Page 129 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘I’m fairly certain there isn’t an upper age limit, but I can check and let you know first thing tomorrow if that’s okay?’
‘Oh, Tori, thank you,’ said Cora, her eyes shining brightly. ‘I can’t tell you what that means to me.’
‘Can I ask what made you change your mind? I know you said you weren’t ready…’
‘Jean. Well, Jean and the other ladies at the WI. They’re a lovely bunch, Tori, I’m so glad you told me to go along and meet them. They’ve made me realize that, well, that I’ve still got a life to live, even without Dennis, and the sooner I start living it again, the better.’
‘Oh, Cora. I’m so pleased. From all you’ve told me about Dennis, I’m sure he’d be pleased too.’
‘He would,’ agreed Cora, smiling. ‘He’d have told me thatthere’s a cat without a home and a home without a cat and I’ve had the solution to that problem right under my nose.’
‘He sounds like a very wise man.’
‘He was,’ said Cora, smiling fondly. ‘I’ve got you and your café to thank. If I hadn’t started coming in, I’d probably still be holed up inside the cottage feeling hopeless. You gave me a reason to get out again and I’m grateful to you for that.’
‘Oh, Cora,’ said Tori, swallowing hard. ‘It’s my absolute pleasure. I’m pleased I was able to help.’
‘I can see you’re going out, so I won’t keep you.’
‘I’ll drop Izzy a message now and get the ball rolling, so you’d better start stocking up on cat food,’ Tori laughed.
‘My next stop is Harrison’s,’ said Cora. As Tori watched Cora walk across the green, she felt a surge of happiness for the bright future Cora and Mr Wiggles had to look forward to.
Before Tori set off to Jasmine Cottage, she knew she had a detour to make on the way. Violet Davenport’s house. She couldn’t believe how wrong she’d been about Violet; how could she even begin to apologize? She took a deep breath before tapping gently on the brass knocker.
‘Violet, hi,’ she said nervously as the front door swung open.
‘You! If you’re here to accuse me again…’
‘No, Violet, I’m not,’ said Tori sheepishly.
‘No?’
‘I’m here to apologize.’
‘Go on…’ said Violet, challenging her with a steely glare.
‘Well, I know now I was wrong about you being the one causing trouble for us at the café, the bad reviews, the animal welfare complaint… all of it. I know it wasn’t you, Violet and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. Really sorry. I shouldn’t have accused you like that, not without any actual evidence, it was wrong of me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I was hoping you could find it in your heart to forgive me and maybe we could make a fresh start?’ said Tori. ‘Hang on, who’s that?’ she asked, spotting a small black and white cat curled up on the hall chair.
‘Maximus, my cat. I call him Max,’ said Violet, her face softening.
‘But… but… I thought you hated cats?’
‘Why would you think that? I’ve never said that I hated cats, I simply said that—’
‘But that’s why you didn’t want the cat café to go ahead because—’
‘Oh, you’ve got it all wrong – it was never because of the cats, it was all about the parking.’
‘It was?’ said Tori, looking stunned. ‘But why haven’t you been in since we’ve reopened? Since the cats arrived? You used to be a regular.’
‘I feel foolish,’ said Violet, dropping her head.
‘Foolish? I don’t understand…’
‘I’d made such a fuss about the parking and then when you came up with a solution so easily, I could see that… well… that I’d wasted everyone’s time,’ said Violet, not quite meeting her eye.
‘Oh, Violet. Of course you didn’t look foolish. You had avalid concern and you raised it, that’s all. If you’d just spoken to me, we could have straightened everything out.’
