by Nicola May
‘I’ll just have Bovril on some brown toast, please,’ Bergamot said more calmly, ‘but don’t tell the fucking planet police it’s not vegan, will you, darling.’
As Queen B removed a twenty-pound note from her bag, two others fell to the floor, along with a red business card. The man who’d just walked in bent down behind her to help pick up the money. They almost clanked heads on rising. For one always harping on about being broke, Bergamot seemed to have plenty of cash this morning, Sara thought.
Greg Picket always wore a white, old-school milkman’s hat. The ladies loved it. Sara had sourced the excellent products from his farm shop for some years now. His cream-laden ‘gold top’ milk was always a winner with the older locals and made a delicious milkshake too.
‘Oh, hello sailor,’ Bergamot said suggestively, clocking the man’s weather-beaten but still undeniably handsome face. ‘I bet your cream always rises to the top.’
Sara’s mouth fell open. Greg winked at her discreetly. He was a happily married man with three kids, but a bit of milkman banter had kept his business going for years and he was always on the look-out for new customers.
‘Sign up for my delivery service today, madam, and I will of course endeavour to provide full satisfaction.’
Bergamot’s pout increased as she wrote her number down on the back of a serviette. ‘I’ll be seeing you,’ she said seductively, her dairy allergy suddenly disappearing without trace.
An hour later, Titch arrived, pushing Theo in his pram, with the puppies in their little crate tucked inside the shopping rack below. She picked up the red business card that Bergamot had dropped earlier. ‘“Polhampton Paws”,’ she read aloud, then handed it to Sara, who placed it on the shelf under the counter.
‘That’s weird,’ Sara said. ‘Alec mentioned them the other day. They are a local dog and cat shelter, I think.’
‘Always good to know for when these two start playing up.’ Titch pointed at the puppy crate.
‘Titch! You don’t mean that.’ Sara laughed at the youngster’s irreverent humour. ‘Anyway, what can I do you for, this fine morning?’ Walking around the front to peek in the pushchair, she was faced with the rare sight of a sleeping Theo.
‘I’ve just come down to tell you about Rosa, actually.’
‘Is she all right? I did wonder, as I texted her earlier and it’s not like her not to be up and about.’
‘She’s fine now but she had a bit of a scare last night.’ Titch lowered her voice. ‘She had a few spots of blood, but Jacob took her to the hospital, and they scanned her immediately. Everything is fine. Evidently this sometimes happens in early pregnancy.’
‘Oh no! Bless her. Has she told Josh?’
‘Yes, she spoke to him last night. He is of course now frantic and wants to come back, but you know what she’s like. So bloody stoic about everything. We just need to try and keep her stress-free, and I for sure won’t be letting her lift anything in the shop from now on.’
‘Is she at home?’
‘Yes. Mary is with her now. It’s her day off from the Co-op so she can open the shop up and I’m in there this afternoon. Can you cope on your own here, Sara?’
‘Oh yes. At this time of year it’s usually quiet.’ Sara sprayed a table with sanitiser and quickly wiped it down. ‘I’d planned to be on my own this morning anyway. But it’s such a shame that Nate disappeared the way he did. He was a good worker and I liked him. I need to talk to Rosa about advertising for someone else.’
‘Good idea. The university students will be breaking up soon, so even if you got someone in here for the holidays, it would help during the Christmas period.’
‘That’s a great suggestion – thanks. Right, what can I get you?’
‘I’ll have a coffee and a sausage sandwich when I come back, please, but while he’s asleep, I’m going to put him out the back if you don’t mind, so I can run these scamps on the beach for a minute.’ The two puppies were now scrabbling around, eager to escape from their crate prison.
As Titch let her tiny canine companions explore the seashore on a double lead, she noticed Lucas’s white plumbing van pull into the Ship’s car park, closely followed by the distinctive bicycle with a basket on the front belonging to Edie Rogers. She watched from the pub wall as one by one they threw the windows open, upstairs and down. It was a perfect day for airing the place, Titch thought – cold, bright and crisp, with just enough breeze to make a difference.
A lot of time and water had flown under the bridge since Titch had slept with Lucas and accepted the bribe from Sheila Hannafore to get rid of the baby which she had pretended was his. She had avoided him since, so was quite shocked to see him open the door, and then give her a wave before coming over to join her.
Titch tutted as the ever-inquisitive Mr Chips went rushing towards him and started sniffing his ankles.
‘Sorry, he’s just a puppy. Into everything and everyone at the moment.’
‘You never could keep the boys under control, could you?’ Lucas gave her a wry smile.
‘How you doing?’ Titch said, with care.
‘Not bad. Keeping busy. You know.’
At that moment his phone went. Holding his hand up as a goodbye, he strode back to the pub and shut the heavy door behind him.
But Titch didn’t know. After losing her father and brother at such a young age, the thought of losing her own mother was a constant underlying worry, and for once she felt a massive pang of compassion for Lucas Hannafore and his grieving soul.
CHAPTER 48
‘Josh, it’s five in the morning where you are, darling. You’ll be knackered all day. Please try and get a couple of hours sleep in.’ Rosa’s handsome but very tired-looking husband stared back at her on the phone screen.
‘I’m just worried about you, Rosa. So, for the last time, are you sure you don’t want me to come home today? I will just drop everything; we are nearly done on this project now. Carlton could cope, if he had to.’
‘And for the last time, no. I’m fine. It literally was a couple of drops of blood, there is no drama and I promise I will do as I’m told and let other people lift and carry for me. This baby is in here for keeps, I’m telling you. I still feel pregnant and I was sick as a dog again this morning. It’s common, what happened, I’m told. I just feel bad I saw the scan before you though.’
‘Show me again.’ Rosa held up the grey and white picture. ‘Aw. That’s our baby, that is.’ Josh was beaming. ‘Look to the right, I’m sure I can see a willy.’
Rosa laughed. ‘I don’t ever want to see one of those again if it makes me feel this sick.’
Josh laughed back. ‘Do you still fancy me?’
‘Of course I bloody do.’
‘What good taste you have, madam. Oh, and Rosa?’
‘Yes, Josh?’ Rosa let out a pretend huff.
‘I still love you to where the sky touches the sea, you know that.’
‘I love you too, you old smoothie, you. Now go away and get a bit more sleep, we can talk later.’
Rosa could hear Mary serving a customer downstairs, Hot was pottering about on the balcony, letting out random barks every time a seagull even dared so much as catch his eye. She checked her phone for the umpteenth time. Nate had been gone when she had arrived back late last night and she couldn’t believe he hadn’t left her any sort of message, let alone tried to find out how she was. She also wasn’t best pleased that he had left Hot, but she had messaged to say she would be back that night, so he obviously realised that the dachshund would be OK.
Not quite sure how she was managing to hold everything together, by herself, and to herself, Rosa lay down on the sofa and shut her eyes. She was so tired, and the recent revelation that Nate Webb was her brother had sent her into a spin. What’s more, once it was common knowledge, it would send the whole of the Bay into a spin too – and she didn’t feel she was ready to handle that and all the consequences it might bring.
She had an actual brother! That was insa
ne but also incredibly exciting. Well, he would be her half-brother, she guessed, unless Mary had maybe kept something from her. No, Mary would never do that, surely? And anyway, Nate had said that his mother had run off with someone else. Mary couldn’t possibly have lied about something so massive as her giving birth to another child and giving them up, could she? Nate and Rosa did look alike, but if they shared a father then that was entirely possible.
Bittersweet – just like the poisonous plant that Alec had once pointed out to her on the West Cliffs path – that’s what this whole scenario was. But now, in order to find some semblance of peace, she had to investigate further. Some very BIG conversations needed to be had.
Rosa still couldn’t believe that she had been face-to-face with her supposed real-life father. Saying that, it hadn’t been until she got home to the Corner Shop that the realisation had hit. The name Christopher Webb wasn’t uncommon – she’d quickly found that out, when her initial search for him had begun online. She hadn’t gone any further than finding what she thought was an address for him. Naively, or maybe subconsciously, at the time she didn’t want to think that he might have other children. However, with Nate definitely being the funeral director’s son, and with the similarities of his looks and wild hair to her own, this told her that she must be right in her thinking. Also, the fact that she had felt a weird connection with Nate from the very first time she had met him also made her believe that they were related: a new branch to her expanding family tree.
When she first got hold of the card from Christopher and the penny finally dropped, she had gone numb, but once she got home, she had been violently sick; Rosa wasn’t sure if that was because of the baby or at the shock of it all. Christopher Webb’s card gave an address in North Devon. So, all the time she had been down here in South Devon, her presumed father had been literally across the other side of the county from her. Surely, Mary couldn’t have known this either. If she did, the hurt would be just too great to bear. And obviously this was why Rosa had been so far off the mark in her search for any kind of address. Foolishly, she had looked no further than London, as that was where she knew her conception had occurred. The letter that she had written had asked her dad to contact her – but the letter had been sent to a London address. None of it made sense. If he had received it, all those months ago, why would it have taken him so long to get back in touch? Why would he be down here now – and why would he be looking for his son and not her? So many questions.
It also made her feel even more in awe of her great-grandfather Ned and great-grandmother Queenie for how, against many odds, they had managed to find her. Especially as she wasn’t even known as a Cobb among her work colleagues or friends. No, if her mum didn’t love her and had given her away, Rosa had decided that she didn’t want one of her names. No way. Rosa Larkin was who she wanted to be known as. The one and only.
Larkin – for no other reason than that she had watched old reruns of The Darling Buds of May in one of her children’s homes. The successful TV show, based on a series of five books written by H.E. Bates, revolved around a big, brash and beautiful family, the Larkins, who didn’t have a care in the world. They lived in an oast-house in the glorious countryside of Kent, spreading joy and happiness in all their dealings. She had so wanted to be part of that family. And in her damaged and deluded eyes, in becoming Rosa Larkin by personal deed poll, she was.
Before she acted on Nate’s massive revelation, Rosa knew that, first of all, she had to talk to him properly and find out the truth. There were so many questions that needed answering before she could even think about talking to Mary. Or maybe she should talk to her mother before anyone? But Rosa was half-scared that Mary would make her promise not to do anything. No, Rosa had to follow her gut instincts on this one – and they were telling her to speak with Nate.
With the shop about to be passed on, and her being pregnant, it all really was such bad timing. But as she’d said to Luke, life was all about timing – and that timing didn’t always work the way you would have wanted.
She then sat upright and put a hand to her head. It wasn’t the voice of Queenie who spoke this time, but that of her clairvoyant mother. ‘The Jacks of this world come in many guises.’ With her streetwise head on, Rosa came to a sudden dark dawning. For all his faults, she had become rather fond of Nate, and now all she could do was naively pray that the guise he had come in was one of truth – and not of greed and duplicity.
Hot had been curled up in his basket, giving himself a thorough wash. Then, as if sensing his mistress’s anguish, he scrabbled up his sofa steps and climbed onto her lap. With his feet digging uncomfortably into her thighs, he reached up and started to cover her face in smelly dog lick.
‘Aw, my little munchkin,’ she said, stroking his warm body. ‘Why is life so bloody complicated, eh?’
CHAPTER 49
‘So, it’s your last chance, lucky listeners,’ Barry Savage announced across the radio waves. ‘Yes, today is the day to get your coloured envelopes in for the opportunity of a lifetime – to be the proud owners of not only the Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay but also the flat above it.’
Rosa dropped the Christmas bauble she was holding, smashing it on the tiled floor. She had got up in a sprightly mood, hadn’t even felt nauseous, and was keen to decorate the real Christmas tree that Alec had kindly set up in the front window of the shop. She planned to use a selection of festive doggie treats, since they had been a big hit with customers last year, interspersed with some old Christmas baubles that must have belonged to Ned and his wife Dorothea.
Barry Savage continued with his excitable soliloquy. ‘It surely will be a Christmas to remember for the lucky winner, folks.’ Rosa tutted as she picked up the broken pieces of bauble. ‘As with everything,’ Barry went on, ‘if you’re not in it, you can’t win it. You can go to our website for further details, but it couldn’t be easier. Here’s what you have to do. Think of a Christmas name to call yourself, as this is an anonymous competition. Pledge a donation to a local charity of your choice. Then explain what exactly it would mean for you to run the Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay – and what you are intending to sell when you take it on. How simple is that!’ He laughed his annoying cackle. ‘I will be speaking to Rosa Smith, the owner and, may I say, most generous proprietor of the Corner Shop, later to see just how many envelopes she has had in. Tomorrow, she will make her choice from those submissions.’
Just at that moment, her mobile phone rang. ‘Hi, is that Rosa?’ said a woman’s voice.
‘Yep.’
‘It’s Charlotte Hill here, I’m the intern on the breakfast show South Cliffs Today. Barry’s just nominated me to ask you to speak about the Corner Shop proviso. Sorry for the short notice, he’s always doing this to me.’ The young girl’s voice was full of stress. ‘So, er, can you? I mean, are you OK to speak to him?’
‘On the telephone, I can, sure.’
‘Phew, that’s a relief. Thanks, Rosa. Are you free now?’
‘Yes, let’s do this.’
‘Ok, just stay on the line. This song will finish soon, then we are going to News and Weather, then Barry will come directly to you.’
Rosa wished she’d had a wee before she’d agreed now. That was something she’d found out when she had become pregnant, that her bladder had shrunk to the size of a pea – pee being the key word here.
Not thinking to put her Back in 20 minutes sign up, she began to shift from one foot to the other while waiting for Barry to come online.
Ding! The shop doorbell rang. Looking clean and smart, his black eye now a shade of grey and pink, and with no sign of a split lip, was Nate. His short dark curls were shiny and despite his grey, not green eyes, Rosa felt it was like looking in a mirror.
‘For you.’ He pulled a bouquet of white roses from behind his back.
Rosa pointed to her mobile phone, made some animated facial expression of thanks then whispered, ‘I can’t talk now.’ She then ran to the door to lock th
em both in and put the 20 minutes sign up. Nate tiptoed over to the counter as directed and sat quietly, waiting.
When Barry Savage made a grand introduction and further explanation of how the proviso would come into play, the young lad’s face broke into a beaming smile. Hot started jumping up at his legs, so he gently lifted him up, gave him a tiny treat from the counter and started to stroke his soft brown ears.
‘Hello Barry,’ Rosa said through gritted teeth. She would never warm to this man. Their energies collided and that was that.
‘So, can you give up a sneaky peek into how many envelopes you’ve had in, and maybe who they are from? I’m sure the listeners would love to hear.’
‘Well, yes, if you want me to, I can. Of course.’
‘Great news! Let’s just go to a song and we will be right back with you.’
‘Thank God, hold this quickly.’ Rosa handed Nate the phone then turned to run.
‘Rosa, there’s something I need to–’
‘In a minute,’ Rosa hissed. ‘When I come back, put Hot down and make yourself a drink out the back, if you like. I need the loo!’
Privately, Rosa herself was surprised at having received only four entries. She had expected at least ten, but she acknowledged that it was a big undertaking and she hadn’t really given anyone much time. Also, the fact that whoever got it couldn’t sell it for ten years would definitely put a lot of people off. The music stopped and Barry handed over to her.
‘As you can imagine, Barry, I have been inundated with entries,’ Rosa lied. ‘The Corner Shop is a wonderful little business and Cockleberry Bay just the most idyllic place to live. So, you see, I made a pact with myself not to open the envelopes until decision day, which as you stated is tomorrow. At the moment, I don’t have a clue who is entering.’ That too was a lie. After an enlightening conversation she had had with Danny last night, she already knew for certain of one person she was bringing to the grand finale. It was just a case now of who else.
