Page 120 of A Secret Cornish Wish
Part of me was shocked when Rob said he was coming back to St Felix in 2023. But part of me wasn’t at all surprised.
My life has only changed for the good during the last decade, but the last ten years haven’t been kind to Rob at all.
I first learnt that Rob had cancer when I was in a doctor’s surgery. It was pre-pandemic, so surgeries still had magazines for you to thumb through while you were waiting for your appointment. When I read that Hollywood heartthrob Rob Matthews had a brain tumour, I nearly dropped the copy ofHello!on the waiting room floor. But I quickly read the short article that said he was getting treatment, and his prognosis was good. But they had to call my name three times over the surgery tannoy before I registered they were calling me for my appointment.
When I got back to Claire’s and told her, we tried to contact Rob. But his mobile kept going straight to answerphone, so in the end we emailed instead.
A few days later we got a reply from Rob saying not to worry and he was getting treatment from the best oncologist in LA. And his prognosis was very good.
That was in January 2020, and of course we did worry, but not just about Rob. Very quickly everyone was worried as Covid-19 gradually locked down the world bit by bit.
St Felix was very strange during the pandemic. During the first lockdown we went from a bustling seaside resort to a ghost town in a matter of days. Even in the winter months the town was usually still busy, with holidaymakers taking refreshing brisk walks on the beaches and warming themselves afterwards with a coffee or a hot chocolate.
But suddenly, when we were all told to ‘Stay at Home’, that stopped. The streets were deserted, the shops closed, the takeaways shut.
Claire and I had each other, Rosie, and Claire’s youngest, Freddie, who was still living at home then, for company. The children were homeschooled, which Claire and I took turns to attempt to try to help with, and to keep busy I painted a lot, because of course the Lyle gallery was closed too.
To begin with, we couldn’t even see Eddie and Dexter, who also couldn’t work because their café and restaurant had to close down. Eventually they were able to reopen as takeaway only, and then, with huge restrictions due to the number of diners they could accommodate with social distancing, their restaurant opened again too. It was an incredibly difficult time for them, but they managed to survive – just – and only now were they beginning to make a profit again, so their little business could thrive, not simply survive.
But, after a couple of false starts, eventually the world began to open up again, and by the spring and summer of 2021 St Felix was gradually getting fully back on its feet.
‘Exactly, so it’s not like you won’t know anyone.’
‘Claire, calm down. I know you’re worried about it all going smoothly, but with you in charge it can’t fail. You’re one of the most organised people I know.’
These days, Claire runs her own very successful therapy business. She took some time out after her mother died to think about what she wanted to do with the rest of her life and quickly decided that she wanted to build on what she already did with her self-help groups. She went back to college part time, trained and subsequently qualified as a therapist and counsellor. Much of this was done online during the pandemic years, after which Claire converted the children’s old games room into a comfortable and relaxing space to see her clients in. This, along with her self-help groups, keeps Claire super busy, but she still always seems to have the time to pitch in with good causes that need her help, or in this case school reunions that need organising.
‘Hmm . . . perhaps,’ Claire says, but secretly she looks pleased. ‘So what are you doing today – the usual?’
‘Yep, heading to the gallery first to open up. But Jessica is in today, so if it’s not too busy I might finish up early and head to the pub. Rob said he wanted to speak to me about something.’
Jessica is my part-time assistant in the gallery. Much like Rose took me on when I was at school as some extra help, Jessica came along just at the right time when the shop was getting busier and I needed someone to look after customers, so I could be left in peace to get on with creating my artwork behind the scenes. Jessica worked Saturday and Sunday, and occasionally weekday afternoons in the busier summer months. She was lovely, and even though she was only seventeen, I trusted her completely to look after my gallery and shop.
‘What does Rob want to talk to you about?’ Claire asks with interest.
‘No idea. But I said I’d pop in after the lunchtime rush and have a word.’
‘Can you check with him if he got my email about the reunion? I need him to confirm in writing if the pub can do the bar for us. And I have to get a special licence for the school.’
‘Will do!’ I say, saluting. ‘Email and licence.’
‘Thank God it was Rob who took over the pub. I’m sure Rita and Richie would have been fine with helping out. But what if it had been someone less helpful who’d bought it when it went up for sale? It’s one less thing to worry about knowing Rob will be in charge on the night. I know he won’t let me down.’
Rob decided to give up Hollywood after the pandemic and, to our surprise, bought the Merry Mermaid when it went up for sale last year. His cancer diagnosis and subsequent battle with it during the pandemic, when he was immunocompromised and had to be super careful, meant he became incredibly isolated and as a result incredibly lonely too. So, after he got the all-clear, Rob decided that it was time for a new chapter of his life. And he couldn’t think of anywhere better to begin that new chapter than here in St Felix.
Just like his parents before him, he now owns and runs the Merry Mermaid. At first, he wasn’t here all the time as he had some contracted acting jobs he needed to complete, so he brought in a temporary manager to work alongside the few remaining part-time staff the pub already had.
But now he is here the majority of the time and, aside from the press tour he was contractually obliged to take part in over in New York recently, is now finished with Hollywood. He spends most of his time behind the bar, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him happier.
I glance at my watch, ‘I’d better go, or I’ll be late opening up. Takeaway for dinner later?’
‘Of course!’ Claire says, smiling. ‘What movie is it tonight?’
Claire and I had a Saturday evening routine – which like many other people was takeaway and a movie. We mixed the movies up, and we were currently going through an eighties phase – taking us back to our school days.
‘Back to the Future,’ I reply, carrying my plate and mug across to the kitchen sink and rinsing them. ‘Kind of appropriate really with you organising the school reunion right now.’
Claire looks puzzled.
