too. And you know you are always welcome if you ever want to come and stay.’
‘Thank you.’
‘So lovely to hear from you, Emma.’
‘Yes, it’s been good to chat. Lots of love.’
They still felt like family. Just speaking to Angela brought back so many memories, happy times and the saddest of times too. After putting the phone down, Emma realised she had tears in her eyes, but the best antidote for sadness was work, Emma had found. So she was soon in the shop’s kitchen, making buttery flaky pastry ready to turn into chocolate croissants that would be just-baked and still warm for the arrival of her customers in the morning. Another day with customers to serve and chat with, chocolates to craft, bills to pay, a spaniel to walk, and a heart to keep healing.
With Easter now over, it was time to change The Chocolate Shop’s window display. Emma loved the changing of the seasons, seeing it as a new chance to be creative – with the chocolates she made, the drinks and cakes she served, and the styling of the shop itself. For this summer she had decided on a harbourside, coastal theme for her window extravaganza, reflecting the beautiful setting of their village, which would hopefully help to draw in the summer customers.
Holly loved getting involved with the window displays too. She had agreed to come in on Tuesday afternoon, straight from the Sixth Form bus, to give her a hand. A while ago, Emma had found a scrap of blue fishing net on the beach, which she’d taken home and washed thoroughly. She’d known it might come in handy one day, and this was now set out at the base of the window. She carefully placed some pieces of driftwood, smoothed and weathered to a bleached grey, on top of it and an old-fashioned indigo glass float. From the craft shop halfway down the hill she had bought a wonderful model coble boat and intended filling the hull with chocolate truffles, and she also had three small, very cute wood-painted puffins. Along with a selection of her moulded chocolate shapes – seashells, anchors, starfish, and packs of chocolate puffins and seals – it would look delightful (hopefully!).
Holly had helped her place all the items carefully and was now standing outside, judging the final effect and getting Emma to tweak the positions so it all looked just right. There was lots of nodding, pointing and thumbs-up signs going on.
‘Your turn now. Go on out for the final approval,’ Holly said to Em with a grin, as she walked back in.
Emma was soon standing outside. ‘Hmm, pretty good. Just up a bit with that puffin there, yes. Perfect. Yep, I’m pleased with that.’ Emma gave a final thumbs-up sign to Holly through the glass.
Just then, Adam came past. ‘Looking good!’ he exclaimed.
‘The window display or Holly?’ Emma grinned, as Holly was inside beaming out at the unexpected sight of her tall, sandy-haired boyfriend.
‘Both,’ he announced wisely with a grin. ‘See you later, Holly,’ he called out. ‘Can’t stop. I’m on a super-speedy mission for gluten-free bread. I’m hoping Sheila’s got some left in stock. Got a hotel customer with dietary needs they hadn’t specified before arrival.’
‘See you,’ Emma said as he strode on by.
‘By-ee!’ Holly was waving animatedly from the other side of the window.
Em walked back inside, ‘Hey, look at you, grinning like a Cheshire cat. So how are things going with you two? I don’t suppose I really need to ask, looking at that beam of a smile,’ Emma said, grinning.
‘Great. He is just lush, Em, and we are getting on so well.’ There was virtually a swoon going on. If they were back in the Victorian days the old smelling salts would be coming out right now.
‘Well that’s brilliant. I’m happy for you, Hols. Now then, let’s get back to work.’
Just after closing time the phone rang.
‘Hi Em, it’s a lovely evening. Pete’s got one of his golf committee meetings and I wondered if you fancy coming down to The Fisherman’s Arms? We could sit outside with a drink and watch the sun go down. What do you think?’ It was Bev.
‘Sounds perfect, yes.’ It had been a busy day – one of the ones when Bev worked at the surgery, so Em had been multitasking. A chilled-out evening might be just what she needed.
‘I could ask Ali too. It’s been a little while since the three of us have had a catch-up.’
‘Great. What time?’ Em glanced at her watch; just after six. She had closed the shop an hour ago and had been thinking of making some more chocolate-shaped puffins and seals, but she had felt tired and ended up reading her book for a while instead.
‘In about half an hour so we can sit out while it’s still warm?’
‘Yep, I’ll meet you there, shall I?’
‘Yes, great. I love it when a plan comes together. I’ll ring Ali straight away.’
Emma had made some lovely friends since arriving at Warkton-by-the-Sea, having known no one at all in the village at the start of her Chocolate Shop venture seven years ago and at her darkest of times, her friends and her family had become a bit of a life-support system, especially Bev.
The three ladies were soon installed at a wooden picnic bench in the back garden of The Fisherman’s Arms, the village pub, which stood proudly on the rise of land to one side of the harbour, nestled by old stone fishermen’s cottages. There was an area of grass to the rear of the pub, and a little gate that led out to the coastal footpath on one side, and some steps that led down to the harbour on the other. She often let her mind stray to times gone by, to when the fishing fleet would be bringing in their catch of herring or the like, ready to take to the smokehouses on the other side of the street, all but one now converted into a restaurant and cottages. It must have been a hard life, with the North Sea always cold, at times treacherous, the women left at home mending the nets, nursing hungry children. They would have known grief and loves lost, for sure.
‘So, been busy today, Em?’ Bev brought her back to the here and now.
‘Yeah, it has actually. Even though the schools’ Easter holidays are over, there’re still plenty of tourists about. I think the fine weather has drawn them out.’
‘Ah, yes. The village is pretty busy. I had trouble getting parked today.’
‘Been up to much, Ali?’ Em asked.
‘Head down at work too. An outbreak of the norovirus has kept us pretty hectic, hasn’t it Bev?’ Ali worked with Bev at the doctors’ surgery.
‘Yeah, it’s been like D & V city. Oh, the joys.’
‘D & V?’ Emma quizzed, then wished she hadn’t.
‘Diarrhoea and vomiting,’ answered Bev matter-of-factly.
‘Ah, I see.’
‘Though,’ Ali continued, ‘me and Dan are planning a breakaway soon. Got a cottage booked for a long weekend down in the Yorkshire Dales.’
‘Ooh,
