‘Don’t you go giving up on me now,’ Anna said. ‘It feels like we’re finally starting to make some progress. I’m trained up, and with Dad’s show of strength just now, at least we won’t have a family feud threatening to undermine the progress we’re making.’
‘But what progress?’ Imogen said. ‘Thanks to me, money is going to be tight, really tight.’
‘We’ll think of something,’ Anna said. ‘Now, where am I dropping you off – back at home?’
‘Can you leave me by the shop? I know you’ve only just forgiven me and everything, but I’m paranoid I might have left the door unlocked.’
Imogen said goodbye to Anna, and took the steps down to the seafront. In the fading light of dusk, the West Pier looked eerily beautiful. The Granville Arches stretch was quiet this evening. She looked over to where the AA men had towed the van the other day, a short walk from the shop. Its silhouette was unmistakeable, with the ice cream cone model on the top.
As she approached it, Imogen saw that the bonnet was open, and a man was leaning into it.
‘What on earth do you think you’re doing?’ Imogen called out, acting on instinct.
The man stood upright and took a step towards her. Imogen squinted to make him out – grey T-shirt, jeans, dark-blond hair … His face was lit from the side by the glow coming from the surf school.
‘Finn?’
‘Yes,’ he said calmly. ‘Were you expecting someone else?’
‘I wasn’t expecting anyone to be interfering with our van,’ she said. ‘It’s our property.’
‘I’m not sure I could do much more damage to it, to be honest,’ he said, wiping his dirty hands on his jeans.
‘That doesn’t seem to have stopped you from trying,’ Imogen said. ‘What gives you the right … ’ She felt a flush of annoyance come to her cheeks.
‘Imogen,’ he said, ‘maybe you could stop jumping to conclusions for a minute.’
‘OK,’ she said, taking a breath. ‘Tell me what the legitimate reason is why you’re tinkering under the bonnet.’
‘I don’t know why I bothered,’ Finn said, shaking his head. ‘But I saw the van getting towed back the other day, and – well, I was an apprentice in a garage once. I thought maybe I could work out what went wrong.’
‘Oh,’ Imogen said, words deserting her.
‘And I think I have, if you’re willing to listen. Shall we go inside?’
Imogen followed him into the surf school, feeling sheepish. The walls were lined with boards of different shapes and sizes, and in the corner there was a small kitchen, with an old kettle and lots of mugs hanging up.
‘Right,’ he said. ‘First things first, can I offer you a cup of tea?’ he asked. ‘Or something stronger?’
‘A beer would be good,’ Imogen said.
Finn opened a bottle of beer from the fridge, and passed it to her.
‘It’s always easier to apologise when you have alcohol nearby, I find,’ Imogen said. She braced herself. ‘I was wrong about you,’ she added. ‘And I’m really sorry.’
‘Thanks. Apology accepted. So, can we talk like normal people now?’ he asked tentatively, taking a seat.
‘Yes,’ Imogen said. ‘Yes, please,’ she continued. ‘It wasn’t you, was it, who leaked the story to the press? I can see that now.’
‘Of course it wasn’t,’ Finn said. ‘That’s the last thing I’d do.’
‘I read the situation badly. I wasn’t thinking straight. What with one thing and another it’s been a weird time. The article, my aunt being a nightmare. Someone posting horrible reviews online.’
‘Oh, you’re got one of those, have you?’ Finn said. ‘Nasty.’
‘Yes,’ Imogen said. ‘They’re posted on a few sites, too. It would be OK if they were balanced out by some more positive ones, but at the moment we haven’t had enough customers for that. I imagine it’s the same person who leaked the food-poisoning story to the press.’
‘Any idea who it could be? Now that you’ve ruled me out, I hope?’
‘Our Aunt Françoise was trying to make life difficult for a while, but it’s really not her style. Other than that … ’ Imogen thought back on the past weeks, and tried to look at things objectively. She’d been so caught up in accusing Finn she might well have missed something. ‘Actually there is someone we’ve upset.’
‘And that is?’
‘Sue.’ Imogen recalled her face with vivid clarity. ‘The woman who used to help my grandma out in the shop.’
‘Ah, yes. I remember her,’ Finn said. ‘She was there quite a lot, but never really seemed to be doing much.’
‘Exactly,’ Imogen said. ‘That’s what we suspected, which is one of the reasons why we didn’t offer her the job back. That, and we don’t have any money to pay her.’
‘And now she’s got an axe to grind,’ he said. ‘Sounds a likely candidate.’
‘I don’t know how I’ve missed it till now,’ Imogen said. ‘What do you reckon we should do?’
‘If you want my honest advice, I wouldn’t do anything.’
‘Really? But what she’s doing isn’t fair.’
‘She reported something to the press that was – and don’t hate me for saying this – true. She vented some of her understandable anger online. Everyone gets the odd nutter giving them a bad review. You guys are moving forward, you’re training up, and positive word of mouth will follow, just wait and see. That’s what matters.’
‘I should just ignore it?’ Imogen said, taking a sip of beer.
‘It’s up to you. But probably, yes. You’ll get through it,’ Finn said. ‘And she may well run out of steam soon.’
‘You may be right.’
‘All I’ll say is that if you’re willing to let a few negative reviews throw you off, then you might as well jack it in now. You’ve found out already that when you’re running your own business you need a thick skin. Andy and I lost money for the first three years, but we kept going, and it was worth it.’
‘So you’re saying we need to toughen up?’ Imogen asked.
‘I think you’re pretty tough already,’ Finn laughed. ‘Just use it when you’re working from now on, not on your neighbours.’
Imogen smiled. ‘Thanks for being OK with all this.’
‘It’s nothing,’ he said. ‘A misunderstanding.’
They stood in silence for a moment.
‘And if you’ll let me,’ Finn said, ‘like I said, I can sort out the van. Shouldn’t cost much for the parts.’
‘I’d appreciate that,’ Imogen said, with a feeling of immense relief.
The moon was full in the sky, and after checking that the front door of the shop was locked properly, Imogen walked the long route home via Brighton Pier. The fresh air cleared her head, and the beach was full of people partying around campfires and barbecues. The beers she’d had with Finn had left her with a warm buzz, and she fell into step with the sound of the bongos.
She remembered the full-moon parties in Thailand – dancing till dawn with old friends and new ones she’d met, learning how to juggle. Those parties would still be going on, out in the islands, all the way across the world. She tried to stop wishing herself back there.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Anna looked at the TripAdvisor page for Vivien’s, and spotted two recent one-star reviews. The usernames were new, but the tone was unmistakably familiar:
This used to be a caring, friendly establishment, but since the new owners started, it’s become really stuck-up – avoid.
‘This is her again, isn’t it?’ she said.
Imogen read slowly over her shoulder. ‘Definitely,’ she said, annoyed. ‘There’s no doubt about it. Different name, but you can tell – she’s even used some of the same phrases later on. Appalling – that’s one of her favourites.’
‘It’s clearly Sue,’ Anna said, turning on her stool to face Imogen. ‘I don’t know how we missed it. How do you think she heard about the food-poisoning stuff?’
‘I don’t kno
w, but people talk, don’t they? It could be that she knows Jill and Jeffrey, the couple who were affected.’
‘That’s possible,’ Anna said. ‘Look, I know we said we’d ignore this, but I feel like we need to do something. What if it gets worse?’
‘I agree,’ Imogen said reluctantly. ‘I mean I doubt she’d have the courage to do anything that doesn’t involve skulking behind a computer screen under a fake name, but you never know.’
‘But what do we do?’
Imogen picked up the address book and flicked through it until she found Sue’s name. There, as she’d hoped, were Sue’s details. ‘Her address is in here,’ she said, pointing at it.
‘So, what, are you suggesting we go round and confront her?’ Anna said.
‘Kind of,’ Imogen said. ‘Don’t get annoyed, but I’m actually suggesting you go round and confront her. I know it’s partly my fault we’re in this mess, but I think it’s going to have to be you, for the sake of the business.’
‘Me?’ Anna said, a surge of adrenalin running through her. ‘Why? I can’t!’
‘You can,’ Imogen said. ‘You’ve got a far better record than me at conflict resolution.’
‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’ Anna said. ‘You’re going to make me go over there on my own.’
‘You know what’ll happen if I go,’ Imogen said. ‘I won’t be able to hold back from telling that woman what I really think of her – which we both know will only make things worse.’
‘OK,’ Anna said, steeling herself, and scribbling down the address on the menu pad. It wasn’t far from Vivien’s house – she could be there in ten minutes. She ripped off the sheet of paper and put it in her wallet. ‘Wish me luck.’
‘Luck,’ Imogen said.
On the walk over, Anna mentally rehearsed what she was going to say. Calm and polite, she told herself. As long as she stayed like that, things would be OK.
She checked the address again as she arrived at the entrance to Sue’s road. Number 3a. She took a deep breath, went to the door and pressed the buzzer.
The door opened a crack, held back by the chain. Sue’s eyes peered through the gap.
‘You,’ Sue said bitterly. ‘Nothing to say to you.’
She closed the door in Anna’s face. Anna stood there on the doorstep. How was she supposed to reason with a woman who was so set on hating her and Imogen? She considered turning to go, then pressed the buzzer one more time. If her grandmother could find something to like about this woman, then there had to be a way for her to do so too.
‘I thought I made myself clear,’ Sue said, talking through the gap again.
‘Five minutes,’ Anna said. ‘That’s all I’m asking. Just hear me out.’
The door closed and Anna heard the clanking of the chain as Sue undid it. ‘Five minutes. And I’m only doing this for your grandmother’s sake.’
Sue stood back and Anna passed her and went through into the hallway. ‘Through there,’ Sue said, motioning for her to go through into her compact living room.
Anna sat down and tried to remember what she’d planned to say now that she was actually here.
Sue sat opposite her on a flowered armchair next to her gas fire. On the mantelpiece were framed photos of her family – a young man and woman in a wedding photo, and a baby girl in a pink bonnet. Despite her cold expression, Sue looked somehow softer here in her own home.
‘I’m sorry, Sue, about what happened,’ Anna started.
Sue raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
‘I mean, I’m sorry about what we did, letting you go. I know our grandmother thought a great deal of you – she told me so herself.’
‘She did?’ Sue said.
‘Yes. And if there hadn’t been two of us working at the shop already, we might have come to a different decision.’ A white lie never hurt anyone, Anna reassured herself.
‘It was all a bit brutal,’ Sue said. ‘And sudden, I must say. When I heard that the business was staying in the family, I assumed my job would be safe. Thought you would look out for me, just like Vivien did. Didn’t expect to be tossed aside like a bit of rubbish.’
‘We didn’t mean to make you feel that way.’ Anna thought back to how she and Imogen had reacted after Sue left the shop, with relieved laughter. It seemed callous now. ‘I’m sorry. We had to make a plan for the business, and there was hardly any money left over after we factored in the essentials. It was a business decision, pure and simple.’
‘Well, let me tell you, I know all about hardly any money left over,’ Sue said. ‘This thing –’ she pointed to the gas fire next to her – ‘barely had it on this winter. And what little Jamie used to bring round to me –’ she glanced up at the picture of the young man on his wedding day –‘that’s gone now that he’s inside.’
‘That must be hard,’ Anna said.
‘Yes. But not as hard as the judgements,’ Sue said, shaking her head. ‘Neighbours staring. I know they’re talking about me too, thinking that I’m a bad mother. Looking at his wife, Sally, the same way. Even little Carrie-Ann’s had stick at school for it – seven years old, and she’s getting a hard time about her dad’s stealing.’
Sue’s hands were clasped in her lap. ‘It was wrong what he did,’ she said. ‘But he’s not a bad man, Jamie. Six months out of work – with a mortgage and a child to support – it did something to him.’
Anna nodded, listening.
‘It wasn’t right what I did either,’ Sue said. ‘I know why you’re here. The reviews I wrote. But I was angry.’
‘I can see why,’ Anna said.
‘Your grandmother,’ Sue said, ‘she was the first person round here not to judge me. When the news came out, all the neighbours were gossiping in the corner shop. Thought I couldn’t hear them, but of course I could. And you know what your grandmother did?’
Anna waited for her to go on.
‘She was straight round here, knocked on my door. Gave me a card, and a soft toy for Carrie-Ann. Said she was thinking of us all. Two weeks later, she offered me the job.’
That was Granny V, Anna thought to herself. That was her all over. And today had shown that she and Imogen still had a lot to learn from her about compassion.
‘I didn’t know her well,’ Sue said, ‘but there was something special in that woman.’
‘She had a good heart,’ Anna said. ‘How much longer is it, until Jamie gets home?’
‘Two months,’ Sue said slowly. ‘Sally’s got a job working school hours at the deli now. That’s made things a bit easier. It’s Jamie’s chances when he gets out I’m worried about.’
‘I’m sorry there’s not more we can do to help,’ Anna said.
‘Things change,’ Sue said. ‘Maybe I should have understood that better from the start. It’s not you and your sister’s fault. Not really. Seemed like an easy answer, but let’s face it – life’s not often that straightforward, is it now?’
‘No,’ Anna said, the complex reality of the situation sinking in. ‘It really isn’t.’
‘Hi, Mum, is Dad there?’ Anna said. ‘I wanted to check in with him, after everything that’s happened.’
‘Yes, love,’ Jan replied, sounding more positive than she had in a while. ‘I’ll just put him on.’
‘Hi, Anna,’ her dad said. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m fine. And you, how did things go after we left the other day?’
‘It wasn’t exactly comfortable, as you’d expect. But Françoise and Martin left politely.’
‘Thanks for sticking up for us.’
‘You don’t need to thank me,’ Tom said. ‘I was only doing what any father would do. Martin’s been letting that woman run riot over his life since the day they got married, but I’ll be damned if she thinks she can interfere in our family too.’
Anna smiled to herself. ‘You sound better.’
‘Well, it’s up and down, but that argument certainly woke something up in me. And it feels good to feel something.’
&nbs
p; ‘You must miss Granny V a lot still.’
‘Of course I do,’ Tom said. ‘Her calls every day. The homemade biscuits she’d send over in packages, do you remember those?’
‘Yes. I miss those too.’
‘It still feels incomplete without her here, in our family. Like there’s a gap where she used to be. It was difficult being in her house, all that space that she used to fill with her chat and her laughter. It seems so big and empty now. But the house is one of the last things we have of her, and I’ve made it clear to Martin that I want us to keep it for a little while.’
‘He agreed?’
‘Yes,’ Tom said. ‘He’s called off the plan with the developers. Whenever we’re on our own we can work things out. It’s when Françoise is around that the problems start. Anyway, for now at least she’ll be keeping her nose out of your business at the shop. Should be smooth sailing for you two now.’
‘Yes, something like that,’ Anna said. How could she gloss over things, pretend that everything was OK? He deserved to know how things really stood, financially. ‘I wanted to talk to you about that, actually,’ Anna said, taking a deep breath. ‘As you know, we’ve had some issues getting started, but what I didn’t mention is that we’re running lower on funds than we expected.’
‘Didn’t Mum leave you something to start up with?’
‘Yes,’ Anna said. ‘But we’ve been getting through it much faster than we thought. I’m thinking of getting a loan to tide us over.’
‘Sounds sensible,’ he said, without hesitation. ‘Most small businesses do it at some point, don’t they? I’m sure whatever decision you make will be the right one.’
‘OK,’ Anna said, feeling relieved at her father’s reaction. It was as if he’d somehow given her permission to take what had felt like a risky step. ‘Thanks, Dad.’
After speaking to her dad, Anna talked her plan over with Imogen, then called up and made an appointment with the building society. She met with the same small business advisor as before, and the woman was understanding about the challenges they were facing. She couldn’t offer a large loan, but what the bank could lend would be enough to help them get back on their feet again. Once more, Vivien’s stood a fighting chance.
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