The Cornish Cream Tea Bus

by Cressida McLaughlin

  ‘It’s not easy for me to admit,’ he said, ‘and I can see you’re having a hard time accepting it, too. So I’m going to prove to you just how much I believe in you, and in Gertie. Maybe then you’ll realize.’

  ‘Realize what?’

  ‘That this is meant to happen. Again. And then again. Ad infinitum.’ He bent his head towards hers and she closed her eyes, waiting for his kiss.

  ‘Charlie?’ Her eyes sprang open.

  Daniel turned, allowing her to see beyond him, down into the car park where Oliver was standing, his face paler than usual and, at that moment, a mask of shock.

  ‘I saw the bus as I was passing. I wanted to apologize for last night. For what I said to you, accused you of …’ His words hung in the air.

  Charlie was frozen. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak stutter. Oliver looked from her, to Daniel, and back again. The seconds ticked past, her pulse like the beat of a metronome. By the time she’d come to her senses, Oliver was climbing back into his van, and Daniel squeezed her hand, giving her a weary, resigned smile as he walked off the bus.

  Charlie leaned against the nearest table and wondered what on earth she was meant to do now.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  As the food trucks started to drive onto the creamy Porthgolow sand on Saturday morning, Charlie felt sick. She wondered whether Oliver and The Marauding Mojito would even turn up. The raft of unanswered calls and ignored texts suggested that he might be giving it a miss.

  On Monday evening she had watched Daniel walk back into the hotel and Oliver drive out of the car park, and at first she hadn’t done a thing about either of them. Juliette had remained quiet, as if waiting for Charlie to decide what to tell her, but the truth was Charlie hadn’t known what to say.

  She had been meaning to speak to Oliver. Between the pub on Sunday night and her tour on Monday afternoon, she hadn’t been able to get hold of him, and it was predictably awful timing that he had turned up just as Daniel had been turning her insides to jelly in the doorway of her bus. But she had nobody to be angry with but herself. She should have stayed away from Daniel until after she’d found Oliver. But she hadn’t, and now everything was a mess.

  Benji drove onto the beach, hopped out of his cab and waved at her, then began opening up his burger stall. Almost on cue, Jonah raced onto the sand and Benji handed him an apron.

  ‘New apprentice,’ he called over.

  Charlie laughed. ‘Wow! Lucky you. Can I steal you back later today, Jonah? I thought you wanted to take orders on my bus?’

  ‘I need to learn how to do these,’ Jonah called. ‘But maybe I’ll come and see you after lunch.’

  ‘I would be honoured,’ Charlie said.

  The day was too grey for the first Saturday in August, but it perfectly matched Charlie’s mood as she performed her usual ritual, laying her cakes and scones out on stands, snapping photos of her daily special – today a custard Danish with local raspberry jam – and uploading them to Instagram, complete with blurred seascape backdrop.

  Bill, Myrtle’s nephew, was next to arrive in his converted Ford transit van, now called The Versatile Vegan, and Charlie went down to greet him. He was young and enthusiastic and, judging by the reaction when she’d announced the new addition on social media, would be very popular.

  As she was walking back to Gertie, The Marauding Mojito drove into place, and her stomach clenched. This should be her opportunity to talk to Oliver, but she was alone on the bus today and she wasn’t sure how she’d find the time. She turned to her Victoria sponge tray bake, and began cutting it viciously into squares.

  ‘Table for four?’ asked a cheery, sun-reddened woman in the doorway.

  ‘Of course! There are lots of tables upstairs, or these ones down here if you’d prefer.’

  ‘That’s grand, thank you. Come on, lads.’ She walked onto the bus holding the hand of a boy of about six, two more similarly aged children following behind. One of them looked at her, and then the scones piled on the counter, with wide eyes. Charlie smiled, and the boy hid behind his friend’s shoulder. ‘Got me neighbours’ two as well as me own today,’ the woman said. ‘Thought I’d treat them.’

  ‘Sounds like the perfect plan. Have you been on the beach?’

  The wide-eyed boy shook his head.

  ‘We are, after this!’ another piped up. ‘But we can’t play games unless we have cake first. Cake is magic fuel. Isn’t that right, Auntie Katie?’

  The woman flushed, her neck matching her red cheeks. ‘Well, I—’

  ‘Cake is most definitely magic,’ Charlie interjected. ‘But which one will you pick, and what kind of magic does it hold?’

  Now she had the attention of all three boys, she handed them menus and went through it, inventing magic properties for each item. In the end Auntie Katie asked for a cheese scone, a flapjack, a gingerbread dragon and one of the custard Danishes. She said they would share them all, so that none of them missed out on any magic. Charlie offered to cut each one into four equal slices and, once the group had gone upstairs, she was so engrossed in her task that she didn’t notice the footsteps.

  She looked up to see Oliver staring at her, his branded T-shirt on, hair swept off his face. He looked tired and anxious, and her heart sank. ‘Give me two seconds to serve my customers, and I’ll be with you.’

  When she returned from doling out her magic cakes, Oliver was slumped at one of the tables.

  ‘Can I get you a coffee?’ she asked.

  He shook his head. ‘No, I’m good thanks. Except – I’m not. Not really.’

  Charlie bit her lip. ‘What you saw the other day—’

  ‘I know he’s a catch,’ Oliver said, talking over her. ‘He’s got his incredible hotel, all the business smarts. I knew I’d seen something between you at the pub that night, but I thought you were at loggerheads. I thought you didn’t get on.’

  ‘It’s … complicated,’ she said.

  ‘What I saw didn’t look particularly complicated.’

  ‘That was …’ She shook her head. ‘Ollie, I was planning on talking to you. You didn’t answer my calls on Monday, and the tour with Daniel’s guests was already organized. I never meant for you to see that. I should have been honest with you before now. I am so, so sorry.’

  Oliver shook his head, aghast. ‘You know, I didn’t try to take things further because I was respecting your feelings! I sensed that you weren’t ready, so I backed off. Turns out I backed off too far, and someone else got ahead of me.’

  ‘It’s not like that.’

  ‘Isn’t it? Because when I think about it, every time we’re together all you talk about is Daniel and how you need to get one up on him. Now I’m wondering if all the time you’d actually been planning on getting a leg over.’

  ‘Ollie!’

  ‘You should never have led me on like that. I really cared about you.’

  ‘I am so, so sorry.’ She felt sick. Everything he was saying was true; she had treated him badly, dithered over her feelings, and had been letting it play out, even while her attraction to Daniel had been growing.

  ‘Forget it, OK?’ He stood up just as voices drifted onto the bus. Charlie smoothed her hair back, willing her pulse to settle, but when she realized who her new customers were, it sped up again.

  Daniel looked relaxed and tanned in dark jeans and a blue T-shirt. Accompanying him was a woman who wouldn’t have been out of place on the cover of a magazine. Her long chestnut hair was straightened to perfection, and while her white shirt and navy skirt were more formal than Daniel’s outfit, she still managed to look effortlessly cool.

  Charlie could only stare as Daniel noticed Oliver. His eyes narrowed and the air on the bus seemed to constrict.

  ‘Oliver,’ Daniel said.

  ‘Daniel Harper,’ Oliver replied. Charlie silently prayed that he’d leave, but he leaned against the nearest table and folded his arms. ‘It’s almost as if there was some kind of magnetic force attracting yo
u to this bus. I would have said it was all down to Charlie, but now I’m not so sure.’ He gestured towards Daniel’s companion.

  ‘I’m Josie,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘Do you work with Charlie?’

  Oliver kept his arms crossed. ‘No, I don’t work with her. I had thought we were destined for a somewhat different relationship, but she has her sights set elsewhere.’

  ‘Ollie,’ Charlie said quietly. ‘Please don’t do this.’

  ‘Don’t do what? I’m only stating the facts.’

  Charlie glanced at Josie, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable. Daniel was stony-faced, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Charlie had a sudden urge to turn off the oven and the coffee machine, to lower the uncomfortable temperature.

  ‘You should probably go, Oliver,’ Daniel said. ‘Before you cause a scene.’

  He was staying calm, but Charlie could hear the waver of tension in his voice. She knew that was her fault too; he’d been honest with her about how he felt, but after Oliver had interrupted them, she hadn’t gone to find him. She had left him hanging, wanting to speak to Oliver first, to say what she should have told him a while ago. She had been desperate to make matters right, and all she’d done was make the situation worse for everyone.

  ‘I’m not going to cause a scene,’ Oliver replied. ‘Or I wasn’t until you turned up. You just keep rolling back here like a bad penny.’

  Daniel gave a minute shake of his head. ‘We should go.’ He glanced at Josie, who nodded. ‘Jasper’s waiting outside. We’ll come back later, Charlie. Call me if you need me?’

  ‘Oh that’s right,’ Oliver said, before Charlie had a chance to speak. ‘Play the chivalrous hero, why don’t you? It’ll be a novel role for you, I would have thought. His gallantry’s all an act, Charlie. The only person he gives a shit about is himself.’

  ‘Oliver—’ Charlie started.

  ‘You really think that I’d hurt her, Daniel?’ he continued, his cheeks colouring. ‘That I have no regard—’

  ‘So Charlie knows about the woman in Newquay, does she?’ Daniel cut in. ‘Blonde hair, ripped jeans. The two of you looked very cosy, from what I could see.’ His words were clipped, as if he was forcing them out. ‘Is she the only one?’

  Charlie turned to Oliver. ‘What woman?’

  Daniel flashed her a quick, pained look. ‘I’m sorry, Charlie. I didn’t mean to …’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Look, we’ll go. Leave you to it.’ He placed a hand on Josie’s shoulder to guide her off the bus.

  Once they’d gone, Charlie went to the cab and picked up Marmite, hugging the wriggling dog against her.

  ‘Doesn’t he make you mad?’ Oliver said, but his eyes wouldn’t meet hers.

  ‘What did he mean, about that other woman?’ Marmite nuzzled his wet nose into her neck.

  Oliver’s laugh was forced. ‘He must have been mistaken – someone else who looked like me. I don’t know what he’s talking about.’

  She remembered when they’d walked back to his place after the beach, the way he’d waved to someone in the window and his sudden reluctance to kiss her. The woman who had picked him up from the pub on Sunday had had long, blonde hair. Had Oliver told her he was just meeting friends for a few drinks? Is that why she had given Charlie such an angry look when she’d come to get him and found her there, too? ‘I don’t think Daniel would lie,’ she said, slowly.

  ‘Even though he was on the back foot, still wanting you on his good side despite appearing with her?’ Oliver flung his arm out, and Marmite whimpered.

  ‘Was I the only one, Ollie?’ she asked, but from the way he was fidgeting, refusing to meet her gaze, she thought she already knew the answer. She remembered his words at the Eden Project. I’m just open to seeing what happens, making the most of what’s out there.

  ‘This life, Charlie,’ he sighed. ‘Never staying in one place, always on the road, it makes relationships difficult.’

  ‘But meeting women easy, right? The ability to pick up and drop off at will, move on to the next one as swiftly as your next event?’

  ‘You’re making a mistake with Daniel. We could have had a lot of fun.’

  She closed her eyes. She hadn’t been honest with him but, as it turned out, she wasn’t the only one keeping secrets. ‘Please can you go?’

  ‘Charlie—’

  ‘Please, Oliver. I think we can safely say that this – whatever it is – is over. I will always be grateful for your help. But now …’

  ‘Fine. No worries.’ He wiped his hand over his face, let out a dramatic sigh, and walked off the bus.

  Charlie turned away from the window. She thought of all the effort he’d gone to, taking her to the beach and the Eden Project, his patience and insight as they’d talked about her new venture. But perhaps that was how he lived his life, giving his attention to a number of women at the same time. He obviously had lots of love to spread around, and in some ways it wasn’t even wrong, as long as everyone knew where they stood. But they’d been fooling each other. She had vowed never to be like Stuart and, while she and Oliver had only shared one tentative kiss at the Eden Project, she still felt ashamed that she hadn’t been clearer with him.

  But she was more shocked that Daniel had brought Josie onto the bus. Had all his attention been part of some bigger scheme to wrong-foot her, or was he just pissed off that she hadn’t gone to find him on Monday, after the tour? Was he paying her back for her indecision, showing that he could move on and ruining things with Oliver at the same time? It seemed a bit rich telling her about Oliver when he was there with another woman himself.

  When the boys and Auntie Katie left, thanking her profusely – though the look in the woman’s eyes told Charlie she’d heard everything – Charlie tried to stay calm. It had been one kiss outside a pub; one heartfelt declaration that, now, she wasn’t even sure she could trust. If she was capable of getting it so spectacularly wrong with not one, but two men, it only proved that she wasn’t ready for another relationship. She was much better off on her own.

  But over the course of the afternoon, while the market continued blithely on and Charlie served families and couples, people wanting to take treats home with them, other vendors looking for a caffeine and sugar pick-me-up at the end of the day, her anger grew.

  She watched as, one by one, each of them packed up and drove their food trucks off the beach, her shoulders dropping as The Marauding Mojito turned right and disappeared up the hill. Eventually, Gertie was the only vehicle left. The sea was dark and thrashing, but there was an intense humidity to the air, as if the tension had been building up outside as well as inside her, waiting for the right moment to burst.

  She took a sleepy Marmite out of his crate and, checking everything was switched off and ready for another day, locked up the bus. But instead of turning towards Juliette’s cottage, she found herself walking up the north side of the cove. The breeze was warm and thick and she got hotter with every step, Marmite stretching his tiny legs to keep up with her. She puffed out her breaths as she climbed, propelled forwards by anger.

  Checking that the water bowl was full, she tied Marmite up outside and stepped into the air-conditioned foyer. There was nobody behind reception and, not finding a bell, Charlie was about to call out when Daniel walked out of his office.

  His eyes widened. ‘Charlie, are you OK? You look—’

  ‘Harassed? Upset? Pissed off? Well, that’s OK, because that’s exactly how I feel. What did you think you were doing, bringing your new girlfriend onto the bus this morning?’

  ‘Josie? I—’

  She didn’t let him continue, didn’t fall for the confusion plastered across his handsome face. ‘I know I didn’t handle it well when Oliver appeared the other evening, but I didn’t know what to do. I needed to be honest with him, but at that moment, with you there – it wasn’t the right time. And for you to throw it back at me with Josie, to come and show me how easy it is for you to dismiss our – our – oh, what would yo
u call what’s happened between us?’

  Daniel put a warning hand out in front of him. ‘Charlie, you need to—’

  ‘Need to what? Weren’t you the one who told me I’d got inside here?’ She thumped her chest. ‘Did you mean it? At the time, it felt as if you did.’ Lauren stepped out of a corridor and came to a sudden stop, her mouth falling open. But now Charlie had started, she couldn’t stop. ‘You told me you’d show me exactly what I meant to you, how much you respected me and what I’m doing here. Was that what you meant? Bringing Josie onto the bus? Couldn’t you resist making fun of me one more time?’

  Daniel dropped his hand and stepped towards her, even though the reception desk remained between them. ‘Come and have a cold drink. Let me explain.’

  ‘That’s what I’m trying to do. Don’t you get it? Today, when you appeared, I was trying to tell Oliver the truth, that it wasn’t him I had feelings for. And I was doing an awful job of it, believe me, before you told me all about him. How long have you known that he’s been seeing other women?’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Charlie, I—’

  She shook her head. ‘I don’t know how to deal with relationships any more. I came to Porthgolow to try and get my head around Hal’s death, get over what Stuart did to me. I wanted my life to be simple, and then here you were, with all your confidence and your …’ She swallowed, trying to push the emotion down.

  Daniel walked around the desk and put his hands on her arms. ‘Come and sit down.’

  ‘Don’t patronize me.’ She suddenly felt so hot, despite the air conditioning, that she could hardly breathe. The gold stone pattern in the floor shimmered, as if it was mocking her.

  ‘I’m not. You need to sit down. Have a glass of water.’

  She shook her head. ‘I’m trying to tell you how I feel!’

  Daniel’s grip tightened. ‘Not right now. I’m sorry about today. I didn’t want to tell you about Oliver then, not like that. But right now, you need to—’

  ‘Daniel, is everything OK?’ Josie stepped out of Daniel’s office.