Annie well knew those precious snatched hours between the end of lunch service and the beginning of dinner.

“Don’t bully the poor woman!” said Aiden. “She’s only just moved in.”

“I’m not bullying her,” said Raye. “I’m just saying there’s a lot of people who would appreciate being able to grab a coffee down here.”

“Do you think so?” asked Annie.

“Oh God, yes!” said Raye. “It’s all very well catering for the out-of-towners all summer, but what about the people who live by the sea all year round?”

“Don’t get her started,” said Aiden.

“I mean it,” said Raye. “Go to any seaside town past September, and it’s tumbleweed city; everything’s boarded up, like a zombie apocalypse.”

“I told you not to get her started,” said Aiden.

Annie laughed and handed over the coffees.

“We’ll you’ve given me something to think about,” said Annie. “That’s six pounds, please.” She had no idea of Mari’s pricing structure, so she used the one from the restaurant.

Raye handed over the cash and Annie was grateful for it; if there was a card machine in the place, it was well hidden.

“See you Saturday!” said Aiden as they headed back in the direction of the hill.

“Unless you decide to open again beforehand!” called Raye over her shoulder. Annie saw Aiden give Raye an admonishing nudge and Raye raise her hand in an expression of “What?!”

Annie had six more customers during the hour and a half it took her to finish cleaning and familiarizing herself with the kiosk and its contents. She found a mobile card machine beneath the counter and a plastic cash tray. Every single customer asked whether she was planning to open through winter, and Annie deftly avoided giving a straight answer.

“Maybe on sunny days,” she said noncommittally to a man with an impressive King Edward mustache.

“It’s the wet days we could do with it,” he grumbled.

By the time Annie was finished, the little tearoom was pine fresh and aglow with bleachy newness. Annie treated herself to a double-shot mocha before closing the place up again and heading back upstairs to the flat. She sat in the armchair, gazing out the window at the clouds waltzing across the sun, their shadows dancing light and dark on the ocean below. She sipped her coffee and understood why Mari had never left.

Annie felt she would never be bored of this view. The restaurant seemed very far away, both in distance and in time. She wondered if, with hindsight, she had mentally withdrawn from the restaurant as she had her marriage. She thought about Max and realized that she wasn’t even that angry with him anymore; well, at least not enough to want to set fire to him.

Chapter 24