Page 20 of The Little Flower Shop By the Sea
She looks extremely put out by my admission, as though anyone entering St Felix should have been given a leaflet explaining who Caroline Harrington-Smythe is, with her opening times, fire exit locations and parking arrangements included.
‘Oh… oh, I see.’ She glares at a smirking Jake. He hastily picks up his near-empty pint glass and tries to find a few last dregs at the bottom. ‘Let me start again then,’ she says in her clipped, cultured voice. ‘I’m Caroline Harrington-Smythe, president of the St Felix Women’s Guild, and chairwoman of the Parish Council.’
She waits for my response.
I stare blankly back at her. Am I supposed to congratulate her on her achievements?
She sighs impatiently when I don’t respond. ‘Rita behind the bar informs me you are the new owner of the flower shop on Harbour Street?’
‘Yes, that’s correct.’
‘Only the Women’s Guild have been running the flower shop for some time now —’
‘Yes, thank you, it was very kind —’
‘— and I’m not sure how the ladies are going to react to this news. The Daisy Chain has become very dear to them. Have you purchased the shop?’
‘No, I’m Rose’s granddaughter. She left it to me in her will.’
‘You,are her granddaughter?’ she asks, her eyes wide, as though this information has come as something of a shock to her.
‘Yes, does that cause you a problem?’
I don’t know whether Caroline has this effect on everyone, but judging by Jake’s reaction to her arrival at our table tonight I suspect she probably does. All I know is she’s beginning to wind me right up.
‘That depends on what you intend to do with the shop.’ Caroline straightens her cardigan in a business-like manner. ‘We can’t have just anything on Harbour Street. If you’re thinking of selling up, then the Parish Council need to be informed.’
‘Like I keep tellingeveryone,’ I glance around the table at the other two, ‘I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the shop yet. I haven’t decided.’
Caroline’s steely grey eyes look me up and down. ‘I have to say, you don’t look the florist type,’ she announces with disdain. ‘Perhaps it is time for a change?’
My usual reaction to this sort of provocation would be to bite immediately, but we’re in a public place and people are beginning to look. I don’t want to cause a scene on my first day here. So I bite my lip instead.
‘Your grandmother was never much of a businesswoman,’ Caroline continues. ‘The shop wasn’t exactly raking in money when she had it. I should know, I saw the books when I was in charge. I think bringing in fresh blood to St Felix could be just what the town needs, and you must admit the shop is starting to look rather shabby.’
Enough.
I push my chair back and stand up to face her, and I’m surprised to find that I tower over her tiny frame. Her forceful manner had given the illusion she was much bigger.
‘Maybe my grandmother’s shop wasn’t the newest, or the most sleek,’ I tell her, surprised to hear a clear, calm voice coming from between my bright-red cheeks. ‘But it had something elseyoumay have failed to notice, Caroline, though many others did… it hadheart.’
I feel my legs shaking as I stand there facing her. Public displays of emotion are definitely not my thing either. But something had ignited inside me when I’d heard Caroline dissing my grandmother and her shop, and I had to respond.
Caroline looks as surprised as I feel by my outburst. She glares at me, then glances around the room to see if anyone else is hearing this. As people sense an argument brewing, the pub is already beginning to quieten.
‘I’m surprised I didn’t recognise you to be Rose’s granddaughter before,’ she says, obviously deciding she needs to save face by taking this battle on. ‘The family likeness is definitely there.’ Then, as if she can’t quite stop herself from saying something to goad me, she adds, ‘She was a troublemaker too.’
‘Oooh,’ I hear Jake say, as he watches Caroline and me begin to battle it out. ‘Fifteen–thirty. Poppy to serve.’
‘My grandmother – a troublemaker?’ I question, desperately trying to remain calm. ‘I doubt that. She was a good, kind woman. She lived in this town nearly all her life, she loved it here, and she loved her shop. How long have you been in St Felix, Caroline? Long enough to make you an expert on the place, apparently.’
‘Thirty all,’ Jake whispers, loud enough for us to hear him.
Caroline raises a knowing eyebrow at me. ‘In all the time I’ve lived here I’ve never seen you visiting her shop, Poppy. What sort of granddaughter does that make you?’
Sharp intake of breath from Jake, and a murmur of, ‘Thirty–forty.’
Calm, Poppy, I tell myself. You must remain calm.
