The Cosy Canal Boat Dream: A funny, feel-good romantic comedy you won’t be able to put down!

by Christie Barlow

  ‘What do I owe this honour? Even though I’m not complaining, it’s a very nice unexpected surprise indeed.’ Nell ruffled his hair then looked up to see her mum smiling and Nathan holding up a white plastic bag that smelled simply divine.

  ‘Fish and chips.’ Nathan said.

  ‘Yes please!’

  ‘I told you Aunty Nellie wasn’t on a diet.’

  Nell flicked her eyes between her mum and Nathan, ‘Who said Aunty Nellie should be on a diet?’ she narrowed her eyes at Jacob.

  ‘Daddy said you and Mummy are always on a diet.’

  ‘But he didn’t say we needed to be on a diet?’ Nell jokingly raised her eyebrows at Jacob and wagged her finger.

  Jacob quickly snagged his dad’s eye. He was shaking his head slowly. Jacob mirrored his move.

  Nathan swiftly wiped his brow, ‘Phew!’

  ‘Mmm, I think you boys are sticking together,’ Nell grinned, standing up and taking the bag from Nathan.

  ‘Daddy said you should never joke about a woman’s weight if you know what’s good for you,’ Jacob added and everyone laughed,

  ‘That, Jacob Green, is a very sound piece of advice and one you should take note of for future reference.’

  Nell reached up to the plate rack and began passing them to her mum, ‘How many plates and where’s Bea?’

  ‘She’s currently cleaning the display cabinets … again.’

  ‘Are you sure she should be doing that? She’ll be exhausted standing on her feet all day. I only left her ten minutes ago and she was ready for home.’

  ‘It’s this competition. She wants everywhere to be spick and span.’

  ‘Everywhere is always spick and span,’ she answered, passing Jacob a cup of juice. ‘Is she having any of this food?’

  ‘No, but she’s coming over when she’s finished.’

  They all sat around the table and there was silence as everyone began tucking into their fish and chips.

  ‘As much as I love to see you all, and I’m not complaining, what are you all doing here?’ Nell asked, swirling a chip in the tomato ketchup on her plate before popping it into her mouth.

  ‘Some guy called Guy,’ Nathan grinned, ‘just introduced himself to me as I was on the way to the deli to meet Bea … Ed’s brother?’

  ‘That’s the one,’ answered Nell.

  ‘Apparently, he’d recognised me from working in the deli on Saturday and mentioned he’d been to view the Old Picture House with you at lunchtime.’

  ‘And I was on my way to the deli to catch you, see if you wanted to grab some food, but you’d just left, which was when Jacob suggested fish and chips,’ Gilly answered.

  Nell stuck her thumbs-up towards Jacob, ‘Good call!’

  Jacob giggled.

  ‘You never said you were going to view the Old Picture House,’ Gilly was staring straight towards Nell.

  ‘You cycled off before I got a chance.’ Nell knew that wasn’t strictly true.

  ‘You went with … Guy, did you say? How come you took a stranger to view the place? I’d have gone with you.’

  ‘I just wanted an independent opinion; anyway, he’s not a stranger as such, he’s Ed’s brother, helping him out for a few weeks while he recuperates after his operation.’ Nell could feel herself getting a little annoyed towards her mum.

  ‘So the Old Picture House. Come on, what’s your gut feeling Nell? I think it’s a fantastic idea,’ said Nathan oblivious to any tension between Nell and her mum.

  Nell couldn’t be sure, but she thought her mum seemed to make a funny sound and bristled when Nathan said he thought it was a good idea.

  She paused. ‘Guy has pointed the main areas for concern and he’s run some very rough figures past me, and I mean very rough. The only obstacle at this moment is winning the auction.’ Nell was driven not only by ambition but her enthusiasm filled the ‘Nollie’.

  ‘So, he’s an expert in this field is he then, this Guy?’

  There was no mistaking the dismissive tone to Gilly’s voice.

  Nell’s annoyance grew. ‘Well, he’s more of an expert than any of us. His granddad was a builder and he used to quote for his jobs.’

  ‘So he knows what he’s talking about, then,’ Nathan added, which Nell was grateful for.

  ‘I think it was just meant to be. Call it fate, call it what you want but in my opinion the timing of that place coming on to the market is perfect. It’s something I can get my teeth into, something to remember Ollie by.’ Nell wasn’t going to let her mum dampen her mood.

  ‘You don’t need a building to remember Ollie by,’ Gilly said and Nell shot her mum a scathing look.

  ‘No, I don’t, but Ollie and I always spoke about doing something like this and I know he would have approved. And I’ve got such fond memories of that place, Sundays mornings with Dad … it just feels right.’

  Gilly’s mood seemed to soften at the mention of Nell’s dad.

  Nell smiled. ‘Father and daughter time. I loved it especially when Dad bought me those penny chews that stuck to the roof of my mouth.’

  ‘And blackened your teeth,’ Gilly pointed out.

  ‘The good old days. That’s when going to the cinema used to be a reasonable price too,’ Nathan said finishing the last of his chips. ‘That could be our safe haven, Jacob,’ Nathan winked at him. ‘We could watch films on a Sunday morning and eat sweets.’

  ‘But don’t tell Mum.’ Jacob brought his fingers to his lips and everyone laughed.

  ‘That’s it, us boys have to stick together.’

  ‘The estate agent said the current owner, apparently an actor, had visions of turning it back into a picture house or a film museum but he retired abroad.’

  ‘Any idea which actor?’ queried Nathan.

  Nell’s eyes darted towards Gilly, who’d immediately stood up and begun to clear away the empty dishes. It was becoming quite obvious to Nell that Gilly had some sort of issue with the Old Picture House.

  ‘No, the estate agent didn’t say. Are you okay, Mum?’ The words had escaped before Nell could stop them. ‘I kind of get the impression you aren’t bowled over by my idea.’

  All eyes were on Gilly, who placed the last of the washed plates on the draining board, hung the tea towel on the oven door and sat back down.

  ‘No, not at all,’ Gilly said defensively, ‘I just don’t want you to rush into anything, get yourself in a financial mess and be disappointed. I’m just a little worried, that’s all.’

  ‘Well, don’t be, I’m a big girl and won’t do anything daft. Let’s just see what happens. I’m going to weigh up all the pros and cons and what’ll be will be,’ Nell said, sensibly.

  Gilly nodded. She smiled and for the moment it seemed her mind was put at rest.

  ‘And what’s this about you rescuing a man on a boat? It’s all the talk in the butcher’s this morning,’ Nathan said, changing the subject.

  ‘There’s never a dull moment around here is there? It was Guy’s dog, Sam, who swam across the water to raise the alarm. A man had collapsed on the floor of his boat.’

  ‘Which boat?’ Nathan asked, ‘A regular or one that’s passing through?’

  ‘Much Ado About Nothing. It’s not been moored long at the marina, probably passing through. In fact, Bea and I were only saying the other day we hadn’t seen any life on it.’

  ‘What were we only saying the other day?’ Bea appeared around the doorway of the ‘Nollie’ looking exhausted.

  ‘Come in and sit down. Budge up, Nathan,’ Nell smiled up at her friend.

  ‘We were chatting about Guy and his heroic rescue of the man on the boat. Cup of tea?’

  Bea shook her head, ‘I’m in one of those moods. I can’t decide what I feel like. It’s driving me insane. Maybe a blackcurrant cordial.’

  ‘Coming right up.’ Nell made Bea a drink and sat back down. ‘Have you finished cleaning now? Again!’

  ‘I have,’ she smiled. ‘I’ve even cleaned out the drinks display unit and r
e-stocked it. That’s one less job for the morning, but that’s the least of my worries,’ she sighed.

  ‘What’s up now?’ Nathan gave Bea a worried look.

  ‘It’s Nancy, our Saturday girl. She’s just telephoned me to say she’s moving to London. I knew she was unhappy with her studies and I was about to offer her a full-time job but she’s decided to move to be nearer her parents. You can’t blame her, really.’

  ‘That’s such a shame for us,’ Nell said, offering Jacob a biscuit. He’d made a makeshift car track out of the place mats and was sitting quietly pushing his car around the table. Nell couldn’t help thinking that if she won the auction this was going to put more pressure on her friend – she was already losing one member of staff and if she went too …

  ‘Financially, I can afford another member of staff and with me being pregnant …’

  ‘Pregnant?’ Gilly squealed, ‘Why has nobody told me?’ she shot a glance between Nell, Bea and Nathan. ‘You said she had a stomach bug on Saturday,’ Gilly swiped Nathan’s hand playfully then scooted off her seat and hugged Bea. ‘Congratulations to you both, all,’ she said shaking Nathan’s and Jacob’s hands – who were both sitting there looking as pleased as punch.

  ‘It wasn’t my secret to tell,’ Nell said, feeling a little guilty she hadn’t told her mother.

  ‘What about Isabel? Could she do more hours in the week?’ Nathan asked, thinking of suggestions.

  Bea shook her head, ‘She’s studying for her A-levels. Maybe I just need to advertise.’

  ‘Ooh,’ Gilly said, her voice in a thespian tone, ‘Look no further!’

  ‘Master of chocolate brownies and flapjack,’ Nell grinned at Bea and winked in her mum’s direction.

  Bea felt a smile tug at her lips, ‘Now why didn’t I think of that? Are you serious?’

  ‘Absolutely, all I’m doing is pottering around and I loved helping out on Saturday.’

  ‘Full time is a lot to take on,’ Bea said as she looked towards Nell.

  ‘I’m sure we will make a fantastic team!’ Nell nodded with approval. She was already feeling torn between leaving Bea in the lurch and bidding on the Old Picture House. Her friend needed her now, especially with being pregnant, to help out at the deli, but winning the Old Picture House would give Nell something to focus on, something that was for her and her own business for the future. Nell felt relieved that her mum was coming on board; it meant she felt less guilty about abandoning Bea if she was successful in winning the Old Picture House.

  ‘In that case, then,’ Bea thrust her hand forward, ‘Welcome to The Melting Pot and we’ll see you bright and early, eight o’clock sharp.’

  ‘Can I start at nine? Only joking!’ Gilly laughed, shaking Bea’s hand. ‘I’ll see you both bright and early!’

  Chapter 17

  By ten o’clock the next morning Gilly had baked her first batch of chocolate brownies and was already getting into the swing of things. She hummed away around the kitchen of The Melting Pot without a care in the world. Her face flushed and her hair limp with the heat from the ovens, but clearly loving every minute of it. Today, Bea and Nell were both manning the front of the shop while she worked the kitchen.

  Gilly stared out on to the lake at the back of the deli and took a second to admire the magnificent view. This morning everything seemed a lot brighter, the rain had stopped, the sky was blue and small purple crocuses danced in the light breeze. She watched dog-walkers and couples strolling hand in hand around the lake. She breathed in the air and exhaled before washing down the worktops and switching the kettle on.

  Nell opened the kitchen door and smiled at her mum. ‘The brownies and sausage rolls are baked, over there on the trays, ready to display in the counter. More scones are in the oven, cream meringues on the side and Alan from the butcher’s has dropped off some sausage and bacon for the lunchtime trade which is in the fresh drawer of the fridge. Oh, and I’ve had a little spring clean.’

  ‘You have been busy and flowers as well.’

  Gilly had even ventured out the back and picked some of the crocuses and dotted them in jam jars all around the kitchen.

  ‘Kettle’s boiled, let me make you both a drink,’ Gilly said, tossing a tea-bag in each mug.

  ‘Superstar!’ Bea exclaimed, casting her eyes around the kitchen, ‘Look at this place, it’s spotless. Why didn’t I employ you sooner?’

  ‘I keep asking myself the very same question,’ Gilly chuckled, handing a mug of tea to the pair of them. Bea and Nell sighed as they heard the door to the deli open, ‘I’ll go. You two take a breather for a minute,’ Gilly insisted, disappearing through the kitchen door towards the deli counter.

  Alan Webster from the butcher’s, who was built like a string bean and had the hair of a mad professor, beamed over the counter at Gilly and handed her a tray of bread buns.

  ‘Second time today,’ he chuckled, ‘We need to stop meeting like this.’

  ‘You daft thing,’ Gilly said, swiping his arm.

  He grinned, ‘These were delivered next door by mistake. One of the staff signed for them but then we’ve realised they were for you.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Gilly said, taking the tray from him. ‘Thanks for bringing them over.’ He swiftly disappeared as Gilly took the tray into the kitchen.

  ‘What have you there?’ asked Bea, as she sidled up to the tray of buns and scanned the advice slip.

  ‘Alan popped them in. They were delivered there by mistake.’

  ‘Damn,’ Bea murmured, taking the tray from Gilly, ‘I’ve only gone and ordered double. That’ll be the baby brain already kicking in. What the heck are we going to do with all of these?’

  ‘We’ve already prepared the sandwiches for the lunchtime rush on the granary and bloomer bread. We can’t keep these until tomorrow, they’ll go stale,’ Nell added.

  ‘Bacon baps?’ Gilly suggested, ‘Everyone loves a bacon sandwich.’

  ‘Right, good idea! Gilly, you update the blackboard and Nell, you start grilling the bacon.’

  Nell saluted ‘Yes, chef!’

  Bea threw a box of chalk towards Gilly, ‘Price one pound. Let’s get these shifted.’

  Gilly disappeared on to the shop floor and promptly peered back round the kitchen door. ‘There’s a couple of customers sitting at the tables inside waiting to be served.’

  Bea took a swig of her drink and clutched her pen and notepad, ‘I’m on it,’ she said, painting a wide smile on her face and hurrying back out into the deli.

  Bea’s eyes flitted between the two customers; there was a man sitting in the corner perusing the menu, mid-sixties, dressed in a flat cap, waterproof trousers and green wellington boots. He unravelled his scarf and placed it on the empty chair next to him. His cheeks were rosy and his glasses were perched on the end of his nose. He spotted Bea and gave her a warm smile. The lady sitting on the other table was busily scribbling away on a notepad. Her blonde hair fell below her shoulders, her chiselled cheekbones were streaked with blusher and she looked very business-like sitting there in a blue pinstriped suit with heels. Bea guessed she was early thirties and was definitely not passing through on a narrowboat.

  Bea’s mouth suddenly went dry and her palms began to sweat, this woman oozed best delicatessen judge all over.

  ‘Keep your cool, keep your cool,’ she muttered under her breath.

  ‘Did you say something?’ Bea met the woman’s icy stare.

  She shook her head and took a breath. ‘Hi, I’m Bea, welcome to my deli. It’s a lovely day out there isn’t it? At least the rain has stopped. Have you come far?’ What the heck was she doing? She’d never rambled on so much to a customer before. The woman glowered at her, ‘Can I just give you my order please,’ she said, in a very abrupt tone.

  ‘Yes, of course, sorry. What can I get for you?’ Bea asked, poised with her pen on the pad.

  The unfriendly woman reeled of a long list of food while Bea scribbled quickly on her pad.

  ‘Are you ex
pecting company?’ Bea asked politely, thinking it was an awful lot of food for one person to manage.

  The woman stared at Bea, ‘No, I’m assuming you can bring me what I’ve ordered.’

  Bea’s voice faltered, ‘Of course, madam. It’ll be right with you.’

  Just as Bea turned away, the woman spoke again. ‘Oh and a coffee please and I don’t mean any of that instant rubbish.’

  Bea bit down on her lip and met the woman’s glare, ‘Certainly, madam,’ she said, giving her the sweetest smile she could muster. Bea felt sick to her stomach, remembering the coffee machine was still broken and the engineer wasn’t coming out until this afternoon to fix it. ‘We won’t keep you long,’ Bea said, before walking over to the elderly gentleman sitting in the corner.

  ‘Hello, are you ready to order?’ Bea asked, smiling brightly at the man.

  ‘Good morning, what a lovely day it is today, very spring-like.’ The man was jolly and smiled warmly back at Bea.

  ‘It’s beautiful out there today,’ she said. ‘What can I get for you?’

  ‘Full English with all the trimmings, granary toast and a mug of coffee,’ he said, then lowered his voice to a whisper, ‘And I don’t mind any of that instant rubbish,’ he winked at Bea, who smiled at him. ‘And a scone to take home for my lovely lady. She likes a good scone.’

  ‘Certainly sir,’ she said, opening his napkin and laying it on his lap for him.

  Bea hurried back to the kitchen, ‘Shoot!’ she exclaimed, as soon as she was safely on the other side of the door.

  ‘What’s up with you? You look flustered.’

  ‘It’s her,’ Bea whispered, but she didn’t know why she was whispering, it wasn’t as though the snooty woman could even hear her in the kitchen.

  ‘It’s who?’ Nell asked perplexed.

  ‘The judge from the competition, she’s even dressed like a judge, keeps writing things down then shutting her notebook. She’s ordered anything and everything off the menu and hasn’t cracked a smile or been polite since she got here.’

  Quickly Nell got up and peered around the kitchen door into the deli, ‘Oh yes, it’s definitely her. No one passes through the marina dressed like that. Look at that suit, very Ted Bakerish, and are those Jimmy Choos?’ she gave a low whistle. ‘I was hoping for someone friendly like Mary Berry,’ she said, spotting Gilly coming back through the deli door.