Lily let the water run for a few seconds, trying to recollect the shop from her previous visits. ‘Who owned the shop before mum bought it?’
‘For years it was the post office, you’ll probably remember Mrs Mackie running it. She was a bit of a character,’ Iris reminisced fondly. ‘There was more gossip passed over that counter than anything else. But when they closed the post office down she decided to sell up and sold it to a couple from London.’
Iris shook her head. ‘It was all very sad. Alice and Robert were high-flying lawyers in London and this was their retirement dream. They had great plans for the place and they’d had the shop all fitted out with shelving and storage. But then Robert’s health began to deteriorate. He had a long illness and Alice nursed him but of course the shop was closed all that time. After he passed away, she couldn’t bring herself to open the shop.’
‘That’s so sad,’ Lily sympathised. ‘So what happened?’
‘Alice wanted to sell the shop but wasn’t interested in the money. I think for her it was more important who bought the shop. She and your mum had become friendly and so that was when Patty decided to buy the shop from her – it never went on the open market. Your grandparents had passed away so she was in a position to be able to make an offer. I do know she insisted on giving Alice a good price though – said she wouldn’t buy it otherwise.’
Lily knew that to be the case from Mr Bell. More or less everything Patty had received from the sale of her parents’ house had gone into buying the shop. ‘So do you know exactly what Mum was planning to do?’
Iris puffed out her cheeks, thinking. ‘We spoke a bit about it, she had ideas. She saw it as an adventure more than anything. She didn’t have a business plan or anything like that.’
Lily hesitated, then gently asked, ‘Do you think she was really serious about it all?’
Iris sighed with a sad smile. ‘You know your mum. I think she was more interested in the people who would come in and the spirit of the shop. She wanted it to be a happy place.’
Lily nodded. She could certainly imagine her mother doing that. Patty had never cared about any outward signs of success or prosperity or been driven by money. She’d also never been particularly focused on anything not had a job for any length of time before becoming bored and moving on.
Lily had never heard her mother sound as excited as when she told her she’d bought the shop with a small flat above and hoped with all her heart she had finally found what she was looking for. She’d been surprised when her mum had called to ask her a few questions about stock and pricing but had happily answered all her questions, managing to bury the little nag of doubt that it was just another adventure that wouldn’t last.
Lily had fully intended to come up and visit her mother but it had been a crucial time at work. Dunn Equity had just taken over Bremners and Lily had started working closely with James – but her mum hadn’t minded.
‘Wait until I have it all organised then you can come up for the grand opening,’ she’d said excitedly. Now regret raged through Lily that she’d never made it. Forcing her thoughts back to the present she asked Iris about the boxes she’d found this morning.
‘It was all the stock she’d bought,’ Iris stated matter-of-factly.
Lily’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, not realising she’d got as far as actually buying stock.
‘Where did she get it all from?’
‘I know she’d registered with a couple of wholesale suppliers and then there was the trade fair we went to—’
‘You went to a trade fair?’
‘Oh yes, it was all quite good fun. She placed a few orders and everything arrived but she hadn’t got round to unpacking anything yet. I stacked it all the corner and put a sheet over them. I hope that was all right?’
‘Of course,’ Lily rushed to reassure her. ‘You’ve already done too much.’
The redundancy might be the reason she was here now but Lily knew it wasn’t an excuse for her not coming sooner. And she knew if anyone understood why she hadn’t come before now it would be Iris but that wasn’t providing her with much consolation. ‘I’m really am sorry I didn’t come before.’
Iris shook her head. ‘Don’t give yourself such a hard time. You’re here now and that’s all that matters. Take your time and do what you have to and don’t worry about folk talking.’
Lily’s eyes widened. ‘Are they?’
‘Och, you know what people are like in a small place.’ Iris shook her head. ‘I think there’s been a bit of sniffing about what with the place lying empty, especially now that the village is busier.’
Lily chewed her lip, having difficulty associating the term busy with Carroch. But even so, she hated the idea of being the focus of speculation and it notched up another reason to sell up and leave again.
‘It’s your inheritance and only you can decide the right thing to do.’
Bizarrely, Lily had never viewed the shop and flat as her inheritance before, not even when Mr Bell formally read out the details of her mother’s will. To Lily, it was something that belonged to her mum, almost nothing to do with her. But of course, it was hers now and she had to deal with it. She also knew the only right thing to do was to sell. What use was it to her?
And as much as she was grateful and thankful to Iris she couldn’t afford any sort of emotional attachment. She was here to sort through her mother’s belongings and leave. A sense of goodbye, she needed that and then she could get back to Edinburgh and her life there.
Both women turned their heads at the sound of tapping on the shop door.
‘That’s them now,’ Iris announced. She opened the door to a small army of elderly ladies, the average age of which had to be eighty and all of them brandishing knitting needles.
‘Hello ladies, in you come.’ They trooped in regarding Lily with interest as Iris introduced them and explained Lily’s presence. Mary, a sweet-faced lady with powdered cheeks and wispy white hair clasped her hand, peering closely at her. ‘You’re very like your mother.’
Lily simply smiled at the comment she’d heard so many times before; her dark brown hair, full mouth and high cheekbones had always been strikingly similar to that of her mothers. Her vivid blue eyes she could only assume came from her father.
‘We all loved Patty, she was a lovely lady.’
‘Thank you,’ Lily croaked, a sudden lump forming in her throat.
‘She was so kind to us, letting us use this room. It’s such a pity the shop never opened, we were all very excited about it, you know, looking forward to seeing all the wonderful things she was going to sell.’
As the ladies began to settle themselves at the table, arranging cushions behind their backs Lily became aware that she was expected to sit with them. Fearing an interrogation was imminent, she quelled her instinct to run; besides, she really had nowhere to go. And so she took her place at the table, surrounded by faces sparkling with interest.
Tea was poured from a large brown teapot, beautifully moist lemon cake was unwrapped and cut into slices, and plates passed around. Lily’s stomach rumbled in hunger, a soggy train sandwich and a few crackers last night now a distant memory.
Lily didn’t normally do cake, choosing instead to power through the day on a super-green smoothie which supposedly enhanced mental performance. She shuddered thinking of it now as she popped the final bit of cake into her mouth, washing it down with a mouthful of tea.
And so with the clacking of needles and the voice of Ella Fitzgerald quietly serenading them in the background, Lily found herself sitting in a sea of kindness, watching withered and gnarled fingers weaving together