Page 23 of Cupcakes and Kisses in Micklewick Bay

Jasmine knew Florrie would have happily helped her, but with time being tight it meant she’d had to settle for the photos she’d printed out and occasionally used to show customers. She’d made time to draft some costings of a selection of her cakes to show Lady Caro which had taken longer than she’d expected. Her eyes skimmed over the figures. Putting them together had made her realise with what she charged per cake, her profit margins were quite small, and that was without taking into account the amount of work she put into them. But she’d been keen to be competitive and keep her prices low in order to attract custom. After all, some of the celebration cakes available at the supermarkets were quite professional-looking these days. Jasmine told herself it would be just as easy to pop one in a trolley while doing the weekly food shop, so she had to do something to make hers stand out and be more appealing.

She huffed out a sigh.

‘Is everything all right, Jazz?’ Florrie pulled her eyes away from the road, snatching a look at her. ‘You’re not worried about the meeting, are you? I have no doubt it’ll go well. Don’t forget, it was Lady Caro who called you, not the other way round.’ To the outside world, Jasmine gave off an air of confidence, but her oldest friends knew that beneath her tough veneer of self-assuredness, she was prone to worrying, doubting herself and her decisions. Particularly so since Bart had died. That, together with the events that took place on the run-up to his death, had shot her confidence to pieces.

‘It’s not that… well, maybe it is a little bit. I can’t tell you how badly I want her to like my ideas and the photos of my cakes.’

‘She’ll love them, Jazz, like everyone does.’

‘I hope so.’ She paused for a moment. ‘But that’s not the only thing that’s bothering me.’

‘I thought there was something else. Do you want to talk about it?’

Jasmine heaved another sigh. ‘There’s been a bit of a situation with the kids and I’ve had to have a meeting at school with the teachers; the head was there, too.’

‘Goodness, sounds serious. Are Zak and Chloe okay?’

‘They’re fine – at least, I hope they will be.’ Thoughts of Jason Scragg and his son made her stomach twist. ‘You remember Jason Scragg – aka Scraggo – don’t you?’ she said.

‘Now that name’s a blast from the past. Not sure any of us could ever forget him. Why?’ Florrie said, her voice loaded with dread.

‘Well, it would seem he’s back in Micklewick Bay and he’s got a couple of kids in tow who, unfortunately, are the same age as my two, and let’s just say they’ve been making their presence felt.’

‘No way!’

‘’Fraid so. I had a brief chat with Stella about it last night – she saw me just after I’d been to school. I was going to tell you, but didn’t want to mention anything until after the meeting with Lady Caro in case it affected my mood and she picked up on it. I don’t want to risk her thinking I’m not interested or underwhelmed by her offer. Seems I can’t keep it to myself though.’

‘Knowing you as I do, Jazz, I reckon you’re better off talking about it – bottling it up has never worked well as far as you’re concerned.’

Jasmine knew Florrie was referring to her relationship with Bart and the problems that had troubled it throughout. They’d grown increasingly worse until their partnership could only be described as dysfunctional. Jasmine hadn’t wanted to burdenher friends by talking about it, or be disloyal to Bart, but it had taken its toll, with her becoming withdrawn and moody. She’d even begun to distance herself from her friends, fearful that they’d drag the truth out of her. It was something she’d sworn never to repeat, and the reason she’d remained single since Bart’s death.

‘Yeah, you’re right.’ Jasmine went on to give a brief rundown of what had gone on with the Scragg children, her friend listening quietly beside her.

When she was done, she blew out a noisy breath, feeling unexpectedly relieved to have shared it.

‘Well, it sounds like you can take comfort from the fact that the school are onto it and it won’t get out of hand like it did in our day. I’ve heard good things about Mrs Armistead, she’s a way better headteacher than Old Troutface ever was. I’m sure Zak and Chloe’ll be okay.’

‘Yeah, I did come away from the meeting having confidence in her and their teachers.’

‘Good.’

‘I still can’t believe Scraggo’s back in the town, though.’

Florrie stole a look at her, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. ‘I reckon he’ll be hoping you don’t seeredif you know what I mean?’

‘See red?’ Jasmine’s brow crumpled. ‘Oh, you’re referring tothat.’ She caught Florrie’s eye and they both spluttered with laughter at the memory of her covering Scraggo’s coat with red poster paint.

‘I’ll see more than bloomin’ red if his kids bother Zak and Chloe anymore.’

‘That, Jazz, I don’t doubt for a minute,’ said Florrie. A beat passed. ‘I wonder whatever happened to little Max Grainger? Scraggo used to make his life a misery.’

‘It’s funny you should say that.’ Jasmine had been waiting for a convenient point in their conversation to introduce the subject of Max.

‘Oh?’ Florrie briefly took her eyes off the road and stole a look at Jasmine. ‘Do I sense you have news?’

‘You do. I actually saw him last night. It was only brief, but I get the feeling he’s done well for himself. His clothes looked quite stylish – not that I know much about stuff like that – but he looked “well-groomed”, I think is the expression.’

‘Ooh, tell all.’

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