The Waffle House on the Pier - Tilly Tennant Page 0,38

telephone, a caddy containing pencils and pens, and a jar of assorted sweets. Sadie looked at the sweets and smiled sadly. Gampy had a sweet tooth that meant he ate sweets in the same way smokers snuck out for crafty cigarettes, and he’d frequently retreat to the office pretending to do admin but really using it as an excuse to sit munching on his candy. Sadie often thought it was a wonder he had any teeth at all, but by some miracle, despite his advanced years and sugar intake, he did have some, though the gaps had been gradually filled by dentures in later years. It wouldn’t have mattered if he’d had none though, because he still would have found some way to eat his sugary treats. And if he wasn’t eating sweets secretly in the back, when the shop had closed he’d have Gammy cook him a special waffle or pancake.

Shaking herself, she searched for the claret-coloured phone book that Gammy had told her was in there. After a minute of rummaging through out-of-date directories, recipe books, unused stationery and yet more unopened packets of sweets, she found it and flicked to the page she needed. As she’d suspected, there was nothing more than a phone number in there, the name of a contact, and an address. She could do an internet search for the company and there ought to be an email contact on there; she only hoped that they’d modernised a bit more than Gammy and Gampy had and actually had a website.

As she pulled out her phone to search, she could hear the muffled sounds of April in the kitchen. Half paying attention to her task and half listening to the clinks of spoons on china, she hoped and prayed that April’s lapses of concentration this morning were only a temporary thing. They were, she tried to tell herself, making her inner voice as confident and certain as she could, though that confidence was starting to feel like a desert mirage that might dissipate if Sadie allowed herself to remember for one second that she was still in the desert and that the oasis was still a long way off.

After establishing that Timpson’s did have a website and emailing them, Sadie flicked through the rest of the address book to see if there was anyone else she might need to contact. She’d have to check with Gammy, of course, but there might be some names she’d recognise instantly. They’d need to contact anyone they used on a regular basis anyway, just to let them know that the waffle house was now open again and to check what their customer status was in light of its recent period of closure. Was their credit still good? Could they still get the same service and discounts they’d enjoyed in the past? Had stocks or supply chains altered in any way that might affect what the waffle house was able to buy?

There were a few names she recognised, but many she didn’t, so she decided to take the book through to the dining room. They had a little time, so it might be a good plan to sit with Gammy and go through it with her.

April was already sitting at a table when Sadie went back into the dining room. The smell of strong, bitter coffee was in the air, just the thing to wake Sadie up. But as she approached the table to sit with her grandma, she felt that cold dread settle in her stomach again. On the table in front of a smiling April sat three mugs.

‘Gammy… who’s the other one for?’

‘Why, you know who it’s for, silly…’

But then April paused, her smile dying, suddenly looking confused and distressed. ‘Oh… I guess I made too many, didn’t I?’

Sadie swallowed the tears that would have fallen if she’d been alone and tried to look calm and unconcerned. ‘It’s OK. Habit, I expect. And I’m gasping for a drink anyway so I reckon I could drink two cups no problem.’

‘Oh, that’s alright then,’ April said, sounding far from convinced but happy to let it go at that.

Sadie sat at the table and put the address book down to take a sip of her coffee, all the while her eyes never leaving her grandmother.

‘What’s the book for?’ April asked.

‘I thought we could go through it. I need to know who these people are so I thought you could give me a bit of background about what they do for us.