very long time to get in touch, his life such a mess he truly believed she was better off without him, so, since then, when she first heard his voice there was always an unspoken relief in hers – one he noticed every time – that then moved on in a way that said now she knew he was still breathing, still alive, she could lapse into a normal way of talking like other people did. She’d always insisted she wanted him to be happy wherever he was, but after he’d hit his thirtieth birthday and realised changes in his life could only happen if he instigated them, something had changed in him. And when he mentioned his idea about returning to his mum, she’d been unable to hide the fact she was crying. ‘Early days,’ he’d told her when he shared his business concept. ‘Don’t get your hopes up,’ he’d said more than once.
The business venture was made possible in a number of ways. Years ago, Carol had sold the family home, Tumbleweed House, to Harvey. She’d inherited the house from her own parents so owed nothing on it and when Harvey bought her out, she spent some of the money on a small cottage for herself and split the remainder between the boys. Daniel had left his in a high-interest account and never touched it after he found out about it, but it was exactly the boost he needed. And so, with the shop in the Cove officially up for sale and his plans exciting him all the more, he was straight on the phone to the bank to talk about a small-business loan for the extra he needed, and then to the agent selling the shop.
Now, at the cabin that was real rather than in its conceptual stage, Daniel took a call from the company designing the flyers he’d ordered. They were ready for collection and so he shrugged on his coat, locked up the cabin and set off to pick them up. But when he looked over at the Christmas tree he saw someone he recognised. He was far away enough, across the grass, that most people wouldn’t identify him unless they came closer but he was near enough that he could make out the figure, and when the man turned and started walking his way, Daniel began to smile.
‘Hey, stranger,’ said Benjamin, getting closer. He extended a hand to shake. Benjamin, like Fred, had withheld judgement when it came to Daniel and he was thankful for another ally.
‘Hey, yourself. You were on my list of people to go and see.’ He laughed. ‘Honestly, I mean it. I’ve just been lying low for a while. You and I always got on.’
‘We sure did.’
‘What are you up to now?’ He hadn’t changed – apart from tinges of grey in his long mousy hair that Daniel wondered if he’d even cut since he left.
‘Besides looking at the village tree?’ he smiled, the same cheeky grin Daniel remembered in place. ‘Which I blame on my girlfriend, Zoe, who’s taking way too long looking around Tilly’s shop. I’m the chef at the pub.’
Daniel whistled between his teeth. ‘The Copper Plough. Best food in Suffolk.’
‘Well, it is now,’ he grinned.
When Daniel had left, Benjamin was already at college doing a hospitality course so it wasn’t a total surprise he was the local pub’s chef. ‘You’ve done well, I’m pleased for you.’
Benjamin looked over his shoulder. ‘And it looks like you’re doing all right. What’s it going to be?’
‘The secret is almost out,’ said Daniel as he turned to look the same way at the cabin that would prove him a success or not, depending on how things went as of opening day. Lucy must’ve been too busy with her own job to go gossiping about his, or maybe she’d left the privilege down to him, and he felt a pang of gratitude that she was so willing to give him a chance when she clearly knew a few things about him he’d rather she didn’t. ‘That there,’ he announced proudly, ‘is The Little Waffle Shack.’
‘Nice one,’ Benjamin approved, pulling on a beanie that had been stuffed in his pocket as the wind snapped around them. ‘My other half will be pleased.’
‘You guys been together long?’
‘We’ve known each other since school. Friends first, then we went to the same college and eventually became a couple.’
Friends often turned into more, and some relationships started off with heat but faded to a friendship that