‘Thank you,’ Imogen said, the guilt of what she had to say weighing heavily on her. ‘But actually that’s the reason I was ringing. I know I was going to be flying home tomorrow, but it turns out I can’t come back right now.’
‘You’re kidding,’ Luca said, suddenly alert.
‘I need to sort some family stuff out. It’s important.’
‘And I’m … I’m what, Imogen? God, I knew you’d do something like this. How long are we talking?’
‘I don’t expect you to wait … ’
‘How long?’
‘Four months, maybe five,’ she said. ‘I’d be back by September, definitely.’
‘September. Are you serious?’
‘You could always … come here and visit. If you wanted,’ Imogen said, realising as she spoke how unlikely it was.
‘Right,’ Luca said, and Imogen heard the hurt in his voice. ‘Listen, I need to think about all this. I don’t know what to believe from you right now.’
Chapter Six
‘Here you go,’ Jon said the following Friday, passing Anna some tea in her favourite Orla Kiely-print mug. She pulled her duvet-covered legs up towards her and cradled it in her hands, taking a sip.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I need a bit of perking up to be ready for today.’
Jon sat down next to her on the bed, doing up the buttons on his white shirt.
‘You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?’ he said, his green eyes meeting hers. ‘It’s all happened so quickly. Monday night is the first I hear of it, and I’ve barely seen you since then, with you and Imogen beavering away on that business plan every evening.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Anna said. ‘I’m not sure if the whole thing is a crazy pipe dream or a real-life possibility for us to run our own business. All I know is we need to find out.’
Her head still felt fuzzy from the late night; she and Imogen had been up until three a.m. finalising details.
‘Today should give us more of an idea,’ she said. ‘The small business advisor was really helpful when we saw her on Wednesday, and now that we’ve got more to show her, she should be able to help us firm things up.’
‘Well, good luck with it,’ Jon said, kissing her on the nose. ‘It’s nice to see you so passionate about something, even if I can’t quite understand why you’d give up the security you have in your job. But it sounds like you have to see this through.’
‘There’s no risk – at least not yet,’ Anna reassured him. ‘If the figures don’t add up, then I still have my job to go back to. I haven’t said a word to anyone in the office yet – I told my boss I was taking today off to do some DIY.’
‘That’s good. Leaves your options open. What do your parents think about it all?’
‘They’re excited. Apparently it’s making a difference to Dad. Mum said it was the news about us looking into running the place that got him to open the door to her.’
‘You don’t think maybe he’s getting his hopes up for nothing?’ Jon said, fiddling with the knot in his tie. ‘I don’t mean to be negative, but it sounds like he’s quite fragile at the moment.’
‘He knows it’s only early days. But the main thing is, Dad’s showing some signs of improvement, even if he’s refusing to see the GP. It’s still a real worry though. He’s never been like this before, and as much as Mum loves him, she isn’t always the most approachable about emotional stuff.’
‘It must be really hard,’ Jon said, ‘whatever age you are. I can’t imagine losing a parent you’re so close to.’
‘I know,’ Anna said. ‘Imogen and I do our fair share of moaning about Mum, but we’d be lost without her. She’s always been there in our lives, a steady presence. Maddening sometimes, but steady.’
‘That’s important,’ Jon said. Anna sensed he was distracted, and, looking at her alarm clock, saw that it was time for him to leave for work. He picked up his briefcase. ‘Hope it goes really well today,’ he said, leaning in to kiss her. ‘Let me know.’
‘Thanks, I will.’ Anna smiled, got up and pulled on her dressing gown. ‘Now I need to wake up my potential business partner.’
As Jon left the flat, she rapped on the spare-room door.
‘Imo,’ Anna said, opening the door gently and peering in. ‘We need to leave in half an hour.’
Imogen groaned gently and then opened her eyes. ‘Is it morning already? I swear we only just went to bed.’
‘Afraid so. It’s eight,’ Anna said. ‘And we’re meeting the small business advisor at nine, so you need to get your skates on. You can wear something of mine, if you like,’ she went on. ‘I’m planning on wearing that trouser suit – the black one. We should probably be smart to make a good impression.’
Imogen wrinkled her nose.
‘Come on,’ Anna said. ‘It’s only one meeting – and just imagine, if we get this off the ground you’ll be able to wear jeans to work every day.’
Imogen pulled back the duvet. ‘OK, I’m sold. And the business plan?’
‘It’s on my iPad, but I also printed it out so we can leave a copy with her.’
‘I feel a bit nervous,’ Imogen said, perched on the edge of the bed in her pyjamas.
‘Me too,’ Anna said. Her stomach was so fluttery she’d barely been able to drink her tea. ‘But maybe that’s a good thing.’
After the meeting at the building society, Anna and Imogen stepped out into the street, blinking as their eyes readjusted to the morning sunshine.
‘Coffee?’ Anna said.
‘Definitely,’ Imogen said, pointing to a nearby café. ‘I need a minute to digest it all.’
‘She seemed positive, didn’t she?’
‘I thought so,’ Imogen said, pushing open the café door.
‘We did make it sound pretty amazing. “A gourmet ice cream shop, with delectable flavours and retro styling.”’
‘We let our imaginations run quite wild in that pitch, didn’t we?’
‘A little,’ Anna replied, looking up at the menu board over the counter. ‘But from what she said, we can make it all happen. It sounds as if the money from Granny V should be enough to help us set up and run the shop for the next three months, at least. So we’ve got a while to hone our skills, build a customer base, and get the hygiene and health and safety stuff sorted. That seems doable, doesn’t it?’
‘Yes, I think. I need some caffeine first.’
‘What are you having?’
‘A cappuccino for me, please.’
‘One cappuccino and one iced coffee, please,’ Anna ordered from the guy at the counter. ‘Shall we take these up to the roof terrace, Imo? The weather’s beautiful today. Feels like spring’s finally arriving.’
‘Yes, let’s.’
They climbed the stairs with coffees in hand and stepped out onto the decked terrace. There was a view out over the whole of Brighton from the Pavilion to the pier, rows of white Georgian houses forming a maze of streets between the two.
‘Sometimes I think there’s no better place to live,’ Anna said, looking out. ‘And imagine, we could be getting up each morning with our very own ice cream shop to run.’
‘Sounds pretty good, when you put it that way.’
‘I know,’ Anna said. ‘I can’t remember the last time I felt this excited about anything. I’m going to do it. I’m going to hand my notice in on Monday.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. There’s no time like the present, is there? Maybe this is an insane idea, but I want to give it a chance – and to be honest, I can’t face another seven years working in that office.’
‘How do you think your boss will take it?’
Anna mulled it over. ‘I don’t know. A colleague of mine left recently and they let him off most of his notice period. I’m hoping they’ll do the same with me – there are so many unemployed graduates here it wouldn’t take them long to find someone to fill my shoes. Anyway, that’s their problem.’
‘I’m proud of you,’ Imoge
n said.
‘I think I’m a bit proud of me too,’ Anna laughed. ‘I never do things like this.’
‘So where do we start?’
‘I know it’s not exactly what we put in our business plan, but how about a soft launch while we train up?’ Anna said. ‘At the start, for the first few weeks, we could run the shop as a kind of retro ice cream shack, with ready-made products. So people get to know the place, and us, and we can slowly introduce our gelati range.’
‘Retro ice creams,’ Imogen said. ‘Like Fab lollies?’
‘Exactly. And those giant pink feet, Screwballs – do you remember the ones that had chewing gum in the bottom? Students would be into all that, and well, everyone loves a nostalgia fix. Parents would be able to share the ice creams they loved with their own kids.’
Imogen mulled it over. ‘I like it,’ she said with a smile. ‘Giving people an edible snapshot of their childhood.’
‘Great. We can look into suppliers this evening, I’m sure someone must still be making those things, and we could get them cheap if we bought in bulk.’
‘It’ll be a nice simple way to draw attention to the shop and get things started,’ Imogen said, nodding. ‘And it’ll give us a bit of time to focus on making the place over. Talking of that, before we do anything else, there’s one thing we still need to discuss. One very important thing.’
‘Oh yes?’ Anna replied.
‘I think we need a new name, for this new era, don’t you?’
‘I guess so. But we don’t want to erase Sunset 99s completely, do we? Granny V will always be part of the shop.’
‘Exactly. So why don’t we name the shop after her?’
‘Vivien’s?’ Anna said, sounding it out. ‘I like it. But will people know what to expect?’
‘Vivien’s Ice Cream Shop?’ Imogen said. ‘No, something’s missing.’ She glanced around the terrace for inspiration, then looked up at the expanse of blue sky above them. ‘Without wanting to sound mega-Godly, don’t you sometimes feel like Granny V’s looking over us?’
‘Yes,’ Anna said. ‘That’s partly why I’m so nervous about messing this up,’ she laughed.
‘Well, how about “Vivien’s Heavenly Ice Cream Shop?”’
‘I love it,’ Anna said. ‘Just perfect.’
Just over a week later, on a Saturday, Anna and Imogen got prepared to make over the shop, with Hepburn in tow. Laden down with tins of white, pink and pistachio paint from the local hardware shop, they walked down to Vivien’s, ready for a day of interior decorating. Anna’s boss had taken the news that Monday surprisingly well, and had agreed to reduce her notice period on the condition that she finish some of her projects for them as a freelancer. So, for now, she was free to focus on the ice cream shop.
Motown hits blasted out of the small radio as Anna scrubbed the kitchen area of the shop clean, dressed in overalls and rubber gloves.
‘Love don’t come easy … it’s a game of give and take … ’ Vivien’s radio was still tuned into a local station, Golden Oldies FM, playing hits from the 1960s and 1970s on loop. They’d decided not to change it. Hearing the tunes brought back a little flash of their grandma, cheerfully humming girl-group hits to herself. Hepburn looked on from the comfort of one of the booths.
Imogen had brought Vivien’s photo album down and she held it up to show her sister. ‘For inspiration,’ she said. ‘These photos from when Granny V and Grandpa Stanley launched the shop in the fifties are perfect. We can use the original fittings we already have – and the rest we should be able to replicate easily enough.’
Anna got to her feet, sponge in hand. ‘She was always so glamorous, wasn’t she?’ she said, looking at a photo of Vivien standing behind the counter at Sunset 99s. ‘Her hair styled so beautifully, those handsewn dresses.’
‘I can barely be bothered to blow-dry my hair most days,’ Imogen said. ‘But she made it look effortless.’
‘Day after day, even though she was working here six days a week.’
‘Amazing,’ Imogen said. ‘I hope that between us we can manage it as well as she did alone. She had real dedication.’
‘When Grandpa Stanley died, she opened the shop the next day. Do you remember? We were only kids but I still recall Dad talking to her about it, trying to persuade her to take some time off. But she insisted that running the shop was the only thing that would keep her going.’
The glass front door creaked open, interrupting them.
They turned to see a woman in her late forties wearing a duffel coat, greying hair held in a tight, high ponytail. Anna recognised her face, but couldn’t place her.
‘Hello,’ the woman said. ‘Hope you don’t mind me dropping by, but I saw the two of you working in here. You must be Vivien’s granddaughters. I heard a rumour you might be taking this place over.’
She came further into the shop and held out her hand to shake Anna’s. ‘I’m Sue,’ she said. Anna held up her yellow-rubber gloved hand and smiled apologetically. ‘Hi, Sue. I’m Anna, and this is my sister Imogen.’
‘Hi,’ Imogen said, her tone a little cooler. ‘We’re giving this place a spring clean. Turned out it really needed it.’
Sue frowned, and as Anna detected the change in atmosphere she tried to lighten it. ‘Our grandma told me about you, said she was grateful you were helping out. Do you live locally?’
‘Just up in Hove, not far from your grandmother’s house. Been coming here since I was a nipper, so it was a dream come true when Vivien offered me the job. She needed the help, she said. It was getting too much for her.’
Anna nodded. ‘I only wish she’d realised that a bit earlier.’
‘Yes. We were really sad to hear the news,’ she said. They all fell quiet for a moment.
‘I expect you two will need a hand?’ Sue said. ‘I could show you how your grandmother and I used to run things.’
Anna hesitated. ‘Well, yes, we might. Thanks for coming by Sue. Do you want to leave your number and we’ll get in touch once we’re a bit closer to opening?’
‘Number’s in the address book,’ Sue said with a smile, pointing to the black book on the counter. ‘But I walk past here most days, so I’ll come by again, see how you’re doing.’
‘We’ll be in touch,’ Imogen said.
Sue turned and left the shop.
‘Anna,’ Imogen said, rolling her eyes, ‘you’re too nice. You’ll never make a decent businesswoman at this rate.’
‘Granny V said Sue had had a tough time of things lately,’ Anna said.
‘Sorry to hear that, but we’re not a charity, Anna. We’ve got the chance of a new start here. And if we re-employ that woman, I can tell you now that we’ll blow it.’
‘Granny must have had some reason for hiring her,’ Anna said, trying to give Sue the benefit of the doubt.
‘Yes, she was an endless supporter of the underdog. We all know that. Anyway,’ Imogen said, changing the subject. ‘This doesn’t look so bad up close,’ she continued, pointing to the chequerboard tile floor. ‘It should scrub up quite nicely.’
‘I agree,’ Anna said. ‘It looks original, and I’m not sure we’d be able to afford new flooring anyway, not with all the paint we’ve just bought. I’ll get the mop out.’
She filled a bucket with hot water and poured in some floor soap. Hepburn darted around her feet and she bent down to tickle him behind the ear. ‘I’m getting quite fond of him, you know.’
‘He’s not so bad,’ Imogen conceded. ‘For a dog.’
Anna dipped a mop in the soapy water and got to work cleaning the floor. Hepburn jumped on the mop and chased her, barking, as she swirled it around on the tiles, the bright white underneath the grime beginning to shine through. ‘I think he belongs here. He makes it feel like home.’
‘Well, all the same, I think we’d be better off keeping him out of the kitchen when we have the hygiene inspectors in.’
‘What do you think?’ Imogen called out from the rickety wooden ladder she was s
tanding on. They’d been working for three hours, and she was painting a band of pistachio trim around the top of the white walls. ‘I saw it on one of those home decorating programmes.’
‘I like it,’ Anna said, putting an old lightbulb down on the counter. With the new, brighter lights she’d installed, the place was starting to look a lot more cheerful. ‘Time for a tea break?’
Imogen nodded. Anna brought out a packet of custard creams from her bag and put the kettle on.
‘I ordered three ice cream makers online this morning,’ she said. ‘They’re fairly basic, but should be good enough for us to get started with.’
‘Great,’ Imogen said, rummaging through one of the cupboards until she located a box of tea bags. ‘No clue what we’re going to do with them, but that’s part of the fun, right?’
‘Exactly. They’re being delivered early next week, so it won’t be long before we can get started experimenting.’
Anna got some mugs out of the cupboard, then paused. ‘Do you think we should ask one of the neighbours to join us? I’ve met Evie before, and she’s really nice.’
‘Sure, why not?’
‘OK, I’ll be back in a minute.’
Anna left Vivien’s and walked out into the fresh air and around to Evie’s souvenir shop.
She stepped inside and and spotted her grandmother’s friend beyond the shelves full of buckets, spades and inflatables. ‘Hello,’ she called out. Evie was about the same age as Vivien, in her seventies, but in place of Vivien’s full-skirted dresses and trademark apron, she had on a pair of jeans and a fitted gingham shirt, her candyfloss-pink hair up in a loose bun. She didn’t seem to register who Anna was.
‘It’s Evie, isn’t it?’ Anna said, venturing past the inflatable fish and walking towards the counter. ‘I’m Anna, Vivien’s granddaughter. My sister and I have just taken over the ice cream shop.’
‘Anna. Oh, of course. Hello,’ Evie said with a smile. ‘I remember you now. Vivien told me she’d always hoped you two would be able to take over from her one day. Although we all wish it hadn’t been so soon.’
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