Page 17 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘Give Sheila a call in the morning and she’ll get you booked in. Once I’ve got the results, I’ll give you a call. In the meantime, make sure that you’re taking things easy. I’m sure Tori can look after the Cosy Cup for a few days?’ he said, turning to face Tori directly.
‘Of course…’
‘But—’ Joyce interjected.
‘No arguments I’m afraid, Joyce. Doctor’s orders, okay?’
Joyce nodded silently.
‘I’m perfectly capable of running things for a few days, Mum. Trust me.’
‘There we are, then,’ said Dr Marshall, closing his bag and standing up. ‘I’ll see you in the morning, Joyce.’
‘Thanks again, Doctor,’ said Tori as she led him out, closing the front door behind him. She walked back into the lounge and slumped down on the sofa next to her mother.
‘Are you sure you’re going to be okay running things tomorrow, love?’ Joyce asked. ‘It’s been a while since you’ve opened up on your own.’
‘I’ll be fine – I don’t want you worrying about me, okay? I’ve been helping out every weekend and summer holiday since I was at secondary school. Let’s just focus on getting you right. Everything else will sort itself out.’
‘I’ll only be next door if you need me, I can—’
‘Mum! You’re to rest and that’s doctor’s orders. I might not have your baking skills, but I can make sandwiches, rustle up some scones and a Victoria sponge or something.’
‘Tori?’ Joyce paused. ‘What if the test shows something serious?’
Tori took both of her mum’s hands and looked her in the eyes. She could see her mum was anxious. She wasn’t used to that. Her mum was alwayshertower of strength; no problem was ever too great for her to solve.
‘Then we’ll deal with it together. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though,’ she added quickly. ‘Like you say, it’s probably nothing.’
‘I hope so, love.’
Tori nodded. She looked away and bit her lower lip hard.But what if it wasn’t?The thought of her mum facing a health problem was more than she could bear to contemplate. Shewas sure of one thing, though: she was going to be running the Cosy Cup single-handedly for the next few days and she was determined to do her mum proud.
Chapter 7
Tori’s first morning running the Cosy Cup solo had been eventful to say the least. Before she’d even begun to think about surviving the lunchtime rush, she’d already burnt her hand getting a batch of cheese scones out of the oven, spilt coffee over Maggie Harrison, given three tables the wrong orders and messed up the change for Mrs Connolly. No matter how busy the tearoom was, though, Tori just couldn’t stop thinking about her mum and what her test results might show. Fear gripped her whenever she thought about it. She looked at the polka dot clock on the wall. It was 11.30am. Her mum should be done by now. All she could do was keep busy and hope they didn’t have to wait too long for the results.
‘Rose!’ she said in surprise as she saw her friend standing at the counter in front of her. ‘What can I get you?’
‘Absolutely nothing. I’m not here for coffee – I’m here to help,’ Rose said with a smile, stepping behind the counter and grabbing an order pad.
‘Help? I don’t understand…’
‘I’ve just seen Maggie. She told me about your mum and said you were struggling.’
‘I’m managing just fine,’ said Tori, stiffening slightly.
‘Well, the coffee stain on Mags’s T-shirt tells a different story,’ said Rose, raising her eyebrows. Tori’s cheeks burned hot. ‘Hey, I’m not judging, lovely. I just thought you could do with a hand, that’s all. I may as well make myself useful seeing as I’m working part time.’
Tori pulled her friend into a firm hug.
‘Thanks, Rose,’ she said. ‘Mags is right, though. I’m in well over my head here.’
‘You’ve had a lot to process in the last twenty-four hours. It’s natural to feel a bit flustered. Just let me know where you want me and let’s turn this day around, okay?’
‘Okay, thank you,’ said Tori, taking a deep breath. ‘If you can take orders, I’ll focus on barista and food duties – that should make things easier. I’ve put together a smaller menu, which is up on the specials board, so if you could just direct everyone to that… It’s not perfect, but it’s the best I can do right now.’
‘Got it,’ said Rose, looking up at the board. ‘This looks great! Ooh, smashed avocado and eggs on sourdough – that’s new!’
