Page 5 of Kiss Me Ever After
Alex, her older brother, dragged his eyes away from the screen for all of ten seconds to look at me. “Whoopee. Thought we’d never see you again.” His tone screamed sarcasm.
“Lennon, we had no idea you were here.” Sonya, Amber’s Mum, stood up and embraced me in a tight hug. “When did you come down?”
“Late yesterday afternoon. I had an interview at the Blue Goose, and I start tomorrow.” It had been a whirlwind of activity, which I’d relished. It hadn’t given me time to dwell on what might have been.
“A job?” Sonya’s brows knotted together. “Weren’t you meant to…”
I cut her off. “It all fell through at the last minute,” I explained. “And my uni digs were already being used by someone else over the summer. So here I am.” I threw my hands in the air, trying to wave off the lies.
Sonya switched the television off, and Alex tutted. “I was watching that.”
“Only because of the fit presenter,” countered Amber.
He glared at me and swiped his phone off the sofa next to him before getting up. “I’m going out,” he announced, and disappeared from the room without backwards glance.
“Let me get us some drinks.” Sonya headed out to the kitchen, leaving me and Amber alone.
We sank down at opposite ends of the sofa, mirroring each other with our feet tucked underneath us. We hadn’t been best friends for the best part of fifteen years without picking up some of each other’s habits.
“I honestly can’t believe you’re here. And working. Where?” Amber’s eyes sparkled.
“The Blue Goose Cafe,” I said. “Apparently it’s quite new?”
“It is. Seems to be doing quite well, though. The owners are very friendly.” Sonya came back into the room with a bottle of rosé and three glasses. “Like you, I think they come from London.”
I nodded. “That’s right. They sold up and moved down here a few months ago. It’s always been Bryony’s ambition to own a cafe near the sea.”
“What happened to Elsie and Bert?” asked Amber, watching her mother decant the whole bottle between our three glasses.
“They retired,” replied Sonya, as she passed a glass to me. “Decided they were too old to run the place any longer.”
“Elsie still comes to get her nails done.” Amber worked in Blossom, which was Ealynn Sands’ largest beauty salon. It was great to have a best friend who could do free manicures. I was pretty sure I’d be needing her services before too long.
“I reckon that place will take a fortune when the tourist season properly kicks in.” Sonya sank into the armchair opposite the sofa. “If the early bookings are anything to go by.” She was a manager at the big hotel on the marina which gave her an insider’s scoop.
Amber and Sonya chatted about the state of the town and how quiet it was out of season compared to the height of summer, and I tuned out a little.
My insides churned. Although the cafe was small, I had no idea how I would manage lots of orders and carry trays or plates. It still niggled me a little why they’d offered me the job over someone who had experience. I gulped down my wine as I watched my best friend and her mum laughing and joking.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be here again this summer.
* * *
Beep.Beep. Beep. Beep. Beeeeeep.
My hand snaked out from underneath the duvet, only succeeding in knocking my phone onto the floor instead of killing the Godawful noise. I fumbled on the floor, trying to locate the device as quickly as possible to shut up the damned alarm.
I shouldn’t have gone over to Amber’s last night. I shouldn’t have drunk the best part of a bottle of wine. I should have gone home at ten o’clock. I shouldn’t have stayed awake looking at social media until the early hours, torturing myself with what Portia and my other friends were up to.
All the things I should or shouldn’t have done paled into insignificance when I thought about how I should be in New York.
I pushed thoughts of 5th Avenue and Central Park out of my head and righted my body to the vertical.
Finally, my hand clasped around the phone and I snoozed the sound, closing my eyes for another blissful few minutes of peace.
The phone pinged with a message. Groaning, I reached down and picked the device off the floor and squinted at the screen.
Mum: Good luck today! Call me tonight to let me know how you got on xxx
