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Chapter Nineteen
‘And then we’ll walk down the aisle like this.’ Pippa stood on her tiptoes and plucked a roll from the breadbasket before walking slowly and purposefully in front of the counter.
Layla smiled. ‘Wow, that’s exciting.’
‘It is, isn’t it? Of course, I’ll have to help little Hudson. He won’t know where to go.’ Pippa’s expression grew solemn. ‘He’s only little, you see, and I’m a big girl now.’
‘Pippa, I do hope you’ve not just taken a roll to pretend it’s a bouquet.’ Teresa walked across from the coffee and cake counter and shook her head.
‘Sorry, Mummy. I was just practising. You told me to practise while you served.’ Pippa stretched up on her tiptoes, ready to replace the roll, Teresa taking it from her before she did so.
‘Next time don’t use one of Elsie’s rolls, okay, sweetie? The rolls are to be sold and people don’t want rolls other people have touched. You eat that one now and why don’t you go and sit with your brothers and make a bouquet of flowers out of paper?’ Teresa held out the roll for her and nodded towards Ruben and Toby who were sitting quietly colouring on the table by the wall.
‘Okay.’ Taking the roll, Pippa began making her way towards the table before pausing and looking back, holding the roll aloft. ‘Can I eat this?’
Teresa laughed. ‘Yes, you can eat it. I’m not going to make you frame it and keep it forever.’
Pippa turned the roll over in her hands before sinking her teeth into it and continuing across the bakery towards her brothers.
‘The joys of the afterschool club being closed today.’ Teresa rolled her eyes and made her way back to the coffee and cake counter.
Layla grinned. ‘They’re sweet though, aren’t they, Graham?’
‘Sorry?’ Graham looked up from the counter which he was wiping down for at least the fourth time that hour.
Taking a deep breath, Layla turned to him. ‘Are you sure we’re okay after the stunt Eli pulled? You’re still really quiet.’
Picking up the cloth, Graham turned to her, grasping it in his hands. ‘Yes, it’s fine. I’m just not feeling too great.’
‘Oh, okay.’ Layla stepped forward, ready to draw him into a hug, but paused as he moved away. Letting her hands fall to her sides, she bit down on her bottom lip. She wasn’t convinced that he was just feeling unwell. She was sure something else was going on, but she realised she wasn’t about to find out, not yet. ‘Why don’t you go home? Have a rest, see if you feel better?’
‘No, I don’t want to let Elsie down.’ He shook his head as he wrung the cloth in his hands.
‘You wouldn’t be.’ She looked out of the window at the cobbled street beyond. They had been quiet all afternoon and there were only a couple of people walking up and down. ‘We close in fifteen minutes, anyway. I can’t imagine we’re going to have a huge influx of customers between now and then.’
Following her gaze to the window, Graham nodded. ‘Okay, I will do. Thanks.’
‘I’ll see you later? If you’re feeling better, of course.’ Layla frowned as he swapped his apron for his coat.
‘Yes, maybe.’
‘Right.’ And that was it. He’d left. Layla laid her elbows on the counter and watched as he walked across the cobbles. Maybe he did just feel unwell, and it was just a coincidence that Eli had turned up this morning, but she wasn’t convinced. Unless it had more to do with his ex arriving with his cousin? But he’d said he no longer had feelings for her. Although there was his cousin...
‘Can I have a cloth so I can wipe the tables please, Layla?’ Pippa appeared behind the counter. ‘I want to clean all the tables as a surprise for Mummy.’
Layla glanced towards the coffee and cake counter. Teresa had begun taking the leftover cakes back into the kitchen. ‘Yes, of course. That’s a lovely thing to do.’
Chapter Twenty
Stepping down off the ramp onto the sand below, Layla paused and drew in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cool sea air. The day had been so strange. First Eli stopping by and then Graham leaving early. She really didn’t think he’d been ill. He may have been tired. After all, it sounded as though Diane and Harry hadn’t been sleeping well, but why wouldn’t he have just said that if that had been the case?
No, something was wrong. Whether Eli turning up had made him rethink things with her or he wasn’t as over his ex as he’d thought. She shook her head. It was something, she just couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Walking towards the ocean, she looked out across the horizon. She could see a tall red and white lighthouse to her left, and cliffs to her right. Hadn’t Ian said he’d recently retired after being a lighthouse keeper?
A noise from behind tore her from her thoughts, and she turned. It was Graham. Graham walked down the ramp shortly followed by Harry and another man and a woman Layla didn’t recognise. She raised her hand, ready to wave him across, but lowered it as the small group began walking in the opposite direction. He hadn’t seen her.
She looked back out to sea. They must be the family who had come down early. He was probably catching up with them. She looked down at her trainers, watching the waves lap around her toes. Hadn’t he said his ex and cousin had been arriving today? And his aunt and uncle, but the two people besides Harry he was with looked too young to be his aunt and uncle.
