Page 27 of The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop

‘I bet that was a bit strange for you. Meeting up after all that time … after everything.’ Max knew the guy had been away several years.

Em could hardly admit quite how strange, or how much Nathan reminded her of his brother.

‘Yeah, it is a little.’ She quickly changed the subject and they chatted for a while about work, both anticipating a busy week to come. Max mentioned he’d forgotten to tell her that he’d pitched for a job to follow the Leeds one, thankfully nearer to home this time. A barn conversion in a village outside Hexham.

‘So give it a few months and things should settle down a bit, Em.’

A few months – that sounded such a long time. ‘Well, that’ll be good. Something to look forward to.’ But would there ever be a period when work didn’t eat up all their time, Emma wondered?

Ten minutes after they finished the call, each of them reluctant to say goodbye, wary of letting that sense of separation creep in, Em was standing out on the back step, letting Alfie out before bedtime.

There was an arc of crescent moon above her, high in the night sky, and a multitude of stars were glinting. She didn’t really believe Luke could look down on her, but at times like this she somehow felt closer to him just gazing up at the vastness of the universe, with a sense of the unknown, the unexplored around her. She sighed. When would this heart of hers ever settle down? Could things really ever work out with her and Max when it always came back to Luke? She had worked so hard to open her heart once more, and yes, she really liked Max, but already she was afraid she could feel it starting to protect itself again. How could this new relationship ever be as good as the one she’d had all those years ago?

13

It was a lovely Tuesday in early May when the minibus of ‘Golden Oldies’ – the coffee group for the elderly that Shirley, Adam’s gran, organised – pulled up outside The Chocolate Shop.

‘Here we go, Bev. They’ve arrived.’

‘Hah, I love this lot. They are so chatty and friendly. And the stories they can tell! I used to think Warkton-by-the-Sea was a sleepy little place, until I heard all about the old days around here.’

First off the bus was Adam’s gran, a spritely grey-haired lady in her sixties. She helped with the weekly coffee morning in the neighbouring coastal town of Seahouses, and occasionally they would take a trip out to Warkton-by-the-Sea and Emma’s Chocolate Shop for a change of scene.

Emma had reserved one of the window tables for them, though it was a bit of a squeeze with there being ten in the group. They could split up across to the other table, but they seemed to prefer being together. Bev let them get settled, and then went across to take their order. Cakes, brownies and a selection of chocolates were requested, along with a tray of tea and a couple of lattes.

When Emma brought the order along soon after, one of the ladies piped up, ‘Ooh, and how’s your young man these days? What a fine lad he was. Coming to help me at home like that.’

‘Worth every penny wasn’t he, Thelma?’ the lady beside her beamed.

‘Oh yes, he helped stack all those logs for me for the winter, and he put up some pictures for me and a mirror. Very handy.’

They’d won his ‘services’ in a charity Christmas auction and Emma had wondered if he’d ever make it back out of their sheltered accommodation in one piece after all the raucous banter that day at the Christmas Fayre. But he’d really enjoyed it, and the two ladies had been totally sweet and polite apparently. All bark and no bite, as Emma’s own nanna might have said, had she still been alive today.

‘Lovely-looking lad he is too. You two still courting then?’

‘Dorothy, now that’s enough. Don’t you go embarrassing Emma with all your talk and quizzing,’ Shirley warned.

‘There’s no harm in looking, Shirl. It’s the best we’re going to get at our age, isn’t it, Thelma?’ Dorothy winked kindly at Emma, who couldn’t help but smile.

‘So, who’s for cake then?’ Emma asked, serving out the gorgeous rich chocolatey slices.

There was a raising of hands, followed shortly by much happy munching and slurping.

‘Delicious as always,’ said one of the gentlemen, raising his teacup in thanks.

‘Good to hear it. Enjoy!’ And with that Emma went off to serve a young couple who were sat up on the stools by the counter.

It wasn’t long before a family with a toddler arrived and took the other window seat. The café was then full. With it becoming more popular, and being a small cottage building, space was an issue. It was a lovely day out there, so it was a shame they couldn’t put some tables and chairs out on the pavement in front of the shop, but it was way too narrow, and the customers would be too near the traffic as well as blocking the pedestrian access. Emma went out to the kitchen, taking a tray of used mugs and plates with her. She stood for a second looking from the kitchen sink out to the courtyard. That was when she remembered her light-bulb moment from a few weeks ago.

The courtyard. It could easily fit three or four tables. The walls would provide shelter and the space was light and sunny on a nice day. Walkers often liked to come along with their dogs too and they could only have a takeaway at present, but they could sit out there with their pets quite easily. She’d pop a big dog bowl of water out for any thirsty pooches. The Chocolate Shop’s Courtyard Café – a perfect addition for the summer. She felt a flutter of excitement. It was time to put her ideas into action. What with this and the prosecco parties, the shop’s income might drastically improve.

She might even get to save a bit, and have some money kept by for any unexpected rent hikes – or, dare she even think it, towards a deposit on a business loan, though it might well take years to raise enough for that. Still, Emma felt a buzz of excitement and made up the next order happily humming away to herself. She couldn’t wait to tell Bev and Holly all about her brainwave.

As she stood washing up, her mind rattled away. If she got a move on and found some outdoor seating (it would have to be second-hand for her tight budget), she might even have the courtyard area up and running by the Whit-week school holidays at the end of the month. In fact, she could ask her brother James to go along to any car boot or house sales on over the next couple of weekends as there was no time like the present. And if there was no joy with that, then Ron the local carpenter might have some ideas for wooden benches.

After the ‘Golden Oldies’ had set off with smiles, ‘thank yous’ and ‘see you again soons’, Em couldn’t wait to share her idea with Bev who had just turned up for work. Emma launched into her plan as the pair of them stood behind the counter.

‘That is such a good idea. It often gets a bit crowded in here, especially now it’s almost the full-on summer tourist season.’