Page 38 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
Liam was quiet for a moment, then he said, ‘Life is full of the unexpected, of things going right just when you think they’re going to collapse in a heap, and vice versa – everything is smelling of roses and then … well, it fades to nothing.’ He was staring at the fire, as if he could divine meaning from the particular dance the flames were performing.
‘You sound like you’re speaking from experience,’ Ollie said softly.
He chuckled. ‘Of course I am. I’m eighty-one. My other grandchild, Colm – Melissa’s brother – has lived in Australia for a decade, and I’ve not spoken to him for nearly as long. We used to get on, and I regret what happened between us. There have been some other disappointments, too, of course.’
‘Want to talk about them?’
He frowned, shook his head. ‘It’s long in the past, lass. Dreams come and then they go. You have to buck yourself up, get back on the horse. What I suppose I’m saying, is that resilience is one of the most important skills you can have – in any job: in life. Hardly anything works out the way you imagine it will, and you need to be able to adapt. That’s it, really.’
‘Bouncebackability,’ Ollie said.
Liam laughed. ‘A word I haven’t heard, but a good one.’
‘I’ll get a little badge.’
‘You’ll do OK, Ollie,’ he said. ‘I know you will.’
She nodded. ‘Thank you.’ Already, she had come to value Liam’s opinion, to see him as a surrogate father – or grandfather. It mattered, that he believed in her. She returned to the stack of paper, glancing at the next couple of sheets. ‘Right, you,’ she said. ‘Silence, please. These next few pages are dense with detail, and I don’t want another parmesan incident.’
‘Terribly sorry to have distracted you so,’ Liam said deferentially.
‘Apology accepted. Just don’t do it again.’
Liam raised his glass, Ollie did the same, and they smiled at each other from opposite sides of the room. With a growing sense of contentment, Ollie returned to her typing.
Chapter Sixteen
When Ollie met Max after work the following day, he greeted her with a cheerful smile. There was no lingering look, no attempt at another apology, and her overriding emotion was relief. She needed to keep a clear head, and that was becoming increasingly difficult around him.
‘Ready to choose a Nespresso machine?’ he asked, pulling on his coat.
‘ANespressomachine?’ she stuttered. ‘Do they really—? I thought they were for domestic kitchens.’
‘I’m joking,’ he said. ‘Come on.’
They walked through the streets of Port Karadow, and it was already evident that Halloween was behind them and Christmas was in front. Twinkling lights had been strung up inside some of the houses, creating a cheering golden glow that not even the most staunch of Christmas deniers could complain about.
‘You live near the café?’ Ollie asked, her hands deep in her pockets.
‘Only five minutes away. It’s handy when I press the snooze button too many times.’
‘I can’t see you as an over-snoozer.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because you’re so … sparkly. So full of energy.’
Max laughed. ‘Sparkly isn’t a compliment I’ve had before, but I’ll take it.’
‘Better than charmer?’ She was thinking of Lizzy’s comments that morning in Sea Brew.
‘It seems kinder. Charmer has an air of … I don’t know. It’s slightly seedy, somehow. I hope I don’t ever come across as seedy.’
‘You really don’t,’ Ollie said. A light drizzle filled the air, not enough for an umbrella today, but she could see tiny droplets landing in Max’s curls, could feel it wisping against her skin. ‘I have never thought that, not even for a second.’
‘That’s a relief. Here I am.’ He gestured to a solid-looking terrace, the bricks in a golden hue that seemed so typically Cornish. The tiny front garden had been paved over, and there were a few pots with unrecognisable plants in, their winter foliage subdued. The front door was a smart grey with a square of stained glass, the blues and purples vivid in the afternoon light. An Audi was parked outside, its gleaming black paintwork suggesting it was well cared for.
‘This is you?’ Ollie tried to see in his front window, but all she got was a reflection of the street, the room behind it too dark to make out.
