Page 36 of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday
Finn clapped Ben on the shoulder. ‘That whole community thing? He caught on quickly that you can’t live in Port Karadow and keep to yourself. He would have been dragged into the town’s clutches soon enough, so he took the initiative.’
Ben rolled his eyes. ‘You make it sound like a cult.’
‘Maybe it is,’ Finn replied mildly. ‘You’ve only been here four months.’
‘Andyouonly moved here permanently at Christmastime,’ Meredith said to Finn. ‘What if there’s stuffyoudon’t know about?’ She raised a teasing eyebrow at her boyfriend, and then said, ‘What made you pick Port Karadow for your holiday, Thea? As …’ her eyes flicked to the two men sitting opposite them, ‘… as the place to work through your bucket list?’
Thea gave her a grateful smile. She hadn’t specifically told Meredith not to mention the bookshop, and appreciated her tact. ‘I came here once before, when I was about ten. Itwas an unplanned stopover at the end of a longer holiday, and … I don’t know.’ She sighed. ‘We’d been all over, visited Penzance and Falmouth and some of the smaller, pretty villages, but I loved Port Karadow instantly.
‘My dad bought me a book in the bookshop, and we ate fish and chips on the harbour. It felt so welcoming. You know when you visit somewhere and the atmosphere is good, or …’ she shook her head. ‘It’s more than that. It feels right for you? It feels like there’s something personal, between you and the place.’ She adjusted her cutlery, then looked up.
‘But it was such a long time ago,’ she continued, ‘and this is the first time I’ve been back.’ It was her turn to glance at Ben and Finn. They were both listening intently, and she felt a shiver of nerves, as if she was only wearing her underwear, rather than a pretty dress. ‘When Esme, my friend, suggested a holiday together, and asked if there was anywhere I really wanted to go, I knew I had to find out.’
‘Find out what?’ Ben asked.
‘If the place I remembered, that had seemed so welcoming, was just as I’d imagined it, or if it was one of those rose-tinted memories that dissolves when you try to recreate it: you know, like how tinned ravioli was the most delicious thing when you were little, but if you have it as a grown-up, it tastes horrible.’
‘Tinnedravioli?’ Ben said, aghast.
Before Thea could reply, Finn said, ‘And what’s your verdict?’ A waitress came to take away their starter plates, put full beer bottles on the table.
Thea took a breath. ‘It’s perfect,’ she said. It came out sounding slightly sad, because even though it was true, shecouldn’t help thinking about Jamie Scable, and the big hole he’d kicked in her plans.
‘Perfect for what?’ Ben asked. ‘For a holiday?’ The way he said it, she knew he’d realised there was more to it.
Their main courses arrived, and because Thea had had fish and chips in Padstow the day before, she had gone for a grilled pork chop with creamy horseradish mash. Meredith had chosen crab linguine, and Finn and Ben had opted for fish and chips. Thea took it all in: the bright pop of the slow-roasted cherry tomatoes on her plate, the sunshine joy of a basket of golden chips, the tantalising smells of well seasoned, cooked-to-perfection food wafting up to meet her.
There was a reverent silence as they gazed at their meals, and then, very quietly, Ben said, ‘Fuck.’
‘You’ll be great tomorrow Benjamin,’ Finn said. ‘And I bet none of the other competitors are here tonight; you’re ahead of the game.’
‘At this point I think ignorance would have been a better tactic,’ he replied, spearing a chip with his fork. ‘I was nervous before, but …’
‘Your food iseasilyas good as this,’ Thea said, after she’d had a mouthful of tender, juicy pork and creamy mashed potato.
Ben raised his eyebrows. ‘Really?’
‘Oh yeah,’ she said, and she meant it. ‘I’ve eaten your hash browns, remember. I have a unique ability to give you honest, unbiased feedback, and I can confirm your food is as good as Marcus Belrose’s.’
Ben caught her gaze, and despite the food that commanded to be eaten and enjoyed, the chatter and clink of glasses around them, the sun hovering above the clear line of thesea, turning it to liquid gold, she couldn’t look away. She wanted Ben to see that she had faith in him, that she believed he could do anything he set his mind to. What would be less welcome, she realised, was if she also telepathically conveyed the way looking into his hazel eyes made her stomach feel almost too full of fluttering wings to admit any more of her dinner, or her urge to put her hand on his strong, tanned arm, and feel how warm his skin was. She cleared her throat and gave him a bright, unwavering smile.
‘Thank you,’ he said quietly, and at that moment Thea thought she could see the colours of the sunset in his irises, competing with the blues and greens that were already there.
‘Unbiased, huh?’ Meredith said lightly, and Thea knew she hadn’t quite got away with it.
They declared themselves too full for dessert, split the bill, and then, after a round of thank yous and goodbye hugs, Meredith and Finn set off towards the town centre, walking back to Meredith’s house that was on the north side. Thea and Ben turned in the opposite direction, their own walk to the cottages quicker, as they were already on the right side of Port Karadow.
The temperature had dropped, and Thea was glad she’d brought a cardigan with her. They passed houses with cosy lights filtering through thin curtains, outdoor lamps shining like torch flames against a sky that was inky blue high above them, a richer hue closer to the horizon, where the sun hadn’t quite relinquished its hold on the day. Thea felt as if they were in a storybook illustration, the buildings dark silhouettes against a dreamy summer’s night, thecobbled path they were on gleaming beneath the soft street lights, disappearing into nothing.
She had loved spending time with Meredith, Finn and Ben, and could see how, if her plans worked out, she would have friends in her new town, everything shiny and full of hope.
Ben’s next words crystallised her thoughts, his voice sounding loud in the still night air. ‘You said earlier that Port Karadow lived up to your memory of it: that it was perfect. Was that just about having a holiday here, or is there more to it?’
‘There’s more to it,’ Thea said, after a moment. ‘Something I’ve been planning for a while. A dream I have.’
‘I like hearing other people’s dreams,’ Ben said. They were walking so close together that she could feel his warmth down her left side, and thought how easy it would be to slip her arm through his.
‘I want to open a bookshop by the sea,’ she said instead. ‘I remember the one that used to be here, even though I only went there once. This has been my life plan, for a long time now. And Port Karadow has always been there, like …’ she thought how best to explain it. ‘Like the brightest star you see whenever you stop to look up at the night sky. You know it’s there, but you don’t really focus on it when there are a whole load of stars to take in. But now my business plan’s finished, and I’ve saved up enough to take the first steps towards making it happen, I’m focusing all my attention on that bright star.’ She took a deep breath. ‘So here I am.’
