Page 34 of The Pop-Up Cake Shop

‘What muscles are these?’ asked Ray, arriving behind us bearing a tray of goodies.

‘Yours,’ smiled Cheryl. ‘When you take part in the charity fun run?’

‘News to me,’ he said gruffly. ‘Is this you bossing me about again?’

‘Absolutely. So are you up for it?’

He gave a reluctant grin. ‘Go on, then. Put me down. I can see I’m not going to be allowed to say no. Not with you two on my case.’

‘Oh, shut up, you old grump,’ said Cheryl, giving his arm a playful punch.

Laughing, we found a table, and over coffee, we talked about going out running together before the big event. And I thought how comforting and nurturing it felt to be around kind, supportive people, who were all in the same boat – trying to find our way through a stormy time to a glimpse of sunshine beyond...

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Our second cake run the following day proved less successful than the first week.

Fen’s twins were in bed with a tummy bug, so she was late arriving with the cake donation from the Brambleberry Manor Café, and when we eventually set off, we’d gone no further than three miles towards our first stop, Henley Green, when the van started to judder alarmingly.

Panicking, I pulled into a lay-by and switched off the engine. Then when I tried to start the van again, it resisted all attempts to get it going again.

I turned to Ellie and we exchanged a look of despair. ‘What do we do now?’

‘No idea.’ She dug her hands into her hair. ‘The amount I know about engines could be written on a... well, something very tiny indeed.’

I turned the key again but it was no use.

‘Let’s leave it for a while and see,’ suggested Ellie. ‘It might need time to get going in the mornings.’

I grinned. ‘Sounds familiar.’

Sure enough, when I turned the key five minutes later, to our relief the van started again and we were off. But it was clear there was something wrong which would need to be fixed.

Late for our first stop – Henley Green – we arrived to find no one there this time.

‘They must have given up waiting for us,’ murmured Ellie.

‘Such a shame. Shall we get out of the van, just in case?’ I glanced at my watch. ‘We’ve got ten minutes before we’re due at Risley Common.’

She nodded. ‘Good idea. If we look as if we mean business, people might notice us. I’ll talk to Sam later about what might be wrong with the van.’

As we got out, I glanced along the road and spotted what I thought was a familiar face. ‘Didn’t we see that woman last week?’ I pointed for Ellie’s benefit. ‘I think she was our first customer. I remember thinking she really suited her pink hair.’

‘Oh, yes. I recognise the bright green coat. She bought...’ Ellie frowned, trying to remember.

‘Half a dozen chocolate brownies.’

She appeared to be arguing with the tall, thin man we’d seen her with the week before. And as we watched from the cover of our van, she suddenly threw her hands in the air in a furious gesture and stormed away from him, her eyes trained on her feet.

‘I don’t think she’s even noticed us,’ I murmured. ‘She looks really upset.’

She was heading in our direction, still with her head down, and we quickly stepped out of the way to let her past. But as she drew level with us, she stumbled over a wonky paving stone and would have lost her balance if Ellie hadn’t reacted quickly, reaching out with a ‘whoops!’ and steadying her.

‘Oh. Sorry.’ She looked up in surprised bewilderment, as if she’d only just realised we were there. ‘My head’s all scrambled and I didn’t even see you.’

‘Are you okay?’ I asked.

She nodded, pressing her lips together – but her flushed, angry face told a different story. She took a furious glance back at the man she was arguing with. ‘Bloody men!’ she muttered. ‘The world would be amuchbetter place without them. I boughtthis’ – she pulled crossly at her ‘RIP the Patriarchy’ brooch – ‘because I got sosickof men trying to control women and keeping them down, but I never thoughtGazwould endup joining the ranks of the worse-than-uselessexcusesfor a member of the male sex.’ She took a big breath and blew it out sharply. ‘He got it on with my sister when we were first going out a year ago.’

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