Page 19 of Match Point in Crumbleton
‘A bite to eat and something to drink, and you’ll be ready to jump straight back in,’ he said, doing his best to sound encouraging. ‘You never know—Heather might have some fruit slices left.’
‘Okay, those were the magic words!’ said Cath, turning to smile at him. ‘You win.’
‘I thought the mention of a fruit slice might sway you,’ he said. ‘Let’s go!’
Andy felt like a bit of an idiot as the pair of them wandered down the high street towards the bakery… mainly because he couldn’t wipe the broad smile off his face.
It was odd. He usually took a while to feel truly comfortable around new people, but Cath was so easy to chat to that he felt like he’d known her for years. They’d worked side-by-side all morning, and there hadn’t been many silences… and the ones there had been had felt friendly.
‘Blimey,’ said Cath, dodging around a family of tourists who’d stopped in the middle of the pavement to take selfies. ‘I had no idea Crumbleton got this busy.’
‘This?’ said Andy. ‘This is nothing. Seriously. There are days when it feels like there must be a music festival happening in town or something. You get elbowed and jostled just wandering down to Bendall’s for a pint of milk. I’ll have to show you where all the shortcuts are—they’ll save your sanity on a busy summer’s day.’
‘Shortcuts?’ said Cath.
‘Yep,’ he nodded. ‘You can pretty much get from the top of town all the way down to the City Gates without having to deal with the high street, as long as you don’t mind navigating dozens of steps!’
‘Good to know,’ said Cath. ‘I’ll take you up on that offer at some point.’
‘Deal. Any time,’ said Andy. ‘But right now… let’s get some lunch!’
He paused to peer through the bakery window and Cath came to stand next to him. The hairs on his arm promptly stood on end.
‘Your poor sister,’ said Cath. ‘She’s rammed in there!’
‘Trust me, she’s in her element,’ said Andy, grinning at Heather through the glass as his sister turned her wide, slightly wild eyes to the pair of them. There were at least a dozen people in the queue, waiting to be served.
‘I’m not sure the fact that she’s mouthing “save me” through the window means she’s in her element!’ chuckled Cath.
‘Okay, you might have a point,’ said Andy.
‘Should we go in and help her?’ said Cath.
‘Hell no!’ said Andy, shaking his head. ‘Seriously. I tried it once. Never again. I just got in her way. She doesn’t really want any help… she’ll have it all under control.’
‘Fair enough,’ said Cath.
‘Come on, let’s leave her to it,’ said Andy. ‘We’ll see if the café’s any quieter. We’ll grab lunch in there and then pop back when Heather’s dealt with that lot.’
Andy led the way a bit further down the hill and then held the café door open for Cath.
‘There’s a table over there,’ she said, pointing towards the back. ‘That family’s just leaving.’
‘Quick, let’s grab it before anyone else beats us to it!’ said Andy. ‘Mabel will come over to us when she’s got a sec.’
The pair of them hurried through the packed café, dodged around the family heading for the exit, and slid straight into the chairs at their newly vacated table.
‘That was a bit of luck,’ said Andy, gathering together the empty cups and plates and stacking them at the edge of the table. ‘Well spotted!’
‘Just in time too,’ said Cath, nodding back towards the door. ‘Look, someone else just came in and there’s nowhere for her to sit.’
Andy glanced over. ‘That’s Caroline Cook!’ he said. ‘You don’t mind if she joins us, do you? We’ve got a couple of spare seats, and it seems a bit mean to hog the extra spaces.’
‘Fine by me,’ said Cath with an easy shrug.
Andy waved vigorously to catch Caroline’s attention and then beckoned her over.
‘Join us?’
