Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop (26 page)

Once in the bathroom, Anna locked the door behind her. It was the first time she’d pulled the lock across – normally she liked to leave the door open a crack so she could talk to Jon through it while he pottered about. But things felt different now.

She sat down on the wicker chair by the bath, letting the water run hot, and pouring a citrus bubble bath under the tap.

She waited for the bath to fill, and absent-mindedly picked up the embroidered cushion from the chair, running her fingers over the stitching. It was one of the few things she’d chosen to take from her grandmother’s house. She could remember Vivien making it, sewing and half-watching
Downton Abbey
. For a moment she felt as if her grandmother was in the room with her.

When Vivien was living around the corner, even when Anna was in her crummy rented flat, she had always felt at home in Brighton. And yet now, in her own home, with the man she was supposed to be in love with in the next room, she had never felt more alone.

This doesn’t feel right
, Anna thought, as she watched water fill the bath. She hugged the cushion into her chest, and the words she said out loud were hushed by the running water. ‘But I can’t just give up, Granny V. Can I?’

On the specials board –ß Blueberry Sorbet

It took her a little while to admit it to herself, but from the moment Imogen had fallen asleep chatting to Finn in that fairy-lit wigwam she’d started to feel a glimmer – just a glimmer – of attraction to him.

It was Sunday morning, and she and Anna were getting things ready for the bandstand event, but she was conscious of the fact that Finn was just a few metres away. She’d be seeing him later for the first time since they’d been in Glastonbury together, a fortnight ago. She’d spent longer than usual in front of the mirror that morning, adjusting her hair, threading in a small plait, and putting on an old-gold necklace with her red tank top and jeans, to dress them up a bit.

‘Right, here’s the bunting,’ Evie announced, as she breezed into the ice cream shop. Brightly coloured fabric triangles were wrapped around her neck, and she had the other lengths of bunting pulled tight so as not to tangle them, with her arms spread wide. ‘Up all night I was with this,
you know,’ she said, a smile on her face. ‘I hope you ladies appreciate it.’

‘It’s beautiful,’ Anna said, dashing over, and cooing over the mixture of lace and colourful fabrics that Evie had picked out and sewn together with strings of blue ribbon.

‘Why, thank you,’ Evie said, giving them a bow.

‘Are we putting that up on the bandstand?’ Imogen asked, taking a length into her hand and running her fingers over the fabric.

‘There’s one long one for the bandstand,’ Evie said, pointing to it, ‘and another for your van. You’re selling out of the van today, aren’t you?’

‘Yes,’ Imogen said. After the shaky beginning, the van was really beginning to come into its own as part of the business. And today it would mean they’d be able to sell ice cream from right in the middle of the party.

‘You know what?’ Evie said. ‘It’s a shame your grandmother’s not going to be here. Nothing Vivien liked more than bringing people together.’

‘You’re right,’ Imogen said. ‘She would have loved this.’

‘Did I ever tell you about the Bring and Buy sale we hosted out here on the front?’ Evie said. Imogen and Anna shook their heads. ‘It was when they were threatening to close the children’s ward at the hospital. We had stalls lined up full of jumble that your grandmother sorted through and priced up ready to sell on. We had hordes of people down here – kids and their parents, local actors and politicians, the newspapers. Vivien had a way of getting word around.’

‘Did you make much money?’ Imogen asked.

‘About five hundred pounds, I think,’ Evie said. ‘Can’t quite remember now. But the real outcome was that the local press coverage drew attention to the campaign. This was before you had social networking and all that, of course, and it wasn’t easy getting people to take notice. The next week over a thousand people marched in protest, along the front here, and the government was forced to change their plans.’

‘What a great story,’ Anna said. ‘Whatever Granny V was doing, she made it fun to be part of. I miss that.’

‘I guess it falls to us now,’ Imogen said. ‘We should make today a great event in her honour.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ Evie said.

Anna checked her watch, then glanced back at Imogen and Evie, excitement and nerves dancing in her brown eyes. ‘It’s nearly midday,’ she said. ‘We start in an hour. Shall we go out and get things set up before the rabble arrive?’

‘Why don’t we start over there?’ Imogen said as they stepped out onto the seafront, pointing towards the bandstand. ‘String the bunting up. Hang on, I’ll just grab a ladder.’

She returned a moment later, and Evie propped the ladder up against the wrought-iron.

‘I’ll do it,’ Imogen said, taking hold of the end of the bunting and climbing the first couple of rungs.

‘You most certainly will not,’ Evie said. ‘I’ve made this, and I’ll put it up myself – won’t have you taking all the glory.’ She laughed good-naturedly. ‘I’m as fit now as I ever was. My old bones haven’t given up yet.’

‘What’s going on here?’ Imogen heard his voice before she saw him. Deep, sure and steady. A tingle ran from the back of her neck right down her arms. ‘Looks like you’re really putting Evie to work.’ Imogen turned to see Finn’s smiling face.

Evie gave him a glare from her position balanced precariously at the top of the ladder, her hands overflowing with bunting. ‘I’ve had this argument once already,’ she said.

‘She insisted,’ Imogen said.

‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’ Finn said.

Imogen’s eyes met his. Warm and smiling. She melted a bit inside, but did her best to hide it.

Evie continued to tie the string of bright triangles to the metal curves of the bandstand as Imogen held the base of the ladder steady. The sea breeze sent the flags fluttering.

Inside the bandstand, the community brass band tuned up in the golden glow of the July sunshine, and the sound of the trumpet carried on the wind.

‘A summer of music,’ Finn said quietly to Imogen. In an instant the day that they’d spent together at Glastonbury flooded back. The lazy morning out by the jazz stage, their wander together through the circus field – getting their fortunes read in the tarot tent, then making it back to the main stage to see the final day’s headline act. Being with him, talking, laughing, had felt so easy. ‘Seems like only a minute ago we were at the festival, doesn’t it?’

Imogen looked at Finn, her hair whipping across her face in salty strands.

‘Finn,’ came a masculine yell from the surf shop.

‘Andy. I think that’s my cue,’ he said. He touched Imogen’s shoulder gently. ‘But I’ll catch you later, I hope.’

She nodded, and then he was gone.

Evie, looking down from the top of her ladder, raised an eyebrow and smiled. ‘Is there something I’ve missed?’

By mid-afternoon the seafront party was in full swing. Throngs of revellers surrounded the bandstand as Jess’s wedding band played their way through Motown classics. The opening chords of ‘Heard it Through the Grapevine’ rang out and couples swayed along to the beat. At the front of the crowd a small space cleared, and young children were soon bopping along, twirling each other round. At the back Imogen joined the others in belting out the lyrics with joyous, summery abandon.

Imogen was on her break from the van, and she could see Anna working hard dishing out the ices. Last night they’d made an enormous vat of chocolate-and-macadamia ice cream, which was to die for, and also a choice of summery sorbets – blueberry and a fresh, zingy and gloriously simple lemon and mint.

One of their customers strolled past Imogen, scooping a chunk of chocolate out of the tub she was carrying. ‘This stuff is amazing, Paul. We really must get down to this part of the seafront more often. And did you see the new range they had out there – “Hepburn’s Glorious Ice Cream for Hounds”? Dog ice cream! Brilliant.’

Imogen felt a glow inside on hearing the words. From where she was standing, today was looking very much like a success.

‘How are you doing?’ Finn said, reappearing by her side. She gave a little jump of surprise and then smiled.

‘Good, thank you,’ she said. ‘We’re giving Glastonbury a real run for its money, aren’t we?’

‘Indeed,’ he said, laughing. ‘The barbecue’s been stormed! And with all the new custom, we’ve also had quite a few people sign up for surf lessons over the next couple of weeks. I thought I’d let Andy take over for a while.’

‘Has it tired you out?’ Imogen asked.

‘Not really,’ Finn said. ‘I just wanted to come over here and talk to you.’

‘Talk to me about what?’ Imogen said coyly.

‘Come here,’ Finn said. He took her by the hand, and wove them both through the crowd and back towards the Arches. They carried on walking, the sun beating down, until they reached an arch that was empty and unused, with some deckchairs stacked up in the corner.

‘Take a seat,’ Finn said, grabbing two of the deckchairs and opening them, putting them out facing the beach. Squinting at him with suspicion, Imogen sat down on one, relaxing as she took in the view.

‘I shouldn’t really be here,’ she said. ‘I told Anna I’d only be a few minutes.’

‘This won’t take long,’ Finn said.

Imogen sat back in the chair, and enjoyed the familiar
feeling of the sun’s heat on the bare skin of her arms and legs. If she ignored the piercing screech of seagulls, she could almost imagine herself back on the island.

She opened her eyes slowly and saw a couple of dogs bobbing up and down in the surf, barking as they tried to catch hold of a large ball their owner had thrown.

‘I was just wondering … ’ Finn started, and it was then that Imogen saw he wasn’t as confident as he usually seemed. There was a slight, only just noticeable, tremble in his voice. For the first time in his company that day, she relaxed.

‘Yes,’ she said calmly, raising an eyebrow.

‘ … if you might be free later, when all of this is over,’ he said. ‘It’s just – I enjoyed the time we spent together the other weekend, Imogen. And to be honest, for the last couple of weeks in Cornwall, all I’ve been thinking about is seeing you again.’

She scrutinised his face, doubting that he could really be serious, but saw nothing there but kindness – and warmth. He touched her hair gently, smoothing it back behind her ear.

His hand came to rest on her tanned shoulder, and he brought her gently towards him, kissing her on her lips. She moved in closer, and felt the smoothness of his skin. Her hands found the steadiness of his upper arms, his chest. For a moment the whole world, apart from the two of them, dissolved away. The distant sound of the waves, and the band playing, was the only soundtrack as she lost herself in his kiss.

After a moment, they were interrupted by Imogen’s phone buzzing in her pocket. She tried to ignore it, but as soon as the ringing stopped, a message buzzed through. With an apologetic look, she checked it:

Crazy queues down here, Imo. Give me a hand? A x

Imogen pulled gently away from Finn’s embrace. ‘Sounds like Anna needs me,’ she said.

‘Don’t let me keep you,’ he said, smiling. ‘I know better than to stand between you two and ice cream.’

‘You know where to find me later,’ she said.

‘Yes. And I’ll be there.’

‘So it went well today?’ Jon asked.

‘Really well,’ Anna said. They were sitting opposite each other in a café in the Lanes where they’d arranged to meet once the event was over. ‘Hundreds of people there, and most of them bought our ice creams. A really nice community spirit. Just a shame Granny V couldn’t have been there to see it.’

‘Sounds good,’ Jon said.

‘It was a shame you and Alfie couldn’t make it,’ she said softly.

‘Yes, it was. I just dropped him back with Mia.’

‘It’s just …’ Anna hesitated. ‘Couldn’t you have brought him down with you? It’s not far from the Sea-Life Centre. He would have enjoyed it.’

‘I didn’t really feel like it today,’ he said. ‘All those people.’ Anna steeled herself. The tension in the flat had been getting steadily worse over the past few days. Something had to give.

‘Look, Jon, it feels as if you’re being off with me. Is there something we need to talk about?’

He looked uncomfortable and shifted in his chair. ‘No, it’s fine. I’m just tired.’

‘You might want to, but I can’t pretend any more,’ Anna said.

‘What do you mean?’ Jon said, weakly.

‘You. Me. Something’s changed and I’m finally ready to accept that. But I think I deserve some honesty about how you’re feeling. I know we said we’d give this a second chance, but I’m not convinced that we can. Do you still have feelings for Mia?’

Jon paused. ‘Alfie deserves—’

‘Don’t pin it on him,’ Anna said. ‘That isn’t fair.’

‘OK,’ Jon said. ‘I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. When Mia and I separated, I was furious. She’d damaged my pride by cheating on me, and it’s taken me a long while to see that what happened was partly down to my behaviour too.’

‘So what … Do you feel more at peace with things now?’

‘Kind of. I feel like I was too quick to give up. I didn’t put Alfie’s needs first, and I want to do that now. I’m ready to take responsibility for what happened back then, for neglecting him.’

‘You’re a good father,’ Anna said. ‘You’ve already shown that.’

‘But I could do more. Anna, Mia and I both feel that Alfie would benefit from having us together. And more than that, it’s what I’ve realised I want.’

Anna heard his words but couldn’t take them in. She felt as if any control she might have had over the situation had
been pulled away from her in an instant.

‘I’m sorry, Anna, I know it’s not exactly what I promised you. But I’ve been given a second chance at happiness, and I want to take it.’

‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’ Anna said, choking the words out. ‘“
Not exactly what you promised
”? Pretty far from it, Jon. So this is really it, then. We’re breaking up.’