‘That’s right,’ Molly said slowly, ‘but you know how it is, Rosie. Just when you think your life’s running smoothly, everything goes wrong, and that’s what happened to Mrs Parsons.’

‘How d’you mean?’

‘You remember how upset she was last year, when her eldest son left to work in London. Then soon after that, poor Mr Parsons was killed in an accident at work. The moment she started to recover from that, her daughter Lucy got wed and emigrated to Australia.’

Rosie nodded. ‘If you ask me, it was a very selfish thing for the girl to do… going off and leaving her mam all alone so soon after her husband was killed.’

The very same thought had crossed Molly’s mind but, ‘Who are we to judge?’ she asked softly. ‘Happen we all have to cope with grief in our own way.’

‘Yes, you’re right there,’ Rosie conceded. ‘Only it seems hard on her poor mother, that’s all I’m saying.’

‘Harder than anyone realised,’ Molly agreed. ‘She never stopped missing Lucy, and you’re right, she did have a mind to put me in charge of it all. “I can trust you”, that’s what she said. The idea was for her to go off when the fancy took her. That way she could see more of both her children – especially Lucy, who she always doted on.’

‘Sure, there’s nothing wrong with that. I feel the very same way about our Sandra.’ Stretching out her long fingers, Rosie laughed. ‘Though I don’t mind admitting there are times when I could throttle her with me own bare hands!’

‘You and me both,’ Molly joked. ‘But Sandra is Sandra, and unlike our Lottie, there’s no malice in her.’

Wisely changing the subject, Rosie asked, ‘What will you do – about your work, I mean?’

Sighing from her boots, Molly took a minute to answer. ‘One thing’s for sure,’ she mused, ‘Mrs Parsons won’t change her mind. She’s had word that Lucy is expecting her first baby. In the letter, Lucy says how she’s frightened of being so far away, and she needs her mam. Now Mrs Parsons has a cash buyer for the shop, and he wants to close the deal as soon as possible.’

‘Hmh! It’s a shame you can’t afford to buy it. You’d double the takings in no time with your bright ideas.’

Molly gave a small, whimsical smile. ‘We’ll never know now.’

‘Maybe the new owner will keep you on.’ Rosie knew how the customers respected Molly. ‘If he has any sense he’ll hang on to you for all he’s worth.’

‘No chance of that, I’m afraid.’ Molly had been hoping the same. ‘He has a wife and two daughters who’ll help him run the shop. On top of that, he has plans to buy the empty premises next door. He reckons to knock down the dividing wall and run a cafe and cake shop alongside each other.’

‘But that was your idea, wasn’t it? I recall you saying how you’d mentioned it to Mrs Parsons and she went for it like a dog for a bone.’