Page 22 of Winter at the Cornish Garden Café
He barked, so she stroked him and then looked around.
‘Let’s go to the bookshop. I want to see if they have a book I’ve seen advertised.’
They crossed the square to get to The Book Nook. It had opened recently, to Thora’s delight, because she loved reading and having a bookshop in the village was wonderful. She’d already taken the twins in there several times and treated them to books they’d seen on BookTok. While she wasn’t a massive fan of the video app because of some of the hashtags, she could appreciate the one that encouraged a love of reading. It was amazing the power that social media had to get children to do things. Rosie had always been an avid reader, but Reggie had lapsed over recent years as life had become distracting, but since he’d had BookTok videos on his algorithm, he’d started reading again. Seeing him reading led Thora to acknowledge its effectiveness and she felt grateful.
Standing outside The Book Nook, she admired the window display. Colourful copies ofA Christmas Carol, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,andThe Night Before Christmaswere displayed on red velvet and surrounded by twinkling silver fairy lights and bunches of holly, ivy and mistletoe. A Christmas tree stood further back in the shop, decorated with book-themed ornaments and more twinkling lights.
‘Let’s go in and have a look, shall we?’ she said to Barry, and he barked with excitement because he loved spending time at the bookshop. Whenever they went in there, the owner Rosa Lake and her employee Vinnie Russo spoiled him, so he knew he was going to get treats and scratches.
The delicious scents of coffee, cake, books, and stationery greeted her as she pushed open the door and stepped inside. There was also the scent of pine from the tree at the rear of theshop and from the garland hanging on the front of the counter that was decorated with tiny silver and gold baubles.
Rosa was serving a customer at the counter, but she looked up and waved at Thora. Rosa was a lovely person, and Thora had got to know her quite well since she’d moved to the village. She was about six years younger than Thora, but she’d holidayed in the village as a child, so they’d known each other to say hello when they were children. Rosa had moved to Porthpenny after a painful divorce, keen to have a fresh start. She’d inherited her aunt’s house in Bath, which she’d sold so she could set up the bookshop. Thora admired her bravery at having the courage to move somewhere new to begin again. Rosa was dating local teacher Henry Clay, and they made a cute couple.
Thora wandered through the shop, admiring the festive displays and reading the labels stuck on shelves that said things like:Stories for the Fireside, Books Make the Best GiftsandWinter Wonderlands. AlsoPerfect for Your Person, Treat Yourself This ChristmasandFestive Feasts. While she browsed the shelves and table displays, Barry sniffed around the lower shelves, the table legs, and the wooden floorboards. She found the book she’d wanted and picked out a few books she thought would make nice gifts then took them to the counter. She stood there gazing out of the front window while she waited for Rosa to finish serving.
‘Evening, Thora,’ Rosa said with a smile after she’d said goodbye to the man buying a pile of romance novels for his wife. ‘How are you?’
‘Good thanks and all the better for coming in here. It’s beautiful.’
Rosa looked around, pride written all over her face. ‘It’s a dream come true for me and I have to pinch myself every day when I wake up and come to work here.’
‘Nothing like finally realising your dream.’ Thora smiled then she felt a pawing at her leg so she looked down. ‘Oh, sorry, Barry. He wants to say hello.’
‘Of course!’ Rosa came around the counter and crouched down to make a fuss of Barry. She pulled a treat from her pocket and held it up for Thora’s approval.
‘That’s fine. Go ahead,’ she said.
Rosa gave Barry the small treat, and he licked his lips then turned in a circle before placing his tiny paws on Rosa’s legs.
‘He’s grateful,’ Thora said, laughing.
‘We love a visit from Barry.’ Rosa stroked Barry’s head again, then got up and went back behind the counter. ‘Right then … What are you getting today?’
She checked which books were going to be gifts, then wrapped them in black and gold tissue paper and put everything into a large paper bag with handles.
‘If you don’t want to carry this around with you, you can leave it here and collect it in the week,’ she said. ‘I’ll stow it under the counter with your name on it if you like? Or I can get Vinnie to drop it off for you?’
‘If I can leave it here, that’ll be fabulous. I’ll pick it up in the week. Tomorrow probably if that’s OK, when I’m walking dogs in the village.’
‘That’s no problem at all.’
Thora paid, then Rosa stapled a name tag to the handles and tucked it under the counter. ‘There you go, all done. You staying for the lights?’ she asked.
‘Definitely.’ Thora nodded as she gazed out of the window. ‘They say they’re going to be the best yet.’
‘I can’t wait!’ Rosa said. ‘I’m going to close up soon and then wrap up warm and join you all.’
‘I’ll see you out there.’ With a smile, Thora ventured out into the cool evening air.
She spotted Rosie and Reggie standing near to the tree with her parents so she walked over to them. Her parents hugged her, then they asked if she wanted a mulled cider which her dad went to get.
‘Cold this evening,’ her mum said from under a large woolly hat that looked about three sizes too large for her.
‘Certainly is.’
They chatted for a bit, and when her dad brought her drink over, Thora sipped it. Her mouth watered at the delicious, spiced cider, and it warmed her right through. When the village choir sangIn the Bleak Midwinter, goosebumps rose on Thora’s arms and she felt Christmas was really on the way.
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