Page 13 of Barging In
The familiar sound of a chugging engine pulled her attention back to the canal. The ghastly orange narrowboatwas back, having turned itself around, and was now blocking her view by mooring next door. Wasthisher new neighbour?
“Hell no,” Victoria growled.
This was war. Clem’s Coffee & Cakes had to go, and she already had an idea forming in her head. She needed to speak to Christine now.
CHAPTER 5
Clem peered out of Florence’s serving hatch. Where was everybody? Every morning that week, she’d opened it to a patient yet eager queue. So far today, though, she’d only had three people and one hopeful Labrador. Thanks to the height of Florence against the towpath, it was easy enough for him to pop his head through the serving hatch to drool at the cakes on the worktop.
Deciding to take a closer look, she stepped outside. The weather was fine, and the towpath was busy enough, but everyone was heading into the wharf. Max was waving a customer off, so she caught his eye, and he wandered over.
“Is it me, or is it quiet today?”
Max scratched his beard. “Same as any other Friday. Busiest day of the week, bar Saturdays and Sundays.”
“Every day this week I’ve had a queue, but today… barely a sniff. Do you think the novelty has worn off already?” she asked, trying not to sound too concerned but failing miserably.
“I think it’s more to do with that sign.” Max nodded to an A-board beside Clem’s.
She approached it, only to find it was blocking hers. It read,Free hot drink with every cake purchased.An arrow underneath pointed to the wharf.
“What the hell?” she blurted out. “How long has that been there?”
Max shrugged. ”It’s not enough to make me go. Their cake is terrible, and the coffee isn’t much better. They have nothing on you, but some people can’t resist a bargain.”
So many thoughts rushed through Clem’s head that she struggled to organise them, but one stood out. Fight fire with fire.
“Could you redo my board, please?” she asked.
“Of course.”
Fetching her cloth and chalk pen from inside, she returned to Max and wiped the board.
“Could you put ‘Free hot drink with every cake purchased’? Don’t forget the arrow.”
Max smirked. “My pleasure.”
Once he finished, Clem moved it in front of the wharf’s sign. “That’ll show them.”
A few moments later, a loud voice echoed in the distance.
“How dare you move that sign?”
Clem turned to see a woman marching towards her along the towpath, her mousy-blonde, shoulder-length waves swaying with her stride. Dressed with subtle precision — in navy chinos; a crisp, white shirt; and a beige jumper casually draped around her shoulders — the woman was the picture of sophistication. Her outfit was nothing flashy yet perfectly curated. It took Clem a second glance at her fierce eyes to realise it was her shouting.
“I haven’t touched your sign,” Clem shouted back.
She recognised the woman; she’d been sitting on a bench a little further down the towpath from Florence the previous day. Although Clem had been busy serving customers, her eyes weren’t too distracted to notice a beautiful woman. Not that it was her looks that had caught Clem’s attention; it was her forlorn expression. There was something quietly arresting about her: sharp cheekbones softened by worry, eyes that looked tired, and lips that fidgeted as if caught mid-thought. She looked as though she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Now it was clear she had been checking Clem out — well, not her, but what she was selling. A man had joined her. He’d ordered coffee and walnut cake and a slice of lemon drizzle. She remembered him distinctly; he’d visited every day since she’d opened for a latte and a slice of coffee and walnut. It was now her guess that they both worked at the wharf.
The angry woman, whom Clem would call Lemon Drizzle until she got a name, was picking up Clem’s sign. Was she the boss?
“Hey! Get your hands off it!” Clem shouted, striding over to grab it back.
Lemon Drizzle twisted away, but Clem caught the edge of the sign and yanked it. A handbag slipped from her opponent’s shoulder and dropped to the ground as she retaliated, gripping the other side of the A-board with both hands.
“Give it back!” Clem snapped, tugging harder.
