‘It was on the pub menu today,’ she explained. ‘I supply some of the heartier dishes you see, and I saved a serving for you from earlier. You’ll just have to heat it up when you want it later. I’ve put it on the side for now.’
‘Thank you,’ I said, inhaling again. ‘Is it a curry?’
‘Sort of,’ she nodded. ‘It’s a bit of a foodie fusion really. My aunt’s Caribbean curried crab with coconut recipe, but made with fresh Norfolk crab.’
‘Wow,’ I laughed. ‘What a fantastic combination. I have to admit it’s not what I would have expected to find on a pub menu in Wynmouth, but I can’t wait to try it.’
Sophie looked delighted by my enthusiasm and my stomach gave another embarrassingly loud rumble. It almost matched Thor’s efforts.
‘You don’t have to wait for dinner time of course,’ she nudged. ‘You can eat whenever you like on holiday.’
‘I didn’t have any lunch,’ I told her. ‘The journey took longer than I expected and I didn’t want to stop.’
Sophie eyed me astutely.
‘You sound like my daughter,’ she nodded. ‘She’s about the same age as you and she never used to make mealtimes much of a priority either. That’s all changed now,’ she added, flashing me another smile before checking her watch. ‘But look at the time!’ she exclaimed. ‘I have to go. If there’s anything you need just pop next door and ask. Although,’ she added as she reached the front door, ‘I’d wait until this storm has passed, if I were you.’
She ducked out into the rain and headed back towards the pub, banging the wonky gate behind her in her haste. I picked up the cracked flower pot, carried it inside and set it down on the hearthstone before checking the fire. I could hear the radiators were gurgling into life and didn’t think it would be long before I was able to run myself a bath.
Once I was happy with the fire I sat on the sofa, reached for my bag and automatically pulled out my phone.
‘Don’t even go there,’ I sternly told myself as I toyed with the idea of turning it back on.
It really would be better if I didn’t see Dad’s reaction to my defection. My text had been brief, but clear enough.
Hi Dad. In view of the fact that I haven’t been feeling all that well recently, and that Chris has proved himself more than capable of handling things in the office, I’ve decided to take a break. As you may recall, it’s been quite some time since I took a holiday so I’m sure you’ll understand. I’ll keep you posted as to when I plan to come back. Please, don’t worry about me. See you soon. Tess x
I was pretty certain he would be raging like a bear with a sore head by now. I had added the ‘don’t worry’ to remind him to look beyond his temper and try to think of me as his daughter for once instead of his employee. I was rather proud that I hadn’t said sorry for taking off. I had recently found myself all too often apologizing for things I had no reason to be sorry for.
Before I gave in to temptation, I took the phone and my charger and deposited it into one of the drawers under the old pine table which stood in the window.
‘Out of sight,’ I muttered to myself, ‘out of mind.’
Or at least that was what I hoped.
Chapter 4
I went to bed early that night completely blissed out after my delicious dinner (courtesy of Sophie’s clever culinary skills), and the longest soak in the tub. I could have stayed in the bath all night, had it not been for fear of turning into a prune. The bed was extremely comfortable and as the storm headed off, I cracked the window open a little so I could fall asleep listening to the sound of the waves as they rolled in and broke on the shore.
Considering the jumbled-up state of my emotions, I slept more soundly than I could have hoped and dreamt of my last adventure down at the beach huts. Waking to the sound of gulls and feeling refreshed and revived as opposed to slightly panicked as my phone alarm blared out was a wonderful feeling. It was still an early start, but then I’d already fathomed that some old habits were going to be hard to break.
I took a moment to stretch out in the bed, tried to