Page 51 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

He sat down heavily on the wooden chair and looked around. ‘You know, it’ll be good to see the old place again once we start to get a bit clearer,’ he said. ‘I’ve missed it.’

‘Was it very busy when it was open all those years ago?’ she asked.

‘Oh yes,’ he said, nodding and beaming in memory. ‘Folks used to come from Cranbridge and all the other smaller hamlets to get on the train. There was always someone coming or going.’ His face dropped a little. ‘I hate to see it so empty these days.’

‘Well, I’ve had some good news there,’ she told him, glancing around to ensure that they weren’t overheard. ‘You remember that application we made to the council for a pop-up café? Or, rather, perhaps a coffee shop?’

Bob nodded.

‘Well, I’ve received an email saying that they’ve approved the idea,’ Katy told him, with a grin.

Bob looked delighted. ‘That’s marvellous!’ he said, standing up to give her a hug. ‘Oh, you are clever!’

‘I think it was a dual effort,’ she replied, giving him a hug in return. ‘Of course, there’s the problem that they want to do a health and safety check and…’ Her voice trailed off as they looked at all the boxes surrounding them.

‘Oh, that won’t take long,’ said Bob, sounding far more confident. ‘We can always put it all in the train workshop for the time being.’

‘I agree,’ said Katy, delighted that Bob was so enthusiastic about the business idea. ‘There’s just one problem.’

‘My eldest son,’ said Bob looking more serious.

‘Exactly,’ replied Katy.

‘No time like the present,’ he muttered, as the outside door opened and in walked Ryan.

‘I wondered how you were both getting along and whether you wanted a coffee?’ said Ryan.

Katy exchanged a look with Bob, which made Ryan frown.

‘What?’ he asked.

Bob looked at Katy. ‘Well, it’s funny that you should mention coffee, lad,’ he began before looking across to Katy for help.

‘You see, when you were in Rome, your dad and I had an idea,’ she told him. ‘For a coffee shop, here in the station.’

A long silence stretched out as Ryan stared at her with wide eyes.

‘It was my idea,’ said Bob quickly.

Ryan’s expression absolutely told Katy that he didn’t believe a word that his dad had said and the blame was all on her.

Katy cleared her throat and pressed on. ‘It’s just that I think people around here need somewhere warm and cosy to chat with their friends and neighbours when they want to get out of their homes for a while.’

She looked at Bob for support.

‘Brilliant idea,’ he added.

‘You see,’ Katy told Ryan. ‘Harriet’s lavender spa has a steady stream of visitors, so that would help get the word out. And don’t you think that the village needs somewhere for everyone to gather?’

‘And you think that should be the station?’ asked Ryan slowly, looking around.

‘Why not?’ she replied. ‘There’s no village hall or anywhere else for people to bump into each other. And people get lonely.’ Her throat became really thick suddenly. ‘Really lonely. Especially in this digital world. So maybe if there was somewhere they could head just to have a conversation along with a delicious coffee, then that might be nice.’

The silence stretched out as Katy shuffled from foot to foot.

‘And it would prove a source of income,’ she added, knowing how necessary that was to the survival of the station.

Ryan looked at her in surprise. ‘You think that would work around here? As a business?’