Chapter 3

Star placed herself on a high stool at the window counter in the Tasty Pasties shop. She was waiting for Kara to finish with a customer and join her. Realising that she’d left her phone back at the shop she frowned, then relaxed. Sitting here at the big front window gave the best view in Ferry Lane: the pasty shop was positioned right at the top of the market with an uninterrupted view down the hill to the estuary. It also offered the most wonderful cooking smells as Philip Gilmour, the eccentric and flamboyant owner of Tasty Pasties, insisted that his five exclusive varieties of pasty, including a new vegan one, were all prepared and cooked on the premises. The recipe, he declared, was so secret that even he had forgotten what was in it!

Living off his spoils in one of the big houses high on Hartmouth Hill, the owner was rarely spotted, except on the occasional market day. It was Mrs Harris, aided and abetted by the casual employ of university students, who had worked there and run the place ever since Star could remember. The sixty-something woman’s uniform consisted of a branded white hat and dress, with a blue and white striped half-apron, which only just reached round her plump waist to be tied up. Red-cheeked and big-bottomed, she was possibly the most jovial woman on Ferry Lane Market, if not in the whole of Hartmouth.

Tasty Pasties was the only shop that didn’t have an outdoor stall on market days. The eleven other unit owners would set up their stalls every Friday and Saturday, whatever the weather, and sell their wares. There was an eclectic mix of stalls to suit both tourists and locals alike. On Star’s side of the street, you could not only find Passion Flowers and the art gallery, but an artisan bakery, Clarke’s the butchers and a second-hand books and records stall. On the other side, the units were made up of the Dillon family’s fruit and veg stall, a clothes stall that sold all sorts of wonderful vintage items, Nigel’s Catch the fishmonger, The Sweet Spot belonging to Alicia, selling home-made fudge and local honey including the Honeysuckle Honey made at Bee Cottage, and one stall that was loaded with antiques.

Star never tired of the buzz and exhilaration that the Friday and Saturday market days brought with them. They were also the guarantee of good sales of her bespoke jewellery, especially leading up to Christmas and special days like Valentine’s and Mother’s Day.

With Star wishing she had put longer than just a Back in 30 mins sign on her shop door and no phone to amuse her, she began tapping her nails, always kept neat and short for jewellery-making, on the high counter. Her eyes were drawn to the sign on the wall next to her that she had read so many times before: The Cornish Pasty. There was a picture of a shiny-looking pasty next to the title and its history:

This tasty treat has been a documented part of the British diet since the 13th century, at this time being devoured by the wealthy upper classes and royalty. The fillings were varied and rich: venison, beef, lamb, and seafood like eels, flavoured with rich gravies and fruits. It wasn’t until the 17th and 18th centuries that the pasty was adopted by miners and farmworkers in Cornwall as an easy, tasty and sustaining meal while they worked. And so the humble Cornish Pasty was born.

Star was baulking at the thought of eating an eel-filled pastry, when Kara came bounding in. ‘So sorry, the manager at The Dolphin caught me as I was leaving, wanting to discuss wedding flowers. I did message you. Fancy a large one?’

Star shook her head in mock disapproval as her friend laughed. Without waiting for an answer, Kara quickly bought two of the warm pasties. She presented Star’s on a paper plate with a plain white serviette and a bottle of water, saying, ‘You’re looking tired. This will perk you up, girl.’

Star looked at the pasty and turned up her nose. ‘Original? I wanted a vegan one,’ she said, straight-faced, winding her up.

‘I’m not even replying to that.’

‘I need to be healthier. I eat far too much rubbish at the moment, and how many calories are in this, do you think?’ Star said.

‘There’s nothing of you.’ Kara tutted.

Star ignored her. ‘A huge spot came up on my chin the other day. I never get spots!’ She shoved the gorgeous-tasting treat into her mouth, then shut her eyes in ecstasy. ‘Oh – my – God. I forgot just how scrummy the meat ones are.’

‘How are you feeling now, anyway?’ Kara asked.

Star’s face dropped. ‘I’m all right. It’s just – well, I saw Mum earlier and you know how that annoys me, just seeing her sometimes. I left her at eight thirty this morning and she had a spliff on the go already. I’m also worried about Skye.’

‘Why? She seems so happy. Loves her new job working with me and she’s great at it. She’s a good kid, Star.’ An unofficial apprenticeship at Passion Flowers had been the natural choice for the youngster, once her A levels were done with. Although she was artistic, Skye had no gift for jewellery making, unlike her mother.

‘I’m looking at part-time floristry courses for her too,’ Kara added, ‘which means she will eventually obtain a proper qualification that will take her anywhere she wants to go in the business – even around the world if she so fancies.’

‘Aw, thanks, Kar. Maybe I’m just over-thinking everything. I don’t want her to muck up like me – getting pregnant so young. I don’t even know where she was last night. She won’t let me follow her on Instagram. She’s such a pretty and private little thing.’

‘Even I get that. She doesn’t want you cramping her style. Though to be fair, you are the coolest mum in Cornwall, in my view.’ Kara’s voice softened. ‘You’ve obviously talked to her about – you know, stuff?’

‘Yes, of course. I even suggested that maybe going on the pill wasn’t such a bad idea at her age and her reply was that she wasn’t stupid.’

‘There you go then. Compared to what we used to be like as teens, she seems pretty bloody sensible to me.’

Star had a sudden flashback to her smoking and drug-taking days when she was just sixteen, and shuddered at the thought of how her little one had been conceived.

Kara carried on talking over her friend’s thoughts. ‘She’s had so much love from you. And from me and Florrie and Jim, when he was still around, bless him. And your mum too, believe it or not, has played her part in Skye’s upbringing.’

‘Hmm. That’s what I’m worried about.’ They both laughed.

Kara took a bite through the feather-light pastry coating, swallowed, and said, ‘Maybe now it’s time for you to stop worrying so much about your daughter and find somebody for yourself.’

‘That’s exactly what was left ringing in my ears earlier. It’s like someone has called my romance angels in without me even asking for them. Mum laid out some Tarot cards, looked in her crystal ball and said she could see two men: one would break my heart apparently, and one would shake it or something like that. I reckon she was making it up as she’s desperate to see me with somebody.’

‘Well, you deserve every happiness – and it’s not as if you were hit with the ugly stick, is it?’ Kara looked at her friend’s poker-straight, long white-blonde hair, flawless pale skin, perfect little nose and rosebud lips that looked like they had a baby pink lipstick on them even when bare of make-up. Her petite and toned frame made her seem a lot younger than her thirty-three years.

‘Who says people can’t be happy being single?’ Star shrugged.

‘You know what I mean.’

‘And as for my looks, I kind of think they’ve been a hindrance. I want someone to see the real me. What’s beneath the veneer. Love me warts and all. Does that make sense?’

‘Is that why the most serious relationship you’ve had was with Danny Ball when you were fifteen, do you think?’

‘Thanks for that, Kara. Just because you and Billy the Kid are now love’s young dream.’

Kara saw the misery in her friend’s sapphire-blue eyes. ‘Oh, Star, I’m sorry. I’m not exactly the guru on relationships, am I? I mean, how long did it take me to get rid of bloody Jago and then to realise Billy was The One, hey?’ She put her hand on top of her friend’s. ‘I do understand about Skye though.’

‘How could you understand?’ Star said hotly. ‘You can’t, Kar. Not until you’ve had a child yourself will you get it. Skye has been my life: I have to do right by her. As a single parent, even more so. I remained single out of choice. I didn’t want to bring in a man who might have interrupted her life and disturbed it. I had enough of that with Mum whilst I was growing up – a stream of deadbeats and bullies coming in and out of our lives. I don’t know, maybe it’s now that Skye doesn’t need me like she used to, I feel a loss of purpose.’

‘Oh, mate,’ Kara said, ‘you’re right. I don’t understand fully, but I’m glad you’ve told me so I can hopefully support you through what you’re feeling.’

‘She’s also started to ask more questions about her dad too.’

Kara’s eyes widened. ‘Are you going to tell her the truth?’

‘You know I can’t, not yet.’ Star produced a tissue from her sleeve and blew her nose. Pushing her plate away from her, her face pained, she added, ‘Also …’

‘Go on,’ Kara urged.

‘I know it was just a one-off with Jack in the summer, but he was the only man I’ve felt anything for in a long time. I still think about him.’ Star paused. ‘A lot. Am I mad, Kar, for still hankering after him?’

‘Not mad, no. What was it he said to make you go all girly when you first met at the market that day? “The heart has its reasons which reason knows not”, or something like that?’

Star poked out her lip. ‘Blaise Pascal. What a quote – and well remembered, mate! I just know he really liked me, and I still can’t comprehend why, when you saw him in New York and he had a broken arm and bruises, that he said to say sorry to me. There are so many unanswered questions. But he still hasn’t responded to any of my messages.’ Star looked at the clock on the wall. ‘I’d better get back.’ She pulled on her midnight-blue long velvet coat and white cashmere beanie.

Kara got set to leave too. ‘Dear old Grandad Harry used to say that when you are going through life’s tough stuff, to say to yourself, “this too shall pass”. God, I miss him.’

‘I know you do,’ Star said. ‘And that too will pass, or get easier with time, at least. When I think of dear old Uncle Jim, what gets me through is realising how lucky I was to have him and memories of him and Auntie Flo both. Good memories. I just need to believe that the universe will work its magic if me and Jack are meant to be, and in the meantime, maybe you and my mum are right. Perhaps it is time to think of Steren Bligh’s wants and needs right now.’

As Star waved and shut the door of STAR Crystals & Jewellery behind her, Kara saw her boyfriend Billy Dillon and his twin brother, Darren, carrying a mattress across the road towards the staircase that led up to the flat above Passion Flowers.

‘Ah, there you are, sweet cheeks,’ Billy Dillon called over.

‘All right, Moony?’ The bald and chunky Darren Dillon was puffed out.

‘What are you doing with that mattress, you two?’ Kara wanted to know.

‘Frank asked if Daz had a spare bed at his place,’ Billy explained, ‘so I’ve quickly run up to help him move my old one into here.’

‘Ah, right. He doesn’t mess about, does he, Big Frank.’

Billy wiped his sweaty brow. ‘And when exactly were you going to tell me you had a mystery man moving into the shop flat, eh?’

‘I only found out myself a few hours ago.’

‘Well, just get that gorgeous aris of yours up those stairs and open the flat door for us, will ya,’ Billy said cheekily. ‘This mattress is bleedin’ heavy and I don’t want to do meself a damage.’