Page 33 of Autumn at the Oak Leaf Café
‘Do you know how it feels to be that weaker child, the one mocked by its peers, forever in the shadow of more attractive, more popular people?’
‘No, I—’
‘Of course you don’t. But time is a great leveler. So when one can look out of the window at one’s Mercedes parked next to another’s bicycle, to look at the picture of one’s handsome, well-dressed and wealthy fiancé compared to another’s singleness, it is easy to see the mastery of time at work, and all it took was a little nip-and-tuck, a little dental realignment … do you really understand?’
Madeline was about to make some noncommittal response when Janine tapped her watch. ‘I’m afraid we’re done for the day. We did some good work, I think. I’ll see you next Tuesday.’
‘I’m not sure this is working out—’
‘Nonsense. I’ve seen a great change in you over the last two weeks, Madeline. You’d be a fool to drop out of the program now. Plus, ask Edith in reception about our loyalty discount.’
‘But, what if—’
Janine put up a hand. ‘If I answer any questions now, we’ll be into overtime, which is the regular fee times five plus an administration fee. Are you happy to proceed?’
Madeline just flapped a hand and headed for the door.
‘I’ll see you next week,’ Janine said, not looking up, instead pulling a smartphone out of her pocket and slouching back in her chair. Madeline caught a glimpse of a social media app before she went out.
The weather turned again at the beginning of the next week, rain lashing the windows of the café, the wind ripping the leaves off the trees as Madeline sat in Angela’s easy chair with Hazel curled in her lap, drinking clotted cream lattes and reading the paperback books from a bring-and-share box she had set up inside the café’s door. Ruby had an exam to prepare for so took the week off, but for several days practically the only people Madeline saw were Dan on his way home from work and Pete on his way to set up for the day, although with the weather his burger van had usually gone by midmorning.
Hazel was getting bigger by the day. Madeline had picked up a couple of cat towers from a garden centre out on the Brentwell to Willow River road, installing them into a couple of corners to give Hazel something to both scratch and climb. Local kids liked to stroke and feed her, so she had kept her food and water dishes by the front door, but had discretely hidden Hazel’s litter tray in the back corridor that led to the upstairs flat. Where possible, though, Hazel preferred to go outside, and Madeline had contacted Angela about the possibility of putting in a cat flap in the wall beside the door, once Hazel was big enough to be safe from local strays.
Everything was going well, although time was drifting by. Each evening, however, as she came to lock up the café for the night, she couldn’t help but stand by the door and look out at the park, wondering whether Rory would come striding out of the gloom.
‘Is everything all right?’ Jonas asked her, one rainy Wednesday night over dinner. ‘You’ve been quiet for days. You know you can tell me, can’t you?’
‘Yes, Dad. Thanks.’
Normally, she would have spilled the beans, but where Rory was concerned, Jonas was unlikely to be sympathetic.
Sometimes they watched a bit of TV together after dinner, but Jonas had some stuff to do in the garage, and Madeline was in a lonesome mood, so she went up to her bedroom and got out her old laptop. Initially intending just to waste a little time, she found herself lingering over a couple of social media pages, itching to search for her former boyfriend.
Eventually she cracked, but to her surprise, Rory hadn’t updated anything in years. It was as though he had gone off the grid, forgoing social media in a way that was rare among their shared generation. Instead, for a while Madeline wasted some time watching online videos, before deciding to go to bed. Just as she was about to switch off, however, she had a thought.
Rory might not be on the regular social pages, but he looked snappy in his suit and had told her he worked for a company. Perhaps he was on the business ones these days? Perhaps it was a company requirement that he maintain a certain social presence. Maybe his company forbade the posting of cat videos, holiday snaps, and memes.
She googled his name. The first page was all links to his inactive social media pages, but as she clicked onto page two of the search results, a new photo caught her eye, one she had not seen before. She clicked the link.
A picture of Rory as she knew him now appeared, all suave cool and smart business suit. Beneath his name on a short bio, it said, Managing Director. Below was some spiel about how Rory had changed the company around, turning it into the powerhouse it was today. He had clearly done well for himself, and Madeline found herself smiling. Sure, she had a bit of a hippy ethos about her, but she was still impressed by what he had achieved. Wondering what company he worked for, she clicked on a logo in the top corner.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Snide and Company Parking Contractors.
The company responsible for trying to privatise the theatre car park.
A cold sweat broke out across Madeline’s back. Soon, Sycamore Park’s parking would no longer be free, vicious fines would be handed out to those who stayed too long or strayed over the lines of their spaces. Several bus tours had threatened to boycott the move, and the drop in custom could cause the theatre to close.
And it would all be Rory’s fault.
18
Changes
‘This is a café, not a library,’Ruby said, clicking her fingers beside Madeline’s face as she stood staring out of the open door across the park. ‘Like, I’m not expecting you to start barn dancing or anything, but a bit of life wouldn’t hurt.’
Madeline turned. ‘Sorry, what?’
