‘I’ve brought cake,’ Jade announced as Valerie jostled baby Thomas against her shoulder.
‘You’re my hero, I’m starving,’ Valerie smiled. Her dark brown hair was tugged into a loose ponytail but she looked relaxed and in control.
Jade found a knife but had no luck with plates.
Valerie handed her the baby. ‘You take him, it does him good to get used to others apart from me. I’ll find plates and sort the cake. Are you eating some?’
‘Why not, but just a small slice.’
‘I, on the other hand,’ said Valerie after she found a couple of plates and picked up the knife, ‘can eat a wedge. Do you realise how many calories you burn breastfeeding? I’m permanently hungry – I can’t stop looking in the fridge or the cupboards for what’s next. I’m eating way more than normal – the baby sucks it all out of me. And I’ve been expressing too, making up bottles so my mum can give him a feed when she’s here, or anyone else for that matter.’
‘Are you fretting about leaving him when you return to work?’
‘A little bit,’ Valerie admitted. ‘I know he’ll get used to being without me. I’m torn between wanting him to be fine and wanting him to scream the house down because only I will do. That sounds a little crazy, I know.’
‘Not crazy, just like a new mum, I suppose.’
‘I’m disappointed to miss out on the flower arranging for Barney’s wedding, but I’ll be raring to go by the time Melissa and Harvey tie the knot,’ she beamed.
Valerie perched on the sofa and enjoyed her slice of cake at Jade’s insistence. Thomas was happy enough, she could keep hanging on to him for a bit. And he smelt better than cake. She inhaled his uniquely babyish smell from the top of his head, felt the softness of the whorls of hair the same colour as his mum’s. And when Valerie had finished her cake and asked Jade if she’d mind holding him a bit longer while she nipped to the bathroom, Jade had no problem with that.
As the girls chatted, Jade enjoyed her slice of cake and they kept Thomas entertained on the mini gym with its rattles and mirrors and scrunchy pieces he found so interesting. Jade felt a tug inside of her that it wasn’t so long ago she thought she’d have all this. She and Dario had fallen hard for one another, both of them head over heels. She’d thought they were on the exact same page. But either they weren’t or they’d moved onto different chapters, hers here in England, his in Italy.
When she came back to England Jade had thrown herself into her work, telling herself it didn’t matter, that it was a holiday romance, and that maybe, as it was for Celeste, the focus of their business would be enough.
But it wasn’t. She’d known it and it was moments like this, as she scooped Thomas up when he became fractious and he settled in her arms, smiling up at her and squeezing her finger with his tiny fist, that reminded her she wanted and needed more. Her heart ached for what might have been, what could have been, had she and Dario handled things differently. And her brain jumped up a gear knowing that, at almost thirty-four, if she wanted a child of her own, she might not be able to wait for the perfect man to come along.
But she was smart enough to know there was more than one way to have a baby.
Chapter Seven
The work at the bakery had been full on. The new flooring was laid the day before yesterday – durable, non-slip, and its black-and-white-tiled effect in keeping with the olde-worlde feel the owners wanted. And today the final coat of paint was going on the walls.
As well as working at the bakery, Linc had been going to and from the tea rooms to help Patricia out. Etna wasn’t around at the moment. Lois had driven her down to stay with her brother Joseph and it sounded as though they were having a great time. He’d taken her to the pub, they’d managed a couple of countryside strolls and they’d fed the ducks at the pond Linc remembered standing by as a little boy.
Linc had settled into a pattern, balancing time between the bakery, the tea rooms and the waffle shack, although he wouldn’t be sorry to see Etna’s return and the completion of this place. Holding down three jobs was too much even for someone who wouldn’t mind not having to think about their own life.
‘When are they fitting your dentures?’ Harvey asked Linc as he passed him the pot of oyster-white paint. It was specialist paint, hygiene-coated or something or other, so if food did come into contact with it, it could be wiped clean very easily.
Linc frowned. ‘Dentures?’
‘You, disappearing off all the time to the dentist. You’ve got to be having serious issues given the amount of time you spend at the surgery.’
‘It isn’t just the dentist.’ Linc had to think quickly. ‘I’ve been at the tea rooms a lot, remember.’ He prised the paint lid open with the tip of a screwdriver.
‘Yeah, but you had another hour and a half for an appointment yesterday. It’s not a problem,’ he added quickly in an effort not to sound as if he was coming down heavy on his employee. ‘I’m just wondering what the issue is.’
Linc suspected he was going to have to start thinking of some new excuses. ‘That’s the last visit I’ll need.’ He made a mental note to make it a bank appointment next time, or perhaps a trip to help his dad out – maybe even interviewing at a school about a permanent position.
Harvey didn’t pry any further because there was a knock at the back door to announce the arrival of the display cabinets that were to go in the front of the bakery along with the natural-wood shelving and units that had already been installed against the wall. Harvey went off to help the delivery men bring them inside and Linc reminded him where the plastic sheeting was. They’d need to cover these new cabinets up so no paint could possibly make its way near the gleaming glass or highly polished chrome.
‘Has it been nice getting Etna off your back for a while?’ Harvey asked when he came through to the kitchen area again.
‘I feel guilty saying it, but yes. And more than that, I think she needed the time away from here, she needed a rest even though she’d never admit it. She really doubts the tea rooms can ever survive without her. It’s why she’s never taken much of a holiday before. I get it, and I’m sure you do – wanting to control your own business. She knows she’s responsible for its success or failure but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need time out.’
‘Is she close to your dad?’ Harvey was busy adjusting one of the drawers below a section of the kitchen bench; it wasn’t sliding in and out quite as smoothly as it should be.
‘She is, and this has been concentrated time together for them both. I wondered if Dad would find her too bossy, but it seems he’s enjoying every second. Puts my mind at rest anyway.’ He paused after rolling the paint up one section of the wall. It wasn’t a vibrant colour but it wasn’t stark either – the girls wanted a balance, something fresh and bright that would carry through to the front of shop, which would be painted in the same shade. ‘Dad was sick a while back. He’s recovered now, but there was a time when I wasn’t sure he would. Etna has always felt bad about not being able to help out much, meaning the responsibility fell on me, but I never minded.’
