Page 12 of Daydreams & Doughnut Cake

‘She said to say hello to you. They both seemed... nice.’

I nodded. ‘They are. Nice. But we... well, we lost contact ages ago. Funny that Clare should suddenly turn up here, though.’ I gave a cheerful shrug. ‘Anyway, I’d better get these tables cleared.’

Turning away, just wanting to put an end to the subject, I could feel my emotions threatening to overwhelm me.

A cup and saucer rattled in my hand as I set it on the tray. Clare knew I was working here. If she was still in touch with the others, they would soon know, too.

I’d escaped her for now, but I had a horrible feeling the past was closing in...

CHAPTER SIX

When Mark and I finally confessed our feelings for each other on the night of the graduation ball, it felt so right.

Whenever I’d dreamed of it happening – and I’d imagined it alot– I’d always thought it would be a bit awkward because we’d been ‘just good friends’ for so very long.

But in the end, making the transition from friends to lovers turned out to be perfectly seamless.

Mark told me he’d liked me for a long time but had been afraid he’d destroy our friendship and split the group if he declared his feelings for me. I’d been feeling exactly the same, of course, and we’d laughed at the irony of it.

We’d wasted a great deal of time but we had a whole lot of fun making up for it!

We rented a cute little house a mile or so from the centre of Brighton, and when I found out I was pregnant with Amelie, we were over the moon with joy.

Little did we know back then that the strange pins-and-needles sensation in his foot that Mark sometimes experienced was an early sign of illness. It was only when he woke one morning with a totally numb foot and the numbness spread up through his whole leg that we realised something was really wrong and I drove him to A&E.

Mark was diagnosed with an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis and the prognosis was terrifying. I was angry at the world. It felt so unfair. Mark was such a good person and he’d had everything to live for, but he was going to be denied the chance of seeing the daughter he loved grow up.

Amelie was going to grow up without the daddy she adored in her life.

Mark was so brave. He was determined to make every single moment count while he could.

It was on the day before Amelie’s third birthday that my wonderful soulmate finally lost his fight...

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was Monday morning and I had an early start. I wanted to get to the supermarket to stock up on ingredients for the dishes destined for the Rosie’s Spice Kitchen stall at the farmers’ market on Wednesday.

I kept telling myself there was no reason to worry about Clare’s sudden appearance in the café. But unfortunately, my churning stomach didn’t seem to have received the memo...

When was her brother’s wedding?

Was it soon or had Clare and her mum just been here for the day to help out with preparations? Clare might still be around and the last thing I needed was to bump into her and have to explain why I left Brighton so suddenly. It would be so awkward.

I gave my head a little shake as if to dislodge the annoying thoughts.

Although I was keen to get to the supermarket early, there was something very important I wanted to do after I dropped Amelie at nursery and went shopping.

Amelie was loving being at nursery school and talked all the time about the two little friends she’d made, Zoë and Dora. This morning, she ran into the building without even a backward glance at me. I’d booked her into the school’s breakfast club a couple of days a week and she loved it. She kept asking if she could have breakfast with her friends every day!

Smiling as I watched her go in, I was filled with mixed emotions.

On the one hand, the fact that my daughter seemed happy and confident in this new environment was such a relief to me. But on the other hand, I could see that she was needing me less and less as she blossomed into a little person in her own right, andthat pulled at my heart a little, making me feel sentimental for the precious early days when it was just Amelie and me against the world. She was now getting to know lots of new people who I hadn’t even met. It made me feel glad but a little teary all at once.

Back in the van, I glanced at my tired, puffy eyes in the mirror. I couldn’t afford to let exhaustion get in the way of everything I wanted to get done today. The past might have elbowed its way back into my life, giving me a series of restless nights, but I had to try and concentrate on our future.

I took a deep breath, started the engine and motored the five or so miles to Sunnybrook. It was soon after eight-thirty as I parked in a convenient space on the high street there, got out and walked into the gift shop.

I knew what I was looking for and thankfully, there was a range of styles and colours. Choosing one with a pink cover, decorated with lilac butterflies, I paid for it and went back out to the van. Then I drove out into the countryside beyond Sunnybrook, arriving at lovely old Bogg House ten minutes later.

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