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Heather looked across at Brooke. ‘Are you okay for a couple of minutes?’
‘Yes, course.’ Nodding, Brooke turned to a new customer.
‘Thanks.’ Walking around the side of the counter, heather nodded towards the kitchen door. ‘This way.’
Following her, Gus held the door open for them both.
‘Thanks. Elsie, Gus has offered to take a look at the dishwasher to see if her can fix it.’
‘Really?’ Looking up from the bread dough she was kneading, Elsie smiled. ‘That would be amazing, if you really don’t mind, Gus?’
‘Not at all. Happy to help if I can.’
‘Thank you so much, love.’
‘Here it is.’ Heather nodded towards the dishwasher.
‘Great. I’ll take a look.’ Rolling up his sleeves, Gus pulled open the dishwasher door and knelt down.
‘I’M SO SORRY.’ THEwoman in front of her gasped as her purse spilled coins across the counter.
‘Don’t worry.’ Heather tried to grab as many as she could as stray coins showered onto the floor, creating a delicate clinking and tinkling as they landed on the tiles. Bending down, Heather began picking them up.
‘Here, let me help.’ Brooke bent down next to her, collecting coins and dropping them into Heather’s cupped hand. ‘They get everywhere, don’t they?’
‘They sure do. Thank you.’ Picking up the last one, Heather stood up, carefully laying the coins on top of the counter.
‘Thank you. I need to get a new purse or find somewhere which will fix this one.’ The woman waved her battered purse in the air. ‘I’ve had it over thirty years, it’s been to at least ten different countries with me and seen no end of adventures, which is why I keep holding on to it.’
‘Have you tried the cobblers in Trestow? They might be able to fix it for you.’ Brooke smiled at the woman before turning back to her customer.
‘Now, that’s a good idea. Thank you. How much did you say it was?’
‘Four pounds and eighty pence please.’ Heather smiled.
‘Right. Do you mind it being in change? If I could get rid of some of this, that’d be great.’ The woman pointed to the mound on coins on the counter.
‘Of course. We’re always happy to take change.’ Heather grinned. ‘Shall I take it from here for you?’
‘Yes, please.’
Heather slid the correct amount into the pam of her hand before putting it in the till and gathering up the rest of the coins. ‘There you go.’
‘Thanks, dear.’ The woman held her purse open as Heather dropped the coins inside. ‘See you tomorrow.’
‘Bye.’ Waving, Heather took a step back and leaned against the back counter, yawning into the crook of her arm again.
‘You’re not still yawning, are you?’ Gus chuckled as he rolled his sleeves back down, the kitchen door swinging shut behind him.
‘Did you manage to fix it?’ Pushing herself away from the back counter, she stood in front of Gus.
‘I did indeed. A part in the filter had become loose which had knocked the shelving out of kilter and also caused the leak.’
‘Awesome. You’re a genius! You’ve saved the health of my hands too.’ Grinning, Heather held her hands up.
‘Ha-ha, then all is well in the world.’ Shifting on the spot, Gus looked at his shoes before meeting her gaze. ‘I know you’re tired, so I completely understand if the answer is no, but I wondered if you fancied coming along to the nature reserve tonight and doing a bit of otter-watching?’
‘Otter-watching? I assume that’s much the same as birdwatching?’
