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Magda held out her arms and, after a moment’s hesitation, Jack walked into her embrace. She held him tightly, murmuring into his ear: ‘I’m so sorry, Jack. I’m so very, very sorry.’
Both of them were in tears by the time Jack stepped back. He scraped his hands roughly across his cheeks.‘Sorry. I don’t usually go around sobbing on people’s shoulders.’
‘You’ve had a rubbish time recently.’ Magda rubbed her hand up and down Jack’s arm. ‘And my shoulder is always available if you need it.’
He nodded, twisting his mouth and sniffing. ‘Thanks, I’ve been meaning to call round to see you, to have a chat about Dad, but the shop’s been busy and I don’t like to leave him for too long.’
‘Of course, I understand. I’ve been wondering how you are, but your dad always seems to be around whenever I call in to the shop.’
‘He’s keeping busy, like me. I’m actually all right most of the time but every now and again it hits me that Dad’s time is running out.’
‘I know. But he’s here now and we can make the most of that.’
Jack pulled himself tall, all traces of the schoolboy gone. ‘You’re right. We’ve got time to tell him everything we need to and to make more memories. I’ll arrange to bring Archie down as often as I can. Dad’ll like that.’
She agreed that Stan would and stood watching as Jack went back to the shop. He waved from the door and disappeared inside.
Magda headed for home. She needed to put the finishing touches to Rosie’s wedding cake, and a large order was due to arrive for the ice-cream parlour. But she couldn’t get Jack’s words out of her head: We’ve got time to tell him everything we need to.
For years she’d kept her counsel and her feelings for Stan to herself. It had been hard, yet she’d done it, and had managed to live a relatively peaceful life. But almost telling Stan the truth the other day, the truth about how she felt, seemed to have re-ignited those feelings she’d pushed down for so long.
The genie was out of the bottle and she wasn’t sure how to shove it back in.
TWENTY-TWO
ALYSSA
‘Hi.’ Alyssa poked her head round Magda’s back door. ‘Sorry to disturb you but I wondered if you had a little bit of sugar I could have?’
When Magda looked up from the icing she was piping onto a large cake, Alyssa noticed an unaccustomed air of weariness about her landlady this morning.
‘Yes, of course. If there’s one thing I’m never short of, it’s sugar. It’s in that cupboard over there. Help yourself.’
‘Thanks,’ said Alyssa. ‘I know it’s not great for my teeth but I can’t drink coffee without it.’
Actually, Alyssa always drank her coffee black and sugar-free, but she’d been worried about Magda for days. Their chat in the Smugglers Haunt was on her mind, and her concern had ramped up after hearing about Stan’s illness – an illness she wasn’t supposed to know anything about.
‘Have you brought something to put the sugar in?’ asked Magda, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead and leaving a smear of icing there.
Alyssa shook her head, her plan to covertly check on Magda falling at the first hurdle.‘I’m afraid not. I forgot.’
‘No problem. I’m sure I’ve got a container you can borrow.’ Magda put down her icing bag and pulled a small plastic pot from a cupboard. She poured sugar into it, snapped the lid on tight and handed it over.
‘Thanks so much. You’re a life saver.’ Alyssa glanced at the table. ‘How are you getting on with Rosie’s wedding cake?’
‘Have a closer look if you like.’
When Alyssa stepped nearer to the cake, a rich aroma of dried fruits and alcohol tickled her nose.‘Is there a fruit cake underneath that icing? It smells very alcoholic.’
Magda smiled. ‘Rosie asked for a single tier, rich fruit cake, and I’ve been feeding it with whisky. The main icing was done a while ago and now I’m adding the final embellishments. What do you think?’
Alyssa put her hands on her hips and studied the enormous cake in front of her. It was a real work of art, its frost-white icing topped with a cascade of carefully crafted flowers in blue and yellow.
‘It’s absolutely beautiful. It looks like the clifftop in front of Driftwood House as it is right now, blooming with spring flowers.’
‘Perfect! That’s the look I’m going for. I just hope that Rosie and Liam will like it.’
‘I’m sure they’ll love it. Their wedding’s going to be quite an event, isn’t it?’
