“I should walk back with you.”
“No need.” Her voice came out as a squeak.
“I should. I’ll grab my coat.”
“It’s only five minutes and I’ve lived here all my life. Besides, I’m trained in self defence.”
“You are?”
“Yes, didn’t I tell you?”
“No. And you didn’t look like you were when HP… you know… at the Halloween party.”
“I wouldn’t use it on a dog. But if anyone attacked me, I’d take them down.”
He shook his head. “You’re quite a woman, you know?”
“Thank you.”
“But I do need to walk you home. I’ll worry all night if I don’t come with you.”
Camilla shrugged. She didn’t need to be walked home but it also meant that she could spend a few extra minutes with him, so she’d go along with it.
Tom pulled on his coat and hat then stepped into his boots. He’d been wearing thick socks around the house even though he’d insisted that Camilla could keep her boots on.
“What about HP?”
“I won’t even try to get him out for a walk now. He’d be appalled.”
Tom held out his arm and Camilla slid hers through it then they walked the short distance to her cottage. The air was crisp and the ground was frosty and she was glad of Tom’s arm to steady herself.
When they reached her cottage, she paused by the gate.
“Would you like to come in?”
“I would, but…”
“Not tonight.”
“Not tonight. But I would really like to see you again.”
“You have my number.”
“And I know where you live.”
“You do.”
She smiled at him. “Night then.”
“Night.”
Then before she could overthink it, she raised onto her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips before turning and hurrying to her front door. She unlocked it, pushed it open and rushed inside, closing it behind her before she could see his expression.
And she burst into laughter, because careful, controlled Camilla had just done something she would never normally do. She’d let her guard down and enjoyed a man’s company. She’d felt things she’d never felt before that had been roused by his gentle touch, his warm brown eyes and his compassion. She liked the way he made her feel.
It was, she realised, as she removed her coat and boots then plodded up the stairs, a very nice feeling indeed.
9
The next day, after returning from a meeting in London, Camilla went straight to her mother’s house. There were things she needed to ask Jackie and they couldn’t wait. Even over lunch with one of her most important clients, she’d found herself drifting back to her discussion with her father when he’d told her that he had tried to stay in contact with his daughters. Had he been telling the truth?
She let herself into Jackie’s and called out, as she always did, to let her mother know she was there. It was five-thirty and the house was dark, which wasn’t that unusual as Jackie often worked on if she was needed, or if she got chatting to one of the people she cleaned for, but she usually left the lamp in the lounge on a timer.
She walked through the downstairs and there was no sign of life, so she went to the bottom of the stairs.
“Mum? Are you home?”
She heard a bang and someone swearing then a door upstairs creaked open.
“Camilla? Is that you?”
“Yes, Mum. Were you in bed? Aren’t you well?”
Jackie appeared at the top of the stairs, tying her dressing gown belt. Camilla flicked the switch on the landing light and stared up at her mother who was shielding her eyes in the brightness.
“God, Mum, what’s wrong? Is it the flu? You look terrible.”
She slipped off her coat then hurried up the stairs.
“Come here.”
She wrapped her arm around her mother’s shoulders then led her towards her bedroom.
“You get right back into bed and I’ll go and find some paracetamol and make you a cup of tea. Actually, I’ll go to the shop and get you some juice if there’s none here. You look like you need some PENIS!”
In the doorway to Jackie’s bedroom stood Laurence.
Wearing nothing except for an expression of horror on his face.
“Flipping heck, Dad, put it away!”
Camilla closed her eyes to prevent herself seeing the part of her father that she had never, ever wanted to see.
“Camilla!” her mother squeaked. “I’m so sorry, love. You weren’t meant to find out like this.”
“Is it safe to open my eyes?”
“Yes, love.”
Laurence stumbled out of the doorway, now clutching a towel around his middle.
“Camilla. Hello, sweetheart.”
Camilla gasped as she realised what was going on.
“I’m so slow!” She smacked her forehead. “You two are… oh… oh no!”
She released her mother and rushed back across the landing then down the stairs. In the hallway, she froze, not quite sure what to do next. She wanted to run out of the door and never come back, but that wouldn’t be very mature. Even as a teenager, she wouldn’t have done that. So, instead, she did the grown-up thing and went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea.
When the kettle had boiled, she poured water onto the tea bags she’d put in the pot, then gently swirled it to allow it to brew. There was always comfort to be found in familiar actions and right now she needed comfort. After she’d splashed milk into the mugs, she poured the tea in then dropped three sugar cubes into her own mug. She didn’t usually take sugar in her tea, but she was in shock and wasn’t that what they recommended on TV when someone had experienced a trauma?
She carried the mugs to the table in the dining room and sat down. The garden beyond the window was inky black so all she could see was her own white face. She got up and pulled the curtains then sat back down and sipped her tea, wincing as it scalded the tip of her tongue.
“Camilla.” Jackie entered the room, now dressed in jeans and a jumper, closely followed by Laurence who wore jeans and a t-shirt with a picture of a waterslide on it and The Biggest in Benidorm beneath it in neon writing. How inappropriate in light of what she’d just seen, crossed Camilla’s mind.
They pulled out chairs and sat down stiffly, as if it was a formal meeting.
“Are you all right?” Jackie eyed her daughter
Camilla stared at her parents with their flushed cheeks and shiny eyes.
“Yes, I’m fine. A bit… surprised, I suppose, but you’re both adults so I guess what you get up to is your own affair. Only… it’s bit… strange isn’t it?”
Jackie and Laurence looked at each other then back at Camilla.
“Why strange, love?” Jackie asked as she cradled her mug. Camilla noticed that she’d had her nails painted. Her mother rarely bothered with getting a manicure or pedicure, rarely ever had her hair cut at the salon, claiming that there was no need as who was going to look at her anyway.
“Well you two… Dad’s been gone twenty-five years and as soon as he returns, you jump into bed with him?”
“We didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did.” Jackie reached over and took hold of Laurence’s hand where it rested on the table.
“Sex doesn’t just happen, Mum. It takes effort.”
Jackie’s cheeks flushed a darker shade of red and Laurence lifted her hand and kissed it.
“Camilla,” he took a deep breath, “I have feelings for your mother. And I think she does for me.”
“How can you know that? You’ve been back for five minutes, Dad. If there’s anything between you, it’s nostalgia, surely?”
Camilla crossed her arms. Didn’t these two realise that they were behaving like irresponsible teenagers?
“Look love, we know we’re hardly Romeo and Juliet here, but even at our age, we still have sex… romantic feelings.”
Camilla wrinkled her nose.
“Don’t pull that face, Camilla.” Jackie frowned. “It’s like you think sex after forty is gross or something.”
“It’s not that!” Camilla slammed her hand on the table. “I know people can have sex all their lives and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. What’s wrong here is that Dad left us a long time ago. You were broken. You told me and Dawn, time after time after time that he was a bad man. In fact, you told us that all men were bad and that they couldn’t be trusted. You fell apart after he left and we had to pick up the pieces. It was heartbreaking.” Her voice trembled at the memory. “But you did get better… well, you never let it go entirely, but you got on with life. And now… he’s here for three days and you’re in bed with him?”
Jackie nodded. “After your dad left, I was ill. I did fall apart. And I am so sorry that you had to take care of yourself and Dawn. You took care of me too, I know. I should have been stronger but I loved this man and he broke my heart. But…” Jackie glanced at her ex husband. “It was, as you keep saying, a long time ago and seeing him again made me realise that I’m over it.”
“You are?”
“Yes, Camilla. But I also realised that I am still very fond of him and that I fancy him like mad. I haven’t… you know… had any lovers since he left.”
“Mum!”
“And it was nice to just let things take their natural course. We had a drink at the pub at lunchtime then came back here and well…” Jackie giggled.
“Camilla, I know it’s a bit of a shock but all I can ask of you is that you give us some time.”
“Time for what, Dad?”
“To see where this goes.”
“But you were just basically dumped by your much younger wife. How do you know this isn’t a rebound thing?”
Laurence shook his head. “This isn’t. If anything, every relationship I had after your mother was my way of trying to replace her. I never felt I was good enough for her and that one day she might leave me for someone better. I was trying to prove my worth, I guess. And in Benidorm, nothing seemed as real as it does back here in Heatherlea.”
“Your father told me all about his… other two wives and what happened there, Camilla, so you don’t need to worry. He’s not hiding anything.”
“And what about you?”
“What?”
“Well, Dad didn’t tell me exactly but I gathered from what he said that you hid things from us after he left.”
Jackie looked at Laurence and he nodded.
“You mean the cards and letters he sent?”
“And the fact that he phoned. We might not even have wanted to speak to him or to read the cards and letters but the option would have been nice. He left you but he still tried to keep in contact with Dawn and me and you let us believe he didn’t want to know us.”
Jackie covered her mouth and her eyes glistened.
“Your mum was upset, love. She was very angry at and she had every right to be—”
“It’s okay, Laurence. Camilla’s right. It was wrong of me and I’m sorry. I just wanted you to hate him for leaving us. That was so, so wrong of me.” She shook her head.
“Camilla, everyone makes mistakes, some of us more than others. But I’m back now and I’m not running away again. Please give me a chance. Your mother wants to.”
Jackie got up and stood next to Laurence then wrapped her arms around him. “I’m not letting you go again.”
“Okay…” Camilla released a shaky breath. “Okay. A lot to take in but I get it. At least I want to get it. I can’t say it won’t be strange having my parents together but you are capable of making up your own minds. Just don’t… hurt each other again. And think about Dawnie, won’t you? Don’t throw this information at her, please, just take it easy and try to handle it sensitively. She’s pregnant and… and vulnerable at the best of times. And as for the children, your grandchildren, think of them too.”
“Of course we will, love. Our lips are sealed and as far as they know, your father’s just staying here over Christmas until he gets something else sorted. We weren’t going to tell you for a while anyway.”
“Then you caught us in flagrante!” Laurence shook his head. “Apologies for that too.”
“I’m scarred for life now, Dad.” Camilla flashed him a smile to try to diffuse some of the tension in the dining room, even though she didn’t really feel like smiling.
“Do you want to stay for dinner, love?” Jackie asked.
“No thanks, Mum. It’s Tuesday.”
Laurence frowned. “What happens on Tuesdays?”
“Camilla, Dawn and their friend Honey all go to The Cosy Cottage Café where the owner Allie makes them food and they put the world to rights.”
“Ahhh. It’s good to have friends.”
Camilla nodded. She drained her tea then stood up.
“Right you two. Be careful and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She grimaced. “I meant… just be careful.”
She hugged her mother then her father and they walked her to the door, still holding hands.
“See you in the week, but don’t worry, I’ll ring first. I don’t want to see Act two of Fifty Shades Over Fifty.”
She smiled then marched down the path and out into the street. When she was out of sight, she allowed the smile to slip from her face and she slowed her pace. She’d just caught her parents up to goodness knows what and she wasn’t sure that either one of them was thinking about how this could go wrong. And it could go very, very wrong indeed. Her mother had been broken when her father left and Camilla couldn’t bear to see that happen again. Yet Laurence had told her that he was back for good and that he had feelings for Jackie, so all Camilla could do was hope for the best. She couldn’t exactly ban them from seeing each other or make them sleep in separate bedrooms.
Besides, she’d never seen her mother look so young or so happy. Laurence clearly had the ability to make Jackie feel alive and however long that lasted, surely it was a good thing? Although, of course, she preferred not to think that any of it had to do with sex. Who could stand the thought that their parents were doing it?
Nope. She would hope that Laurence was making her mum smile again and that he would continue to do so. There was nothing wrong with hoping now, was there?
10
Camilla headed up the path of The Cosy Cottage Café. She was so glad it was Tuesday because she really needed to see her friends, to spend a few hours where she felt comfortable and loved. She wouldn’t be able to tell them about what she’d just seen, but at least she could try to put it from her mind for a while.
They would, of course, want to know about how her meeting with her father had gone the previous afternoon at the pub, but she’d already thought about how to deliver that information so as to avoid worrying Dawn. She always considered how best to avoid worrying her little sister, even though Dawn was a grown woman and perfectly capable of dealing with everyday situations. It was, Camilla sometimes thought, more for her own benefit than for Dawn. If she felt that she was looking out for her sister, then she felt useful. So really, if she analysed that objectively, she was well aware that she was relying on Dawn to make her feel needed. She suspected that Dawn knew this too, but they loved each other dearly, so she didn’t think Dawn minded being needed too.
She paused for a moment to appreciate the café’s exterior. It was such a pretty cottage at any time of year, but with the Christmas tree visible through the window decorated with twinkling lights, the coloured fairy lights draped across the front of the building, the festive wreath hanging on the door and the grey smoke curling up out of the chimney into the dark sky, it was even lovelier than usual. The four front windows glowed invitingly and Camilla felt like she was coming home, something she always felt when she visited The Cosy Cottage Café.
She pushed the door open and went inside, licking her lips as she was greeted by the aromas of freshly baked bread, cinnamon and ginger that were carried
on some very welcome warm air.
“Camilla!” Allie greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and a beaming smile.
“Hi, Allie. It’s lovely and warm in here.”
“The log burner is wonderful when the weather’s like this. It’s bitter out, isn’t it?”
Camilla nodded.
“Wouldn’t be surprised if we have some snow.”
“Really?” Camilla shivered. The last thing she wanted was a big freeze; the idea of being trapped at home alone certainly didn’t appeal.
“You never know.” Allie took Camilla’s coat then hung it on the stand near the door. “Now go and take a seat and I’ll get you a drink.”
“Thanks.”
Camilla went to the table nearest the log burner, that they always sat at for their Tuesday evenings after Allie had closed the café for the day, and sat next to Dawn. Honey was browsing the bookshelves on the far wall.
“And how are you feeling today, Dawnie?”
Camilla took in her sister’s appearance and was pleased to see that she looked well.
“Not too bad, thanks. Rick has made me keep my feet up all day and been very patient whenever I’ve needed to moan about the situation.”
“You mean Dad’s return?”
“Who else?”
“It was a bit of a shocker.”
“A bit? I still can’t believe he’s back. And he seemed so… blasé about it.”
“He did a bit.”
“Have you seen him since Sunday?”
“I popped in on my way back from the station.” Camilla glanced away, worried that Dawn would read something in her eyes about exactly what Camilla had seen earlier.
“And how was he?”
“Oh… uh… all right.”
“And Mum?”
“Yes, she was fine too.”
“Why’re you blushing, Camilla?”
“I’m not, am I?” Camilla placed her cool palms against her cheeks and realised they were, in fact, hot. “It must be the fire. It’s so cosy in here after being out in the cold.”
A Year at The Cosy Cottage Café_A heart-warming feel-good read about life, love, loss, friendship and second chances Page 27
