A Reunion at Mulberry Lane. Rosie Clarke
Читать онлайн.| Название | A Reunion at Mulberry Lane |
|---|---|
| Автор произведения | Rosie Clarke |
| Жанр | Сказки |
| Серия | The Mulberry Lane Series |
| Издательство | Сказки |
| Год выпуска | 0 |
| isbn | 9781838899219 |
A Reunion at Mulberry Lane
Rosie Clarke
Contents
1
November 1949
Peggy Ronoscki finished washing up the pile of dirty coffee cups, used plates and dishes, sighing as she glanced at the clock on the wall of the café kitchen. It was gone six-thirty at night and she’d been on her feet since six that morning. The work at the little seaside café, situated approximately midway on the coast between Lyme Bay and Torquay, which she ran with her husband, Able, was hard and relentless, especially when her hired help, Masie Bennett, didn’t turn up to wash the dishes and she had to do them as well as the clearing up after the café closed at a quarter to six in the evening.
‘Tired?’ Peggy turned at the sound of her husband’s voice and smiled. However, weary she felt, her spirits lifted when Able walked into the room. ‘I told you not to do it all, Peggy. I would have helped you when I finished wiping the tables and counter.’
‘You work hard enough as it is,’ Peggy said, her eyes caressing him with the deep love she felt for this man. Able had been a serviceman in the American forces during the last war and he’d lost his left arm just below the elbow. After several attempts to wear the prosthetic arm the hospital had fitted, which rubbed his flesh and gave him pain, Able had given up and managed very well with one arm and his stump. She was always amazed at what he could do but tried to avoid asking him to do things that were difficult for him. ‘It’s that girl, Able. I think I’m going to have to find someone else.’
‘Yes, you must, because I don’t want you doing the work of three people,’ Able said and moved towards her. His right arm went around her waist and he bent his head to kiss her on the lips. ‘You should have been home with the twins two hours ago…’
‘It’s all right,’ Peggy reassured him. ‘It’s their youth club night and Sandra took them there. I said I’d be back in time to fetch them and I’ll drive you home first. Then I’ll go around to the club and collect them. I’ve got nearly an hour before they’ll be ready to leave…’
Sandra Brooks was their nearest neighbour to the cottage and had turned out to be a good friend for Peggy and the children since their move to the cottage in Devon. She really didn’t know how she would have managed without her.
Peggy did her early-morning cooking at home, leaving her husband to transport it in tins to the café; Able opened up and she joined him after giving the twins their breakfast and dropping them at school. Sandra had quickly realised it was difficult for Peggy to fetch her children after school and had offered to fetch them with her own two if Peggy was delayed. The two women drank coffee in each other’s houses and exchanged recipes, inviting one another to