Page 81 of Happy Days Ahead in the Cornish Village

‘Nonsense. Even I mess up orders and I’ve been here for years.’ Primrose indicated towards the back room where the kitchen was. ‘Do you think you’ll manage if I go and start making some more ice cream?’

Megan glanced around the small parlour. A handful of tables and chairs were situated along the left-hand side whilst the right-hand side was left free for queueing customers. Huge menus covered the wall and were also hung behind the counter. A couple of teenagers were hanging about at a table by the window and an older couple were reading a newspaper on the table closest to the counter.

‘Yes, I’ll be fine.’

‘Grand. I shan’t be long and just shout if you’re unsure about anything or need me, okay?’

‘Yes, sure.’

Megan turned back to the door. She could see the cobbled walkway down to the beach from here. It wasn’t busy, but the number of customers had been relatively consistent over the past couple of hours, with lunchtime proving to be the busiest time so far. She was surprised as the times she’d walked the dogs from Wagging Tails down to the cove, she hadn’t seen many people, but she guessed some customers were local residents, some tourists who had happened upon the cove by chance and others dog walkers who might well be attracted to West Par for the cliff walks rather than the beach.

She smiled as a couple paused in front of the ice-cream parlour and watched as the woman passed two dog leads to the man before pushing open the door.

Megan stepped forward towards the counter. ‘Afternoon. Welcome to West Par Ice Cream Parlour. What can I get you today?’

‘Hi, could I have a chocolate brownie cone and a strawberries and cream in a tub, please?’ The woman rummaged in her bag before drawing out her purse.

‘Of course. Coming right up.’ Turning, Megan began serving the ice cream. ‘You’ve got two beautiful dogs there.’

‘Thank you.’ The woman grinned with pride. ‘They’re both rescues, and we feel very lucky to have them.’

The spaniel was sitting down, his tail wagging at a hundred miles per hour while a smaller dog was lying at the man’s feet.

‘Aw, that’s lovely.’ Megan passed the cone to the woman. ‘They’re not from Wagging Tails by any chance, are they?’

‘Yes, that’s right.’ The woman nodded.

‘I recently started volunteering there.’ Megan grinned as she sat the tub on the counter.

‘Really? It’s such a lovely place, isn’t it? And they do such a fab job. We adopted them both from there. I think they calm each other down.’ Glancing over her shoulder out of the window, the woman laughed as the spaniel lunged on the lead, trying to chase a rogue beach ball that someone further up the walkway had let go. ‘A little, perhaps.’

Megan laughed too. ‘Oh, they’re gorgeous.’

‘Thank you.’ After handing over the money, the woman picked up the tub and paused. ‘And thank you for volunteering at Wagging Tails. We owe that place a lot.’

Megan smiled as the woman stepped outside and passed the man the cone before bending down and fussing over the two dogs. It was crazy to think how many lives Wagging Tails had impacted, humans as well as dogs. She hadn’t really thought about that before. She’d always focused on what good they did for the dogs they rescued; she hadn’t thought about how much they were helping people too by matching them with their perfect companion. They had such an effect on people’s lives as well as that of the dogs.

‘Could we get another couple of milkshakes, please?’ One of the teenagers held their hands up, signalling Megan.

‘Yes, of course. One strawberry and one banana, wasn’t it?’

Megan waited until they’d given her the thumbs up before turning and beginning to make up the milkshakes. She hadn’t used the machine on her own before. Primrose had guided her when she’d made the last lot. Frowning, she filled up the machine with frozen strawberries from the freezer beneath the counter before turning it on.

Glancing towards the window, she froze. Was that Jay? Yes, it was, and it looked as though he was heading this way. A small girl was pointing towards the ice-cream parlour and taking Jay’s hand. Megan could see Jay glancing towards her and back at his daughter, presumably unsure whether the two of them should meet. He was a good dad; she could see that. He wouldn’t want his daughter to meet Megan, a woman he had only just started seeing – not yet. He needn’t worry though, it wasn’t as if she was going to announce that they were dating or anything.

She turned her attention back to the milkshake, letting go of the lever just as the strawberry mix began running down the edge of the glass. One done, one to go. She was pleased she’d remembered how to work the machine. She wanted to prove to Primrose that she was a fast learner and that she could do this job. Primrose had taken a chance on her, giving her this job with next to no experience and after such a long gap in her employment, she wanted to repay her by doing well and, also, if she could show her she was competent then she’d give her that overtime she’d spoken about.

Just as she was finishing the banana milkshake, she heard the little chime ring from the entrance, announcing the arrival of a new customer. She picked up the glasses and turned. It was Jay and Mia.

She smiled and caught his eye. ‘Hello, I’ll be with you both in just a second.’ She nodded towards the glasses.

‘It’s okay, I’ll grab them.’ One of the teenagers jumped up from his chair and took the milkshakes from the counter. ‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome.’

Megan turned back to Jay and Mia.

‘Mia,’ Jay said, looking down at his daughter, ‘I’d like you to meet my friend, Megan, who I’ve been working with at the dogs’ home.’ Turning back to Megan, he said, ‘Megan, this is my daughter Mia.’

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