Page 26 of The Custard Tart Cafe by the Sea
Kelly and I never do find out the result of her efforts. In half an hour all three of us are clogging up the small reception area of the quinta. Radhika has beaten me and Kelly to it and she’s deep in conversation with the hike leader, and seems to have brightened up to saturation point.
Gosh, the wisdom of young Leona never fails to impress, and it’s only day two. The potential for romance in this small countryside town is on a level with the likes of an episode of Emmerdale. Opportunities seem to abound here, just as they do in the fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales, and every male has something going for them in the looks department.
The rugged and really rather beautiful Santi introduces himself to us, saving a special beam for Radhika as they giggle between themselves that they are already acquainted and he hitches a brow. No sign of a wedding ring either. Frankly, it’s hard for any of us not to be smitten with the man and his thick, brown, funky pompadour hair, that looks so effortlessly styled. He’s all in khaki too, making me wonder if we are off on an African safari. Hopefully minus the scary wildlife.
Santi rounds us up and drives us by minibus to a layby, which surely defeats the whole purpose of an excursion from an ‘eco’ retreat. He leads us animatedly down a track flanked, unsurprisingly, by cork trees.
“Who wants to know some cool cork facts before we head into this minimontado– our local cork forest?” he asks enthusiastically.
“I know that pretty much anything can be made out of cork,” says his number one student, Radhika. She looks pleased as punch with herself. What a fickle madam, though, it was only last night that she was dissing all alternative holiday ideas, and now here she is pegging herself as a flora and fauna expert.
“Almost!” Santi replies warmly with a twinkle in his eye. “But yes, you are right. You’ll find evidence of that in the many shops we have in the area. They sell everything from cork fans to cork flip flops, cork table mats, cork wine racks, cork umbrellas, cork-encased torches, cork pinboard table lamps and cork backpacks. Cork is light, buoyant, and super insulating. Cork is biodegradable and a naturally waterproof building material. Cork is magic!”
I am immediately transported to the ‘shrimp’ scene in Forrest Gump, when Bubba Gump reels off the infinite and varied ways that his beloved shrimp can be cooked… ad infinitum. I stifle back my giggles. It’s great this guy is so passionate. And it’s not just the cork he’s passionate about either, I acknowledge, as I watch yet another furtive glance pass between himself and my friend. Radhika has hit the jackpot, as Frank would say!
There’s something so invigorating about going for a walk you don’t want to go on, too; the realisation slowly creeping upon you that you are actually enjoying yourself, and you really don’t want the experience to end. I suppose my strolls in Weston along the pier are marred by a mostly vigorous ‘breeze’ that does its best to tangle my hair into a matted mess before I’ve even set foot in my workplace.
As we walk deeper into the rugged terrain of the small forest, the meditative movement clears my head of its circling thoughts about Tiago as well. And I know it sounds like wishful thinking, but perhaps that passport drama has triggered some kind of long-lost kindness and compassion deep within him? How can anyone go back to the self-righteous, selfish and sour person they used to be, after employing such Herculean effort to help a fellow human being? How can anyone proceed with an evil petition? How can anyone deprive a town of custard tarts? I’m beginning to see a silver lining in my clumsy calamity. I’m sure it’s given him second thoughts and that puts even more of a spring in my step as we march onward, admiring the warblers swooping overhead. The perfume of the forest lifts the spirits. Notes of lavender, fig and strawberry dance in the air. Iberian peonies and ferns stud the uneven ground, and ancient cork oak trees and olive trees dot the landscape artfully.
We stop for lunch beneath a fragrant canopy of carob and almond trees and I marvel at my phone having a signal out here in the sticks. Despite being instructed not to do so under any circumstances, I decide to make a quick call to Caitlyn to check in on the café.
“Everything’s peachy here. Peachier than peachy, in fact,” she enlightens me over a semi-crackly line. “In a move that’s taken everyone by surprise, the council has agreed to a ‘spotlight on local businesses event’ on the pier.”
“That sounds interesting. So what’s involved?”
“We can take the opportunity to have a stand of up to one metre long this coming Saturday. Reggie took the executive decision to hand out free custard tart samples, as opposed to selling. As and when people acknowledge their delight at the various treat sensations, they can make their way down to the café with a discount card for ordering over a dozen tarts. He was petrified you’d go ballistic but I assured him I’d cover any costs incurred that you weren’t happy with. That’s how sure I am that it’ll work.”
“What’s he like? I think it’s a fab idea.”
And good on the council for thinking outside the box.
With the success of Emma’s roadshow, the bookish events, and Caitlyn’s amazing friends, it’s become impossible to quantify the effect of Lauren and Todd’s marketing efforts, and I’m suddenly hit by a wave of guilt… followed by a tidal wave, when Caitlyn asks, “Willow? Is everything okay in Portugal? It’s just that you sound a bit weird.”
But I can’t let on that Tiago is in the same country. It would take too long to rake up that particular story and I’m conscious that it’s not only the trees in this forest who have ears.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
My patience haspaid off and finally we are Tavira-bound. Even Kelly is enthused, having consulted her guidebook to find out more about the draws of the town that I’d already mentioned to her.
Radhika tried to wiggle her way out of today’s excursion. Predictable. First Santi invited her to accompany him on another hiking trail, then two of the delivery guys asked her out for coffee… unbeknownst to each other and all on the same day. But Kelly was having none of it.
“You’ve got the rest of the week for that kind of gallivanting. And you did rather have Santi all to yourself yesterday. Don’t think that Willow and I are fooled. We saw you having a crafty snog with him behind that cork tree. Portuguese country walks evidently aren’t as boring as they used to be.”
Radhika flushes but says nothing, resigning herself to the pact we have made.
“I think this must be the place,” I say excitedly, pointing at the window of a bakery displaying rustic hillocks of imperfectly perfect custard tarts, after having meandered along several of Tavira’s picturesque streets with my friends on my coattails. “We passed the fountain with the stepping stones back there and I don’t see anywhere else that fits the bill.”
“Cute,” says Kelly. Swiftly followed by, “Erm, Willow?” in such a way that I just know what’s coming next, particularly as Kelly is pulling at her T-shirt somewhat excessively.
“Yes?”
“Do you mind if I leave you to it?” she asks, looking slightly abashed. “It’s just that I’ve got my heart set on hunting out tiles while we’re here and that castle looks interesting, too. I wouldn’t mind getting a bird’s eye view of the area from the top… and it would be awesome to check out some of the herbal shops to see if they’ve got any locally-made products for sale.”
“AndIwouldn’t normally dump you either, matey,” says Radhika, briskly jumping in with a behemoth smile now she’s been given carte blanche, “but Miguel, Delivery GuyNúmero Umjust texted me. It’spurely coincidental, I swear: He’s doing a few drop-offs to the restaurants and cafés in town today and wondered if I fancied a quick bite to eat.”
Kelly and I narrow our eyes. “What?”
“I think you’ll find that technically speaking, I have fulfilled my side of the bargain,” Radhika’s brow creases as she stands her ground. “I’ve accompanied you to Tavira. It’s a fact that cannot be disputed.” She opens out her arms, gesturing at the entire town to prove her point.
