Page 21 of Winter at the Cornish Garden Café
‘I’m only saying what I see.’ Reggie snorted and Rosie poked her tongue out even further.
‘Children!’ Thora shook her head. ‘Remember how old you are.’
Despite how they sometimes argued, Rosie and Reggie normally got along well. However, they were at that awkward stage between childhood and adulthood and so, sometimes, they lapsed into immature displays.
Barry was trotting along at her side, wearing his winter coat. He looked up at her now and then as if to say he understood the twins were being silly. He also liked to check on Thora as if to ensure that he was being a good boy. She often thought thatif children were as straightforward as dogs, life would be a lot easier. Barry thrived on praise and learnt a lot faster than the twins did.
‘Why were the lights delayed this year, Mum?’ Reggie asked, his headphones now wrapped around his neck.
‘A variety of reasons, I think, love,’ she said. ‘There was something to do with the electricity supply struggling with the extra load last year, so they were going to update it, but then it was delayed. They’ve carried out the work now though, so that should be fine. Then there was the fact that some of the new lights were missing. I think a few of them were lost in shipping, so they had to be reordered and they were coming from abroad. Plus, there was a disagreement at the village council meeting about who was going to turn the lights on and a few noses got put out of joint over it.’
‘And you say we’re immature when we argue.’ Reggie shook his head. ‘At least we reach a resolution without holding up Christmas decorating for a whole village.’
‘You’re right,’ Thora agreed.
They reached the village square, and Thora looked around. She felt tense and anxious, as if she was expecting something to happen. As her eyes roamed the crowds that had gathered, she realised who she was looking for. She was looking for Lucas and hoping to see him there, even though she had not allowed herself to think about him all day. Every time she’d found her thoughts wandering in his direction, she’d shaken herself and made herself think about something else. It wasn’t easy but she’d done it, only now there was a chance of actually seeing him, it was much harder to do.
‘Are you OK, Mum?’ Rosie asked.
‘Yes, love, why?’
‘You just shivered really violently. Are you cold?’ Rosie scanned her face and Thora shook her head.
‘I’m fine. I think I just had a weird tingle down my spine.’
‘They say that’s when someone walks over your grave,’ Rosie said and Reggie snorted.
‘For fudge’s sake, Rosie, that’s horse-ship.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ Thora blinked. ‘What did you just say?’
‘He thinks he’s being clever. All the boys in school do that now,’ Rosie explained. ‘They say words as close to the swear words as they can. It drives the teachers mad because they think they’re about to swear and then they don’t. But obviously it’s clear what they mean.’ Rosie glared at Reggie and it was his turn to stick his tongue out at her.
‘Whatever next?’ Thora said, feeling a million years old. Some days, she found it hard to accept that she was over forty. It seemed like just yesterday that she’d been fifteen with her whole life ahead of her and now here she was, on the wrong side of forty and feeling it. OK, not the wrong side, she reasoned, because it was a gift to reach this age, but she couldn’t turn back the clock and the next big birthday was fifty and she was well aware of that.
‘Mmmm. Can you smell that?’ Rosie said, squeezing Thora’s arm. ‘It’s Christmas!’
Thora breathed in and savoured the scents of mulled cider and wine coming from a stall near the harbour. Steam curled into theair as the vendor stirred a large vat of mulled cider over a flame, sending aromas of cinnamon, cloves, and orange into the air.
‘Delicious,’ Thora said.
‘Can I have a cup?’ Rosie asked, batting her eyelashes.
‘No, you can’t. There’s alcohol in it. You can have a mulled apple juice.’ Thora got her purse out of her pocket. ‘Here.’ She gave Rosie some money. ‘Get one for your brother, too.’
‘Sure.’ Rosie headed for the stall and Thora turned to Reggie. ‘Are you hungry?’ It was a silly question because he was always hungry.
‘Starving!’ She handed him some money. ‘Here. Get something to eat for you and for Rosie.’
‘You want anything?’ he asked.
‘I’m good, thanks. I’ll have a wander around and meet you near the cider stall in half an hour.’
‘Cool.’ He smiled, then wandered off on his long legs like a young giraffe.
Thora watched her children head in different directions. They were so young and filled with potential. They were her entire world, and she wanted the very best of everything for them.
‘You OK, Barry?’ she asked, looking down at him.
