‘Rosa, just the lady.’ The friendly, ruddy face of Pete from Sea & Save lit up with a huge smile on seeing her. ‘We are done here now – bit proud of our efforts, though I say it myself. We saved at least one hundred birds, we did – all safe, well and back in their natural environments again.’
He followed Rosa as she made her way back behind the counter.
‘That’s truly amazing. Well done you,’ she said. ‘What can I get you? On the house, obviously.’
‘That’s very kind, luvvie, but Anthea, that’s my wife, she’s in the car and it’s market day in Polhampton so I’m not going to stop. I just wondered if I could give you this for the counter.’ He held up a green plastic charity box with the now familiar Sea & Save logo on it. ‘We’re hoping that we could fill it quite quickly now the residents know how we’ve helped clean up their beach. Would you mind having it on your counter?’
‘No, of course not. And do you know what? I will put all my tips in there too from now on.’
‘And mine,’ Sara shouted through.
‘Aw, you’re a pair of lovely ladies, you are. There’s a number on the back if it gets full, but we usually come around and empty them every couple of months anyway. Right, better get out there before my beloved starts moaning.’
As soon as the door shut behind Pete, Nate appeared from the toilet.
‘You were a long time,’ Rosa said.
Nate made a face and rubbed his tummy. ‘Bit of an upset.’
‘Oh dear. Better make sure you’re not up the top of that ladder when you get caught short, won’t you?’ Laughing at her own wit, Rosa joined Sara in the kitchen.
‘Nice idea to do this for the charity,’ Sara said.
‘Yes. I’ve always supported the lifeboats, especially after they rescued me and Hot, but this is just as important.’ Rosa thought for a moment, then exclaimed, ‘That’s it! Genius!’
‘What is?’ Sara looked baffled.
Rosa was completely animated. ‘This has just given me the best idea of how I can pass the shop on fairly and in a way that would have made great-grandfather Ned and great-grandmother Queenie proud. Yesss!’
CHAPTER 16
Rosa did a double-take at the front of her mother’s home as she walked up the hill towards the Lobster Pot: she had never seen Seaspray Cottage looking so colourful. Rosa had promised Jacob that she would take Ugly, Pongo and the Duchess on the beach this morning while he and Raff decorated the pub for Halloween.
With so much going on with the café and the shop, preparing Halloween decorations and goodies for the half-term influx of visitors, she had surprised herself with how well she was coping despite Josh being away. She hadn’t even needed to go and see Alec for a counselling-type chat. Technology enabled her and Josh to message, talk and see each other every day, so she could feel his warmth through the screen. Sub-consciously heeding Mary’s suggestion that Josh should come back after the fireworks, Rosa had suggested to her husband that it made more sense and would save money if he just worked through and came back when the contract was over.
Mary was dead right about Rosa not wanting to go to an airport and fly on her own for the very first time. It all seemed a bit daunting. Josh had, of course, totally understood and promised that in the New Year they would go on their much talked-about belated honeymoon to somewhere special, like the Maldives. Where, in his words, they could ‘endlessly fornicate in complete peace, quiet and paradise’. Rosa looked forward to that idea. With no Hot, shop, café or external forces to side-track them, it could be a time of blissful coitus.
Hot pulled on his lead towards the direction of Mary’s front door. The woman opened it wearing her old green dressing gown, and yawning.
‘It’s not like you not to be up and dressed, Mother,’ Rosa said. ‘Are you all right?’
Without saying a word, Mary beckoned them into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Merlin screeched and tore upstairs. Hot had the sense not to follow but to plonk himself down beside the fire, though not before sneakily hoovering up the little bit of wet cat food that was left in his arch enemy’s bowl. From the top of the stairs, Merlin heard the bowl rattling on the tiled kitchen floor and he hissed, his tail puffing up with outrage.
‘I’ve just got up, because I was up all night carving that pumpkin and decorating the window,’ Mary explained.
‘But it’s not Halloween for a week.’
‘I know, but I’m all set for trick-and-treating now, although the kids sometimes get a bit scared, as when they see my long black hair, they think I could be a witch.’ Mary fetched down two mugs. ‘I’m doing a tarot reading and maybe a séance at midnight on the actual night, if you fancy joining us? Colette from the shop is coming and Edie Rogers, so far.’
‘I’ll let you know. The boys are doing a special Halloween menu with live music, so I said, if they need me, I may help them clear up afterwards.’
‘OK, duck. Well, I expect they will be busy as the Ship probably isn’t doing anything special this year.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘Sheila’s got cancer. Quite aggressive, so Edie tells me. She still does her cleaning down there and you know how she loves to talk.’
‘Oh no. As much as no love is lost between us, that’s awful. I didn’t think Sheila looked very well when I saw her after the storm. Poor Luke.’
‘Yes, and Tom. That’s her other son. I don’t think you met him when you first came down.’
‘I remember her mentioning him.’
‘They moved up to Bristol, him and his wife Martha and their kids, a while back. He changed his job, I think.’
‘Luke hasn’t been down since last Christmas,’ Rosa stated.
Mary put her left hand to her heart and placed her right index finger clumsily on Rosa’s lips. ‘Take care, child. For bonds that are woven in sadness are stronger than the ties of joy and pleasure.’
‘Mother!’ Rosa pushed Mary’s hand away.
Mary quickly turned and started pouring boiling water on top of the tea bags. ‘You have got time for a drink, haven’t you, Rosa?’
Hearing about Sheila made Rosa suddenly aware that she was always just ‘popping in’ to her mum’s and never spending quality time with her. Especially as they still had so many lost years to catch up on. She pulled her phone out of her bag.
‘Yes, of course, I’d love a cuppa. I will text Jacob now to say I’ll be with him in an hour. What is Halloween all about, anyway? I’ve always just thought of it as a lot of commercial rubbish if I’m honest.’
Mary looked horrified. ‘Let me tell you all about it.’ As Rosa settled back into her chair and took a sip of tea, her mother went on: ‘Today, yes, Halloween, is celebrated all around the world with sweets, costumes and trick-or-treaters, but all this began as a celebration for the dead to return to the living world and reconnect with their families.’
‘Oh, so that is the spooky connotation then?’
‘Well, if you want to look at talking to your loved ones as that, then I guess so, but having that gift, I see it as a beautiful thing.’ Putting some sugar into her tea, Mary sat comfortably at the kitchen table and went on, ‘Halloween is the night preceding All Hallows Day, which is November the first. This date has long been considered one of the most magical nights of the year – a night on which the “wall” that separates the living from the dead is at its thinnest.’