Page 19 of Christmas at the Little Cornish Bakery
The Saturday of the Festive Festival dawned clear and bright, promising one of those perfect blue-skied winter days, where sitting wrapped up on the beach with a takeaway coffee would feel like a treat.
As she unlocked the café, for what she knew would be a very brisk day of trade, Lola praised the fact the weather gods had seen fit to bless Polcarrow for the event.
With a yawn, she set herself up for the day, turning on the fairy lights she and Freya had hung from the shelves and giving the Christmas tree a little bit of a touch up.
Freya arrived and shrugged off her coat, an air of sleepiness still hanging around her.
They’d been working late the previous night to get the café looking shipshape for the festival.
Lola was pleased with her bunting and the little Christmas tree they’d managed to perch rather precariously on the countertop in front of the till.
Sue flew through the café door about fifteen minutes after opening, panicking that everything wasn’t quite ready, making Lola wonder if she needed a shot of brandy, not gingerbread syrup, in her coffee.
‘It will all be fine,’ Lola reassured her as she passed her the frothy drink. ‘You’ve got a perfect day for it and you know the lobster pot tree has been all anyone can talk about. I can’t wait to see it all lit up properly.’
Sue sipped her drink. ‘I was hoping we’d have the topper by now,’ she said with a glance in Freya’s direction. ‘It was supposed to be delivered this morning ready for when the festival starts.’
Panic flashed across Freya’s face. ‘I’m sure it’s all in hand, you know what Angelo’s like.’ She gave a nervous laugh before realising Sue didn’t know. ‘He’s a perfectionist. Don’t worry, I bet he’s just making last-minute tweaks.’
Sue’s phone started ringing and stopped any further questions about Angelo’s whereabouts. Juggling her coffee and her bags, Sue waved at them and made her way out of the café.
Lola turned to Freya and asked, ‘It is all OK with Angelo, isn’t it?’
Freya exhaled. ‘I don’t know. I hope so. He’s been a bit secretive about the project. I’ve not seen the topper yet but I know he is working on it. I wasn’t going to tell Sue but I’m a bit worried that he’s not finished it.’
‘Do you want to go and check on him?’
Freya shook her head. ‘That’s the last thing he’d want. We’ll just have to trust he’ll turn up in time.’
‘You all right if I take these up to the church?’ Lola asked as she emerged from the kitchen later that morning, her arms laden with the boxes of mince pies Sue and Tristan had ordered.
Freya’s eyes popped out at the sight of them. ‘How many mince pies do you think people are going to eat? You know what, we should’ve had a mince pie eating contest. I bet Alf would’ve been up for that.’ She picked up her phone, scrolled, then put it down again.
Lola laughed. ‘He’d probably cheat and get Scruff to help.’ Noticing Freya was acting a bit twitchy she asked, ‘You sure you’re OK? You can take these if you want to have a break and I’ll man the counter?’
‘I’m fine. I may have had one coffee too many and I’m worried about Angelo.
There’s still no news about the tree topper.
Nothing. I’m a bit concerned that if it’s not up to scratch he won’t bring it,’ Freya confessed.
‘I thought he’d have been here by now and he’s not replied to any of my texts or calls. ’
‘Oh, Freya, I’m sure he won’t let Polcarrow down,’ Lola placated. ‘I’ll be back as quickly as I can then you can go and check on him. Call me if there’s any sort of cake-related emergency.’
Freya rolled her eyes and signalled to the counter with its piles of festive-themed bakes. ‘I think it’s highly unlikely. We’ll be eating snowman cupcakes all week. I’ve already had two,’ she announced almost proudly.