Alys was called through from the kitchen to say farewell to Claire, who had dropped in specially to see her.
‘I can’t stay long,’ Claire said, refusing tea but asking for a sandwich to take with her. ‘I’ve shut the shop to take a lunch break but really I ought to get back. Nortonstall is busy today – there are a lot of tourists around. I just wanted to give you this.’
She handed over a package, beautifully wrapped in lilac tissue paper with a pink satin bow. Alys could tell from the slightly awkward shape and the feel of it that it was a piece of china.
‘This one’s for you, not for the café,’ Claire said.
‘Oh, it’s so beautifully wrapped, I don’t want to open it,’ Alys exclaimed.
‘Open it later,’ Claire suggested, then leant across the counter to kiss Alys on the cheek. ‘Now, I really must get back but I just wanted to say have a wonderful time. But don’t forget your friends – come back and see us as soon as you can.’
Alys felt tears start to her eyes again but to buy herself some time to recover she said, ‘Wait, I’ve got something for you, too.’
She hurried into the kitchen and returned bearing the angel’s wings cake, cream and fruit spilling out of the sides where the two sponges were sandwiched together. The template had worked well, Alys thought as she set the cake down on the counter and everyone exclaimed over the design.
‘It looks too beautiful to cut into,’ Claire protested when Alys insisted that she should take a slice with her.
‘Nonsense. It won’t keep anyway,’ Alys said. ‘It’s best eaten on the day it’s made. But I’ll just take a quick picture.’
She did feel very proud of her cake and she remembered that she’d promised to send her mother some more photos. Kate had liked the email that had focused on the café and cakes and Alys realised that she hadn’t delivered on her promise to send more along the same lines. Today would be her last chance.
Photo taken, she insisted that Moira cut the cake while she unwrapped Claire’s gift. She gasped as she peeled back the layers of tissue. It was a milk jug of the same design as the tea service that had belonged to Claire’s grandmother, the one that Alys secretly coveted every time she took tea with Claire.
‘It’s not—?’
Claire broke in before she finished her sentence. ‘No, it’s not mine. I’m not that generous, sadly! But I came across this at a house-clearance sale and I’ve always known how much you loved the design. Nothing else was there I’m afraid, just the jug. But I’ll keep my eyes peeled.’
Alys bit her lip. ‘It’s so lovely. It will always remind me of here, of you, of how lovely everyone has been …’ She found that she couldn’t go on.
‘You’ll be back, I know you will,’ Claire said firmly, taking her sandwich in its bag and balancing her piece of cake in its box on top of it. She turned at the café door and blew Alys a kiss as she left.
By the end of the day, Alys’s cheeks were quite pink with emotion and she felt as though she had veered between smiling and tears all day long. At four o’clock, Moira had produced a bottle of prosecco, which she had been hiding at the back of the fridge, and insisted that she, Alys and Flo should share it, sparing a thimbleful here and there for any last-minute regulars who dropped in. Nothing was left of the angel’s wings cake apart from a few crumbs; indeed, all the cake stands were bare and only a few pieces of shortbread remained for anyone hoping for a sweet treat at the end of the day.
‘We’ll clear up,’ Moira said to Alys. ‘Take your drink out back and just relax for a little while. We’re going to eat at the pub tonight so we don’t need to rush home and think about making dinner.’
Alys was grateful to have a few minutes to herself, to marshall her thoughts. The courtyard was sheltered and perfect for a day like today, where the sunshine was tempered by a brisk breeze. She sat at a table, shut her eyes and turned her face to the sun. She’d been on her feet since early that morning and she hadn’t eaten properly all day, just snatched bites of a sandwich in between talking to customers. Now she could feel her stomach growling and the thought of an early meal at the pub was very appealing. Without bothering to open her eyes she lifted the glass to her lips and took a drink, relishing the fizz of the bubbles and the warming, relaxing feeling as the alcohol took hold. She felt drowsy sitting there, enjoying the sunshine with no sound to disturb her apart from a faint murmur of voices within the café, the buzz of bees visiting the bunches of flowers in jugs on the tables and the calling of swifts as they swooped high above her.
‘Alys. Alys, wake up.’
She couldn’t work out where she was for a moment, thinking herself in her bed back in Moira’s cottage.
‘You must have dropped off. Flo’s ready to leave. Come and say goodbye.’
Alys blinked and stretched, almost knocking over her glass. It took her a few moments to gather herself, then she stood up and went back into the café. Flo gave her a big hug and Alys made her promise to keep an eye on Moira and to stop her from overdoing things, then she was on her way with a flurry of good wishes for Alys’s travels. Alys turned the sign on the door to read ‘Closed’ and sighed.
‘I’m glad that’s over. I don’t think I can say any more goodbyes.’
Moira, who was busy bringing in the flower jugs from the courtyard, handed Alys her glass. ‘Here, finish this. One more goodbye to go, I’m afraid. We’re meeting Rob at the pub.’
Alys, gulping down the last of her prosecco, now rather warm, almost choked on the bubbles. ‘Rob?’ she asked.
‘Yes, he couldn’t get away from the farm to come in today so he said he’d drop into the pub later to see you.’ Moira wiped the counter, scrutinised the room for crumbs and, satisfied, said ‘Take one last look around. Then let’s go.’
Alys felt quite certain that she didn’t want to say goodbye to the café but, to please her aunt, she revolved slowly in the centre of the room, taking in all the features that had so struck her the first time she saw it. The angel’s wings hanging in the window, the stone flags, the prints on the wall – and now the shelves of china, washed and ready for a new day ahead.
‘Okay, I’ve got it here,’ she tapped the side of her forehead. ‘And if all else fails, I’ve got a lot of it here, too.’ She waved her phone at Moira, thinking of all the photos she had taken recently of the café and the cakes.
‘Come on then.’ Moira propelled her through the door then set the alarm and swiftly locked up. She took Alys’s arm. ‘I think I need another drink.’ And with that, she steered her in the direction of The Old Bell.