Christmas At The Cupcake Cafe (29 page)

Then she pulled herself together and walked into the café.

She stopped, and gasped. She couldn’t help it. She hadn’t really noticed from the outside; there were a lot of people with their faces pressed up against the glass, but she hadn’t really taken it in. But here, inside, the entire place was transformed.

Snow lined the fireplace, which was thickly wreathed with ivy. Ivy also hung down in garlands from the ceiling, linking up so the café appeared to have trees growing out of it. Every table had a display of silver ferns and holly, and there was a huge wreath on the door, so
the entire place felt like an enchanted forest. Most remarkable of all, however, was that some space had been cleared in the windows, taking out their display box. In its place was a snowy landscape, complete with white hills and a little wooden town, lit up with tiny lampposts. Figures were tobogganing down the hills; there was a school with children playing outside, a hotel with ladies in ballgowns descending the steps, and several cosily lit houses, and round it all ran a dinky steam train, with carriages with tiny people inside them. There was a station with a station master waving a flag and blowing a whistle, and vintage cars parked outside, and tucked behind the highest of the hills, against a backdrop painted with stars, was Santa Claus on his sleigh with all his reindeer. It was utterly enchanting.

‘AUNTIE ISSY!’ Louis hurtled out from behind the counter and leapt on Issy as if he hadn’t seen her for months. ‘AH DID MISS YOU!’

Issy let herself enjoy being bowled over and smothered in kisses.

‘I missed you too, my love.’

Louis beamed. ‘WE HAVE A TRAIN! DID YOU SEE OUR TRAIN? IT’S A REAL TRAIN! IT GOES ROUND AND ROUND AND THERE IS SANTA CLAUS BUT HE IS HIDING SO YOU DON’T SEE HIM!’

‘I did see it,’ said Issy. ‘It’s wonderful.’

‘Well, my wretched children don’t appreciate it,’ sniffed Caroline. ‘Why are you back
so early? Did you get a stain on my jacket?’

Louis stroked Issy’s hair. ‘Did you bring me a present?’ he whispered.

‘I did,’ whispered Issy, answering the easiest question first. She reached into her hand luggage and brought out a snow dome she’d bought at the Empire State Building. It had all the lovely buildings of New York – the Empire State, the Chrysler, the Plaza – with little taxis on the ground, and when you shook it, a snowstorm commenced. Louis held it in absolute awe, shaking it again and again in amazement.

‘I like my pwesent, Issy,’ he said, quietly.

Pearl came round from behind the counter, looking at Issy carefully. She wasn’t her normal ebullient self at all. Pearl thought it could just be jet lag. But no, it was more than that. It was as if a light had gone out somewhere behind Issy’s eyes. Her face was drawn and pinched-looking, with none of its usual rosy glow.

‘That’s a beautiful present, Iss,’ she said, using the gift as an excuse to give Issy a big hug.

Issy nearly lost it again, but felt she was pretty much all cried out. She turned to Caroline.

‘Did you do this?’

Caroline nodded. ‘Well. My interior decorator did. I think it’s dusty and clutters the house up, so I brought it here. Achilles did look a bit sad at our minimalist look, but heyho. We should absolutely win that bloody
Super Secret London
prize for best shop.’

‘It’s beautiful,’ said Issy. ‘Thank you.’

She smiled at Maya, who was expertly balancing four coffee mugs on one arm whilst pouring off perfectly frothed milk with the other hand.

‘Well, it didn’t take you long to get the hang of things.’

‘It did, actually,’ said Maya. ‘I’ve been up practising five hours a night.’

Pearl nodded to confirm the truth of this. Issy looked around. Everywhere were happy-looking people eating away. Many of her regulars waved. She wanted to cry again: it felt good to be home.

‘I thought you were all having a total disaster,’ she said.

‘A temporary blip,’ said Pearl. ‘We’re totally over it now.’

‘I see that,’ said Issy. ‘Could I possibly get a cup of coffee?’

Austin cried all the way into the office, but hid it. Darny wasn’t paying attention anyway. He washed his face in the men’s room, installed Darny with his DS next to his secretary, marched into Carmen’s office before he even had a chance to think, and signed the papers. Now he belonged to Kingall Lowestein.

‘Hey!’ said Merv, swinging by to shake his hand and have his photograph taken with Austin for the
bank’s newsletter. ‘You won’t regret it.’

Austin already did. ‘Can your PA send over those school forms?’ he said.

‘Sure thing,’ said Merv.

Issy started the batches for the next day’s cakes so they could get a bit ahead of themselves. Maya was looking at her with wide frightened eyes, imagining her instant dismissal, but Issy smiled and said they were so busy with the window display bringing shoppers in that would she like to stay for a while, and Maya grinned widely and gleefully acquiesced. Issy also thought privately that she wasn’t sure she herself was up to being jolly in the shop all the time and might take some more time off. On the other hand, what else did she have?

‘Can I come over?’

‘Yes,’ said Helena, with the fervour of someone who wasn’t getting enough adult conversation. ‘Whenever you like. Stay as long as you like. Bring wine. Chadani Imelda, stop putting that up your bottom.’

‘Um,’ said Issy. ‘Um. Can I stay the night?’

There was a pause.

‘Oh,’ said Helena.

‘Oh,’ said Issy.

‘Oh darling,’ said Helena.

‘Please don’t start me off,’ said Issy. ‘At least wait till
I get there.’

‘Bring wine,’ repeated Helena. ‘I’ve suddenly decided to stop breastfeeding. Bring LOTS of wine.’

Helena had, Issy noticed blearily, actually tidied away some of the children’s toys and clothes that normally littered the flat in anticipation of her arrival. This was almost more worrying really; that she would go to so much trouble.

‘I also went out and got some gin,’ said Helena. ‘I think gin too. And tonic, obviously. Or perhaps martinis, what do you think?’

‘When’s the last time you had a drink?’ asked Issy.

‘Two years ago.’

‘No martinis, please,’ said Issy. ‘Especially not for you; you’ll fall out the window by five past seven.’

They sat down, whilst Chadani Imelda methodically emptied Issy’s handbag of lipstick, change, tampons, and, heartbreakingly, a napkin from the New York City Cupcake Store. Issy picked it up and made to blow her nose on it.

‘If I called this number,’ she said, indicating the 212 dial code, ‘he’d probably be there right now. It’s only afternoon there.’

‘Hush,’ said Helena. ‘Hush.’

She poured them both enormous glasses
of Sauvignon Blanc.

‘Now,’ she said. ‘You. Fantastic person. Him. Total delight. How the hell did you get yourselves into this mess, and how are you going to get out, you utter bloody blithering idiots?’

After Issy had explained – she could hardly bear to think about that last night, both of them lying there, totally alone in their hugely luxurious bed – Helena took a large slurp of her wine and let out a long sigh.

‘Phew,’ she said. Then, ‘Well.’

‘So I’m meant to give up my whole life and everything I’ve ever worked for for some guy?’ said Issy, re-pouring.

‘Well, it’s not “some guy”, is it?’ said Helena. ‘It’s
Austin
.’

‘AW-IN,’ said Chadani Imelda, looking so like her mother even Issy couldn’t help smiling.

‘Why can’t the two of you just talk it through?’

‘We can’t,’ sighed Issy. ‘This is a huge, huge deal they’re offering him. Whereas the way things are in London, he might not even have a job for much longer. He doesn’t feel he can turn it down for me. And I don’t think I can destroy the Cupcake Café for him. Which makes me think …’ At this, Issy started to cry huge, racking, choking sobs, ‘… which means we can’t love each other enough.’

Helena shook her head. ‘You do. Of course you
do. But you’re human beings, and it’s not a movie. You can’t just dump everything and run off into the sunset. Life gets in the way. There’s love and then there’s things that are practical. You both have responsibilities. You have employees who rely on you, and he has Darny to look after.’