Page 117 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘Hey, she’s coming, okay?’ said Rose, hugging Tori firmly.
‘You don’t know th—’ said Tori.
‘Actually, I do,’ Rose said with a grin. ‘Look…’ She nodded towards the window. Spinning round, Tori stared wide-eyed, as Millie, who was easily six foot plus and dressed in a show-stopping pair of bright green high heels and a leopard print catsuit, headed straight for the café, accompanied by a group of what Tori assumed must be her staff. Tori ran her fingers through her hair, took a deep breath and rushed to open the door.
‘No, I said 9am is too early, Dimitri,’ Millie barked. ‘Tell them it’s midday at the earliest or I’m cancelling the whole thing.’ A slender man, dressed all in black, nodded compliantly. ‘Oh, and Flavia, ring ahead to La Maison de Blanc, will you, and let them know I’ll be there for seven.’
‘Sure, Millie,’ answered a petit assistant who was busy tapping away on her phone.
‘Millie?’ Tori said, her voice cracking a little. ‘Hi, I’m Tori, welcome to the Cosy Cat Café, I’m so glad you made it. Let me show you to your table.’
‘Ah, Tori, thanks for having us – I love your Insta grid! Can I meet the cats?’ Millie asked.
‘Of course!’ replied Tori, before turning to mouth the words ‘Ring Grace and Izzy’ at Rose.
‘Is it okay if my staff set up somewhere? You have Wi-Fi, right?’
‘Absolutely, feel free to set up anywhere you like, guys,’ said Tori. ‘The Wi-Fi password is on the menus.’
‘Thanks,’ said Dimitri, as Millie’s team began plugging all sorts of tech into the sockets.
‘And who’s this little darling?’ asked Millie, bending down and scooping Daisy up in her arms. ‘Isn’t she just adorable?’
‘This is Daisy,’ said Tori. ‘She’s actually just found a forever home, so she should be going to her new family in the next few days.’
‘How wonderful,’ said Millie, beaming, ‘what a lucky girl.’
‘We’ve got four other cats with us at the moment, who are available to adopt. Angel, Norris, Pablo and Mr Wiggles,’ Tori explained.
‘And they’re all from New Beginnings?’ asked Millie.
‘That’s right.’
‘I can’t tell you how much I love this place, Tori. My own cats are rescues – I’ve got a Bengal and a Burmese, Primrose and Saffy. I couldn’t be without them, you know. When all this,’ she said, waving an arm in the direction of her entourage, ‘gets too much, I know I can always go home to them. They don’t judge me. They don’t care who I’m dating or what the press are saying about me, they just love me… well, for me, I guess.’ Tori noticed Millie’s voice crack a little and couldn’t help herself, reaching out to give Millie’s arm a squeeze.
‘Oh, sorry,’ said Tori, ‘I didn’t mean to—’
‘Don’t be silly,’ said Millie, putting Daisy gently back on the ground. ‘You get it, don’t you? I can see that you do.’ Tori nodded and Millie leant forward and gave her a quick hug.
‘Wow,’ mouthed Rose, from the other side of the café, as she gave Tori an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
‘I’m guessing that you’ve got your own cat at home too?’ asked Millie.
‘That’s right, Ernie, he’s a rescue too,’ said Tori, pulling out her phone to show Millie a photograph of Ernie curled up on the sofa.
‘Oh, he’s stunning,’ cooed Millie. ‘A Maine Coon?’
‘That’s right,’ nodded Tori.
‘Just gorgeous. Oh. My. God! Are those anpans?’ said Millie, peering at the display of cakes on the counter.
‘They are indeed. I baked them myself. I’m Tori’s mum, and you must be Millie? Welcome to the Cosy Cat Café!’ said Joyce, emerging from the kitchen with flour in her hair and her apron askew.
‘Well, hello, Tori’s Mum, thank you! You know, I haven’t seen them since I was last in Japan. I was addicted when I was in Tokyo,’ said Millie.
‘I’ll get you some,’ said Joyce, picking up the serving tongs.
‘Oh, I really shouldn’t… the calories,’ said Millie, screwing up her face. ‘Oh, what the hell. Go on then, I’ll take two. It’s not every day you get to indulge, is it? You know what, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in the UK, not even in London.’
