A Pretty Beach Wish Polly Babbington (the lemonade war series .TXT) 📖

How are you, sweetheart?’ Holly asked Maggie as Holly took her bag off her shoulder and rummaged around for her phone.

‘I’m good thank you. I’ve just had a chocolate cookie, it was delicious,’ Maggie replied with a huge smile on her face.

‘And what about you, Juliette? How are you? You couldn’t make the drinks at the Marina Club last week?’ Holly asked Juliette as they both sat down, and Juliette moved her bag under the table.

‘Been up to my eyes, Holly. What with all Maggie’s extra-curricular stuff, the house, and then A Christmas Sparkle, not to mention my actual job, I’m running around like a madwoman most of the time. What is that saying about chasing your tail? Anyway, I’m doing that almost all the time.’

‘Woah. Sounds busy. Better than sitting around being bored though; boredom breeds bad things in my mind. However, I know what it’s like working those long hours, and then taking on extra work in the evening. When I started the second bakery, I was working nineteen-hour days, and that was on a good day. People always ask me how I got a string of bakeries. Was it luck? Nothing about luck in it. All about hard work.’

‘Exactly, and that’s precisely what I tell my girls too. I only thought the other day you make your own luck. I’m always banging on to them about working hard. Telling them the importance of getting your head down and getting on with it. Aren’t I, Maggie? You have to work hard at school, don’t you?’

Maggie looked up from a game she was playing on Juliette’s phone, smiled and nodded at Juliette, ‘You always say that Mummy, you tell me to work hard and then you give me a kiss on the top of my head.’

Juliette and Holly laughed, and Holly continued, ‘It shows. They are both lovely and especially you, darling Maggie. You should be very proud of yourself, Juliette. It’s the hardest job in the world. I remember those days with Rory only too well.’

‘Thank you. Anyway, enough about me, what have you been up to?’

‘Pah, that’s a good question. Not a lot with mum being unwell, just looking after her and running the business. What about you? Anything to tell? Any new purchases?’ Holly asked with a knowing smile, and followed it up with a little chuckle, as she looked at the menu for Maisy’s cafe.

‘I don’t believe it! How do you know?’ Juliette replied and slapped her hand on the table.

Holly cackled. ‘How do I know what? I didn’t say I knew anything.’

‘I can tell by the look on your face. You know about the boat.’

‘You mean Sandy’s boat?’ Holly replied and laughed out loud.

‘Oh my god, you do know. Blimey, you can’t move around here without someone knowing your business. Who told you?’

‘Ed likes a beer, does he not?’

‘Yeah, but Ed has nothing to do with it. True we hired the kayaks the day Luke first saw the boat online, but we didn’t mention anything to Ed.’

‘But Ed’s wife’s sister is the daughter of Sandy the owner of the yellow-roofed boat.’

‘Well I never. So, I am right. You cannot move without someone knowing your business around here. This funny little world of Pretty Beach where everyone knows your name and what you’re up to!’

‘You don’t need me to tell you that! How long have you lived here? And you know what gossip goes around in that surgery. You’re right in the thick of it yourself in there. There must have been some stories in the staff room of that place. I’d love to be part of it in there. In fact, I’d pay a subscription, ha!’

Juliette nodded and laughed in agreement. ‘You’re not wrong. It’s been jaw-dropping at points what you learn in that staff room. May I add too, that not all of it has been nice.’

‘So, Luke and his lovely bottom are buying it?’ Holly asked, leaning across the table.

‘If it all goes to plan, yep. So he’s told me. He seems on a bit of a mission with it. Who am I to stop him? They say it’s good to have a hobby in your life, don’t they? And he has a lot to deal with at work.’

‘They absolutely do. That’s one of the reasons I go to the Marina Club. I look at that as a little hobby, a little time away from it all.’

Juliette nodded and smiled at Holly.

‘And you’ll be painting it pink?’ Holly said giggling and closing her menu and placing it back down on the table.

Maggie looked up from the phone and added, ‘Mummy would like to - she loves pink!’

Juliette laughed and replied, ‘I certainly do Maggie.’

Then Juliette lowered her voice, ‘I haven’t worked that bit out yet, Holly. Luke’s said absolutely not, but then again Luke likes, how can I say, favours, and I know how to work my magic, Holly. You’re not the only person in Pretty Beach with powers, you know.’

Chapter 7

Juliette opened the door, looked all the way down Mermaid Lane, and was pleased to see that there was a gap two doors along for the delivery men for the arrival of her new pale blue velvet sofa with the turned legs and big, squishable cushions.

The delivery of the sofa was huge for Juliette, seeming to signify all sorts in her life; the fact that she was living the dream in Pretty Beach, the fact that she was financially doing okay, but, more importantly, the fact that all the hard work she’d put into A Christmas Sparkle and all the extra shifts she’d taken on at the hospital meant that decisions like buying sofas were nowhere near as hard as they used to be.

Before she’d moved to Mermaid Lane, before Luke had moved in, and when A Christmas Sparkle had not been doing quite as well, decisions about money were not that hard because it was quite simple - there was only just enough to go around.

Now things were a little