Cleo, thankful the bakery opened so early, didn’t take long to return with a good selection of cupcakes, fit for any school bake sale. Some had swirls of chocolate icing on top of fluffy sponge bases, others vanilla, and all of them had pretty stars and heart decorations in silvers and golds. They would sell just as well as anything they made here.
Ruby stayed upstairs until it was time to leave for school. Ordinarily she would’ve been in the kitchen chatting away, but not today. When she appeared Cleo was transferring the cupcakes from their cardboard carriers to a Tupperware box. She wasn’t trying to pass them off as homemade but at least this way Ruby might not feel so uncomfortable. She turned to Ruby waiting for a relieved smile but she didn’t get one.
‘What’s wrong?’ Cleo asked as Ruby’s face fell when she saw the cupcakes.
‘They’re not Christmas cupcakes.’
That hadn’t been in the brief. ‘No, you didn’t mention they should be.’
‘Duh, it’s nearly Christmas. And I told you.’ She hadn’t. ‘Now I’m going to look stupid, because I’ll be the only one who forgot.’ Her little voice shook and rose as she hurled accusations.
‘Ruby, that’s enough.’ Dylan had come into the kitchen and judging by his face was surprised at how much his daughter was acting up.
‘I told her, Dad. I told her they had to be Christmas cupcakes.’
‘Whether you did or you didn’t isn’t really important, you still shouldn’t talk to Cleo that way.’
Face screwed up in anger, Ruby snatched up her packed lunch and made for the door.
Cleo and Dylan exchanged a look. ‘We need to talk to her.’ He’d echoed Cleo’s thoughts and she didn’t dissuade him this time. But where did they start? ‘She can’t keep being like this.’ His lips brushed her cheek before he followed after Ruby with the Tupperware container.
When the house was quiet Cleo wished she could put her feet up, have a tea or a coffee, or even go back to bed for an hour. But not today. Kaisha was in the city minding the stall and she’d join her later, so first up was a stint at the Inglenook Falls markets ensuring they had plenty of stock at the ready, and then she needed to order in supplies for the Little Knitting Box, restock some of the shelves in there, and make sure her seasonal employee Brianna was set for the day. Even with the extra staff she’d taken on this year, the season and the markets were big moneymakers and they’d have plenty for their wedding and a nice honeymoon too. It was part of the reason she’d opted to be so crazy busy, not wanting them to miss out on getting away somewhere, just the two of them. And if Prue dug her heels in and was difficult about having Jacob and Ruby while they were away, her dad had told her on the phone last night when she mentioned the wedding in a year’s time that he would be happy to fulfil his grandparenting duties during their visit. It was a lot though, four kids at once, and she’d rather not do it to him unless she had to.
Cleo started at the Inglenook Falls markets and helped local Trish set up. Trish had been in the store one day and volunteered her services on a casual basis as and when Cleo needed her and Cleo had snapped her up. Her kids were older, she didn’t have to disappear for the school run, and she knew her stuff when it came to knitting. They unpacked stock from the boxes they’d hauled over from the store, uncovered existing stock from yesterday that they had put a dust sheet over at night before locking up the little hut, and Cleo left confident Trish had everything in hand.
Over at the Little Knitting Box next, Cleo opened up for Brianna and between them they had the shelves tidied, yarn supplies replenished, and Cleo disappeared up to the apartment above so she could log on to the computer and pay invoices as well as reordering. She went onto her Facebook account and responded to a couple of messages and was about to log off when something in her news feed caught her eye. It was Prue and Ruby, photographed at today’s bake sale already. Prue must’ve had someone else take the picture and Cleo tried her best not to let it bother her. They were mother and daughter, their bond was strong and she respected that. What she didn’t approve of, and she knew Dylan shared the sentiment, was Prue stirring up trouble behind their backs.
Ruby had on a new coat, something that instantly niggled Cleo because she’d already been told to make do with the one she had for this season. It fitted her, it was warm, and they weren’t going to buy another just because she fancied a change. Prue must’ve had other ideas and Ruby wouldn’t have had to say much for Prue to leap in and buy her the heavy red wool coat she’d been admiring in an online catalogue last month, thus making her the good guy and Cleo the baddie. Prue’s behaviour, never mind Ruby’s, rankled Cleo. Dylan was a good dad, he never poisoned his kids’ minds against his ex-wife even when she blatantly did something untoward like messing him around with times when she could have them or not turning up when she should. She’d done it a couple of months ago and Dylan had had to calm a tearful Ruby when instead of having her daughter for a sleepover, Prue attended a glam party in the city. But even then he hadn’t said he agreed that it was a terrible thing to do; he’d comforted Ruby and said he was sure her mum wouldn’t have gone if it wasn’t really important. Now the kids were getting older, maybe it was time to be a little more honest about Prue and not keep covering for her when she let Ruby and Jacob down.
Cleo looked at the photograph, at Ruby’s smiling face. She looked happy enough. Their talk tonight might help to iron out a few issues – who knew, maybe Ruby would get enthusiastic about the wedding and even want to be more involved.
With the Inglenook Falls markets done, the store dealt with and the ordering complete, it was into the city for Cleo. Amelia was going to start helping out tomorrow, so today it was all systems go the second she arrived. Mitch had taken boxes of stock there for her – they still had plenty locked in the chalet overnight from yesterday so it was only a small replenishment – and Kaisha said the morning had been steady. The afternoon was a mad rush from noon until sundown and Kaisha had stayed on to help, but both of them buzzed at the excitement of it all.
When she finally put the key in the lock to their home that evening, Cleo was exhausted. But at least there was laughter and chatter coming from the kitchen – that had to be a good sign.
‘Hello,’ she called out as she hung up her coat next to Ruby’s brand-new red one and made her way in to join her family.
‘You’re home,’ Dylan smiled when he saw her come in. He had the extractor fan going above the cooker while he made bolognese, Ruby and Jacob’s favourite, and Jacob clutched a big bunch of dried spaghetti trying to assess how much was enough.
‘Twice that amount will be good,’ Cleo told him and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. ‘How was school?’
‘Good, I got to eat cake from the bake sale.’
‘How many did you have?’
‘Two,’ he said with confidence.
Cleo picked up Tabitha, who had come charging through from the playroom when she heard her mummy’s voice, and cuddled her tiny form against her. Her cheeks were rosy but cold; she’d likely been leaning on the window as she played with her doll’s house again. Emily had a rusk and was strapped in the high chair, happy enough. She’d always been placid, didn’t demand to be picked up unless she was upset or not feeling well. Cleo guessed it was the chaos in a family with four kids that gave her a natural assumption she’d have to be patient.
‘And how many did you eat, Ruby?’ Cleo walked over to the table where Ruby was drawing a picture of the bake sale to go with the written account she’d already done beneath.
‘Two,’ she admitted, changing her coloured pen from red to brown.
‘What flavour did you go for?’
‘Chocolate.’
‘One of ours?’
