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‘That’s wonderful. You make a lovely couple,’ Alice blurted.
Joss frowned. ‘No, it’s not a dinner date.’ His tone of voice hinted at his disappointment that it wasn’t. ‘After she’s finished work, I’ve asked her to come with me to Cobblers Yard.’
‘Cobblers Yard? Is that in Southwold?’ Anybody who ventured to the Suffolk Coast was bound to discover the coastal town with its year-round bunting hanging across the streets, its pretty little shop fronts, its grand old hotels, Adnams Brewery, and the wonderful Victorian pier. Alice had half a mind to ask if she could go with them, but she didn’t want to intrude. Who knew where it might lead, the two of them going out together, even if it wasn’t a proper a date? It might well turn into one.
‘Ah, no, it’s not Southwold – it’s further down the road in Aldeburgh.’
Alice knew why she’d assumed it was Southwold. It was closer. But she’d also visited Aldeburgh in the past, a long time ago. She recalled the pebbly beach with the fishermen’s huts selling fresh fish caught that day, and the promenade fronting the beach with pretty pastel-coloured villas on the sea front. Although familiar with the town, she commented, ‘I’ve never heard of Cobblers Yard.’
‘Ah, I’m not surprised. It’s easy to pass it by and not realise it’s there. There’s a narrow pathway between the shops that leads into a cobbled yard with a small group of shops with old-fashioned shop fronts.’ He reeled them off. ‘There’s a music shop, charity shop, The Potting Shed that sells flowers. The lady who runs it does landscape work. I help her out doing odd jobs. Then there’s the antique shop which has changed hands, the arts and crafts shop, and the bookshop. There aren’t many shops, but it’s worth stopping by just to see the old-fashioned store fronts.’
Alice would do more than that. ‘I’d like to stop by the arts and crafts shop.’ Joss had just reminded her that she wanted to try her hand at painting again. ‘And I wouldn’t mind popping to a bookshop to get a novel.’
‘I’m afraid the bookshop isn’t open. Hasn’t been for years.’
‘Oh, that’s a shame.’
‘And the arts and crafts shop has closed too.’
Alice sighed. It was a sign of the times. Shops closing on the high street because people preferred to shop online.
‘That’s what I’m taking Emily to see – the arts and crafts shop.’
Alice frowned. ‘But I thought you said—’
‘Yes, it’s closed down now, but I thought it would make a rather good premises for a vet’s practice.’
‘She’s thinking of opening her own practice?’
‘Well, no, at least not yet. I’m trying to persuade her. It might be a good idea.’
‘Ah.’ Alice stared at him. ‘Does she know where you’re taking her this evening?’
‘No, it’s a surprise.’
Alice inwardly sighed. Men. Why could they be so obtuse sometimes? She’d seen the way Emily looked at Joss. She expected Emily was in for a surprise alright, when she found out it wasn’t a date.
Alice turned around and put the key in the lock.
Joss looked at the cat carrier in his arms. ‘Do you want me to bring this inside for you?’
Marley chose that moment to hiss at Joss.
Alice turned around and frowned at her cat. ‘I thought you were feeling better?’ Clearly, the visit to the vet hadn’t put him in a good mood. She looked at Joss. ‘I’ll take it from here.’
He handed her the cat carrier. ‘Thanks for the lift, Joss.’
She’d thought it would be awkward going a distance in the car with a stranger, a young man with whom she’d thought she’d have nothing in common. She’d wondered what they would talk about. But they talked about a great deal – or rather, she had. She had told him about the house move and how she felt her family had railroaded her into it, and that she’d done something incredibly selfish and just packed her bags and walked out for a few days.
‘Am I a bad person?’ she’d asked him. What she had discovered about Joss was that he was a good listener. It had made her wonder what it was he had done for a living before he appeared to have dropped out.
She remembered that Joss had smiled at that comment. ‘No, that doesn’t make you a bad person – not at all. I can empathise.’ He didn’t elaborate, but Alice had caught a look on his face as he turned to go; there was an air of melancholy about him, as though something had happened in his life to throw him off course.
Alice wasn’t a stranger to that scenario. Something had happened right there in the guest house a quarter of a century earlier. Considering the events that had taken place that night years earlier, she was still trying to fathom what had possessed her to return. Was she really trying to find out if her husband had met a woman called Wendy there in the past? If that were the case, then shouldn’t she be at home right then, confronting him?
‘What do you think of the idea?’ Joss had been about to step into his room next door, but he paused to ask the question, interrupting her thoughts.
Alice turned to him. ‘You mean about the vet’s practice?’
