Page 28 of The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove

‘Nance, don’t you think you try to change the world enough as it is? It’s a big world out there and you can’t change it all.’

‘No, but I remember reading a quote once that said, “helping one person might not change the world, but it might change the world of one person”, so for me every small change makes a difference. Imagine if everyone did the same.’

Dennis stared out of the window to the bay beyond.

‘Maybe you’re right, Nance, but I’d need a lot more convincing than it’s worth it.’

I loved nothing more than a challenge.

‘You’re on!’

He turned and winked at me again and my brain went to mush. I sighed. I knew that I was in trouble because I was finally ready to admit to myself that I liked him. Really liked him.

16

That night, when I got back home, Mum asked me how my day had ended up and I practically threw myself into the armchair like a petulant teenager.

‘I’m knackered!’

Mum laughed and I saw her share a look with Dad who grinned back at her.

‘Good, that means you must have had a busy day then. Are you ready for your dinner yet?’

‘I’m ready for a drink. A strong one. Spending a day with Dennis isn’t the most riveting of experiences, you know.’

‘Oh, really? I always thought he’s an incredibly interesting character. Lots of layers to him, I reckon, and you just need to peel them away. And with those spectacularly good looks of his, he could be a character in one of those romance novels you love reading so much.’

Why on earth did Mum have to mention peeling away his layers? Now all I could think of was his layers being clothes and peeling them all off him. I needed to change the conversation, quickly.

‘He’s not all that good looking, you know. I’ve seen far better.’

‘Really? How many Hollywood film star lookalikes do you get in your little bookshop in Driftwood Bay then, darling?’

I sighed.

‘Maybe not enough. And if I did, the chances of them being a reader and buying loads of my stock are pretty slim. Anyhow, enough about him. I’ve had enough of Dennis for one day. Him and his spreadsheets and his budget planners. What’s for tea? I’m starving.’

I saw Mum’s mouth twitch as she raised her eyebrows and looked over at Dad, who winked at her.

‘You are very lucky to have him in your life.’

‘You think?’

‘I know. Vi talks about him a lot. He’s a proper bigwig in his world, you know.’

‘Well, he’s not in his world now though, is he? He’s in ours and we don’t like show-offs around here.’

‘I don’t think he’s showing off, love. He’s just trying to help you. Vi tells me that he really likes spending time with you.’

This couldn’t have come as more of a surprise to me. Dennis seemed to be exasperated by me most of the time. By the way that I thought I could run a business without really having the knowledge or commercial acumen that went with it. How I thought I could just open my shop and it naturally would just all fall into place and it be a booming business, without having a business plan or any real plans of any kind. How I felt that the universe had my back, so it didn’t really matter what I did and didn’t know. I felt like I was just the annoying customer that he was working with. So, for Vi to say that he enjoyed our time together, it was a real revelation.

‘He’s had a tough life,’ Mum continued. ‘Vi told me some bits and pieces and I’ll fill you in on what I know another time when I’ve learned a bit more. But don’t be so hard on him, love. Maybe if you stopped fighting him, you’d realise that you couldlearn to like him too. She said he came back, almost lighter, the other night after being on the beach helping you on your cleaning shift. She worries about him so much. Always seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Always trying to prove something to the world. But he just seems to want to help you. He was telling her about all the plastic on the beach and how he couldn’t believe how long it would stay around if people like you didn’t clean up after everyone. He seemed to be really interested in what he’d learned. She was surprised because he didn’t normally care about anything much apart from how much money he could make for himself and for his company. She said she felt like there’d been a bit of a shift in him. She also said it was about time he learned from others. He’s always been so fiercely independent, not accepting help from anyone. Reminds me of someone I know.’

She walked past me and kissed my head.

I sat up straight in my seat. I didn’t think Dennis had learned anything from me. Although I suppose he had opened up to me when we’d been on the beach. Had I been too quick to judge him when I really didn’t know him at all? I’d learned so much from him already, even if it was hard to admit to myself, let alone anyone else. And yes, Mum was probably right. I did strive to be as independent as I could be. In today’s day and age, it was hard to get on the property market, and especially hard in a place like Cornwall where the prices were massively inflated by people from outside the area buying second houses or moving to the coast for a better way of life. Even a small starter house or flat here was way out of my price range, and that’s why at the age of twenty-seven years old, I was still living at home with my parents. It would be nice to start earning a good salary from the shop and to be able to invest in a future of my own rather than just live day to day not knowing what the next week would hold.I think holding on to my independence at the shop was the only bit of control I did have.

‘Sometimes it’s nice to have new friends in your life, Nancy. I didn’t like Theresa, you know, when I first met her. When she arrived at school, she got loads of attention. She was the new pretty girl and there was a boy I fancied – and who fancied me back – who took a liking to her and went off me. You can imagine it, can’t you? I was fuming. I was fourteen and full of raging hormones and then the new girl came along and took away the love of my life. But then I fell over in PE and she was the one the PE teacher made take me to the school nurse and she was really kind to me. Over the next few weeks, I got to really know her and like her. And the boy was an arse anyway. If I’d have gone out with him, I’d never have met your dad, and you wouldn’t exist. It’s just a lesson to us all that you have to give people a chance. Give Dennis a chance, love. You could be the best of friends for years to come. And friends help each other, in many different ways. He could be your life-changer. And who knows? You could be his.’

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