Page 36 of My Kind of Happy

We’d been walking along the quay at the time, watching children brave the chilly morning to catch crabs with bacon and string and her comment had brought me up short. Freddie and I had always stayed at Granny’s cottage without Mum, so I didn’t associate her with Granny’s market stall. But whereas we only spent school holidays in Wales, Mum had grown up there. Flowers would have been an even bigger part of her childhood than mine.

‘You didn’t fancy a career in flowers?’ I asked, tightening my grip on Scamp’s lead before he jumped off the quay and into the water.

She shook her head. ‘No. I wanted the complete opposite of my mother’s life. Something else you and I have in common,’ she’d added with a knowing smile.

‘I’ve never thought that …’ I began to protest but my words faltered.

Gosh, I’d realised, reddening, maybe I had. Was that why I’d stayed in the same job for ten years? As a response to Mum’s peripatetic lifestyle?

‘Anyway,’ she cut in, taking my arm. ‘Granny would be very proud of you for giving it a go. And so am I. And so would Freddie.’

‘Thanks.’ I swallowed the lump in my throat and hoped she was right.

I’d given her Freddie’s letter to read that night and we’d talked about what we missed most about him and had a little cry.

Scamp and I only stayed a couple of nights. Mum’s apartment overlooking the sea was cosy but only had one bedroom and the novelty of sharing the sofa with Scamp was quick to wear off. As we were leaving, Mum tried to give me the money she’d got from selling off Freddie’s motorbike collection. Again.

‘Mum, please!’I’d begged her.

‘It’s just sitting there,’ she said, looking vexed as I stuffed my fingers in my ears and refused to listen. ‘He wanted you to have it.’

Freddie’s new Triumph had been written off but his Harley Davidson, Honda Gold Wing and his Kawasaki had fetched a decent amount. Maybe one day I’d need it enough to overlook the fact that it felt like blood money. But right now my brain was refusing to believe that a skilled and experienced rider and a fantastic motorbike instructor to boot could have made such a stupid error.

‘Fearne?’ Nina was grinning at me. ‘Have I bored you to death?’

‘No, no, not at all,’ I stammered, wondering what I’d missed. Thankfully, I remembered something I’d noticed earlier. ‘I meant to ask, you don’t have a computer?’

Nina wrinkled her nose. ‘Not in the shop. I used to but it was always playing up and then Kelly spilled water on it and that was that. All the online orders from Fone-A-Flower come through on my phone. Plus, emails. It’s all I need and it’s always with me.’ She fought through several layers to pull her mobile phone from her back pocket. It flew out of her wet hand and bounced off the corner of the counter before hitting the floor, shattering the screen into a million pieces.

‘Balls,’ she said blithely. ‘Not again.’

She picked it up and examined it. ‘Still works.’

I bent down to check for any glass splinters; the last thing I needed was for Scamp to get any in his paws. He, of course, had to come and see what I was looking at; I stroked his ears and he padded back to his basket, content.

‘Just a thought,’ I said. ‘But why don’t we have a tablet in the shop? That way, either of us can log the new orders when they come in, plus I could set it up to accept and make phone calls.’

‘Can’t afford it at the mo, but good plan.’

‘We, I mean, I’ve got a spare one,’ I said, picturing Freddie’s iPad in a drawer underneath the TV at home. ‘I can bring it in tomorrow. Won’t cost you a penny.’

She chewed her lip. ‘Thanks, but what if it gets dropped or soaked?’

I shook my head, laughing. ‘My brother used it to run his motorbike school from. The case is so thick, he even rolled the wheel of his bike over it once and it didn’t crack. It’ll be fine in a florist’s.’

‘Then I accept, thanks. I guess your brother is as accident prone as me?’ she said, rolling her eyes.

My stomach swooped. That was the stupid thing: Freddie had been such a careful rider. Which made accepting what had happened even harder.

‘Miss Lovage?’ The police officer’s face had been impeccably professional, but he hadn’t been able to disguise the look of pity in his eyes. ‘I’m afraid there’s been an accident involving your brother. Can I come in …?’

I swallowed down the memory. ‘Just the one.’

Nina gave me a curious look, inviting me to expand on my comment but the phone rang and she answered it, scribbling down an order in the big diary which sat on a shelf under the counter.

‘You know,’ said Nina, once she’d finished taking down all the details and I’d selected some flowers for an all-white bouquet for a birthday order. ‘I’ve got a really good feeling about you and me. I think we’re going to make a great duo.’

Scamp chose that moment to remember just how amazing his tail was and chased it round his bed for a mad thirty seconds, while growling at it menacingly.

Nina laughed. ‘Sorry, Scamp, was I ignoring you? I meant to say great trio.’

‘A great trio,’ I echoed, and let out a breath of relief. Like Nina, I had a good feeling about us too.