Page 85 of The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop

‘You’re welcome.’

Emma had taken their order while they waited and was soon making her way back to them with a tray laden with drinks and cake. They were now all settled at their favourite window-seat table.

‘How’s your young man, Emma?’ Dorothy asked. ‘Is he here today?’

The words felt like a dart in Emma’s heart, but she managed to keep smiling. She hadn’t seen or heard from Max for four weeks now.

‘No, he’s busy today, Dot.’ Emma really didn’t want to go into any of that just now.

‘Shame. Would have been very pleasant to have been served by him,’ Dorothy added. ‘Such a lovely lad.’

Emma kept her smile fixed and her head down whilst handing out the order. She was glad it was busy; it meant she had to keep on going. Busy was good, it kept her mind occupied and her heart shut down, keeping all those unsettling emotions at bay like a jack-in-the box.

Next, Emma had to dash back down to the harbour with a container of ice cream as Holly had rung to say she was nearly out. It was very warm outside, so she’d packed a large plastic box with ice, and nipped down in the car to get it to the freezer on the stall before it all melted.

When she got there, James and Chloe were down at the harbour too. The girls were nibbling on lurid-pink candy-floss sticks they’d got from The Rock Shop.

‘Hello, you lot. Having a nice time?’ Em walked over to them after delivering the ice cream.

‘Yes-s.’ The girls were grinning. ‘The Rock Shop lady was nice this time,’ said Olivia.

‘That’s good.’

‘Want some, Auntie Em?’ Lucy thrust her candy-floss stick towards her. It was licked, with pink sticky beads of wet around the edges and lightly chewed.

‘Ah, no thanks, Luce, but nice of you to offer.’

‘It’s great here,’ James commented. ‘There are some really good stalls and loads of tourists about.’

‘Your stand looks lovely,’ Chloe added. ‘And I’ve seen lots of people wandering about with your chocolate ice creams.’

‘Good, good. What I like to hear. Yes, I’ve just been stocking that up for Holly. Sorry, guys, but I’m going to have to dash. It’s all go back at the shop too.’

‘Of course. See you soon.’

‘Bye, Auntie Em.’

‘Bye all. Have fun.’

And it was indeed all go for another few hours. The dishwasher was humming away, as well as new-girl Megan washing up at the kitchen sink, trying to keep up with all the used crockery. The young girl had straight blonde hair, which she’d pulled back into a ponytail for work, and pretty pale-green eyes that stood out against her milky-fair skin. She had recently moved to the village with her family, from the nearby town of Seahouses.

Megan had very much found her feet today, working hard alongside Emma and Bev. She was going to be working weekends and the week days that Bev wasn’t in, giving Em that extra cover she needed, especially with Holly setting off for her new student life in Newcastle upon Tyne very soon. It seemed really odd that Holly would soon no longer be part of the team, except perhaps at holiday times. Em would miss her sunny face and temperament.

The Bank Holiday visitors were starting to drift away and the seagulls were settling to roost for the evening. Emma could hardly believe that it was almost six o’clock. The day had just flown. She decided to head down to the harbour to see how Holly had got on with the stall for the rest of the afternoon.

‘Bev, you okay to hold the fort here a while? I’ll just go and help Holly pack up. I’ll take the car down to pick up the freezer and anything that’s left.’

‘Yeah, I’ll be fine. It’s quietened off a lot now.’

‘Been a good day, though.’ The till hadn’t stopped pinging, which was a joyous sound for Emma after the financial woes of last year.

‘Megan, thanks so much.’ She caught up with her new member of staff. ‘You’ve been such a help. I’ll just fetch your pay for today, and then you may as well get away home.’

Megan had been delighted when Emma had offered her the chance to work at The Chocolate Shop after Sheila had heard the young girl was looking for a job in the village. She was a bit shyer than Holly, but polite with the customers and she seemed to be warming up to the role nicely.

‘Thanks,’ Megan smiled as Emma handed across her pay and a bag of fudge. ‘That’s great. I’m really enjoying working here already.’

‘That’s good. We’ll see you back tomorrow then!’