Page 26 of A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage
“There or somewhere like it. I know she was born in France — her mother, my great-grandmother, was French. Her name was actually Meline, according to her will. And some of that stuff in the bottom drawer was from Paris.”
“Wow! Let’s see what else is in these trunks.”
Jayde’s boredom was completely forgotten. They spent several happy hours exploring the contents of the trunks, finding the most amazing exotic costumes, giggling as they tried them on and taking photographs of each other on their phones.
It was times like these, all too rare in recent years, that Vicky felt close to her sister again. She had missed that.
They had got to the bottom of the second trunk and she glanced at her watch. “Heavens, it’s almost two o’clock. I’m starving. Shall we get some lunch?”
They decided to go down to Debbie’s café to eat, then spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach. Jayde was persuaded to walk down. “Come on, it’s not far. And it’ll be a nightmare trying to find a parking space.”
“Oh, okay. But I need to borrow your flip-flops. I can’t walk in these sandals.”
* * *
The café was busy, Debbie bustling between the tables and the counter. She greeted Vicky with her shy smile. “Hi!”
“Hi. Jayde, this is Debbie — we used to play on the beach together when we were little. Jayde’s my sister.”
“Lovely to meet you.” Debbie turned her smile to Jayde. “What can I get you?”
“Is that quiche gluten free?”
“Oh... no, the pastry’s made with ordinary flour. The tortilla wraps are gluten free, though.”
“I’ll have one of those, then. And a cappuccino — with fat-free milk.”
Debbie didn’t even blink. “Right. Vicky?”
“I’ll have a couple of the wraps too. And a latte, please. How are you managing?”
“Well, it is busy, as you can see. But I can cope.”
“How’s your mum?”
“A lot better. Itching to come down, even if it’s only to sit at the till.” She hesitated, biting her lip. “There was something I was going to ask you — a favour. But...” She slanted a swift glance at Jayde.
“What is it?” Vicky prompted her.
“It’s just... I’ve got a kiddies’ birthday party here tomorrow. Mum was going to come down and help, but the doctor came this morning and he said she still needs to rest up for a few more days. She’s been arguing about it, but I’m afraid it’ll be too much for her. I was going to ask you... If she knows you’re here she’ll be okay about staying upstairs.”
“I’d be happy to come down and help out for a couple of hours,” Vicky insisted at once. “Of course I would.”
“Are you sure? I mean... with your sister here?”
“No, it’ll be fine. Jayde won’t mind — will you?”
Her sister glanced up from checking her phone. “What’s that?”
“I’ve promised to help Debbie with a party tomorrow.”
“A party?” Jayde’s eyes lit up.
“A kids’ party. Tomorrow afternoon.”
“Oh . . .”
“It’ll only be for a couple of hours, tops. You can spend some time on the beach — you’ll have a great tan by the time you go home.”
