at Mia complete with sly smirk – ‘but you can manage on your own, right?’
‘Sure. Go on, Cal. I’ll be leaving in a minute anyway. Enjoy your evening.’
‘Yeah, you, too, Mia. See you later.’
Mia waved them off. Well, she waved Cal off. She didn’t care about waving Hannah off. She hadn’t realised that it was already Friday night; the days seemed to fly by and she was losing track of them more often than not. Mia returned the sopping wet mop to its green bucket and took it to the stockroom after rinsing it out. She ensured everything was switched off, locked the diner and went home.
***
The next day Mia, Pollyanna and Marco were met with a busy Saturday morning. Out-of-towners would often spend a weekend in Sunset Bay when the weather forecast promised sunshine and heatwaves, renting rooms in one of the many local B&BS that sat nestled in the town. The beach attracted attention from near and far, as did the clifftop walks and charming narrow streets with shops tucked away in the corners.
As Marco began preparing for a busy morning, golden-stacked pancakes no doubt appearing in orders regularly, Mia spotted Cal entering the diner with Hannah’s hand tucked within his. She looked away quickly, hoping she hadn’t been caught, and then smiled as they approached, as if she’d only just noticed they’d come in.
‘All right, Mia!’ Hopping up onto a barstool, as cool and casual as always, he ordered himself and Hannah a strawberry milkshake to share. ‘Busy this morning.’ His eyebrows rose as he glanced around the diner. ‘Sure you don’t want me to work a few extra hours to help you out?’
‘Cal!’ Hannah squeaked with a slap to his arm. ‘We’re going for a picnic today. You’re not working. I won’t let you.’ She folded her arms petulantly like a spoilt brat and pouted. Mia forced her eyes not to roll and instead smiled sweetly at Cal.
‘Thanks for the offer, Cal, but we’ll manage. Don’t worry.’ Cal and Marco each had a day off over the weekend. Cal worked the Sunday while Marco worked the Saturday. They’d agreed on the days themselves and Mia had been grateful for no fist-fights taking place. Pollyanna was happy-go-lucky and didn’t mind working throughout the weekend. She was off on her travels soon anyway, so needed all of the working hours she could get.
Mia moved away from the couple and began preparing the strawberry milkshake. The diner was buzzing with chatter and laughter, and it was one of Mia’s favourite things to listen to. She knew that Grandma Dolly had loved to see her diner in such a way, a hive of activity, a mixture of visitors and locals alike filling up the booths.
‘Thought any more about the anniversary party yet?’ Pollyanna popped up beside Mia. ‘Please say we can dress up. It can be, like, half an anniversary, half my leaving party? I’ve already been looking at dresses online and have found the most gorgeous polka-dot one. It’s got my name written all over it.’ She winked. ‘So, what’s the verdict?’
‘I haven’t had chance to ask anyone yet. Fancy having a word with the locals for me and seeing what they think? It’s been non-stop this morning, plus you visit the tables more than me.’
‘Okay!’ Pollyanna picked up the coffee jug and did a round of refilling mugs, while at the same time pinpointing the locals and asking for their opinion.
Mia delivered the strawberry milkshake to Cal and Hannah once she had finished decorating it. It was rosy pink with a delicious mound of heavenly, squirty cream on top, completed with a single cherry glistening beneath the diner lights. ‘There you go. Enjoy.’
As Mia wiped and cleaned, made more milkshakes and ice-cream sundaes, she couldn’t help but keep one eye trained on the couple at the counter. There was no denying they made an attractive pair: Cal, with his shimmery brown hair and green eyes, Hannah with her bright blonde locks and big blue eyes. It’s not bloody fair, Mia grumbled in her head. She comforted herself with the fact that she’d never have time for a partner anyway, not with working in the diner non-stop. It soothed her, she supposed, to know that even if Cal had been interested in her, she wouldn’t be able to begin a relationship with him anyway. Okay. What was she saying? Of course it didn’t bloody soothe her. She watched, admittedly full of greener than green jealousy, as Cal and Hannah slurped their milkshake through their straws at the same time, faces close together, blonde and brown hair mingling.
‘So!’ Pollyanna, as always, seemed to appear out of thin air. ‘It turns out that the locals are quite fond of the 50s costume party idea, and are eager to know when it will be happening.’ Pollyanna’s eyes were lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. ‘Does that mean that the costume party idea is a yes?’ she squealed quietly, trying desperately to contain her mounting excitement.
Mia thought about it. The date of the anniversary was over a week away. That was enough time to gather everything she’d need, wasn’t it? Sure it was. It just meant that she’d need to order her dress ASAP to ensure it arrived before the evening of the party. ‘We’re going to need to send out invitations,’ Mia said slowly, hoping Pollyanna would catch on but without giving the game away too much.
‘Does that mean what I think it means?’ She was wriggling on the spot now, her mouth gradually widening into a huge, excited smile.
Mia nodded with her own grin in place. ‘It does.’
‘YAY!’
As Laurie sped down the motorway towards her destination, she couldn’t help but take a trip down memory lane.
She’d left London a bit later than she’d originally planned. What was supposed to have been two days in the hotel had turned into almost a week mainly because she’d grown nervous about her decision and had spent ages dithering over it. In the end, though, she had picked up her bags, checked out and forced herself to follow through with what she’d planned. Better late than never, she reasoned.
There hadn’t been anything magical about her and Neil’s relationship; they’d just been two people who’d met and happened to hit it off. Neil was attractive in that overly confident, huge-ego kind of way, with his expensive suits, whiter-than-white shirts and impeccably shiny shoes. Thinking about him now, feeling stronger than ever as she increased the distance between them, Laurie saw his hair as being too neatly cut, his nails too carefully trimmed and his breath a little overly done on the mints. It was as if catching him in bed with the nameless red-head had shone a different sort of spotlight on him. No longer was he the macho man who had everything going for him and who everyone, including her parents, thought was the best thing since sliced bread. Now he appeared to Laurie as an incredibly skilled liar with just the right amount of slimy charm to pull the wool over her eyes, his appearance and manner all joining in as part of the trickery.
The first time she’d met Neil, she’d been striding down the high street towards the tube with a takeout coffee clutched in one hand, her holdall in the other. She’d rounded a corner and bang. They’d smacked right into each other and the coffee had splattered all over his expensive suit. She’d been mortified, although in all fairness he hadn’t been looking where he was going, so engrossed was he in his phone. She’d apologised profusely to him while he’d stared down at his coffee-stained shirt aghast, as if he couldn’t quite believe that it had happened. ‘Do you have any idea how much this suit …’ And then he’d looked up, locked eyes with her and taken her in properly. They’d watched each other for a few moments. Laurie had wondered what on earth he’d been doing as he stood there, evidently sizing
