Page 40 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘When are you off to see Izzy?’
‘Tomorrow afternoon,’ said Tori.
‘Why don’t we see how that goes and then we can let Greg know one way or the other tomorrow evening. If that’s okay with you, Greg?’
‘Tomorrow evening’s fine. I’ll hold the spot in my diary until then and just let me know if you want to go ahead. You don’t need to pay a deposit until the council gives you approval, if that helps.’
‘It does. We’ll make a final decision tomorrow night then,’ said Joyce.
‘You’re sure about the money side of things, though, Mum. It’s a big expense…’
‘You let me worry about that, love. You just focus on getting us the green light,’ said Joyce.
As Tori let Greg out of the café, she locked the door behind him. She swept a hand across her forehead. She was one step closer to making the cat café a reality. One very big step. A wave of self-doubt swept over her. A cat café in Blossom Heath. Could she really do this? Was she up to the challenge? She wasn’t sure. One thing she was sure of, though: she was going to give it her best shot.
Chapter 14
As Tori drove along the lane on the outskirts of Blossom Heath that led up to New Beginnings Animal Rescue Centre, the road gradually became narrower until it was just a single track. She navigated the potholes carefully, not wanting to knock out her suspension, and followed the signs marked ‘Reception’.
‘Hello?’ she said, knocking as she entered the small, timber-framed building. She could hear voices but couldn’t see anyone behind the reception desk.
‘Hi, can I help you?’ A woman dressed in faded blue jeans, a bright orange gilet and dark green wellies, sporting a smile that lit up her whole face, emerged from a side door. ‘Tori!’ said Izzy, holding out her hand. ‘Great to see you, you haven’t changed at all! Come through, Grace and I are having coffee before we get started. Can I get you something?’
‘Coffee would be lovely. It’s got to have been twelve years seen we last saw each other?’ replied Tori.
‘At least! We’ve got some serious catching up to do!’ said Izzy.
‘So much has happened, school feels like a lifetime ago.’
‘Doesn’t it just.’
‘I still can’t believe you run this place,’ said Tori. ‘I knew you’d end up working with animals – it makes total sense.’
‘I can’t imagine doing anything else, to be honest,’ Izzy agreed. ‘I love it too much. I’m excited to hear about your plans for the cat café, though!’
‘Thanks. I can’t really take the credit, it was Mum’s idea.’
‘But it was inspired by your travels, right?’
‘Definitely. I loved the cat cafés in Japan, so I guess the whole trip was inspiration for the idea.’
Izzy took Tori through to a small staffroom, with two worn-out brown leather sofas, one of which was occupied by a large black greyhound, who lifted his head and wagged his tail when he spotted Tori.
‘Tori, hi!’ said Grace, patting the empty space beside her on the sofa.
‘There you go,’ said Izzy, passing Tori a mug of coffee. ‘If I can move this lump out the way,’ she said, wiggling into the tiny space left on the sofa next to the greyhound, ‘I might actually be able to sit down too.’
‘Thelumpis called Duke,’ said Grace, laughing, ‘and as you can tell, he likes his home comforts.’
‘Doesn’t he just,’ agreed Izzy. ‘He came in a couple of years ago as an ex-racer and managed to worm his way into my heart,so he’s never left.’ She stroked Duke gently under the chin and the greyhound nestled his head into her hand appreciatively.
‘He’s gorgeous,’ agreed Tori, ‘I’m not surprised you couldn’t let him go. I don’t know how you do it – I’d want to keep all of them.’
‘It’s tough but you get used to it. You have to think of it as helping them on their way to their forever homes – we’re just a stopgap,’ explained Izzy.
‘How many animals do you have here?’ asked Tori.
‘It’s mainly cats. We have around forty at any one time but that can go up in the summer months when we’re coming into kitten season. We do take dogs, but we only have eight kennels, so we’re limited on how many. And then there’s the rabbits and guinea pigs, hamsters and mice, and we even get reptiles sometimes too.’
