Page 6 of Wishes & Waves at the Cornish Bakery
Placing her arms around Tilly’s shoulders, Elsie drew her in for a hug. ‘I’m so so sorry.’
‘Thanks.’ Mumbling, Tilly pulled back and wiped her eyes with her fingers, her plate still gripped tightly in one hand.
Picking up her mug again, Elsie took a sip before continuing the conversation. ‘Hopefully working here will give you some of that experience future prospective employers will look for.’
‘That’s what I’m hoping.’ Tilly took another bite of her croissant, relieved the conversation was over.
‘And of course, you’ll have plenty of time to explore the bay too.’ Elsie glanced out of the kitchen window into the small courtyard behind the bakery. The sun was high in the sky already, washing the whole courtyard with sunshine.
‘Yes. I can’t wait to have a look around and find out a little more as to why my aunt held this place so close to her heart.’ She felt a warm glow emanating from her chest. Plus, she was also looking forward to perhaps finding out a little about her dad, too. She wasn’t quite sure how, but she knew she wanted to give it her best shot while she was down here. She wasn’t sure if her little car could take another long journey down here if she chose to come again. That was if it managed to get her home without breaking down. She felt a lump form in her throat as she remembered she no longer had a place to call home. Taking a gulp of her coffee, she pushed the thought away. She could deal with that problem when she had to. Now though, she wanted to get out there and help Brooke and Lynsey behind the counter.
Chapter Six
Punching the buttons on the till again, Tilly scrunched up her nose as once again the drawer failed to open. Looking back up at the man standing on the other side of the counter, Tilly grimaced. ‘I’m so sorry. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.’
‘Don’t worry about the change. Pop it in a charity pot or something.’ The man picked up the paper bag full of rolls on the counter and headed towards the door.
‘Sorry.’ Tilly called after him. Drat. He must have only been her third customer and the first paying cash. She was failing already.
‘Everything okay?’ Sidling across to her, Brooke frowned. ‘Is the till playing up again?’
‘I must have pressed something I shouldn’t have. Sorry.’ Holding the five-pound note her customer had given her in one hand, she punched in the amount again. And again the till buzzed, the drawer staying stubbornly closed.
‘It’s not you. It was playing up yesterday, too. Ian has already taken a look, but he couldn’t fix it. I think Elsie’s going to ring someone to come out and fix it. There is a trick, though. Budge along.’ As soon as Tilly had stepped aside, Brooke jammed the drawer against her hip and watched as it slid slowly open.
‘Thanks.’ Tilly slipped the note into the till. At least it wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t broken the till. She glanced towards the open doorway. A small queue had formed, with the last few customers snaking out of the bakery and onto the cobbles. She’d had no idea what to expect and hadn’t realised just how busyit would get. If she had, she might have declined Elsie’s offer altogether and chosen to sleep in her car over socialising with this many people at once. Turning, she picked up the glass of water she placed on the back counter earlier and took a large gulp. She could do this. She didn’t have a choice now; she was already in the situation. She could hardly discard her apron and stalk out now, could she?
‘You okay?’ Brooke frowned.
‘Yes, sorry. It’s just been a long time since...’ Tilly waved her hand around the bakery, taking in the tables and chairs beyond the queue, which filled the space between the counter and the wedding counter at the far side of the bakery.
‘No worries. Did you want to go and take five minutes?’ Brooke rubbed Tilly’s arm.
Taking a deep breath, Tilly shook her head. Nope, if she was going to get over her fear of mixing with others, her habit of keeping herself to herself, then the best thing for her was to jump all in. Besides, this was good practice for when she got a proper job. She needed this. And judging by the number of customers, Brooke and Lynsey needed her to stay, too. ‘No, thanks though.’
‘Okay. You’ve got this.’ Brooke stepped in front of her and signalled her to serve the couple she was about to. ‘Here, you serve Percy and Maeve. They’re the best.’
Nodding, she stepped forward, placing her palms on the counter, the coolness of the surface welcome against her warm skin. ‘Good morning, how can I help you today?’
‘Hello, sweetheart. You must be new here, is that right?’ Maeve perched an oversized handbag on the counter.
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘In that case, let’s not be rude, Percy. Let’s introduce ourselves.’ Maeve held her hand across her chest beforeindicating her husband. ‘I’m Maeve and this is my husband, Percy.’
‘Hi, lovely to meet you both. I’m Tilly.’
‘Welcome to the bay, Tilly.’ Percy took her hand, clasping hers in his, his handshake both stronger than he looked and warm. ‘Will you be here long?’
‘Oh, I’m not too sure. I haven’t ironed out any details yet.’ Ha, that was an understatement if ever there was one. Taking her hand back, Tilly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. ‘How about you two? Have you lived here long?’
‘Funny you should ask that.’ Percy stroked his beard. ‘We both grew up here, lived here for years, didn’t we, love?’
‘We did.’ Maeve smiled warmly.
‘And then off we went to Spain. The plan was to spend our retirement there, wasn’t it?’ He looked fondly at his wife.
‘Well, you see all the shows on the telly, don’t you? People looking around houses in the sun, escaping overseas for a life of relaxation and we thought we could do with a little of that peace and relaxation, didn’t we?’
