Page 95 of A Secret Cornish Wish
We call in at the bakery – now called the Blue Canary rather than Mr Bumbles – and meet the new owners, interestingly called Ant and Dec. Apparently Dec is the nephew of the previous owner, and he and his partner Ant now run the bakery together.
They’ve obviously inherited the old recipes too, because their pasties and cakes still look as delicious as ever.
‘I used to know your uncle,’ I tell Dec as I pay for our lunch. ‘I used to come in here for my lunch when it was Mr Bumbles and I worked as a Saturday girl at the flower shop down the road – that was a long time ago now, though!’
But instead of smiling at my joke, Dec looks concerned.
‘You knew Rose?’ he asks.
‘Yes, I was just going to pop in and visit her before we enjoy these.’ I hold up the paper bags containing pasties and cakes. ‘I haven’t seen her in ages.’
‘You don’t know, then?’ Dec asks, returning from the till with my change.
‘Know what?’
‘Rose is in hospital.’
‘Hospital? Why, what’s wrong with her?’
‘I’m not really sure I can say – but we think it might becancer.’ He whispers this last word for some reason, as people often do. ‘She was taken ill suddenly a few months ago and admitted to a local hospital. But her daughters quickly arranged for her to be transferred into a specialist hospital down in London. That’s all I know, I’m afraid.’
I stare at Dec for a moment. Another piece of my St Felix rock has broken away. First it was my parents, and now Rose.
‘You were obviously close to her?’ Dec says, as Ant continues to serve the other customers.
‘Yes, I always call in at the shop when I’m back in St Felix. Gosh,’ I say as I think about Rose. ‘I can’t believe she won’t be there making up her bouquets. Is the shop closed or is someone from her family running it for her?’
‘It was closed for a while, but volunteers from the local women’s guild have been running it for the last week or two to help Rose out and try to keep the business going.’
‘That’s good of them. But no one from Rose’s family has been in touch? Her daughters are florists, aren’t they? I remember Rose telling me it runs in the family.’
‘I really don’t know. But I do know how much we miss her in St Felix. She’s a special lady, that one.’
‘Yes, she is. Thank you for your help,’ I tell him, still thinking about Rose.
‘Enjoy your goodies,’ Dec says. ‘I hope they’re as good as you remember them.’
‘I’m sure they will be.’
Rosie is waiting outside the shop for me.
‘Are you all right, Mum?’ she asks, taking my hand as we walk down the street towards the harbour again. ‘You look a bit white.’
‘Yes, yes, I’m fine. I just had some bad news, that’s all.’
‘What news?’
‘The lady who I used to work with in the flower shop. That flower shop over there,’ I say, pointing as we pass on the opposite side of the street. ‘The Daisy Chain. I just found out she’s in hospital.’
‘Oh, that’s sad. I hope she gets better soon.’
‘Yes, so do I. Do you know I chose the name Rosie for you partly because of her? She’s called Rose too.’
‘That’s nice. What was the other part?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You said you called me thatpartlybecause of the lady you used to work with – what was the other part?’
