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‘Hiya. Ooh, are they warm? Did you make those?’ Diane widened her eyes and looked at the cooling cookies and reached her hand out towards them.
‘Oi! No, you don’t. Teresa has already pinched one!’ Elsie shook her head and chuckled.
‘Aw, please? Just one. The teeniest, tiniest one?’ Diane pouted.
‘Haha, go on then. Just this once, mind.’ Elsie waved the tea towel at her and smiled.
Picking one up before Elsie could change her mind, Diane crammed the cookie into her mouth, giving the thumbs up.
‘There you go.’ Elsie nodded towards Diane as she plunged the cafetière, the strong familiar aroma of coffee mixing with the smells of bread, pastries and cakes baking. ‘Judging by how fast Diane ate that, you’ve nothing to worry about your baking.’
‘Thanks.’ Tammy looked across at the cookies still cooling. Maybe she had picked up a thing or two whilst working at her gran’s bakery.
‘Where’s Wendy?’ Holding her hand in front of her mouth, Diane spoke around the cookie crumbs.
‘I’m not sure. I’ll just check my mobile.’ Elsie picked up her mobile from the shelf at the back of the kitchen and frowned. ‘Oh, little Hudson is poorly. Hold on, I’ll ring her and tell her not to worry about coming in.’
As Elsie walked out of the kitchen, Brooke turned to Tammy. ‘Hudson is Wendy’s little boy.’
‘Right, I guess we’d best open up before the customers start banging on the doors.’ Diane grinned as she led the way through to the bakery.
Tammy finished shaping the biscuits from her second batch of cookie dough before placing it in the oven and hurrying through to the bakery. Diane had opened the door now and the first group of customers were making their way inside, perusing the treats behind the glass of the counter as they queued.
‘Oh, love, I’ve told Wendy to stay off with Hudson today, but she’s got some wedding favours to make, are you okay helping to bake in the kitchen whilst I get those made please?’ Elsie walked past, phone in hand, and touched Tammy on the forearm.
‘Wedding favours?’ Tammy resisted the urge to touch the now-empty space below her neck where her locket used to lie. ‘Of course.’
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‘UMM, WHAT SMELLS SOgood?’ The kitchen door swung open, and Teresa appeared carrying an empty cake stand.
Looking up from the small cupcakes she was placing onto the cooling rack, Tammy grinned. ‘Pistachio and green tea cupcakes by any chance?’
‘Ooh yes, that’s it. Are they for a wedding?’
‘Yep. I can’t take the credit though, as much as I’d love to. Elsie made them but has had to run out to take an order to the pub, so I’ve just taken them out.’ Sliding the last of the favours off the baking tray, Tammy placed it down.
‘How are you finding the bay?’ Teresa set the cake stand on the stainless-steel tabletop. ‘Although, that’s probably a daft question, isn’t it? You’ve likely not had much of a chance to explore?’
‘Not really. I walked up to the community hall when I first got here yesterday.’ Tammy grimaced. ‘I got completely lost but luckily ran into Carmen who used to volunteer here.’
‘Oh, Carmen. That was lucky! If you get a chance to take a wander down to the beach, it’s beautiful.’ Teresa nodded towards the kitchen door. ‘Of course, you can see that from the bakery.’
‘It does look lovely. It certainly beats fast-food restaurants and empty shops lining the streets.’ Tammy laughed.
‘It certainly does.’ Teresa grinned.
‘Do you need some more cakes for the coffee and cake area? I think Elsie said these ones were ready.’ Tammy indicated an array of cupcakes and a freshly sliced fruitcake on the counter.
‘Yes, please. It’s been super busy out there. It’s been that busy, I’m surprised I’ve not had to refill the coffee machine yet.’ Teresa helped fill the cake stand.
The back door into the courtyard clicked open and Elsie bustled through, a large box in her hands. ‘You’ll never guess what I’ve got here.’
‘What have you got?’ Rushing to hold the door open for her, Teresa raised her eyebrows.
‘Only some more decorations for Ian’s retirement party!’ Smiling, Elsie lowered the box onto the counter. ‘I happened to mention to Gerald that I needed to buy some more, and he’s lent us all his party decorations from the pub. You know, the ones he puts up when he has a function in the back room.’
‘Wow, that’s brilliant. You shouldn’t need to buy anymore then?’ Teresa turned back to helping Tammy with the cakes.
