Page 82 of The Little Board Game Café

Soon after Mr B and Marjory left, having given up on Carcassonne for the time being, Florence, Mrs Scott and Mrs Sinclair appeared.

‘I’m afraid I’m out of all-day breakfasts,’ Emily said.

‘Not to worry,’ said the taller one of Florence’s friends. Emily thought she was Mrs Scott, but she didn’t honestly know. ‘We all fancy trying your Lancashire hotpot. Assuming it’s on today?’

‘It is, as it happens. And a pot of tea?’

They all nodded.

‘Now, Emily,’ said the shorter woman. Mrs Sinclair? ‘Have you bought Frustration? Scrabble is great, but we’d like more variety.’

More variety? This from the woman who, until today, ordered the same meal every time she visited?

‘And we’re sick of Florence beating us,’ added Mrs Scott.

Ah. So that was the real reason.

‘Not yet. I’ve had rather enough actual frustration in my life of late.’

They all laughed. Emily wasn’t sure she’d ever heard Florence laugh; she had certainly never laughed at any of her ex-DIL2B’s jokes before.

‘Anyway, I have lots of new games now. Why don’t you take a look?’

Florence took off her reading glasses and glanced towards the shelves. She shook her head. ‘I think we’ll stick with Scrabble.’

By the time Julia and George arrived, with a large group of mums and children, Emily was on her last legs and had run out of the soup of the day – Cullen skink – for the first time ever. She’d even sold six Lancashire hotpots. Six! There was hardly any bread left and the cake display was looking rather depleted. The publicity surrounding the launch of the Little Board Game Café and her recent efforts on social media had done the trick; trade had definitely improved. Emily just hoped things would continue once Costa opened. Only two weeks to go now.

The mothers had pulled two of the tables together and were sitting in one big group, gossiping away, completely oblivious to the four-letter words their boys were spelling out on the Scrabble tables when Emily went over to take their order.

They wanted so many coffees, all different types. And the boys all wanted milkshakes. She’d struggle to make all these in a reasonable time.

She was frantically frothing the milk for two oat lattes when Julia appeared at the counter. ‘You look like you could use some help,’ she said. ‘May I? I used to work in a café.’

‘Really? Are you sure?’

But Julia was already behind the counter, washing her hands. ‘This place is getting too busy for you to run single-handed.’

‘It’s not always like this. Some days, I’ve sat around for hours on end without any customers. Twiddling my thumbs. I’ve wiped tables that didn’t need wiping. Just for something to do.’

Julia laughed. ‘I have a feeling those days are over. There’s a good vibe in here. Word is starting to spread.’

‘You mean, you’ve started to spread the word?’

‘Perhaps,’ she said. ‘Have you thought about taking someone on?’

‘Are you hinting? Looking for a job?’

‘God, no. Not me. But seriously, you might want to get some help.’

‘It’s too soon. A week or two back, I couldn’t afford to pay myself. Things might go quiet again.’

Julia looked thoughtful. ‘I don’t think you need to worry on that score.’

Emily glanced around the café. The children all engrossed in their games, fingers sticky with chocolate brownies and gingerbread meeples. The mothers equally engrossed in their conversations. Yes, it was busy now, but that might easily change.

*

When all the mums and children had finally left and Emily turned the sign to closed, she was dead on her feet. Not long now and the board games group would arrive for their first Friday- night session in The Little Board Game Café.