The Cosy Little Cupcake Van: A deliciously feel-good romance

by Annette Hannah

  ‘No, I didn’t – I can promise you that. With hindsight I was probably depressed. I was angry with the world but never you.’ He turned to face her. ‘Ever since I went back the only thought that kept me going was that you would be joining me soon just like we’d always planned. But as the months went on that dream became less and less likely and when you told me for definite that it wasn’t going to happen, I just switched off. Like I said I didn’t know what to say to you. I wrote letter after letter but screwed them all up because the words just didn’t come out right, in the end it seemed better to say nothing at all. I’m sorry for that, truly I am.’

  She wandered to the window and gazed outside. The moonlight and streetlights had bathed everything in a golden glow. His explanation made a lot of sense but was it what she had wanted to hear? He sounded as though he’d gone through hell. He interrupted her thoughts.

  ‘We were lucky as Dad’s oldest friend helped out with the business and kept it going for the first year, then eased me back in slowly when I was ready. Uncle Stu was so patient and kind – not many people have friends like that.’

  ‘He sounds wonderful,’ she replied. Thoughts buzzed around her mind like a thousand wasps clamouring over each other to get to their nest. Could she let go of the hurt she’d felt knowing that they were so young back then and that he had been hurting as much as she had?

  ’It sounds like you could have done with some grief counselling.’

  ‘My mom tried to get me to go but I was stubborn. However we did have a lovely old lady who lived next door, I used to do jobs for her and she was a huge help, I would sit and have tea and cake with her, she talked me through a lot of my grief. She made out that I was doing her a favour by keeping her company but if truth be told I think she saved my life.’

  ‘She sounds just like Auntie Edie, I don’t know where I’d be without her.’ Said Camilla with affection. ‘I just wish that you could have told me,’ she couldn’t help herself from blurting out.’

  ‘I truthfully didn’t know what to say. But now you know. I’m sorry for how much pain I’ve caused you. But I’m a million miles away from the idiot I was back then so please can we put all this behind us and move on. As Edie always says, life is far too short for these sorts of shenanigans.’

  ‘Yes, and she’s quite right. I’m sorry too, Blake, for everything you’ve been through. It just doesn’t seem fair. Life has been so cruel to both of us, but I think we both deserve happiness from now on.’

  ‘I completely agree.’ He clasped her hand in his. ‘And you’re what makes me happy.’ He stroked her cheek gently before his face came closer and his lips brushed hers lightly. It seemed the lighter the touch the more powerful the jolts of electricity that shot through her body.

  ‘Please give me another chance. Let’s start afresh with a clean slate and a new first date, let me prove myself to you. I promise you won’t regret it.’

  ‘Okay,’ she breathed, ‘let’s give it a try.’

  Chapter 29

  Sitting at a table for two in Flowerpots garden centre the next day, Auntie Edie was as sympathetic with Camilla as she had been with Blake the day before. The waitress had brought over their jacket potatoes and removed the large brightly painted wooden flower they’d been handed when they placed their order. Edie sprinkled salt and pepper vigorously on her tuna mayonnaise filling; un-wrapped the little rectangle of butter and buried it deep into the flesh of the potato where it oozed delectably.

  ‘Now then milady, what on earth is it that you want from this man, he hasn’t actually done anything wrong and all he wants to do is love you.’

  ‘I know, I just wish I’d known at the time.’

  ‘Well by the sounds of it you wouldn’t have been any help anyway, you would have put more pressure on him had you been there and he didn’t want to drag you away from your mum, and the truth is….’ she hesitated.

  ‘What is the truth?’ Camilla asked as she sloshed the balsamic dressing a little too heavy-handedly onto her tuna potato so that it splashed over the table, earning a dirty look from a passing waitress. Camilla used her napkin to wipe it up.

  ‘You being there may have put even more pressure on him and maybe your relationship wouldn’t have lasted. At least this way you get to start afresh. The man worships the ground you walk on; he does nothing but talk about you when I see him,’

  ‘Wait. Hold on a minute,’ Camilla interrupted, ‘how often do you see him?’

  ‘He’s been popping in quite regularly and making sure I get to my doctor’s appointments and he runs me down to the shops whenever I need to go and he takes me for the odd lunch.’ She popped a forkful of the potato in her mouth.

  ‘Oh, I didn’t realise that you’d seen that much of him lately,’ Camilla felt strangely jealous which was ridiculous, but Edie was her auntie not his.

  Edie was never one to hold back, especially where Camilla was concerned. They had always been close but ever since Camilla lost her mum Edie had been fiercely protective of her. She put her knife and fork down and there was kindness in her voice. ‘Don’t you be getting jealous; you know there’s plenty of room in my heart for you and the only man you’ve ever truly loved.’

  She picked up her knife and fork and began to tuck into her lunch, ‘And make sure you eat your salad, you always did try to shirk away from eating your veg, just remember no pudding unless it’s all gone.’

  Camilla was grateful that Auntie Edie had finished her admonishment with a little humour, this lady had been a constant in her life even before she had lost her mum and she found her advice invaluable. Auntie Edie spoke a great deal of sense and Camilla knew she would be a fool not to listen to her. She tucked into her salad until not one leaf was left.

  After lunch they had a wander around the garden centre which was always a treat, they looked at candles and ornaments and unusual furnishings. The store had a fabulous team of creatives and it often felt like stepping into another world. The current theme was Alice in Wonderland and it was fun seeing the characters and other accessories peeking from the displays of garden furniture and other delights on sale. They each bought a scented candle labelled ‘Mad-Hatter’s tea party’ and made their way out to the car park where a small group of children had gathered around the cupcake van.

  Camilla still smiled broadly every time she saw it, to her it represented friendships and she knew she would be completely lost without hers. They had got her back on her feet again and the cupcake van had given her a new lease of life. Edie chuckled every time she saw it and Camilla knew how much it had played a part in her recovery. Something precious had been taken from her but she had been given something so wonderful in its place, and it showed her that she was loved. Having lost the woman who had given birth to her it was something Camilla needed to know.

  The children were asking their parents for ice creams and although she couldn’t help them out there she had a pretty delicious alternative to offer them in the form of cupcake kisses, which were the same as her normal cupcakes but tinier versions. She always tried to take a small supply around with her as people were sometimes disappointed that she wasn’t a real ice cream seller, however they soon cheered up when she gave them a cupcake kiss in a cute paper bag and with a handmade label attached which had all of her details on.

  Edie was delighted to help to serve everyone from the hatch and she chatted excitedly on the journey home. As she left the van and headed up her path she called to Camilla,

  ‘You grab this opportunity with both hands and don’t let that man slip away again.’

  Camilla smiled at her and blew a kiss, she headed back to Cupcake Cottage to call the love of her life and invite him on that second first date.

  Having Angela around had changed Camilla’s life dramatically; just having time to stop and breathe had made a huge difference. Being able to leave the cupcake making and decorating to her had meant that Camilla could now take some time out to concentrate on where she was going next.

&nb
sp; Camilla’s vlog was gaining momentum in terms of hits and followers and so with the help of Jackson – who was quite the little expert – she had invested in a good quality camera and microphone which along with her phone allowed her to to film and edit from different angles.

  After a few practice shots she pressed record. She always spoke a little self-consciously at first and could feel her cheeks burning but eventually would relax in front of the camera. She tried to channel Jackson and wished she had just a smidgeon of his confidence. The cake in the shape of the shop was coming along beautifully and she could feel the energy and imagination coming back to her bit by bit. Feeling the cool icing between her fingers brought back happy memories of being with her mum. They had often created weird and wonderful shapes of dogs and birds and people. Her skills had improved a great deal since turning professional. It felt good to be getting back in the game again. She paused the camera as she saw Tillie come into the orangery.

  ‘Look, Auntie Milla, I’ve made a doggy.’ she held up the mangled piece of icing, which had gone sticky in her hand.

  ‘That’s amazing, Tillie, well done. Now would you like to make a pussy cat?’ Tillie nodded and Camilla lifted her up to sit on a stool and handed her some black icing, which she immediately began rolling in a ball with her chubby fingers. The smell of cupcakes was in the air along with puffs of icing sugar. Camilla smiled at the child. She saw herself through her mother’s eyes, face shining with wonderment at creating even the simplest shapes out of icing. Once Tillie left the room Camilla started filming again. She spoke to camera.

  ‘Now I’ve been given free rein over flavourings. This special couple wanted something a little bit different and fresh for their wedding renewal vows and a little birdie told me they were going on a Caribbean cruise so I thought this would fit the bill perfectly. The layers of the cake as you saw earlier are made up of sponge flavours, some of which I’ve never tried before but it’s good to experiment. Here we have luscious lemon, orange, lime and pineapple sandwiched together with a white chocolate, coconut and tropical fruit ganache. The combination simply tantalises the taste buds.’

  She covered the cake with icing and showed her decorating tools to the camera, explaining what each one was for. ‘Now I need you to put all of the clear boiled sweets into a freezer bag, like so and give them a hefty whack with your rolling pin.’ She began smashing the sweets with her wooden rolling pin. Thoughts of the dodgy house thief or he who shall not be named came into her mind and the rolling pin bashed the wooden chopping board until it bounced a good few millimetres off the table.

  ‘If you don’t feel you’re hitting it hard enough then don’t worry, just imagine it’s someone you don’t like, maybe a lousy fraudster,’ she muttered, expletives escaping her mouth with every bash. She would need to edit the video anyway so she may as well have fun with it. In between bashes she heard a knock coming from the window behind her. She turned and jumped on seeing the window cleaner looking at her with concern etched on his face. She’d completely forgotten that she’d arranged with the landlord for him to come today.’

  ‘Are you okay?’ he mouthed.

  ‘Yes, fine thank you. I’m filming right now,’ she mouthed back, her hands doing the charades sign for a camera, her cheeks aflame after having been caught being very enthusiastic with the weapon she was yielding. The poor man looked terrified but nodded his understanding and moved to the kitchen window.

  ‘Now we just put all the bashed-up sweets onto greaseproof paper and into the oven, and that is going to make the window for the shop. We can paint the leaded pattern on with one of our edible ink pens.’ She continued until the cake was completed, despite a couple more interruptions from the window cleaner being back in shot again and the sound of his squeegee squeaking along the window, which made her cringe in the same way as fingernails scraping down the chalkboard.

  ‘Oh seriously! What bit of “I’m filming” does he not understand?’ she growled. ‘If he’s not careful I’ll shove that squeegee where the friggin’ sun don’t shine.’

  A sense of pride and contentment washed over her as she put the finishing touches to the cake. She checked the details on the email from Lucy and was able to tick off everything the customers had asked for apart from the crowning glory. ‘Where’s that?’ asked Tillie who had wandered in to the orangery, wearing her coat ready to go home, quickly followed by an apologetic Angela who’d been trying to keep her out of the way. Luckily they were behind the camera and not in shot.

  ‘Where’s what?’ asked Camilla deep in concentration as she placed an edible version of the happy couple in front of the cake.

  The video ended with Camilla placing the perfect replica of the shop next to the photo that she’d been working from and with huge relief turned off the cameras.‘Where the friggin’ sun don’t shine? And what’s a squeegee?’

  ‘Tillie!’ Angela yelped with laughter and Camilla wanted the ground to swallow her up.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Angela, it was just the noise of the bloody window cleaner – squeeeek squeak – it was going through me.’

  Angela nodded her head towards the camera. ‘What about the filming?’ she whispered.

  ‘Oh, it’s okay. I’m going to play some music over the sweary bits, so it’ll be fine.

  Angela smiled and blew a kiss goodbye.

  ‘Wait, before you go, I need Tillie’s opinion on the flavours I’ve used today,’ said Camilla holding up three spoons.

  The mixing bowls were soon scraped clean by two wooden spoons and one teaspoon. The only evidence that the delicious mixture existed in the first place was around Tillie’s mouth as she was not as adept as her mum and Camilla at feeding herself. Camilla decided that tropical cakes had definitely scored ten out of ten on Tillie’s Yummy Factor and would add a fresh citrusy tang to her cupcake repertoire.

  ‘Oh, I nearly forgot,’ said Angela. ‘When you next see Blake can you give him this please.’ She handed a card over.

  ‘Yes of course.’

  ‘It’s a thank you card from all the mums at the shelter.’

  ‘A thank you card?’ Camilla looked puzzled.

  ‘Yes, he bought us a new cooker – a really fancy one. ‘He called the house phone the other day when you were out on deliveries. He introduced himself to me and asked if we still needed a new cooker as you’d mentioned about our old one. He then asked me for the website address so he could make the donation. He was going to do it anonymously but had to tell me because naturally we’re not allowed to give the actual address out. It’s made such a difference to us; he’s also bought some new play equipment for the garden.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Camilla.

  ‘He’s obviously a good guy with a big heart.’

  ‘A very big heart,’ she replied, her own heart swelled, her voice full of pride. ‘My mum always said he was one of the good guys, a real keeper.’

  She carefully loaded the finished cake into the cupcake van and drove round to the venue, turning on the chimes as she approached. The Signal Box Café was decked out beautifully with red balloons and flowers. Mr Ives had come out to greet her and helped her into the building with the heavy box. Camilla held the box while Mr Ives gently lifted the cake out if it and placed it carefully on the stand, which was nestled amongst exotic flowers. His eyes opened wider in admiration after seeing his precious shop perfectly re-created in cake form and he called his wife over.

  ‘Sandra, come and look at this.’ Sandra joined him and tears sprung to her eyes. She was wearing a red shift dress and a red pillbox hat, just like the little icing version of herself.

  Camilla gave her a hug. ‘Congratulations on your fortieth wedding anniversary and on renewing your wedding vows.’

  Mr and Mrs Ives looked at each other tenderly and thanked her. Their daughter Rosie joined them; her mouth opened wide when she saw the cake. ‘It’s perfect,’ she announced, retrieving her phone from her bag to take some pictures of it. She turned to Camilla. ‘It’s going to b
e Serendipity’s tenth anniversary in a few months. I don’t suppose you could create a replica of that for me, could you? It would be amazing.’

  Camilla’s first reaction was a sharp feeling of apprehension across her stomach but then she saw the looks on the guests’ faces as they admired her work and the camera flashes going off all around. Seeing everybody trying to get a closer look at the edible masterpiece, she truly felt a tremor of excitement. Her mind started whirring into overdrive. She’d never made a cake in the shape of a narrow

  boat before so that might be fun, and Serendipity was such a beautiful café boat. She mentally started working out how much and what colour icing she would need; Camilla always delivered a handful of business cards with every cake and so was able to hand one to Rosie.

  ‘That’s lovely – thank you so much. I’ll give you a call and maybe you can come and have a cream tea at Serendipity, and we can discuss flavours and things.’

  ‘That sounds wonderful,’ Camilla replied, her heart filled with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

  She wasn’t alone, she had been broken and whilst she still wasn’t fully mended, she felt the pieces of her were beginning to be put back together by those who loved her – not neatly with glue so you couldn’t see the joins, more like with duct tape. The joins would always be visible and there was still a risk of darkness creeping through the cracks. She knew she would never be as good as new but to be just good, just okay, that would be enough for now.

  She spent the evening editing the video of her making the cake and uploaded it.

  Chapter 30

  Spring was in the air and the charity night at the Signal Box Café was in full swing. As well as raising money for a good cause it was a chance for everyone to dress in their finery. The ladies wore elegant ball gowns in a variety of colours. They looked like tropical birds; a beautiful contrast to the staid and handsome tuxedos that the men were wearing. The walls of the venue had been draped in a pale pink silk with a backdrop of fairy lights that twinkled magically. The waiting staff stood behind silver serving vessels filled with delicious hot food, succulent roast beef, turkey and lamb with roast potatoes and plenty of fresh vegetables and all the trimmings.