The Cherry Tree Cafe

by Heidi Swain

  I couldn’t think what to do and didn’t know how he would react if I tackled him in such a confined space so I crept back upstairs and climbed into bed, feigning sleep until he reappeared and slipped in beside me.

  ‘Morning, sleepy head,’ he smiled, running a hand lightly down my back.

  I shivered slightly but knew I had to keep up the pretence.

  ‘Morning,’ I yawned, rolling over and keeping the sheet tight around me.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ he asked, a smile playing around his lips.

  ‘Not as hung over as I was after the cider,’ I admitted.

  ‘I’m not surprised,’ he replied, ‘you’ve been asleep for hours. You’ve probably slept it off!’

  ‘I have?’

  ‘Can’t you remember?’ he grinned. ‘By the time I came out of the bathroom last night you were in bed fast asleep!’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, feeling hugely relieved.

  ‘You really can’t remember?’ Jay laughed.

  I shook my head.

  ‘Well,’ he said, ‘if it’s any consolation I was the perfect gentleman, as always.’

  And that, given the sordid little scene I’d just witnessed downstairs, was something I was very grateful for.

  ‘I’m going to have a quick shower,’ I told him, ‘then we’ll go out for lunch, if you like. I know the perfect place.’

  There was a certain irony to the fact that I’d picked the same bar to tackle Jay in as I had chosen to give Giles back all the crap he had piled on me in his efforts to transform me when we lived together.

  ‘This place looks nice,’ Jay said as he pulled out my chair, ‘I could get used to living in London.’

  I didn’t say anything. I wanted to hear what he was going to suggest next.

  ‘Actually,’ he said ponderously, as if the idea had just come to him, ‘that spare room of yours . . .’

  ‘What about it?’ I asked innocently.

  ‘Well, if you ever want to fill it, put me top of the list would you?’

  ‘What a brilliant idea!’ I smiled enthusiastically. ‘I’m sure you’d get loads of freelance journo work here in the city and you’d be right on hand for the framing business if you did decide to display them in the City Crafting Café.’

  ‘Crikey,’ he said, wide-eyed. ‘Yeah, I hadn’t thought of that!’

  ‘I’d actually been toying with the idea of renting out the spare room,’ I told him seriously. ‘I’m thinking of making some changes to the Café, you see, and I was worried there might be a dip in turnover for a while, but if you were paying city rent that wouldn’t be half as much of a concern.’

  The change in him was barely noticeable, but I noticed. His expression and demeanour told me he wasn’t planning on paying rent at all.

  ‘I’ll go and get us a drink,’ he said. ‘What do you fancy?’

  ‘Red wine, please.’

  With our meal ordered and glasses half empty I led the conversation back to the night we’d spent together at the Cherry Tree.

  ‘I still feel bad about letting you down over the money you needed,’ I told him, reaching across the table to take his hand. ‘I never meant to get your hopes up.’

  Jay didn’t say anything but shifted a little in his seat.

  ‘It’s just so unlike me, you see,’ I pushed on. ‘My dad has always taught me to be so cautious about lending money. I guess I’d had a bit more cider than I realised!’

  ‘Never mind about that now,’ Jay said, patting my hand, ‘everything to do with the Cherry Tree is best forgotten, if you ask me, especially now you’ve got bigger fish to fry and besides you might have a change of heart again when you’ve bought the Crafting Café and are making the changes you mentioned. I bet the place is making a pretty penny already, isn’t it?’

  ‘It’s holding its own,’ I smiled sweetly, ‘but you already know that, don’t you?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You already know exactly how much the business is making, along with how much was in the petty cash tin.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ he said, colour flooding his face.

  ‘Jay, I saw you this morning,’ I said resignedly, ‘I saw you in the office going through the Café papers and accounts.’

  Jay placed his glass back on the table and sat back in his chair.

  ‘Look,’ he said, recovering in less than a second, ‘I know it looks really bad, but I was just worried about you, that’s all.’

  ‘How do you work that one out?’ I frowned.

  ‘I was worried that you wouldn’t really know what you were looking at when it came to the money side of the business and I wanted to make sure you weren’t investing in something that was heading for a fall.’

  ‘You patronising git!’

  ‘Jesus, I was only trying to help. You do have something of a reputation for letting your heart rule your head when it comes to money, Lizzie, don’t you?’

  ‘What the hell does that mean?’

  ‘Well, the Cherry Tree for a start. You haven’t exactly made the best judgement call there, have you? You’ll be lucky to see a penny of your granny’s inheritance again.’

  ‘How do you know about my inheritance?’

  ‘People talk, Lizzie, especially in the pub. Everyone knows you’ve come into some money since you came back.’

  ‘But what business is that of yours?’ I scowled. ‘What makes you think you have any right to interfere in what I decide to do with one penny of my money?’

  ‘Look, I really like you, Lizzie, and I just don’t want to see you make another mistake.’

  ‘Because if I do then you know I won’t have enough to help you out, is that it?’

  Jay didn’t say anything else; he just shrugged. He knew the game was up and clearly he couldn’t be bothered to invest any more time trying to cover his tracks or make me believe his cock and bull story. He was a fraudster, a trickster a con man and a thief on the look-out for an easy target and a way of making a fast buck.

  ‘Are you actually interested in setting up a framing business at all?’ I asked him, my heart sinking as I realised what an idiot I must have looked.

  ‘No,’ he laughed, ‘of course not. Do I look like the sort of bloke who can frame a bloody picture?’

  ‘But what about the Cherry Tree frame?’ I demanded. ‘How did you pull that one off?’

  ‘I have an uncle in the trade,’ he said casually. ‘He knocked it up for me and together we made it look pretty.’

  I was devastated. I’d genuinely believed Jay had a real talent and a potentially successful business up his sleeve, but it turned out he was just on the take. What a fool he had made me look – made us all look.

  ‘Perhaps you should introduce me to him then,’ I said scathingly, ‘he’s got quite a gift, it would be a shame to waste it.’

  Chapter 29

  I didn’t say anything to Deborah and Heather about Jay’s visit. Obviously I was embarrassed to have been duped, but worse than that, I was terrified that if I hadn’t seen through Jay’s scheme to fund his ‘once in a lifetime trip around the globe’, then the City Crafting Café would have been financially ruined. I decided to keep quiet, cut Jay out of my life completely and carry on regardless.

  I replaced the money he’d taken from the petty cash tin and took all the business paperwork out of the office and up to the flat for further scrutiny. Every evening during the following week I sat going through the books, walking around the Café and trying to find a commercial rather than an emotional reason for not wanting to take the business on.

  Jay’s scathing remark about my heart ruling my head had wormed its way into my brain and sat there festering. I knew that if I didn’t take the plunge and commit to the City Crafting Café it would be because I had let my heart get the upper hand again. Now was the time to dig deep, I realised, and I did my best to swing into ‘focused and driven businesswoman mode’ before I did something I would possibly regret in later life.

 
Creating a better working relationship with Janice was top of the list that I frantically penned as I tried to rediscover my excitement for the project. If I wanted there to be a smooth transition between Deborah and myself, then I knew her input would be key.

  ‘How would you feel about managing the shop one day a week, Janice,’ I asked in as friendly a tone as I could, ‘possibly two?’

  I had been trying to find a way to schedule some free time into my week. Of course when I said ‘free time’ what I really meant was time to spend on my own crafting projects. If I was really going to make the commitment and sign on the dotted line then there were certain things that I was not prepared to sacrifice and some private sewing time was one of them.

  After much thought, I had settled on asking Janice to help out as the ideal solution. Not only would I claw back some hours, but my suggestion would also, hopefully, go some way to reassuring her that I wasn’t going to shoe-horn her out at the earliest possible opportunity.

  ‘How much will you pay me?’ she sniffed.

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘To manage the shop. You wouldn’t expect me to take on the extra responsibility and not pay me for it, would you?’

  ‘No, of course not,’ I blushed, my proposition already in tatters, ‘I was just asking to see how you would feel about it in theory, that’s all.’

  ‘Well, if it’s just a theory,’ she shrugged, ‘I suppose I wouldn’t mind, assuming I’m still here of course,’ she added mysteriously.

  ‘Is there any reason why you wouldn’t be?’ I asked, trying not to show my concern.

  Panic set in at the thought of taking over without Janice at her station behind the counter. We might not have hit it off exactly but at least she knew how the place ran! I was still way too far behind even to consider flying solo. She looked at what must have been my stricken expression and miraculously her face softened slightly.

  ‘There’s a shop become available in the parade,’ she said, blushing slightly, ‘might be too good an opportunity to miss but please don’t say anything to Deborah,’ she added. ‘It might come to nothing if the rent’s too high.’

  I nodded and sighed, wishing not for the first time that we could have got along. Janice’s business acumen rivalled Deborah’s and coupled with my passion for crafting we would have ensured the Café’s future. I was sure of that. I looked up, expecting her to have gone back to the shop floor, but she hadn’t moved.

  ‘I’m sorry I’ve been such a cow,’ she said, quietly closing the door, ‘it isn’t you; I know you’re a lovely girl and I’m sure you’ll be very successful. It’s just that—’

  ‘You thought you were going to be sitting this side of the desk when Deborah decided to move on?’

  ‘Exactly,’ she nodded sadly, ‘but she picked you. I know it’s my own fault and I shouldn’t be taking it out on you. I am sorry.’

  ‘There’s no need to apologise,’ I smiled, ‘I do understand. If I was in your shoes I’d feel exactly the same, but tell me, Janice, what makes you say that it’s your fault?’

  ‘Well, for a start I never really rushed to tell Deborah that I might want to take over when she first hinted that she was ready to move on.’

  ‘But I thought that you were the other interested party?’

  ‘Oh I was,’ she sighed, ‘but to be honest it was such a huge decision that it took me a while to make up my mind and get the ball rolling and by that time she’d been to see you.’

  ‘But I never said yes straightaway,’ I said, ‘I told Deborah that I’d think about it, that was all.’

  ‘Well, you know Deborah when she’s got her heart set on something. She was sure you were the one and I hadn’t the heart to make a fuss. I didn’t want to rock the boat. When she said that you were coming for a month’s trial and that we’d talk again after that I thought it would be OK. I love working here, Lizzie, you know I’ve been here forever and I didn’t want to jeopardise my job so I just withdrew my interest and let Deborah get on with things.’

  ‘But you do still want the place really, don’t you?’

  Janice nodded.

  ‘If she offered it to me now,’ she admitted, ‘I’d snatch her hand off but I took one look at you and I knew it was too late. You’re just what this place needs, Lizzie.’

  ‘I’m not so sure about that,’ I smiled. I was unsure as to where these great ideas about me had sprung from. ‘You know what people want as much as I do. I dare say you’re glued to the Sewing Bee and read every crafting magazine on the market, don’t you?’

  ‘Well actually,’ she whispered, leaning forward in her seat, ‘I have got one or two new ideas.’

  Having cleared the air with Janice, my heart and head were back in sync and I knew what I was going to do. The City Crafting Café was one hell of a business but it was too much for me. I felt a huge weight lift as I reached my final decision, but then it descended again at the thought of telling Deborah and Heather.

  ‘I assume this is good news!’ Deborah boomed as I welcomed her and Heather into the flat later that day. ‘You’ve made up your mind, haven’t you? And still with a week to go!’ she laughed. ‘You certainly haven’t let the grass grow, Lizzie, I’ll say that for you!’

  ‘Deborah dear,’ Heather smiled gently touching Deborah’s arm, ‘why don’t you let her speak, my love?’

  ‘Sorry!’ Deborah said, shaking her head, ‘I’m just so . . .’

  ‘Deborah,’ Heather interjected a little more forcefully this time.

  ‘OK,’ I smiled nervously as they squeezed together on the tiny sofa, ‘OK. Crikey, I’m not quite sure where to start.’

  I looked from Deborah to Heather and took a deep breath. The look of expectation on Deborah’s face almost made me change my mind, but I had to stand firm.

  ‘Well,’ I swallowed, sitting down and rubbing my damp palms together, ‘I’ve really enjoyed my time at the Café. It’s been a definite eye-opener and the place is fantastic, but—’

  ‘But?’ Deborah demanded.

  ‘But it isn’t for you, is it?’ Heather said gently.

  ‘No,’ I said shakily, ‘it isn’t.’

  ‘I didn’t think so,’ she said, quietly, squeezing Deborah’s hand.

  ‘It’s nothing to do with the staff,’ I babbled, ‘or any of the courses, it’s just . . .’

  ‘Too much?’ Heather suggested.

  I nodded.

  ‘Don’t get me wrong,’ I carried on, ‘the place is buzzing and I love what you offer but I just don’t want to be a manager. I want to be more hands-on, running all the courses and getting really involved and I’m not sure I can face moving back to London either.’

  ‘Home is where the heart is,’ Heather added for good measure.

  ‘Yes,’ I smiled, ‘I couldn’t have put it better myself.’

  Deborah hadn’t said a word. She sat still and silent next to Heather, her complexion growing darker with every word she heard. Any second, I was poised to throw myself over the back of the chair and take cover.

  ‘Well,’ she said eventually, ‘all I can say, Lizzie, is that I’m sorry.’

  ‘Sorry?’ I asked, completely thrown. ‘For what?’

  ‘When I came to see you at the Cherry Tree,’ she explained, ‘I could see how happy you were, how you’d created the perfect space for what you wanted your business to be.’

  ‘I had,’ I said sadly, an image of the crafting area, complete with bunting and pastel painted tins swam before my eyes.

  ‘And I took advantage of what you’d achieved.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘By assuming you’d want more. I thought you’d jump at the chance to take on this place but I can see now that you already had what you really wanted. You’d achieved what you’d always dreamt of and you’d got the balance just right. If I hadn’t offered you this place so forthrightly you never would have considered moving on, would you?’

  ‘No,’ I said uncertainly, still mindful of all the other reasons behind my d
ecision to leave. ‘I guess not.’

  ‘And now I’ve blown it for you,’

  Deborah said sadly. I couldn’t allow that.

  ‘No, Deborah,’ I told her firmly, ‘things were spoilt at the Cherry Tree, but not by you. Even if you hadn’t proposed I took on the Crafting Café I probably still wouldn’t be there. Too many other things had happened behind the scenes to make it viable for me to carry on.’

  ‘So what will you do now?’ Heather asked.

  ‘I honestly don’t know,’ I said resignedly, ‘I can’t get my head around the future right now, deciding not to buy this place has been enough for one day but more to the point, what will you do?’

  ‘Go back to the agent, I guess,’ Deborah shrugged, ‘get the place back on the market.’

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you.’

  ‘Well, what do you suggest then?’ Deborah said, a hint of annoyance creeping in for the first time since we all sat down together. ‘We’re not giving up the cottage. I promised Heather we’d retire and we are!’

  ‘I’m not suggesting you give anything up!’ I laughed. ‘Just go and talk to Janice.’

  ‘She’s not really interested in the place,’ Deborah frowned.

  ‘I think you’ll find she is,’ Heather said, patting her companion’s knee. ‘Are you coming back down, Lizzie?’

  ‘No, I don’t think I will, if that’s OK. Now I’ve made up my mind I’m not going to buy I’m going to get packed and get out of your hair.’

  ‘You don’t have to!’ Deborah insisted. ‘There’s no rush, and besides you said yourself you hadn’t made up your mind what you’re going to do, so where will you go?’

  ‘I think I need a break,’ I said, suddenly remembering Jay’s dream of seeing the world. ‘My stuff can go back to my parents’ place and then I think I might take off for a while. Have a little holiday and stop thinking about everything so much.’