Page 68 of Barging In

“Not totally, anyway,” Clem added.

She huffed a quiet laugh. “Well, I’m sure your parents would have something to say about it.”

“Oh, no doubt.”

“How do they feel about your recent life changes?”

Clem chuckled. “Don’t get me started.”

Victoria tilted her head, urging her to continue.

“Well, Mum doesn’t stop going on about everything I gave up, but she’s coming round — even more now she knows about Florence. I’d kept it as a surprise for her until their recent visit. My dad is fairly nonplussed about it all. He wants me to be happy, though I think deep down he worries.”

“I imagine to them money equals security.”

“Money isn’t everything,” Clem countered with a shrug. “I’m a lot happier now, even if I’m more stressed by everything. It’s hard to find that happy medium in life.”

“Mmm,” Victoria mused, wondering if a happy medium was what she had. “As you said last night, younow have the added pressure of not being able to sell Florence.”

Clem hummed. “I didn’t expect it to be a bed of roses, but early starts, late nights, on my feet all day — it’s a bit of a grind. I’m constantly walking into things. Baking in the wharf’s kitchen reminded me of what I’m missing:space. And I can feel myself getting more frustrated by the lack of it.” She sighed. “I’m sure I just need more time to adjust.”

“You said yourself that you weren’t sure if Florence was the right choice. What if it wasn’t?” She pulled her lips to one side. “What do you want out of life, Clem? We talked a lot last night about my pathetic life, but?—”

“We barely discussed mine?”

Victoria nodded. “Surely you can’t spend the rest of it serving cake and coffee out of a hatch. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I know you well enough by now to think it’s not going tofloat your boatforever.”

“Good one,” Clem said with a small smile. She paused, thoughtful. “I want to be part of something, but something good. I love drawing people to something… making them happy with cake. Maybe this was a pipe dream, and some things are best left as ideas. Not every dream has to become reality.”

“Sometimes we need to change something. If it doesn’t work out, change it again. There’s no shame in it. If Florence isn’t working for you, follow your heart,” Victoria said wistfully.

“Like you did here? To the wharf?”

“Yes, exactly,” Victoria replied. “It was literally an escape for me. Like you said last night, it was brave. I do see that. I also see that I have people relying on me now for their jobs, and I have to make it work. But I don’t regret it for one second.”

“Implement some of the things I told you and you’ll be fine,” Clem said, nudging her arm gently. “If you know your consumer, you’ve got a good chance of getting it right.”

“Well, about that…” Victoria hesitated, turning to face Clem properly. “Your ideas were great — the ones I can remember anyway — but the thing is, I have no idea how to implement them. Would you help me? I could hire you as a marketing consultant or something?”

“Oh.” Clem blinked. She fell silent for a moment before replying. “I have my business. I’m not quite ready to throw in the towel.”

“You can set your own hours, work around it. I can be as flexible as you need so it doesn’t interfere. It might even help see you through the winter. If you hate it or it doesn’t work for you, then you’ve not lost anything.” Victoria stopped for a breath, adding more gently, “You were alive when you were talking about all your ideas. I need someone like you. We worked well together for the party, didn’t we?”

Clem didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“So?”

“Can I think about it?” Clem asked, scrunching her face.

“Of course. Would you let me show you around the wharf whilst you think? There are parts you've not seen. I assume you haven't been to the museum yet.”

“No, funnily enough, I haven’t had time.”

“Would you come by sometime? Take a look. No pressure,” Victoria said, her voice careful, afraid to hope. The last thing she wanted to do was scare Clem off.

“I’d like that. No promises, though.”

“Wonderful. I’ll ask Jasper to give you a tour.”