The New Beginnings Coffee Club

by Samantha Tonge

  We kept our relationship secret for the time being – it was just him and me, in the dark, feeling with our hearts, seeing with our hands. Nothing on this earth felt better than slipping into his bed, once I was sure the rest of the house was asleep. As I wriggled up beside him, he would caress my face and kiss me passionately – no words needed. With tender capability, he’d remove my pyjamas and sigh with carnal desire. His vulnerability and strength made for a killer combination that I felt utterly powerless to resist.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  After a big yawn, I gave April a kiss. It was Saturday. Zak was picking her up early at seven. She’d asked if they could go to a real zoo, inspired by the evening spent in the tent with the rescue centre’s animals. Zak wasn’t sure, because of the cost, but I’d managed to find some fifty per cent off coupons online, for one a couple of hours away.

  ‘You go back to bed, Mummy,’ said April. ‘Daddy will be here soon. I can play with Buttercup.’ She clapped her hands. ‘I can’t believe he’s agreed to take Tom too. I’m just going to text, to make sure he’s up and ready with his school notes. We’re going to give a talk to the class about it on Monday.’

  I tousled her hair. ‘Okay. Have a lovely day, darling.’ Gratefully I headed upstairs. The Coffee Club opened at nine and I was looking forward to enjoying a rare lie-in until eight. Noah had actually said we shouldn’t train today as it was the day before the race. I teasingly said last night that we’d better not use our energy up in bed and now was regretting it. All I could think about was his adventurous mouth and loving touch – and his vulnerable expression if I vaguely referred to his past.

  I’d pushed only gently this week to find out the exact nature of his drink problem and the estrangement with his parents. However, you could practically see shards of pain pierce his face. One thing he did make clear, though, was that he didn’t want any sort of fuss on his birthday – that the party tomorrow was more than enough.

  I yawned again then snuggled under the covers and my thoughts drifted to the race. Noah was running for a mental health charity linked to the homeless and alcoholics – me for a project I’d started up whilst at Elite Eleganz, to build a fitness area in the local park for elderly people. We’d left our sponsorship forms out near the till over the last week, and Laventon community had been brilliant at offering support.

  I rolled over and fell into a dream. Noah and I were running, except we were in our eighties – he was bald and I had a spare tyre and double chin. We huffed and puffed and almost reached the finishing line when we smelt the aroma of a toasted teacake. We both stopped dead and instead of completing the race, went into a nearby café for a snack.

  I jolted awake and giggled. Goodness. What a stupid dream. In fact, perhaps I was still half-awake as I swore I could smell toasty smoke. I glanced at the alarm clock by my bed. Five to eight. April would have left almost an hour ago. Any minute Noah and Elle would be up. I wasn’t going to make a fuss about his Big Day but I could at least get the coffee machine on the go and make him something to eat.

  I got out of bed, stretched, and slid my feet into slippers. I sniffed. The acrid smell got stronger. I hurried downstairs. My throat went dry. My heart thumped as I stopped dead. Black smoke was coming under the kitchen door, from the café. My hand flew up to my mouth.

  ‘April?’ I shouted. Surely she would have gone out by now? ‘Noah! Elle!’ I hesitated for a second, not sure whether to open the door to The Coffee Club. Visions came into my mind of a film called Backdraft. Would the sudden influx of oxygen from the kitchen cause the fire to grow even more out of control and take me with it? Footsteps running sounded.

  ‘What’s happening?’ shouted Noah and without a second to consider his safety, he lunged forward and pulled open the door. Thick smoke enveloped him and he started coughing. He slammed the door shut. The kitchen smoke alarm started ringing. Elle had rung the emergency services and in a frantic voice was giving our address. I dashed to both bathrooms to check April wasn’t still around, and looked in the back garden.

  Noah turned to me, eyes wide, palms outstretched. ‘How the hell …?’ He grabbed a fire extinguisher from the kitchen wall but I, in turn, grabbed it from him and placed it on the pine table.

  ‘No!’ I shouted above the alarm. ‘We need to get outside and wait for the fire engine. There is nothing we can safely do.’

  ‘Jenny’s right,’ said Elle, in a hoarse voice, and tears filled her eyes. ‘It breaks my heart to think of the damage going on but we have to put safety first.’

  ‘Has April left with Zak? He picked her up?’ said Noah.

  My knees went weak as he voiced my fears and a wave of nausea made me unsteady on my feet. He must have. The cottage was empty apart from us. We would have heard shouts, right, if she was stuck in the coffee shop? Plus Zak would have rung the bell incessantly when he arrived, if no one had replied.

  I charged upstairs to find my phone before Elle hollered at me to leave the building with them. With fumbling fingers, out on the pavement, I frantically rang my daughter but her mobile was switched off. I’d been glad over the last few weeks to see that change, but at this moment I wished she kept it on the whole time, like she used to when hanging out with Skye.

  In desperation, I messaged her as well, telling myself Zak would have contacted me if there had been a problem collecting April on time. But nothing. Shaking, I also sent him a text, but he would be driving. With a trembling voice, I rang Susie and asked her to text Tom. Outside, I hovered by the café’s windows, but could see nothing apart from thick smoke and the occasional flame. A crowd had started to gather and with relief I heard a fire engine siren sound in the distance. Then the police turned up. It all happened so quickly. The street outside was cordoned off and the fire officers got to work.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Susie rang back. April was okay. My knees gave way and I almost fell to the ground. With a sob, I thanked her for contacting Tom and then my precious baby texted. Asked what the matter was. Relief flooding my body, I tried to steady my voice as I told her about the fire.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Noah, hours later, as we stood, jaws gaping, in the charred café. ‘I checked the smoke alarm’s batteries only last week – pressed the test button. It was all fine.’

  I sidled up to him and slid my fingers into his. My eyes were wet as I took in the charcoal walls – the tables and chairs in burnt bits on the floor. All the expensive coffee-making equipment ruined. Stock destroyed.

  Noah left to talk to the fire officers outside. The three of us had been allowed back into the cottage to see to Buttercup and change. We’d locked her out in the back garden before evacuating the building this morning. The fire was irrelevant to her. She meowed loudly for her lunch. I ran my hand over the counter. My fingers turned black. The smell of smoke filled my nostrils. I tasted it on my tongue.

  ‘Let’s get out of here,’ said Elle and we trooped outside. Steph insisted we head over to the hairdresser’s to sit things out, until the fire department declared the whole building safe. Noah said he’d be over later.

  And later, it was. Eight in the evening. Steph, bless her, kept the shop open and ordered in pizzas. Postie turned up to help. By all accounts their date on Monday had gone very well. They shared a ham and pineapple pizza and she poured him a drink while he let her have the last slice. We saved Noah a box for himself, but when he finally entered the glossy salon he had no appetite. He collapsed into one of the black leather chairs and bit his lip.

  ‘They think they found the cause.’ He shrugged. ‘Candles.’

  ‘Candles? I don’t understand,’ said Elle.

  ‘Why didn’t the smoke alarm work?’ I said.

  ‘The fire officer can’t say for sure, but it could be because it is what’s called an ionization alarm – they work best in fires that have fast flames. Evidence is emerging that they don’t work so well with slow-burners.’ He sighed. ‘Of course, it would be impossi
ble to prove anything.’

  The door opened and eyes streaming, April ran in. ‘Mummy! I’ve been so worried’ She threw her arms around my neck. Then she headed to Elle and looked at Noah. ‘Is everyone okay? I couldn’t concentrate on feeding the meerkats today. I kept thinking about our lovely cottage being all black and burned.’ She hugged Elle and sat on her lap. Wow. Zak didn’t even flinch.

  ‘Do they know what caused it yet?’ he asked.

  ‘Candles, apparently,’ said Noah in a flat voice. ‘Although I’m not sure how.’

  April turned her face into Elle’s chest. I swallowed. Hiding her face was something April had always done from a young age, when she’d done something wrong.

  ‘Sweetie? Do you know anything about it?’ I said in a soft voice.

  Elle looked at me and gently pushed April’s head away from her chest so that she had to face all of us. My daughter gazed at me. Then Zak. Finally at Elle and then Noah. Her chin trembled.

  ‘I didn’t mean to. It’s just, I know you said not to make a fuss, but it’s Noah’s birthday. He’s always up early for a run so I chose a lovely chocolate muffin from the counter and set it up by the coffee machine for him to see, before he left. I found two of those candles we use for customers’ birthdays and stuck them in then lit them.’ She sobbed. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘How do you know how to light candles?’ said Zak.

  ‘Tom taught me how to use matches. His dad lets him help make a fire if they go camping. He showed me how to do it safely, honest. I never thought such small candles could cause a fire.’

  ‘And I didn’t get up for my run today,’ said Noah. ‘I overslept.’ He stared at April and sighed. ‘It’s okay. We all know you meant well.’

  His phone rang just as Zak and I both leant forward to comfort April. We’d have a firm talk about the danger of matches later. Zak lifted her up into his arms – something he hadn’t done for several years. She didn’t protest and gave him the tightest hug.

  ‘Will Noah and Elle not want us to move back in?’ she asked me, in a choked voice, as Zak put her back down. ‘All the trouble I’ve caused. Maybe I’m jinxed. Maybe I caused you and Daddy to split up.’

  ‘No, you didn’t,’ said Zak and knelt down. ‘That was all down to me.’

  We looked up as Noah put away his phone and groaned. He stood up to pace the salon. Postie squeezed his arm as he passed.

  ‘What is it?’ said Elle.

  ‘The insurance. I’ve been so distracted lately. Had a lot on my mind. Left it until the last minute to renew it. I meant to the other week, when I was checking the accounts, but I didn’t start filling in the online form until yesterday. It was due by midnight last night.’ He groaned again. ‘I made a mental note to finish it before bed, but I was so tired, I completely forgot.’

  ‘What does that mean, exactly?’ My chest pinched.

  ‘I’m ruined. Haven’t got the funds to replace all the damaged equipment. I was only just beginning to break even on a bank loan I took out. And the fire officer said there has been some structural damage to the room on the far side. That will up the cost of getting things back to normal. What with paying for the mortgage on the cottage …’ His voice broke. ‘I can’t afford any extra bills at the minute. Me and Elle, The Coffee Club, it’s over.’

  The door opened and a fire officer came in. The cottage had finally been declared safe. Their investigations had finished. We could go in. So, after thanking Steph profusely, we left behind empty pizza boxes and made our way back. Half an hour later we all sat in the lounge sipping tea. Noah actually drank his for once. Zak still hung around as well, which was odd. April sat between him and Elle on the sofa.

  ‘How can I have been so stupid?’ said Noah for the hundredth time, from an armchair opposite. I sat on the arm.

  ‘Main thing is, none of you were killed,’ muttered Zak. ‘And the cottage is still standing. How long, do you think, before the coffee shop will be restored to its former glory?’

  Noah shrugged. The disaster seemed to have broken down the distance between the two men. ‘A good clear-up – just a couple of days. But I haven’t the funds to sort the structural work or buy new coffee machines.’

  ‘Noah – we’ll sort it out,’ I said. ‘What with me selling stuff on eBay and –’

  ‘This isn’t your mess,’ said Noah.

  ‘If there’s anything I can do to help …’ Zak cleared his throat. ‘I can’t loan you the money, but if you need help redecorating the place …’

  I almost passed out. Zak help Noah? He’d never once got his hands dirty with paint, in the past!

  Zak caught my eye and looked sheepish. ‘I know. But perhaps it’s time for me to learn a few practical skills. I’m only just realising how much life needs to change.’

  April took Buttercup into the kitchen to feed her, and Elle shook her head at Zak.

  ‘Why would you help?’ she said. ‘I’d have thought you’d have revelled in the outcome of this fire – used it as the final excuse to make Jenny and April move out.’

  His cheeks flushed. ‘I …’ He glanced at Elle. ‘I won’t lie and say I’m completely happy about the set-up here. But increasingly, over the last week or so, I can see how happy – how healthy – April has become.’

  ‘You don’t mind her and Jenny staying?’ asked Elle in a wavering voice. I held my breath, tears threatening. Was it really possible that this custody nightmare might be over?

  ‘I’ve spent the day with Tom. He’s a good lad. She’s made decent friends. This new life, it suits her. Like when we went camping – I saw a different side to my little girl. Carefree. Daring. It reminded me of myself, when I was younger – keen for adventures. A side I’d never seen when she was at a spa or shopping for clothes. So I won’t go for primary custody, Jenny.’ He stared at me and cleared his throat. ‘I think the current arrangement suits us both.’

  Unable to speak, I nodded, permanent little knots in my stomach, from the last few weeks, finally unravelling.

  He stared at me. ‘That evening we remembered Mum – what we said. It’s true. She would have despaired and told us not to involve the courts. So, we’ll come to a settlement ourselves. Okay?’

  Unable to speak, I nodded again. He stood up and went into the kitchen. I heard him and April saying goodbye. Then he came back into the lounge and headed towards the door. I walked him out and we stood in the sunshine.

  ‘Thanks.’ My voice cracked. ‘I haven’t liked us being at war.’

  He brushed a strand of hair out of my face. ‘If I’m honest, at one stage I had second thoughts about our split, and seeing you with Elle – I knew you two were close and when I found out about her past, all I could think of was that you were getting close to another man. Logic deserted me and I felt jealous. Seeing the two of you laughing and talking. I decided Elle must have had a secret male agenda to fool you into getting close to him – her. At some point, not yet, I’ll apologise to Elle,’ he mumbled.

  ‘Idiot,’ I said, softly and gave him a small smile.

  He took my hand. ‘Whereas all along it was Noah, wasn’t it? I’ve seen your concern for him today. The caring. You used to look at me like that.’

  I shuffled from foot to foot.

  He let go of my fingers. ‘I’m glad for you, Jenny. Noah – he’s okay.’ Zak looked at his watch. ‘Right. Better get back. Chanelle will be wondering where I am.’

  Awkwardly we stared at each other until I stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. He turned around. I watched him unlock his car and then headed back into the cottage. Elle said Noah had disappeared into his room, before heading out to the park saying he needed some fresh air.

  As I headed along the street to find him, I squinted through the fading light. On any other day I would have admired the tangerine sunset. However, the outline of a figure, with ruffled hair and a strong build, sitting on the ground under a huge oak tree, grabbed my attention. I ran over and stopped
a few metres away. Noah sat next to a rucksack and was holding an empty bottle of vodka.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  ‘Noah?’

  I stared at him. He must have knocked back that vodka in one go. I’d be calling an ambulance at this rate. I stepped forward and tried to gauge his mood. He looked down into his lap. I sat opposite him, legs crossed. The soil smelt moist. The occasional bird chirped. In the distance I heard laughs, no doubt from Saturday night revellers at The Fig Tree pub.

  ‘You okay?’ I asked, gently. ‘The fire. Your birthday. Is that why …?’

  He met my gaze and I jerked my head towards the bottle. I took his hand and squeezed it tight.

  He bit his top lip and opened the bottle. ‘Smell it,’ he said.

  I did as he requested. Hmm. Nothing. I raised an eyebrow.

  ‘I haven’t drunk anything, Jenny. This is the last bottle I ever drank. I rinsed it out afterwards and kept it. When things get particularly tough, I take it out and remind myself of how bad things got – how bad things could get again, if I don’t call on my willpower. I drank this whilst sitting in a pool of my own vomit – after shouting down the phone at my mother to eff off.’ His eyes glistened. ‘See. That’s the kind of man I am.’

  ‘No,’ I said firmly. ‘That’s the kind of man you were. I’m so proud of you – managing not to give into your demons today. And don’t worry about The Coffee Club. We’ll sort something out.’

  He straightened up. ‘I know. Even if it means working twenty-four seven, I’m determined to restore it to its former glory. I’ve invested more than just money in that place. It’s given me a future, given me hope.’