Page 52 of The Runaway Wives

‘We raised loads on Saturday, which is great, but we’re still a few grand short of what we need before we can open,’ Kenny said. ‘It would be good if we could get all the funds we need by September, to give the artists time to move in and establish themselves for Christmas. Being in a large, bespoke studio space should increase their customer reach and sales.’

‘We get a lot of visitors in the summer, maybe we can hold more fairs, or raffles even, to raise the money,’ Cath suggested.

‘I could ask Andi if we could have a collection tin in the café,’ Dee said. ‘People might put in their odd bits of change, it will all add up.’ Another idea occurred to her. ‘Maybe we could even have some displays of the artists’ work? A photo board perhaps? People might be willing to support it if they can see where the money is going.’

‘That’s a good idea,’ Kenny agreed. ‘I knew that you would be useful to have on the committee.’

Dee felt her cheeks glow at Kenny’s praise. ‘We should run it past Moira too, although I’m sure she won’t mind. It’s all for a good cause after all.’ She picked up her glass. ‘I’ll mention it to Andi tomorrow and ask her to talk to Moira about it when she calls for her daily update.’

They discussed other ideas to raise funds, with Dee writing them all down. She seemed to have become the unofficial PA. She hoped no one thought she was taking over, but the others didn’t seem to mind. Then, about halfway through the evening a message came in from the Local Dog Walkers saying that Mr and Mrs Slater wanted to meet her to discuss sharing the care of Betsy. Dee arranged to pop round the next day after work.

‘I hope they like me,’ she said to Kenny as she patted Toffee, ‘and that Betsy is as friendly as your dog.’

‘Of course they will, you’ll be a godsend to them,’ Kenny told her. ‘We’ll be able to take both dogs for a walk along the beach at the weekend.’ He grinned. ‘That’ll be fun.’

Dee smiled. She and Kenny had fallen into an easy friendship, which she enjoyed, and she liked the idea of them both walking the dogs together.

Kenny insisted on walking her home. ‘I’d ask you in for a coffee but Snowy is in and I’m not sure how he’ll be with Toffee,’ Dee said.

‘No problem, we don’t want to unsettle Snowy, he’s got enough to deal with as Edna is away. Anyway, it’s time I was off too.’ He nodded at her. ‘Bye, Dee.’

‘Bye.’

She watched as he turned around and walked down the hill. Memories of him with Margot all those years ago flashing across her mind. Margot had been so full of life, she bet that Kenny missed her so much. At least Nigel was still alive, and it was her choice to leave him. She was glad that she had met Kenny again, it seemed that right now they both needed a friend.

Snowy came to the door to greet her when she opened it, running out into the front garden to do his business and then coming straight back in.

‘You’re missing Edna, aren’t you?’ Dee asked as she stroked the little cat, who miaowed softly as if he understood what she’d said.

Dee made herself a mug of warm milk and honey and sat down to watch TV for a while, stroking Snowy. Then she scooped him up and took him up to bed with her. The cat snuggled down on the duvet beside her and was soon asleep while Dee lay for a while, her mind buzzing. She was about to finally drop off when a text came in. She groaned. Not Nigel again. She was tempted to ignore it but curiosity got the better of her and she grabbed her phone from the bedside cabinet. It was from Babs. She opened it, anxious to hear how her friend had got on. Babs had written:

Not seen anything I like so far, and still don’t want to live here. Can’t wait to get back to the UK. How are things with you?

She’d attached a couple more photos of the houses they’d viewed recently and Dee was surprised when she saw that one of them was almost at the top of a mountain, and the other looked like it was in the middle of a forest. There was no way her friend would live anywhere like that, she wouldn’t have thought that Geoff would want to either. He was a people person, he’d loved working in the shop, so had Babs. They were the sort of people who were the centre of the community. Surely, they should be looking at smaller properties in villages where there was a bit of life going on? These houses were all old, huge and remote. What was he thinking of, taking Babs to see houses like this? It was almost as if he wanted her to refuse to move.

35

TUESDAY

Dee mentioned her idea about having a collection tin for the Artists’ Studios, and a wall display for their work to Andi when she arrived at the café the next morning.

‘I think that’s a great idea, I’ll run it by Moira when she phones me for a catch-up.’ Andi promised.

‘Thanks so much,’ Dee said. ‘I see we have our visitor again.’ She pointed over at Snowy, who had followed Dee and was now curled up in a chair in the bay window.

‘He’s made himself comfortable already!’ Andi remarked. ‘We might need to rename this place The Cat Café.’

Dee chuckled. ‘I think Moira might have something to say about that.’ She pulled on her apron, fastened it at the back, and set to work.

A few minutes later, Moira phoned and Andi went into the back to talk to her. ‘Moria’s agreed to the collection tin and the wall display of the artists’ work,’ she said when she returned.

‘That’s great. Thanks for asking. I’ll let the others know later. How is Moira? Is her daughter out of hospital yet?’ Dee asked.

‘She’s coming out of hospital tomorrow but she’s going to need help for a while. Moira is very worried about her. She said that it could be a few weeks before she can come back to the café.’ Andi unwrapped a loaf and started spreading butter on the sandwiches. ‘Are you all right to help out for that long or shall I get agency staff?’

Dee felt sorry for Moira and her daughter but working at the café was a much-needed solution for her current money worries. At least now she had a small income as well as a roof over her head for a few weeks. ‘More than happy to work here until Moira can return. It gives me chance to sort out my own situation.’

‘Brilliant.’ Andi took some ham and cheese out of the fridge, handing the ham to Dee. ‘We make a good team and I don’t fancy getting used to someone new.’

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