Page 36 of Kate and Clara's Curious Cornish Craft Shop
Oh Lord, I may as well dig myself a hole in the sand.
Jack just smiles, unlike me not seeming in the least bit uncomfortable. ‘I think Barney spotted me across the sand just now,’ he says. ‘Sorry if he ran off.’
‘It’s fine. I wondered why he’d suddenly shot off like that – he’s usually so well behaved on walks.’
‘Yes …’ Jack says, watching Barney run around on the sand. There’s a slight pause in the conversation while we look at Barney, and I’m about to try to fill it but Jack gets there first:
‘I’m sorry,’ he says suddenly, ‘about the other night.’
I turn to look at him.
‘I shouldn’t have snapped at you the way I did.’
I shrug. ‘No harm done.’
‘But I think there is,’ Jack insists. ‘I thought you might pop into the shop again if you were passing, but you didn’t.’
‘You could have come to see me,’ I say. ‘It’s not like you don’t know where I am.’
‘I know,’ Jack says, his head dropping towards his chest. ‘I’m not very good at words. I’m much better at actions. They say actions speak louder than words, don’t they?’ He looks up again apologetically.
Was he talking about my flowers? He must be …
‘Thank you for the flowers,’ I say without thinking. ‘They are really lovely and very pretty. I have them on my shop counter.’
‘Flowers?’ Jack asks, looking mystified.
Oh no, it wasn’t him. Me and my big mouth.
‘Did you thinkI’dsent you flowers?’
‘I … I didn’t know if it might be you?’ I reply hurriedly, trying to dig myself out of the huge hole that has appeared beneath me. It feels like I’m standing on quicksand the depth of my embarrassment is so great. ‘The card was signedJ.’
‘Sorry!’ Jack says, holding up his hands. ‘Not me. You must have another admirer.’
Did he just sayanotheradmirer?
‘Obviously I have,’ I reply lightly. ‘Aren’t I the lucky one.’
We stare at each other for a second.
‘So, we, er … we never got around to comparing that second picture, did we?’ Jack says quickly, changing the subject. ‘If you’d like to pop by sometime we could try it and see if the same thing happens again?’
‘Promise you won’t shout this time?’ I reply teasingly, as I feel the atmosphere between us lightening by the second.
‘Promise,’ Jack says, saluting in return. ‘It wasn’t you I was cross with. I took my anger out on you, that’s all, and again I’m truly sorry for that.’
‘Who were you cross with then?’
‘Myself,’ Jack says so quietly I can barely hear him above the noise of the gulls and the sea breeze.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Look, come over to mine later and I’ll explain properly,’ Jack answers. ‘If you’re free of course – it is a Friday night.’
‘It’s a long time since I had regular plans on Friday nights. I leave that to my daughter now. She’s off to an eighteenth birthday party later.’
‘Good for her.’
