Page 53 of Coming Home
Poor Joel had been so nervous when he turned up at the centre. But the kids waved at him from the train and after a few minutes it really was as though he’d never been away. He was still going to spend Christmas Day with his family and then Boxing Day at Appleton. Leonora felt a flutter of excitement when she thought of the other plans they had made over the past few days and it was as though all the hoo-ha had somehow been meant to be. It had given her and Violetta a kick up the bum in more ways than one.
It had occurred to her that now she was free of the Caspar burden and ready to make a fresh start, then why not stop dilly-dallying and take an even bolder step. After talking her idea through with her mum, they were going to get started on renovating the mill and open her own bistro. And that’s where Violetta came in. She could still see the look on her sister’s face when she and her mum pitched their idea.
* * *
They were once more seated around the kitchen table where Violetta looked slightly wary after being summoned for a pow-wow.
‘So, this is what we were thinking. There’s no point in me giving up my job until the mill has been fully refurbished, I mean, what can I do apart from boss the builders about and make them brews? I might as well keep earning and learning, as Mum always says. But I would need a project manager to oversee everything, you know, like onGrand Designs. You always said you’d be great at that job and stay on budget, and not have to sell vital organs to pay for designer taps.’
Violetta nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s true, but I’m not sure where you’re going with this.’
‘Don’t be gormless, Vi. We want you to be the project manager and see the refurb through from start to finish. You can still work down at the garden centre with Rosina but you’ll be on hand to nip up to the mill when we have deliveries et cetera and make sure it’s all on schedule and budget. We both think you’d be brilliant at it.’
A huge smile appeared on Violetta’s face. ‘Really! Oh my, I would love to do that. I can’t believe you’d trust me with such a massive project.’
Carmen tutted. ‘Of course we trust you and that’s not all. Your sister has had another idea.’
All eyes focused on Leonora. ‘You remember I said how much I loved coming to your little café and you said you loved meeting and interacting with the customers.’
‘Yes, that was the part I enjoyed, getting to know them and having a bit of banter, why?’
‘Because when the mill opens I’ll need a maître d’, and I quite fancy it being a woman. And that woman is you!’
Violetta’s hand flew to her chest. ‘Me?’
‘Yes, you. How about it? Team Appleton. You out front chatting to the customers, making them feel welcome, being the face of the mill while I slave away in the back. I think it’d be perfect, don’t you?’
Violetta didn’t answer straight away and when she did her lip wobbled and Leonora thought she’d finally broken the ice maiden. Then she managed to rein it in and answered in a very shaky voice. ‘I think it would be perfect, too, so yes, yes please.’
* * *
Somebody had just won the cinema tickets with number eight and the only two prizes left were the bottle of green liqueur that Leonora hated and the huge wicker hamper. Hearing twenty, everyone cheered as the recipient of the vilest drink ever made went to claim their prize and turning to Sam, and over the noise, she carried on with her story. ‘So thanks to your advice and me basically losing my temper in Selfridges, I told him it was over.’
‘And how did he take it?’
‘Not well. He was a pain in the backside for a few days, texting and making a nuisance of himself. But put it this way: once my mum gave him the hard word he backed off and I think he’ll leave me alone now.’ She didn’t want to tell him their family business. It wasn’t necessary. Looking at his raffle tickets she spotted he was left with twenty-four and twelve. ‘That’s my mum’s birthday. She always says that the most special little girls are born on the twelfth and she’s right.’
Sam smiled. ‘Well, fingers crossed. It’s the hamper next.’
There was a lot of dramatic hand-wiggling inside the box as Bev pulled out the ticket. ‘And the winning number is…’ She unfolded it slowly. ‘Number… twelve.’
‘Oh my God, Sam, it’s you! You won.’ Leonora clapped like he was winning an Oscar as her rather bashful and surprised friend went up to claim his prize that was so huge he had to leave it on the table and return to his seat.
The draw concluded, the room slowly began to empty and, as always, their conversation was brought to a close. Leonora had to go back to work as did Sam but she knew he’d never be able to carry the prize home on the bus. ‘I’ll give you a lift when we finish. It’ll probably take two of us to carry it to the car anyway. I reckon that lot will see you through to the new year and beyond.’
‘Thank you, Leo, I’d appreciate that and you’re right. It’ll save us a pretty penny over the next couple of weeks. I might share it with our neighbours, though, if we have too much.’
They both made their way back to the kitchen and as Sam was congratulated by more of their colleagues she was touched by his generosity and made a pact with herself that when they came back to work, she would take more time to get to know him properly. Perhaps find out more about his ‘better half’ and his life, but gently. He was such a shy, private person so he might not appreciate it but shesowanted to know if he had family because he’d never mentioned any. It made her feel sad to think of such a lovely man not having children. He’d make the best dad and granddad, that was for certain.
As she pushed open the door to the kitchen, the cacophony of pans and orders being shouted dragged her straight back into lunch service. Waving to Sam, she said she’d see him at two and after he gave her the thumbs up, he and Leonora went their separate ways.
* * *
Turning into Sam’s street Leonora looked for a parking space along the row of terraces. She’d dropped the pastry chef on the way, too, and they’d all passed the time chatting about how busy they’d been and how dreadful the traffic was. When a car pulled out a few doors down from Sam’s she nipped in the space and as she did, received a surprise invitation.
‘I was wondering if you’d like to come in for a cup of tea and some Christmas cake. To say thank you for all the lifts you’ve given me these past few weeks. We never get a chance to talk properly at work or in the car and there’s someone I’d like you to meet.’
Leonora was touched and rather thrilled to get to see inside his house. Her nosiness knew no bounds. ‘Of course. I’d love that.’
