The Waffle House on the Pier - Tilly Tennant Page 0,86
Sadie hated all this lying and subterfuge. She hated telling all these stories and manipulating Gammy into doing everything they wanted her to do. Even though it was with her best interests at heart, it didn’t feel right and Sadie didn’t enjoy being a part of it. But she bit her tongue and did as her brother asked.
‘Gammy… Ewan says he needs us to go to the dive school. He needs you to help with something.’
‘With what?’
‘One of the kids.’
‘Shouldn’t they be at school about now? What do they need me for?’
Sadie had to smile. April might have been confused but she wasn’t stupid.
‘I’m sorry but he’ll have to get someone else. Where’s Kat? Isn’t she right there with him? What is it that only I can do? They’ve never asked me for something like this before.’
‘I…’ Sadie flicked back to Ewan. ‘This is hopeless. She’s determined to go and I can hardly stop her.’
‘Why are you telling Ewan all this?’ April snapped. ‘It’s just like sports commentary – April’s doing this, April’s doing that…’ She raised her voice so that Ewan would be able to hear. ‘Grandma’s putting one foot in front of the other to walk down the hill… is that OK? Do you need any more information? Perhaps you want to know what coat I have on?’
Sadie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, though she did have to appreciate April’s wit.
‘Sorry,’ she said to Ewan, ‘but it looks as if we’re opening up this morning. You’ll have to come to us and try to persuade her, but I don’t fancy your chances the mood she’s in.’
‘I’ll meet you down there,’ he said, and then hung up.
Sadie fell in step with her grandma. There wasn’t much else she could do.
* * *
April wasn’t very pleased when she saw Sadie’s sign up in the waffle-house window. In fact, she didn’t even wait for the door to be unlocked before she started to tear a strip off her and was in full flow when Melissa walked past. Sadie glanced at her and they exchanged a look of awkward recognition, Sadie flashing back to the night she’d heard Melissa shouting angrily at Declan in the street and she’d heard her own name mentioned in the tirade. She was still convinced that the conversation had been something to do with a request from Declan for help at the waffle house.
Melissa hurried by, at least having the decency to be embarrassed for Sadie at the sight of her being scolded very publicly by her grandmother. Sadie watched her go, wondering vaguely what had brought her this far long the pier, all that she knew about that night very much on her mind. She was dragged back by her grandmother’s voice as she shoved the front door of the waffle house open and went inside, immediately removing Sadie’s notice and putting it in the bin.
‘It’s just plain crazy to let this place stand empty,’ she said. She set about switching the lights on and taking chairs from the tables. ‘I don’t know what you were all thinking!’
As she began to help, Sadie wondered if she could get away with sneakily locking the front doors, putting another discreet sign up and letting April potter around in the kitchen, thinking they were open but just having a slow day until closing time. But her grandma wouldn’t be so easily fooled. After ordering Sadie to get the till ready, she went through to the kitchen to start in there, muttering all the time about how they were running late and would never get the doors open for customers by ten, and how crazy and annoying everyone else was. Sadie gave a mental shrug and turned her attention to getting the front of house in order. What she wouldn’t give for her bed right now, but it looked as if bed was a long way off.
It was then that she saw Ewan at the door. He must have rushed over at top speed, judging by how quickly he’d arrived.
‘What exactly are you proposing to do?’ she asked in a low voice as she opened up to him. ‘You heard her this morning – she won’t be persuaded to go home. God knows I’ve tried everything.’
‘You’ll have to try harder. We all agreed that she isn’t safe to be here.’
‘We did – but tell her that! Actually, don’t, because she’s in a stinker of a mood and you’ll only make her worse!’