Page 53 of Autumn at the Oak Leaf Café
‘It’s fine. I don’t want to wake your dad. I’ll see you soon, okay?’
‘For sure.’
Darren reached out and squeezed her hand. Madeline didn’t want to let go, but the rain was starting to intensify. She pulled away, waving as Darren hurried back up the street, pulling his jacket up over his head. As he reached the corner, he turned back and waved, then he was gone, running out of sight. Madeline watched him a moment longer, then turned and ran for home.
24
Confessions
After the rainthe night before, Sycamore Park was fresh and lush the next morning, basking under a clear blue October sky. Pete had taken the weekend off to do catering for a wedding, but Dan stopped by for a piece of cake and a coffee before going home, then Tom stopped in to ask how Hazel was getting on with her new friend. Madeline pointed to the pair chasing each other around the base of a tree trunk.
‘I think your ducks are probably safe from my tiger,’ she said.
Ruby arrived just after lunchtime, but with the park unseasonably warm after the overnight storm, most customers were after takeaways to eat and drink out on the grass under the falling leaves, so the café itself was quiet. At just after five, Madeline decided to close up for the evening. With an hour or so of decent light left, Ruby offered to give her some catching practice with the cricket ball Darren had given her.
Once she had got over the initial hardness of the ball thudding into her palms, Madeline began to rediscover a little of her teenage sportiness, even if throwing a ball so heavy and hard made her arm felt like it was popping out of its socket.
Ruby had to go off to meet some student friends, and Darren had told Madeline Saturdays were usually his busiest day at work, so Madeline went back to the café, made herself a coffee, and sat outside at one of the tables, watching Hazel and Sampson play among the leaves. The evening was drawing in, the air starting to chill, but sitting there, watching the cat and duck playing together, Madeline felt more peaceful and content than she had since getting off the plane nearly two months ago. The pieces of her life, it seemed, were finally starting to line up.
She was just thinking of going home, when a figure appeared, walking quickly up the path in the café’s direction. As soon as she recognised the man, Madeline thought to duck out of sight, but it was too late, he had already seen her. She could do nothing but sit and wait as Rory marched up to her table and plonked his briefcase down in front of her.
‘God, what a day,’ he said.
‘Oh, hi, Rory,’ she muttered, having barely thought about him all week. She remembered with a little bit of guilt that she had provisionally agreed to host his wedding, all the while trying to break his company behind his back.
‘You won’t believe the hell I’ve been going through,’ he said. ‘Honestly, I feel like someone’s got a vendetta on my head.’
‘That bad?’ Madeline said, sitting up and trying to look innocent.
‘We’re friends, aren’t we?’ Rory said. ‘I mean, we go way back. I can trust you, can’t I?’
‘Uh … yeah.’
‘It’s Janine. I think she wants to pull the wedding.’
‘Really?’
Rory leaned forwards. ‘Between you and me, I think she’s got a little flustered by all this petition rubbish, and is getting cold feet.’
‘Ah … what petition rubbish?’
Rory flapped a hand. ‘Don’t worry about it. Some scumbag is taking a pot shot at my company, trying to save that useless patch of tarmac over there by the theatre. Probably some clown who can’t park straight. Don’t they know what’s good for them? More spaces equal more customers. And Snide and Company will maintain the car park far better than those idiots at the council. No more weeds, no more wildflowers. And proper surveillance. No one trying to camp out, causing trouble.’
‘Sounds … lovely.’ Madeline stood up. ‘Can you … hang on a minute?’ She shrugged. ‘Nature, and all that.’
‘Oh, sure.’
Remembering something Ruby had said, she hurried back into the cafe. Then, as soon as she was out of sight, she pulled out her phone and set up the voice recorder. Slipping it back into her pocket, she went back outside to the table.
‘Sorry about that.’
‘No problem.’
‘So … you were saying? I mean, you want to buy the car park, don’t you? Are you sure that’s a good idea? A lot of people aren’t happy, by the look of things.’
‘They just don’t know what’s good for them. People need rules. For example, that’s the theatre car park, right? How many people likely park there and walk into town, because it’s free?’
‘I imagine quite a few. It’s not that far, and there’s no free parking in the town centre.’
