Page 38 of Autumn at the Oak Leaf Café
‘Ah, I don’t know.’
‘Go on,’ Darren said with another smile. ‘If you like, I can come by and give you a bit of practice after work. We could throw a tennis ball around in the park.’
If this was Darren’s idea of a date, it was the most unique yet simple one Madeline had ever heard. She opened her mouth to say yes, then thought of Rory. What would he think if he found her playing cricket with Darren? What would he …why would it matter?
‘Is that a no?’
‘Sorry?’
‘You were kind of shaking your head.’
‘No, I mean, not no, I’m just….’ She looked up and shrugged. ‘I’m just scared.’
‘We can use a tennis ball, or perhaps a sponge ball, if that helps. Maybe a ping pong ball?’
Madeline grinned. ‘What kind of a coward do you think I am?’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean—’
‘I’m joking. Like, look at me, I’m a comedian. I mean, sorry … just … yeah.’
Madeline wished her heart would stop fluttering and allow her to get hold of her senses. The words were jumbling over themselves, making her say the stupidest things.
‘Why don’t we have that coffee?’
Madeline nodded, then tapped a hand on the countertop as though she was an escaped mental patient. ‘Yeah. That’s a plan, isn’t it?’
She fled to the kitchen, burying her head. Out in the café, she heard Darren muttering sweet things to Hazel.
Don’t say anything stupid. He clearly likes you. And he’s nice. He’s really nice.
(Rory Rory Rory)
Rory threw my cake away. Rory didn’t notice my hair. Rory works for a scumbag private company who just fined my dad for parking one inch over the white lines.
She slammed a fist down on the countertop, hard enough to make the pots and pans in the overhead cupboard rattle.
‘Are you all right in there?’
Madeline shook her head. ‘Yes, yes, I’m fine.’
She had turned off the machines but was able to focus long enough to make two instant coffees and carry them out to the shop without spilling them. Setting them down, she moved a safe distance away, aware that a flapping hand might knock them over.
Darren was standing by the window, cradling a purring Hazel in his arms.
‘Such a sweet little thing,’ he said, turning to Madeline. ‘You did a great job saving her. I wish we could save them all, but sadly life doesn’t work that way.’
‘It must make a change to have an animal that likes you,’ Madeline said.
Darren grinned. ‘For sure. You have no idea how many times I’ve been snarled at, scratched and bitten.’
‘Do you have any pets of your own?’
Darren shook his head. ‘No. I don’t really have the time. I mean, I’d like a dog one day, one I could walk in the park, but it’s hard when you deal with sick animals all day long. I see the looks in the faces of the customers when I have to tell them that their pet isn’t coming back, and I dread the idea of it being me.’
‘Did you always want to be a vet?’
Darren set Hazel down on the floor and took a stool at the counter. ‘I had a little dog when I was young,’ he said. ‘A beagle. His name was Jim.’ He smiled. ‘I loved that little thing so much. We went everywhere together, and he used to wait for me when I got home from school every day. One day, though, when I was thirteen or fourteen, he wasn’t there. He’d got sick. He was only seven or eight years old, but there was nothing the vet could do. He had a form of cancer. It broke my heart, but the day that Jim died, I promised myself I would become a vet, and do everything I could to stop other kids like me having to see their pets die so young.’
