Page 45 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘And what’s it got to do with you, Izzy Sullivan?’ Violet snapped. ‘Tori should be able to speak for herself, seeing she’s the one behind all this,’ she said, waggling an accusatory finger in Tori’s direction. Tori’s face turned scarlet.
‘It has quite a lot to do with me, actually,’ Izzy replied, straightening up to her full height, ‘seeing as New Beginnings is going to be working with the Cosy Cup and all of the cats in the café will be available to adopt through us.’
Tori heard words of encouragement from the crowd. ‘Aw.’ ‘How lovely.’ ‘Great idea.’ Violet seemed to notice too and quickly changed tack.
‘I can’t see how that’s relevant, Izzy,’ she said, waving a hand dismissively.
‘I’d say it’s very relevant,’ said Grace, rising to stand alongside Izzy. ‘Hello, everyone, I’m Grace Ashworth, owner of Brook House Vets and I’ve been advising Tori on the necessary welfare issues with regards to the cats that are going to be living at the café. It’s wonderful that some of the long-term residents at New Beginnings are going to be given the chance to live there while they’re searching for a new home.’
Grace and Izzy went on to explain that the opportunity for some of the cats to get their chance in the spotlight and find a new home might save them from being stuck at the rescue centre for even longer.
‘That’s all well and good, Grace, but none of that addresses the issues around increased traffic and parking. Everyone here knows how busy it is on market day – it’s hard enough trying to park as it is. Do we really want to make it worse?’ said Violet, who was not easily discouraged.
Tori shifted in her seat; she gripped the sides of her chair until her knuckles turned white. Joyce whispered in her ear.
‘Tori, I think it’s time you got up there. You can’t leave all of this to Grace and Izzy.’
‘I don’t think I can. My legs feel like jelly…’
‘I believe in you,’ said a soft voice in Tori’s ear. She turned around to see Leo looking right at her. ‘You’ve gone through all of this in the plans you submitted to the council, you know this stuff inside out.’
‘I can’t—’
‘I promise you can. You’ve got this, Tori,’ said Leo, smiling.
Tori looked back at him and nodded. She took a deep breath and got to her feet. Fear gripped her as she turned to face the crowded room.
‘I understand why you might have concerns, Violet,’ she said, her voice brittle with nerves. ‘Having a cat café in the villageissomething different. But I think the cats will help to make the café even more fun for everyone. The fundamentals of the Cosy Cup won’t change. We’ll still have Mum’s amazing bakes and the best cream tea in Sussex! And who knows? Maybe bringing new customers to the café will have a positive knock-on effect for other businesses in the village?’
‘We could always do with more passing trade,’ said Simon, from the Pink Ribbon.
‘We’d certainly welcome some extra business too,’ agreed Ted from Harrison’s.
‘Exactly!’ said Tori, emboldened by the responses. ‘The cat café might attract more customers forallof us, not just the Cosy Cup. And maybe some visitors will want to stop in at the Apple Tree for a drink or pop into the Pink Ribbon for a souvenir.’
‘Well, they’ll certainly find a warm welcome with us,’ shouted Pete, the pub’s landlord.
Violet Davenport looked fit to burst. Leo gave Tori an encouraging thumbs-up.
‘I’m sure the kids at school will be queuing up to visit.Those that don’t have pets themselves can learn about them with you,’ said Eileen Connolly.
‘Definitely,’ said Tori, bouncing on her toes. ‘We’ll be educating people about responsible pet ownership too.’
‘In that case, maybe you could come into school and do a talk for us, Tori? Izzy? It’s National Pet Day soon and I’m sure the children would love to hear about what you’re trying to do to find the cats from the rescue centre new homes,’ suggested Mrs Connolly.
‘I’d love to,’ replied Tori, nodding thoughtfully.
‘Great idea,’ shouted Izzy.
‘I’m not saying we don’t have things to work out. We’re planning on operating a booking system, but we’ll still be open to walk-in customers, so all our regulars can drop in as usual. I know more visitors who arrive by car will have a knock-on effect to parking in general around the village, but we’re looking at solutions.’
‘That’s right,’ said Joyce, standing up. ‘There are already some parking spots next to the shop and the village council have said that customers can use the village car park. We’re going to encourage customers to travel by bike too. Jake’s putting up some bike racks in front of the café. That should give us more than enough parking for all the café’s visitors.’
‘We’ll make sure there are clear instructions on our booking page too, that way everyone will know exactly where to park to minimize disruption,’ said Tori.
‘We’d be happy for your customers to use the pub car parktoo,’ said Ted helpfully. ‘We’ve usually got room, and who knows, they might stay for a pint?’
‘Thanks, Ted,’ said Tori. ‘We’ll take you up on that. And if anyone has any concerns, please just come and speak to me. The door to the Cosy Cup is always open. I want this to be a positive thing and I hope you’ll believe me when I say that I would never do anything to harm Blossom Heath. I love this place – it’s my home.’
