The Cherry Tree Cafe by Heidi Swain

Author:Heidi Swain [Swain, Heidi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781471149955
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Chapter 16

I knew I had no real reason to resent Ben leaving, that there was nothing real, nothing tangible between us that meant he had to stay, but nonetheless his disappearance wormed its way into my ego and steadily chipped away at my already fragile self-cnfidence. Frustratingly his absence from the pub in the evenings also took the edge off my willingness to carry on with my shifts and, coupled with my desire to focus on the sewing courses, it wasn’t many days after he went that I made my excuses and resigned.

‘We’re really sorry to see you go,’ Evelyn told me as we cleared away after my last shift, ‘but I’m pleased about the Café. It’s good that you and Jemma have found a way to realise your dreams. Too many people forget what they started out wanting or lose faith and give up. I’m really proud of you, Lizzie. You’ve both worked really hard and Tom, of course. I hope it’s a huge success for all of you.’

‘Thanks, Evelyn,’ I smiled, ‘so do I.’

As Deborah suggested, I had signed up to an online small business start-up course and told myself, as I worked steadily through the information, that running another session was the real reason why I was giving up the shifts in the pub. I had a nice little nest egg sitting in the bank so money wasn’t a problem and I knew that being able to dedicate all my time to the new venture was a total luxury. I didn’t mention my tumultuous feelings about Ben Fletcher to anyone.

‘So I guess I’ll see you Friday then,’ Evelyn said as she began cashing up. ‘Are you fully booked?’

‘No, not yet,’ I told her. ‘There’s still room for a couple more people, but I’m not too worried if all the spaces aren’t taken. To be honest I hadn’t been expecting to run another session so soon!’

‘So who has signed up so far?’

‘Well there’s Helen, of course,’ I explained. ‘She missed out first time round because her son was sick. She was the person who asked if I’d consider running it again, actually. Apparently Sarah and Rachel haven’t stopped going on about how much fun they had. Then there’s a lady called Angela, she was on the first course and enjoyed it so much that she wanted to come again.’

‘Sounds like you made quite an impression!’ Evelyn laughed.

‘Then there’s a woman called Alison,’ I continued, ‘but I’ve no idea who she is.’

‘Oh, that’ll be Ali Fletcher,’ Evelyn nodded, ‘she’s the only Alison round here.’

‘Ali who?’

‘Fletcher,’ Evelyn said again. ‘Ben’s mum. I dare say she’s missing him now he’s rushed off to be with his father and you never know, what with her being such an old gossip,’ she said, eyeing me astutely, ‘we might even find out why he went off in such a hurry.’

‘Oh, I’m sure he had his reasons,’ I said evasively.

‘Well anyway,’ Evelyn laughed, thankfully abandoning the subject, ‘I’m not so sure you’ll be able to get me to sew in a straight line, but we’ll give it a go.

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