CHAPTER 22
True to his word, Jacob had given her the supplier contact details he had mentioned and the next day, Rosa was up early and on the case.
She had opened a bank account in her name for now, with a view to opening a business account once things got going. Beavis Pet Supplies were happy to take a PayPal payment for her first order, and then if satisfied, they said they would set up an account for her. In just a few days she would be receiving her first order.
Also listening to Jacob’s advice, she had managed to find a second-hand till on eBay and that was on its way too. She had even set up a spreadsheet and worked out her mark-up on goods, whilst ensuring that the prices were still very reasonable.
As a child, Rosa had loved the kind of shop that sold little ornaments, decorated boxes, animals made of shells, bead necklaces, and joke tricks. She had taken a look up and down the main street here in Cockleberry Bay and noticed that nobody was selling old-fashioned sweets - the kind that were shaken out of big glass jars onto a set of scales. For a moment, her mind was full of pear drops, toffee pincushions, lemon bonbons and black jacks. It felt so right! She would cater for the adults with the pet products, and their kids with sweets and holiday trinkets and gifts. She could then see how it went and go from there.
Rosa had always had an artistic flair. She wanted the window and shelves of the Corner Shop to look pretty and unique, so had bought a selection of wicker baskets for display and some flowered fabrics with which to line each one.
On this Monday morning, feeling pleased with her progress, she made a cup of tea and sat down on the sofa upstairs to do some sums. After paying for her stock, she only had £200 left, but with no rent to pay and her little bit of money coming in from the Lobster Pot, she would just have to manage. With dog food on order at least, Hot would be OK. She had lived on beans on toast before, so she could do it again.
On walking into the bedroom and being faced with the pile of dirty clothes in the corner, Rosa accepted that what she really needed was a washing machine. The launderette would be fine for a short while, but carrying heavy bags up the hill, then back up the steep stairs of the flat would soon become a chore. Bless Ned and Dotty, they must have managed somehow. Strange - Queenie had not seemed at all keen to talk much about them, and in fact she had gone a bit funny when the subject of Dotty’s passing came up.
Rosa passionately wanted her business to be a success; she felt she owed it to Ned and Dotty, who had obviously worked hard to keep the shop going all their lives. She had an urge to find out more about them. Seb had said that Ned hadn’t had any family when he died, so they couldn’t have had any children. This snippet of information made the whole inheritance thing all the weirder. Rosa sighed. Why on earth had the Corner Shop ended up in her hands?
She opened the desk drawer and reached under some paperwork for the necklace. How could Queenie have possibly known about it? She had warned Rosa to keep it in a safe place - but why? It had obviously been stuffed down that sofa for years and nobody had known about it. She would just put it on the top of the wardrobe, in a box - it would be fine there.
Rosa climbed on the bed to get a look - and on seeing the amount of dust up there,
she immediately got down again and went to fetch a damp cloth. As she cleaned and started to see the grain of the wood through the dirt, she noticed a little brass catch. Intrigued, she pulled it up and it came away in her hands, along with a small square of wood. It was a lid.
Tentatively, not knowing what she would find, she put her hand inside the man-
made box underneath and felt around.
Feeling nothing at first, she delved deeper along the small tunnel that had been created beneath the false top of the wardrobe, and flinched slightly as her fingers touched something. Coughing as more dust flew up, she took the object out and placed it on top of the wardrobe.
The tight bundle of paper had yellowed, the blue ribbon that it was tied with, was frayed. Rosa sat down on the bed, gently untied the ribbon, pulled a letter from the pile, unfolded it and started to read. She had only got to the words Dear T, when her phone rang and jumped her back into reality.
With Hot yapping downstairs, she hopped down off the bed and answered it, leaving the letters where they were.
‘All right, Rosalar?’ came Josh’s familiar voice. ‘Made your millions yet?’
‘Not yet, but I have ordered some stock, plus opened a bank account like you said. How’s it going - still missing me?’
‘No, but I’m missing Hot though.’
‘You’re such a liar. Anyway, news on the bay is that I’ve had my fortune told - and listen to this: old Queenie Cobb told me not to sell the necklace. I mean, how did she know I even had a necklace anyway?’
‘Maybe because we chatted about it in front of her granddaughter in the Co-op.’
‘Did we?’
‘I don’t know, but use your brain, Rosa. She’s probably just on a fact-finding mission like everyone else. I thought you were savvier than that.’
‘I am, but . . . she was so specific. Anyway, I’m not going to sell it yet. I’ve paid for some stock upfront - the shelves aren’t going to be packed, but I want to see how I go first.’
‘When did you ever get so sensible?’
‘Since I realised that if I don’t pay my bills, I won’t have hot water or light.’
‘Any more been said about the hit-and-run?’
‘No, it’s gone all quiet . . . oh, apart from a guy called Joe who I met in the Lobster Pot. He’s a journalist stroke editor on the Gazette, and he was actually asking me questions about Luke and his timings. Ruddy cheek. I just acted dumb. Talking of Luke . . .’
‘What about him?’
Rosa suddenly realised that if she asked Josh why he hadn’t told her he’d seen Luke, he’d know that she’d seen the plumber. Oh God, it was all too complicated. He would go mad if he knew she’d spoken to Luke again, let alone shagged him!
‘Have you been in the Ship again?’ Josh asked suspiciously.
‘God, no, but Jacob asked if I could do a couple of shifts for him at the Lobster Pot as he’s broken his ankle. He fell off his four-inch heels when dancing as the Rover’s Return’s Betty Driver at the fancy-dress party.’
‘That’s bloody hilarious.’ Josh snorted with mirth.
‘I know. He’s a decent bloke though. Gave me details of the supplier for pet stuff.’
‘Good. Good. I suppose I’ll have to think about when I can come down to see you again.’
‘You’ve only just left. See? You are missing me really. How about you come down for the opening? I could do with rent-a-crowd, especially if the Gazette is covering it.’
‘When were you thinking of doing it?’
‘Two weeks’ time maybe. That’ll give me a chance to get the shop looking good and to promote it. The sooner I start making some money the better.’
‘OK, just keep me posted - and make it a Saturday, yeah?’
‘You’re so bloody demanding,’ Rosa teased.
Josh got off the phone and sighed. Despite her being a nightmare most of the time, he missed Rosa more than she would ever know. Even after getting drunk at his work’s conference and sleeping with Lucy from PR, all he could think of was the quirky ways and pretty face of his errant ex-housemate. But, he had to be realistic, they were worlds apart. He was doing really well in his job too. But the more he tried to pull away from her, the more he seemed to want to see her.
What was wrong with him? Lucy was a pretty girl, not natural like Rosa, but she was a similar age to him, had a great personality and shared the same values, but she didn’t have that special something. That special something you just can’t put your finger on when you try to explain to yourself why you want to be with someone.