’d encountered in her albeit short time here. She knew she was one to make rash judgements on people and write them off, but she was starting to think that she’d actually quite like to get to know him better, especially as his sister was quickly feeling like the kind of friend she should have had in her corner for years. But before she had time to consider it, Holly was ushering her out of the building.

‘So I’ve got a couple of staff in the pub who keep an eye on things here for me once we’ve set up a new brew.’

‘It’s amazing Holly. I’m very impressed! Does Natalie’s Dad help with any of this?’ No sooner had the question left her lips, Rose regretted it, as the carefree brightness that was so infectious disappeared almost immediately.