Page 33 of Right Place, Right Time
Most shop owners would be super keen to open on a bank holiday weekend in a tourist city like Cambridge, but Ben never did anything that was expected of him.
‘Good, I’m pleased to hear it.’
‘I hear that your friend Adam has taken on the bookshop next door to you.’ Ben raises his bushy white eyebrows at me. ‘You must be pleased.’
‘Yes, it’s good someone has taken it on. We don’t want another empty shop in Clockmaker Court, do we?’
‘No, indeed not. How is he getting on setting up the shop? Has he made many changes to the interior?’
‘Er, no, I don’t think so. I mean, he’s had people in to spruce the place up a bit. But I think it’s pretty much the same. He can’t do too much, can he – all the buildings inClockmaker Court are listed and you know what a pain that can be when we want to do anything.’
‘Change isn’t always good, my young friend. Sometimes keeping things the way they are can be very beneficial in the long run.’
‘That’s true when it comes to places like Clockmaker Court. Most of our business comes from tourists keen for an Instagram snap or two in front of the old buildings.’
‘Instagram?’ Ben asks, his forehead furrowing.
‘Don’t worry, Ben,’ I say, smiling at him. ‘It’s nothing you need to worry about. It’s a social media site on the internet where people share their photos. Actually, that reminds me, Adam and I would like to have a little chat with you sometime now you’re well again. We’ve been meaning to ask you about this for ages, but then you got ill and we didn’t want to bother you about it.’
‘Bother me about what?’ Ben tips his head quizzically to one side.
‘We found some photos when we cleared out Adam’s grandfather’s house and we wondered if you could shed any light on them.’
‘Oh, yes?’ Ben wobbles a little on his stick.
I put my hand out to steady him. ‘Don’t worry about it now. We’ll pop over when you’re back in your shop. It’s nothing that can’t keep.’
‘You’d both be more than welcome, my dear.’ Ben’s dark eyes glance into the shop behind me.
‘Chelsea buns?’ I ask knowingly.
‘Why, yes, they’re my favourite. Just don’t tell Harriet and Rocky, though, will you?’ He winks and turns to look in the shop window. ‘When they first opened, it was their sponge cake they were famous for, not their buns – they came much later. But I do have fond memories ofjoining queues outside here after the war hoping to get one of their juicy buns; I was just a boy then, of course.’
‘Of course.’ I smile at him. ‘Fitzbillies is a Cambridge institution, that’s for sure.’
‘It certainly is. Now I mustn’t keep you any longer.’ He looks at the two cups of coffee I’m holding. ‘Lunch date, is it?’ he asks, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
‘Hardly, this is for Adam. He asked especially for a Chelsea bun for lunch.’
‘Did he?’ Ben nods knowingly. ‘That makes sense. His grandfather used to love them too.’
I’m about to ask him more, but I spy a large group of overseas students crossing the street and heading in the direction of the shop. ‘You’d best get inside before this lot are queuing out of the door,’ I tell him, looking over his shoulder.
‘I had indeed,’ Ben says, turning and seeing them too. ‘I’ll see you soon, my dear.’
I take a wide berth around the students and walk back towards the shop. Cambridge is always heaving with people on a Saturday, but now the peak of the summer is fast approaching, the streets around the university part of the town will be packed, not only with tourists, but by many students from overseas, here for the summer to better their English. Gradually, they will replace the university students as graduation ceremonies take place and the streets are filled with graduates wearing mortar boards and gowns, alongside their proud families and friends.
Summer in Cambridge is always hectic and busy, so as I return to Clockmaker Court, the change in both the level of noise, the amount of people, and also the temperature, is like transitioning into a different world.I liken it to visiting a cathedral in the centre of a busy city. Outside is all hustle, bustle and noise, while inside is peaceful, calm and cool.
As I head to the centre of Clockmaker Court, to a little grassed area with a wooden bench surrounded by black railings, I pass both my shop and Adam’s.
In Rainy Day Antiques, Barney is with a customer, but he lifts his hand and waves as I pass, and in the bookshop, Adam is standing up and stretching as I pass his window. He gestures that he will see me over at the bench in a moment.
I enter the little garden and sit in the cool shade of the large oak tree that grows in the centre of the court, happily sipping on my coffee while I look around at everyone in their shops.
Luca has a couple of customers in his shop right now looking at some of his vintage jewellery. Orla is showing a customer her range of dreamcatchers, and I can see Rocky take money from a couple who leave his shop looking pleased with whatever is in their white paper bag – no doubt something delicious for their lunch.
Harriet appears, looking every inch the old-fashioned waitress as she clears one of the little tables that they have outside their shop in the warmer months. She’s wearing the black dress, white frilly apron and little white hat she always does when she’s waiting tables. She sees me watching her and waves, so I hurriedly try to hide the coffees – all too obvious where they have come from in their unique turquoise paper cups.
