Page 37 of Autumn at the Oak Leaf Café
‘I can’t believe it,’Jonas said, throwing the piece of paper down on the table. ‘Those utter toads. A hundred and seventy-five quid for not parking in my allocated space. Look at this.’ He held up a printed photograph taken from the rear of a car, showing the wheels lined up along a white line. ‘I’m half an inch over. That’s it. A hundred and seventy-five quid. If they hadn’t redrawn the lights six inches narrower, there wouldn’t have been a problem.’
‘Do you want a drink, Dad?’
‘I want to get hold of whoever runs Snide and Company and rip out their throat. This is going to Trading Standards.’ He scooped up the letter again and began rifling through drawers, looking for envelopes and writing paper.
Madeline said nothing. How could she tell him what she knew? Part of her agreed with her dad, but there was still that little part of her that wouldn’t let go, that wanted to believe Rory, to continue seeing him as a new, improved version of the man she had once loved, even if all the evidence pointed to the contrary.
‘You know, I tried to call them,’ Jonas said, not looking up. ‘But there’s no number on their website. What kind of a useless company doesn’t have a customer services hotline? Although I bet if they did, it would all be automated. Honestly, this country should be ashamed of itself, letting companies like this get a foot in the door.’
Madeline just nodded. Perhaps next time she saw Rory, she could have a word?
Jonas was still ranting. ‘Your brother said I should just show up at the head office and complain, but of course, there’s no company address listed either.’ He looked up and gave her a tired smile. ‘Amy suggested I get a bicycle.’
‘Maybe we all should,’ Madeline said. ‘Shall I get you a glass of wine?’
Monday was one of Ruby’s days off, but the air was filled with drizzly showers so the park was deserted all day. Pete stopped in for a coffee and a chat, before announcing he was going home early, but Madeline decided to hang on in case there was a rush of customers over lunchtime. However, the only person who stopped in was Lizzie from the library next door, who stopped for just a five-minute chat before leaving with a takeaway espresso and a slice of cake, so Madeline pulled Angela’s easy chair out from the kitchen and put it near the window, reading a book while Hazel slept in her lap.
At just after four o’clock, she was about ready to close when she caught sight of a man walking up from the playground in the direction of the café.
Often customers would approach close enough to read the specials board outside or check the opening times, before veering off towards the library and the theatre or out to the main north gates, but a moment after he went out of sight behind the window frame, the tinkle of the bell above the door sounded, and Madeline heard shoes wiping on the mat. She lifted Hazel off her lap so she could get up, replacing the cat on the warm part of the chair.
‘Hello?’
Madeline walked back through the tables until the man came into sight. ‘Oh, hello.’
Darren Smith flinched with surprise, a smile breaking out across his face. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t recognise you at first. Wow, your hair looks amazing. I don’t mean to say that it looked bad before, just that I really like what you’ve done with it. It’s very … seasonal.’
Despite her best efforts, Madeline found herself blushing. ‘Uh, thanks. Can I get you something?’
‘Sure. Coffee would be great. Just normal is fine, without all the bells and whistles. Can I … ah … get you one, too? You don’t look too busy.’
Madeline shrugged. ‘Just me and the cat.’
Darren glanced past her at Hazel sitting on the chair. ‘She’s getting big.’
Madeline smiled. ‘They grow up quick, don’t they?’
Darren smiled. ‘So, how have you been?’
‘You mean, since the cricket match?’
‘You know, life in general.’
‘Oh, not too bad.’
‘That’s good.’
‘And you?’
‘Yeah, the usual. Mondays are a day off. I just thought I’d stop by, and you know, say hello.’
‘You came here just to see me?’
It was Darren’s turn to blush, meaning Madeline knew the answer, no matter what he said. ‘Um, yeah. And the cat, of course. I wanted to see if you were free for a cricket match on Sunday.’
‘A cricket match?’
‘Yeah. The final was supposed to be last week, but it got cancelled due to rain. It’s been moved to next Sunday, but we have three regular guys unavailable. League rules mean we need at least eight players. So far, we have seven.’
