Page 23 of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday
‘I’m actually … I have an appointment tomorrow morning. But I’d love to come and see it some other time.’
‘Excellent. I’ll let Ben arrange it: he can show you around. Tomorrow then, Benjamin.’ She pulled the window shut and the two of them stared at the place where she’d been, then Ben turned away, shaking his head.
‘How did you meet her?’ Thea asked.
‘She’s a bit of a legend in Port Karadow. Finn’s aunt, Laurie, mentioned that she needed the gutter fixing – around March time, not long after I’d moved here, when the weather was still pretty bad. Since sorting that out for her, she’s called me on a semi-regular basis.’
‘So you’ve done a lot of work here?’ Thea asked. ‘Another distraction from your own project?’
His laugh was tinged with sadness. ‘She only ever wants a few bits looking at. She’s moving in with her daughter soon, but the Old Post House was her and her husband, Eric’s, pride and joy. She can’t bear the thought of letting it go, but she turns that into concern about handing it back to the council. She asks me to come and do small, pointless jobs, but won’t let me tackle the real problems with the building, the safety issues – I think she should have moved out months ago, because there’s some structural damage – or even clean up the shop downstairs. She’s stuck emotionally, and I can only help where she wants me to.’
‘That’s so sad,’ Thea said. ‘It’s very kind of you to help her.’
‘People have been kind to me since I moved here, and I’m sure a lot of the time, she just wants the company. I’m trying to be a good member of the community, in the few ways I can be.’
‘You’ve certainly been good to me,’ Thea said. ‘And obviously Sylvia, too. She doesn’t come across as necessarily being an easy person to deal with.’
‘She speaks her mind,’ Ben said. ‘It’s refreshing. She tells you what she thinks, which is much better than hints and sly remarks.’ His tone had lost its gentleness, and Thea glanced at him, trying to read his expression beneath the baseball cap. She didn’t see the stone in front of her on the path and she tripped on it, heading for the hard, baked ground until Ben clasped her arm, hauling her back with a firm tug.
‘Careful,’ he said. And then, ‘Did I jar your shoulder?’
She hadn’t realised she was rubbing it. It was the surprise, more than anything. ‘No. No, I— thank you. Much better that than I face plant into a rock.’
He nodded, but she could sense a change in him, see the tension in his shoulders, and got the impression that he was elsewhere, all of a sudden: lost in thoughts of something far removed from Port Karadow and their sunny Monday afternoon.
Thea decided to take a leaf out of his upfront, honest book, and said, ‘This has been so good, Ben. So different to yesterday. I can’t thank you enough.’
‘No problem,’ he said; his standard reply. ‘What’s your appointment tomorrow? Unless you just wanted an excuse to avoid Sylvia and her boiler, which I wouldn’t blame you for.’
Thea chewed the inside of her cheek. She didn’t want to lie to him. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I do have an appointment. It’s … something I want to check out, while I’m here. But I don’t—’ she stopped, turning to face him. ‘I’m not ready to share it, if that’s OK? Part of me wants to, but it’s something I’ve held onto for such a long time, and—’
‘It’s OK,’ Ben said, squeezing her arm. ‘You don’t owe me anything. You don’t have to tell me anything at all.’
She laughed. ‘I think, after everything you’ve done for me, I owe you a whole lot.’
He shook his head. ‘I’m wiping the slate clean.’
They’d reached the last section of path, and would soon see the white beacons of Sunfish and Oystercatcher cottages, where Thea’s cool living room and her beloved book would be waiting for her. This time, however, she was reluctant to go back to them. She wanted more time with Ben, but she knew he liked working later in the day, when it was cooler. It was funny that she already knew these little, habitual things about him, almost as if they were flatmates rather than temporary neighbours.
Scooter trotted ahead of them, no sign that he was flagging despite the hours they’d walked under the pulsing sun.
‘I will ask you one thing, though,’ Ben said after a moment, his voice serious.
‘Anything,’ Thea said with conviction.
‘If you decide to go ahead with the coasteering, and your appointment tomorrow is to book it, will you tell me when you’re going?’
She stared at him, surprised. ‘Really? You’d want to come along?’
He shook his head, his half-smile kicking in. ‘No way. I’m not throwing myself off rocks for anyone, but I would love to watch you give it a try.’
Thea burst out laughing, a warmth spreading through her that had nothing to do with the weather. She hit him on the arm, and he made a show of it hurting, rubbing the spot with an exaggerated wince.
‘You sod,’ she whispered.
They walked back to the cottages, the atmosphere between them easier than ever.
