Page 60 of New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Cafe
‘Oh, you know, just the essentials to keep five cats in the lap of luxury, plus a few bits for Ernie – I don’t want him feeling left out.’
‘Anything I can help with?’
‘Well, if you’ve got an opinion on whether to go for clumping or non-clumping cat litter, I’d love to hear it. Ernie’s always changing his mind.’
‘Oh, always clumping. Follow me, I’ll show you which one Tinkerbell has given the seal of approval to.’
Leo wandered the aisles with Tori, giving his opinion on the must-have treats and the latest in interactive toys. Tori was impressed with the way he talked about his own two cats, and he’d even thrown a few presents into his shopper for Lara’s new kittens, Dexter and Domino.
‘Was your sister okay with Lara bringing home two kittens?’ Tori asked.
‘Not exactly, but we won her over pretty quickly.’
‘I’m glad to hear it. Lara’s adorable, by the way.’
‘Isn’t she? Her dad’s not on the scene; actually that was one of the reasons I was so keen to take the job in Rye – I wanted to be around for her.’
Tori swallowed hard.
‘Wow, Leo, that’s lovely. I bet your sister’s glad to have you around too.’
‘Listen, seeing as I’ve bumped into you, I wanted to ask you something. Don’t panic, I’m not going to ask you on another date,’ Leo laughed. ‘It’s just I was wondering—’
‘Uh-oh, that sounds ominous,’ said Tori, pulling a face.
‘Hey!’
‘Sorry, I couldn’t resist.’
‘I was only wondering if you’d made any progress with hosting a coffee morning to raise funds for the rescue. I know we talked about getting together with Rose and Jake to think up some more ideas…’
‘Oh, yes! I mentioned it to Beth yesterday. She’s on board and I was going to suggest a few of us meet at the pub on Thursday to go through ideas.’
‘Well, count me in. It would be good to help support Izzy; she does such a great job. Whenever we get an animal-related call-out, she’s always ready to lend a hand.’
‘I’m sure we can come up with some great ideas between us.’
‘Definitely.’
‘Well, we’d best get this lot through the checkout,’ she said, noticing the sales assistant glaring at them both. ‘Looks like we’re the only customers left.’
As Tori began unloading her shopping onto the checkout, she was glad that she’d bumped into Leo again this evening and cleared the air. She didn’t want there to be any awkwardness between them. If they were going to be friends, it was important they were both on the same page and getting involved again wasn’t something she was ready to think about right now.
‘Wow, Jess, this looks fantastic,’ said Rose, as she studied the mural that was well under way on the back wall of the CosyCat Café. ‘In fact, the whole place is a triumph! Tori, you should be so proud of yourself.’
‘It was a team effort,’ replied Tori, as Joyce appeared with a tray of drinks and cakes.
‘I don’t know about that, love. Greg and the boys may have put in the labour, but all the design ideas were yours,’ said Joyce.
‘Your mum’s right,’ agreed Jess. ‘The place looks stunning. Honestly, people are going to be lining up around the block to come here.’
‘I hope you’re right,’ said Tori, biting her nails.
‘It’s only natural to feel a bit nervous about opening day, love, but you’ve done everything you can for now. Why don’t you take a break and get these down you?’ Joyce nodded towards the tray of treats.
‘Ooh lovely, thanks, Joyce,’ said Rose, pulling up a chair and grabbing a huge slice of carrot cake.
‘I’ve got some bits to finish up in the kitchen, so I’ll leave you girls to it,’ said Joyce.
