Page 23 of The Little Board Game Café

‘It did,’ Emily said. ‘Right up until the end.’

‘Hmmm. But you never seemed that close. Even when you first told me about him. You never said, wow, I’ve met this amazing man. You never gushed about him. He didn’t knock you head over heels.’

‘Head over heels is a romantic fallacy. Designed to sell romance novels and Hollywood movies. You fall head over heels at least four times a year and where has that got you?’

‘Thanks for reminding me,’ Kate said primly.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean that to sound so harsh. I worry about you. Anyway, are you up for having a house-guest for a while?’

‘You can stay as long as you like. On one condition.’

Emily sighed. She knew what was coming: she’d have to accompany Kate on countless nights out as she hunted for the right man. For the last few years, Kate had been determined to find her life partner and the future father of her children, but she’d stepped things up a gear recently, now that she was in her thirties.

‘Let me guess. You need a wingman.’

‘Nope. Well, I do. But that’s not the condition. Try again.’

‘I have to keep the place tidy.’

‘That goes without saying. Guess again. Third time lucky.’

‘No idea.’

‘Ah, come on, Em.’

‘Tell me.’

‘Don’t just rush out and find yourself another job. Give your café idea some serious thought.’

‘It’s too risky, Kate,’ Emily said. ‘It was one thing considering it when I had a wealthy fiancé and a house, but now…’

‘But it’s your dream, Em. Some risks are worth taking.’

‘The only affordable one is Nico’s. The accounts don’t look too bad, but it’s a gloomy little place.’

‘But could you transform it? Arrange a second viewing, Em. See if you could make it work. You’re the person who can make a banquet from a few leftovers…’

‘I learned that from Mum.’

Kate nodded. ‘Exactly. I believe in you, Em. Okay, so the building isn’t much but the inside? With a bit of imagination and a paintbrush, you could brighten it up. Turn it into the sort of place your mum used to talk about.’

*

That was the only proper conversation Kate and Emily had for the first few days they shared a house. Emily barely saw her friend; on weekdays, Kate left for work early – long before Emily got up – then popped in afterwards only to shower and change her clothes before heading out on yet another internet date, usually to Halifax or Huddersfield since she’d already exhausted the (supply of) men locally. When she returned – if she returned at all – Emily was already in bed.

Emily found life lonely in the little terraced cottage. Again, she could have phoned home – visited, even – but she knew she wouldn’t be able to conceal the truth about her redundancy or her split from Peter and she didn’t want her dad fretting. She’d go home when she had some good news to share. In the meantime, she spent hours in Kate’s pristine kitchen with its oak cupboards, neat rows of spice jars and shelf of never-opened recipe books. Kate never cooked, living off omelettes and salad when she was at home, which wasn’t often. Emily didn’t cook here either, fearful of making her usual mess, but instead sat with her laptop at the table, poring over websites and gathering every last scrap of information she could find about running a café. She asked for advice on internet forums and scrolled through all the estate agents’ websites, checking that no new (and super-cheap) cafés had come onto the market in recent days. She re-read all her old course notes about keeping basic accounts and genned up on the regulations around health and safety and hygiene in catering businesses.

And when she was too boss-eyed to focus anymore, she lay on the sofa, watching more episodes of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and shouting at the telly.

‘Don’t serve him food that’s been frozen. He’ll notice. It’s got to be fresh.’

‘Clean out your fridge. He’s bound to check it.’

‘Your menu’s too complicated. He always says keep it simple.’

She was sure she could do better than the hapless restaurant owners on the show. Only they’d had the courage to start a business in the first place, and she wasn’t sure she did.

She perused Kate’s selection of self-help books, hoping to find something on decision-making but instead found herself reading seven chapters of Find a Man When You’re Over Thirty – just for fun; she knew she wasn’t ready to meet anyone new. She also knew her time would have been better spent reading A Beginner’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business, but she’d accidentally left that at Peter’s.