Page 17 of Tricks & Treats at The Cosy Cornish Bakery

‘It’s on the mantelpiece above the fire; she talks to him all the time. It’s next to her shrine to David Bowie.’

A wave of understanding crossed over Nik’s face. ‘Ziggy! Of course. I knew she was a fan but I never put two and two together.’

‘That’s her favourite Bowie phase. Ziggy Stardust. Hence her dog’s name.’

He chuckled. ‘Makes so much sense now.’

‘Yes, well, Mum has to make sense occasionally. I ate with her and Hannah and the kids the other night. I can cope if I know I can escape when it gets too much.’ She looked at him but couldn’t read his expression. ‘You probably think I’m weird, not being close to my family.’

‘Families come in all shapes and sizes.’ He shrugged. ‘My own is weird in its way.’

‘Is your dad still in Sweden?’

‘Yes, I go over once a year. I like it in the winter. He’s remarried now. Has more children.’

‘That must be hard.’

‘Harder for Mum, I think, knowing that he’s most definitely moved on.’

Chloe gazed at him with fresh appreciation. ‘And it must have been tough for you suddenly finding yourself in Cornwall after growing up in Sweden. I’ve never thought about it before. You suddenly appeared and seemed to slot right in.’

‘So you do remember me from school?’ He looked down and scuffed his trainers on the sand covered terrace.

Chloe felt her face burn.

When she didn’t answer he continued. ‘It didn’t feel to me as if I fitted in. Messed up my education having to adjust to a different way of doing things. But Mum wanted to come back home to Cornwall after the divorce so I came with her.’

‘Trust me, you were one of the cool guys straight away. One of the cool surfer dudes.’

He laughed. ‘Still am. You were in the clever clique; I was part of the surf crowd.’

‘I was in with the book nerds.’ Chloe pictured herself in sixth form, glasses slipping from the end of her nose, poring over a book in the library.

‘We all find our tribe,’ Nik said, tracing a groove in the wooden table.

‘And what happens when we lose our tribe?’ Suddenly Chloe was very aware she didn’t know who she was. Her identity had been stripped away with her high-flying London job. She wasn’t a mother like Dulcie or Hannah, wasn’t a business owner like Nik. Wasn’t comfortable with herself like Ginger.

‘I suppose we look for another. Shed our skin like a snake. Grow a new one.’ He met Chloe’s eyes. ‘Any time you want to talk, Chloe, I’m here.’

‘Thanks.’ It might have been small talk, it might even have been a pass, but Chloe sensed it was an overture of friendship. And she was in need of friends. ‘Thank you,’ she repeated, this time with more warmth. ‘I owe you a drink in any case.’

‘You do,’ Nik said cheerfully. ‘And, as you so rightly pointed out, there’s nowhere else apart from The Smugglers to get one, I’ll see you in there one night. Maybe we can get Ginger along, too?’ He leaned in. ‘Hey, was that really Joshua Ralph I saw her with at the beach clean?’

Chloe pulled a face. ‘You recognised him?’

‘Wasn’t much of a disguise. And I watched the first Captain Titan film about twelve times.’

‘You are a man without taste.’

He laughed. ‘I’ve lots of taste, Chloe. It’s all low brow. We can’t all be clever intellectuals.’

Chloe didn’t believe him. Behind that laid-back surfer image she suspected lurked a quick brain. ‘Can you do me and Ginger a favour?’

‘Of course.’

‘But you don’t know what it is yet.’

‘Doesn’t matter. Ask away.’