by Jenny Kane
‘Sounds great.’ Glad to have someone else willing to take the reins, especially as it was in such a friendly way, Abi relished the morning sun on her face as they strolled towards the cluster of cafés that huddled around the edge of the beach.
The sunshine that had been absent on her arrival was back in earnest, and with it had come the first major wave of summer holidaymakers. The café they’d walked to soon changed their mind about getting a drink straight away, ‘I can’t believe how busy it is. I swear there was hardly a soul here ten minutes ago, and yesterday, although it was busy on the beach, it was nothing compared to this!’
‘Welcome to Cornwall during the first week of the school holidays! By this time next week, the place will have transformed from the sleepy place you saw yesterday to a swarm of people all looking for suntans, sticks of rock, and homemade fudge.’
‘And out of season? What’s it like then?’
‘We’re rarely totally without tourists, but it can be very quiet.’
Trying to imagine living as a local observing the tourists, rather than being a tourist herself, Abi asked, ‘Which do you prefer?’
Ducking back out of the nearest packed café, having decided to get a drink in the village instead, Beth and Abi edged their way back between the customers waiting to be served their appetisingly smelling full English breakfasts. ‘I like it both ways. I adore seeing the happy faces of the visitors. It makes me proud of the place. Amazing isn’t it, that geography can bring so many people so much pleasure. And I also feel privileged on those occasions when I have the whole Cove to myself. Early on winter mornings, when the frost settles on the sand and you’re the only person in sight, is quite a special feeling. Sometimes it feels as though even the sea is holding its breath.’
There was no doubt Beth loved the place, and as they began to stroll along the road towards the village, the views on all sides, across the sea or over the higgledy-piggledy cottages, reinforced Abi’s sense that this was where she was supposed to be. ‘I love it too. I love that the place feels alive, even when it’s quiet and you can’t see another soul.’
‘You have seen it empty then?’
‘It was pretty quiet last night, but …’ Abi was a little uncomfortable, ‘this is going to sound weird but, I remember it empty, as a child.’
‘Not weird at all. Children’s memories are complex things, and it is amazing what stays in the back of the mind, especially when connected to an emotional response to something.’
Abi looked at Beth with curiosity. ‘That sounded like a professional opinion!’
‘I teach primary school children, but before that I studied the capacity of memory in the under-tens as part of my university dissertation.’
‘Wow. That’s impressive!’
‘And totally useless in everyday life! It was interesting at the time though.’ Beth smiled as she stopped walking, and gestured to the building they'd reached. ‘Max would never forgive me if I didn’t point out this first landmark. This is, as you can see from the sign, the Old Success Inn, where Max will, if you aren’t careful, drag you on a Thursday night to take part in the pub quiz.’
‘You’re not a pub quiz fan then?’
‘I really enjoy them to be honest, but as a teacher everyone always expects me to know the answers to everything, and then takes great delight in gently teasing me when I don’t. It’s all good-natured, but I’m not always in the mood for it.’
‘I can understand that.’ Abi faintly remembered the quizzes she’d used to go to with friends when she’d been an art student. ‘I used to rather like pub quizzes. Been years since I went to one though.’
If Beth noticed Abi’s sudden air of wistful regret she didn’t comment on it. ‘Max will be chuffed. He is always looking for new general knowledge talent!’
Dying to ask Beth if she and Max were more than just best friends, but not quite sure how to phrase it, Abi peered into The Old Boathouse souvenir shop as they passed by. Despite it being fairly early in the morning, the shop was already doing a roaring trade in postcards and buckets and spades. Although Abi had walked past the same buildings last night, she hadn’t taken in much beyond the sea view and the continued presence of the Roundhouse, which she could see now in the distance as they walked along. Looking about herself, determined not to miss a single thing, Abi asked, ‘Is the school where you work near here?’
‘Other side of Sennen. Walkable if you don’t mind hills.’
‘I bet everyone knows you round here.’
‘Oh yes, I’ve taught most of the young ones in the local villages. They’re a good bunch on the whole. I’m very lucky to have such a great job. I really don’t want to give it up?’
‘Give it up?’ Abi was cautious as she spoke, not wanting to interfere where she may not be wanted, ‘is that the big decision then, giving up teaching or not?’
‘Sort of.’
As they passed two picturesque white thatched cottages, and kept going towards the heart of the village, Beth said, ‘I tell you what, let’s grab that coffee after all, and I’ll tell you my story if you tell me yours. Deal?’
‘Deal!’
Chapter Ten
Settling into a window seat of the Toffee Nut Café, Abi and Beth gratefully acknowledged the speedy arrival of two mugs of strong coffee and the sustaining slices of saffron cake that Beth insisted they have. ‘It’s a local speciality, and slightly better for you than a Cornish cream tea – which I love, but it isn’t exactly kind on the waistline.’
‘Well, Luke would definitely approve of it, then, although having said that,’ Abi picked up her slice of what looked like bright yellow fruit cake, ‘it still looks far too delicious for him to have approved of.’
‘Is Luke your husband?’ Beth took a bite from her own cake, trying not to make it obvious that she’d noticed the cloud that had passed over her previously cheerful companion’s face.
‘He was. I’m a widow.’
‘Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! You’re so young. I had no idea!’
‘There’s no reason why you should have known.’ Abi began to play with her wedding ring, circling it around her finger as she stared into her mug. ‘He had a heart attack. Luke was older than me, and he had a very stressful job, but it was still unexpected.’
‘It must have been an awful shock!’
‘Yes.’ Abi cradled her mug of coffee and stared out across the street, admiring the granite cottages that seemed to reflect the warmth of the sunshine across the narrow road.
Not wanting to intrude, but at the same time consumed with curiosity and no small amount of concern for her new friend, Beth said, ‘We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but if you do want to offload, I’m a good listener. Just ask Max! I’ve been his emotional sounding-board for years, and he’s mine in return.’
‘He must be a wonderful boyfriend then.’ Abi sighed. ‘Looking back, I don’t think Luke ever had the patience to actually listen to me, and he certainly wouldn’t have shared anything he regarded as remotely emotional himself. That would have constituted weakness in his eyes.’
Beth would have laughed, but the expression of sadness on Abi’s face stopped her. ‘Really? That’s a shame. Luke was missing out there.’
‘I always thought so. Generation gap, perhaps. Although I don’t suppose twelve years is a big enough age difference for that really.’
Quiet descended over the table for a moment before Beth added, ‘And, umm … Max isn’t my boyfriend, he’s my best friend.’
Snapping out of the guilt-laden melancholy that had descended on her, Abi didn’t disguise her relief as much as she might normally have done. ‘You’re kidding! You look and act just like a couple.’
‘Do we?’ Beth shrugged. ‘We’ve been friends forever. We grew up together, and then we both decided to train as teachers. It seemed natural for us to study together, and so we applied for the same university.’
‘But Max didn’t get in?’
‘O
h, he got in alright.’
‘But he’s a painter and decorator? I don’t know him, but he seems like the sort of guy who would have made a great teacher.’
‘He would have, and I suspect he would be a headmaster by now if life hadn’t got in the way.’
The way Beth said ‘life’ made Abi suspect that she really meant a woman. ‘Life?’ Abi asked before sipping her coffee, before realising she was being nosy, ‘Sorry, it’s none of my business.’
Beth smiled. ‘I’m sure Max wouldn’t mind. Let’s just say he met his wife at university and she had other plans for him, and so the teacher training ended.’
‘She wanted him to be a decorator?’ Abi was confused.
‘No, she wanted him to be a lawyer or accountant or something high-powered. He did try, but he hated it, and she couldn’t understand why. In the end she ran off with someone else. That’s why he’s here. He came back to the area three years ago, and has been working at his decorating business ever since in his attempts to build a new life, and pay the old witch off.’
‘You weren’t a fan of hers then?’
‘Lucinda tore Max apart. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive her for how badly she treated him.’
Beth’s expression had become as dark as Abi’s had been, and even though she was dying to know more about Max, Abi also wanted to lift the mood. Changing the subject, she said, ‘We were going to tell each other what our new adventures were. Shall I go first, or will you?’
The arrival of lunchtime menus on their tables made both girls simultaneously check their watches.
‘Good heavens!’ Abi couldn’t believe it. ‘It’s twelve already. We’ve been chatting for two hours!’
It had been years since she’d had a proper conversation like that. A broad grin crossed Abi’s face as she allowed herself to accept that she was already making new friends here. It was more than she’d dared to hope for.
Over their empty coffee cups, Abi had heard all about Beth’s grandfather and the consequential lack of relationship opportunities beyond the occasional brief physical liaison since she’d moved in with him seven years ago. Beth had explained about how she’d not been able to face emptying the old cobbler’s shop he’d left to her, but now she knew she couldn’t put off making a decision about the property’s future any more, she was torn between running it herself, or leasing the premises to someone else.
In return Abi had told Beth about how suffocated the business wives Luke had so approved of made her feel, and how their disapproval of her working and not just being the perfect wife had worn her down. Then, when Luke had died, the wives’ inability to accept that Abi could look after herself, along with the attitude of Luke’s family, had started to drive her mad.
‘And that’s why you came to Cornwall? To escape the Carter family and the wives of the county set?’
‘That, and because I’ve always wanted to live here, ever since I was little.’
‘Since you fell in love with Abbey’s House?’
‘Yes.’ Not wanting to add that she also wanted to move far enough away from her old life as possible so she could escape, not only the ghost of being Luke’s wife, but also to make some friends that had never met him, and hadn’t known what she was like when she was with him. ‘I guess it sounds a bit strange. Of all the places I could have decided to live, and I could literally go anywhere, that I have come here. But it just felt so much like the right thing to do.’
‘Do you really have no idea where the house is?’
‘To be honest, if my brother hadn’t found an old photograph of it for me I’d have thought I’d been imagining Abbey’s House. I haven’t seen it since I was eight years old.’
‘What happened after you were eight?’
‘My father was promoted and we could afford to take holidays abroad. I was very lucky, I saw a great deal of the world, but nowhere’s stayed in my heart like Cornwall has.’
Beth drained the dregs of her cold coffee. ‘I don’t suppose you have the photograph on you?’
‘Stupidly I’ve left it in the hotel. I meant to bring it, but, well, to be honest I was a bit nervous about meeting you today. It might have looked a bit pushy if I’d brought it with me.’
Beth grinned. ‘To tell you the truth, I was nervous as well. It’s been a long time since I had a female friend.’
‘Really?’
‘I’ve always preferred male company. Women can be so darn catty. I don’t have the time or the patience for it.’
Abi laughed. ‘I can’t argue with that!’
‘So, it’s called Abbey’s House?’ Beth looked thoughtful. ‘I can’t say it’s a name I recognise off the top of my head, but I might when I see it.’
‘Maybe if it hadn’t been called Abbey’s House I wouldn’t have had a connection with it. A silly childhood ideal, perhaps. I always wondered if there was an old abbey or monastery around here that it was named after.
‘More likely to be a family name. Maybe the Abbeys were a tin mining family or something? It could be worth having a dig into the local archives at the library.’
‘That’s a great idea, thanks, Beth.’ Abi’s confidence rose a notch as she watched a group of holidaymakers passed the window, ‘I remember the house being at the end of a short row of houses. Terraced, stone built, and painted a creamy white colour. Although you can’t see it in the photograph I’ve got, I’m fairly sure that when I was sat on my father’s shoulders I could see the sea, but when I was stood on the pavement I couldn’t see it, although I could hear it and smell the salty air.’
‘Which probably means that it has sea views from upstairs, but not from the ground floor. That would place Abbey’s House somewhere up the side of slope that forms the village, not at the bottom, nor the top. So I guess that narrows the hunt a little,’ Beth smiled.
‘I really should have brought the photo.’
‘Never mind. Why don’t I come back to the hotel with you later and take a peep? You never know, I might recognise it on sight.’
‘Are you sure? That would be great. Thanks, Beth.’
‘So if you find it, are you hoping to see a For Sale sign in the garden?’
Abi blushed. ‘If I’m honest, I’d love it, but that might be a miracle too far! And if it was on the market, I can’t imagine that it would have the studio space I need to work from. Somehow I need to see it before I start to seriously hunt for a place to settle down in.’ Abi looked about her. ‘Do you think we should move? There are people waiting for tables.’
‘Good plan. I tell you what,’ Beth stood up, ‘do you fancy coming to see my place? You could help me choose what to do with it?’
‘I hadn’t realised you were so close by!’ Abi trailed a hand over the outside of the white-painted granite wall. It was a picturesque building, standing neatly at the street corner, its huge windows giving views in two different directions. ‘I can see why you don’t want to sell up and leave. This is stunning. Right in the middle of the village, and yet somehow still peaceful. You’re so lucky!’
Beth was touched by Abi’s enthusiasm for her home. ‘So you can understand why I can’t bring myself to let go of it, quite apart from all the memories of living here with my grandad. I love the place.’
Following Beth into the shop, Abi stood in the centre of the room. Beth might well not know what she wanted to do with the place, but Abi knew what she’d do with the place instantly. It was the most perfect location for a studio she’d ever seen.
With her hands buried deep in her pockets, Beth turned to Abi. ‘Tell me, if this was your place, what would you do with it?’
Chapter Eleven
Holding a copy of Abi’s photograph, which the hotel receptionist had kindly reproduced for them on the office photocopier, Beth curled up on the end of her armchair with a coffee in her spare hand and her phone tucked under her chin.
‘So, Maxwell, I guess I can forgive you for dropping me in it when we were in the pub, and making me feel like I
had no choice but to invite Abi out for the day.’
‘I did no such thing.’ Max chuckled, ‘Anyway, I’m an excellent judge of character; I knew you two would get on. I take it you had a good day?’
‘We did. She’s lovely, and the poor girl has had a pretty crap time lately. She didn’t say it in so many words, but I suspect Abi is running away more than relocating.’
Stretching his long legs out in front of him in the cab of his van, Max frowned. ‘How do you mean? No one’s hurt her, have they?’
Beth smiled at the concerned tone of his voice. Max would always be the first in the queue to rescue a kitten from a tree or help an old lady cross the road. The idea of one human being hurting another was something he couldn’t bear.
‘Her husband died just after Christmas. I’m not sure he gave her the easiest time marriage-wise, but she didn’t say that much, and I didn’t feel I could ask anything too personal after only knowing her a day.’
‘Abi is a widow? Blimey! She can’t be much more than twenty-five!’
‘She’s thirty-two; that I did find out. Our birthdays are really close together actually. I also think I might know where Abbey’s House is. She’s given me an old photograph her brother found in a family album, but I’d rather check with you to make sure I’m right before I get her hopes up.’
‘Any chance of it being for sale, do you think?’
‘Not a hope, but until Abi has seen it, then I don’t think she’ll be able to move on past the childhood memory that sent her down her in the first place.’
‘A lot could have happened to the house in twenty-odd years. It might not be anything like she remembers at all.’
‘That’s true.’ Beth placed her mug on the coffee table. ‘Do you fancy nipping over here after work and taking a gander at the photo then?’
Max hooked the driver’s seatbelt over his shoulder, ‘If you’re home I could come now. I’ve just this minute finished for the day. That OK?’
‘I’ll pop the kettle back on.’
As Max drove towards the old cobbler’s shop, his fingers crossed for a parking spot, he found himself struggling not to get angry. There was no logical reason why he should feel annoyed with Abi’s husband, especially as he was dead. A death that had obviously occurred prematurely if he had been married to someone as young as Abi. Yet the possibility that she might have been sad even before the death of her husband made Max’s hands grip the steering wheel far tighter than usual.
