Wine poured, Esme and I take the sofa and Phoebe sits on the floor with some of my cushions. ‘Your new hair looks amazing,’ she says, admiring Esme’s chic bob. ‘You have the cheekbones I always wanted when I was younger. The ones which give your face definition.’
Esme blushes. ‘I never knew my cheekbones existed until I had my hair cut off.’
Phoebe pats me on the knee. ‘How are you after your chat with Frankie’s mum?’
I’d updated them both on our newly created WhatsApp group chat.
‘It’s been on my mind and earlier I did want to say something to Dad, but Noah is trying to get the truth out of his father, so I stayed quiet. I didn’t know Dad was insecure about Mum and I had no idea they’d been arguing over Dave Coombes.’
Esme puts her arm over my shoulders. ‘It must be hard finding out things about your parents’ marriage.’
I nibble on my thumbnail. ‘I want to believe Mum and Dave Coombes were friends.’ We all take a drink and I wonder what Noah will uncover in Ireland. I need to change the subject as I’m feeling anxious. ‘So, how’s Liam?’ I ask Phoebe.
A grin spreads across her face. ‘We’ve stopped shouting at each other.’
‘Oh, really?’ I say, with a smirk.
She nods. ‘The other evening Flynn lost Piggy.’
Esme and I both cast her puzzled expressions. She explains, ‘Flynn still loves his comfort blankie, called Piggy. It’s a grubby pink blankie, with a smiling pig’s face on it and he still won’t sleep without it. Even though Flynn assures me he doesn’t take Piggy off his bed, Piggy goes missing. That blankie must have a mind of his own and goes missing daily, sometimes hourly. Anyway, the other evening I was taking Martha and Flynn to stay at their dad’s, and I had to go into Liam’s shop to complain about something before we left. While I am talking to Liam, Flynn drops Piggy on the floor. We leave and then an hour later my ex is having a meltdown on the phone about Piggy being missing.’
‘So, what did you do?’ I ask.
Phoebe flicks back her brown curly hair. ‘I had to phone Liam, and he came to open his shop. He bought his kids too. Anyway, I think he’s a decent guy. He showed genuine concern for Piggy and got on his hands and knees to search under his records. I was grateful when he pulled out Piggy from underneath the ‘Country & Western’ section. He offered me a cuppa once I had returned from taking Piggy over to my ex-partner’s house.’
‘Did you take up his offer?’ I ask.
She grinned. ‘He made me a cuppa and we and chatted while his kids played in the shop. He’s asked for some advice on how to do newsletters and student promos.’
Esme giggles. ‘This sounds promising.’
Phoebe shakes her head. ‘Nope. Way out of my league. His late wife must have been a model.’
‘But you like him though?’ I ask.
She laughs. ‘It’s hard not to like him, he’s so good looking and he’s one for making cheeky comments.’
‘That’s always a sign,’ I say, taking a sip of my wine.
Esme nods. ‘That’s how me and Keith started.’
Phoebe takes a swig of her wine before saying, ‘I think romance nowadays is a bit overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I love what Frankie has done with The Little Love Café, but men aren’t interested in being romantic. They’re nothing like the guys in romcom films. I think my ex-partner put me off romance.’ She turns to Esme. ‘Right, we need an update on Joy. Have you told her yet?’
Esme shakes her head. ‘Not yet, but I’m building up to it.’
‘We have faith in you,’ I say, giving her knee a tap.
Phoebe points to Celia Black’s book,Always You,the one I bought from her shop a few weeks ago, on my coffee table. ‘Did you enjoy it?’
‘Loved it,’ I gush remembering the final part where the two exes realised they still had feelings for each other. ‘Especially the end where he turned to her and said, “It was always you”.’
We chat some more, drink our wine, and relax. ‘How’s the café?’ Phoebe asks, refilling my glass.
‘Frankie wants me to work hard at turning things around again while Noah is away,’ I explain. ‘Lucky that YouTuber agreed to take down her video. I feel so bad for Frankie as he doesn’t need all my emotions ruining his business.’
Phoebe took out her phone. ‘A friend of mine messaged me today. She works at theBlue Cove Bay Chronicle. She’s seen your café and wanted me to ask whether you’ve heard about the National Award for the Most Innovative Café?’
‘No, I haven’t heard about that award. Why?’
