Angie glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’m so sorry Tess, but I’ll have to go soon.”
I nodded. I understood that time was not on Angie’s side. The cafe was short-staffed – hence the delay with our lunch – and my friend needed to return to work. We used to be call centre colleagues.
We’d worked for an energy company and we’d dealt with difficult customers. Angie still did. It was a stressful occupation, so I didn’t exactly envy Angie.
When our lunch finally arrived to our table (with a side order of an apology) Angie gulped back her tea and wrapped her sandwich in a large napkin, to take away.
She then shrugged on her jacket. “I’m really sorry about this but we’ll meet as usual, next Friday lunchtime.”
I smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I know how it is. Take care. Bye!”
Angie waved as she headed for the door. My mind flew back… me, Angie and Lisa had started work at the same time at Energo. Being the same age (mid-forties) and married, the three of us had hit it off and every Friday, as a little end of week treat, we went to a cosy cafe for a nice lunch. We’d all worked well together for just over a decade, until things changed. Eight months ago, Lisa had made an announcement.
“My husband and I moving to the Yorkshire dales to run a B&B. Call it a mid-life crisis but we want to do something different. We’ve put the house on the market. I’ll work my notice here, and when the house sells, we’ll be off!”
Crikey. A brand-new life and gorgeous scenery to boot… how lovely!
“We’ll miss you so much!” I cried.
She wiped away tears. “I’ll miss you two, too!”
Angie and I were sorry to see her go. However, once she’d settled in, Lisa invited me and my hubby Tom to stay – plus, Angie (and her hubby) of course. The invite arrived out of season, so they had plenty of spare rooms. I promised faithfully that we would, but we were rushed off our feet at work… yet Angie and I managed to keep in touch with Lisa. A few cheery ‘How are you?’ lines dashed off in an email was better than nothing. Strangely, the company didn’t hire anyone to take over Lisa’s role. We soon discovered why… they were bringing in a series of voluntary redundancies.
Tom had recently retired, so I decided to take up the company’s offer. It’d be good to escape the stress and Tom and I could take the opportunity to travel. I’d love to visit my sister, her husband and her family in Australia. They had emigrated there. I hadn’t seen her for years and my niece and nephew were growing up fast. She was always begging us to come and stay. There was only one snag. Tom didn’t like flying.
At work, when I announced that I was leaving, Angie had looked sad.
“We can still meet for lunch on Fridays,” she’d put in.
I’d smiled. ‘Thanks. I’d like that.”
We did, and she’d continued to fill me in on office gossip. Yet sometimes I felt my attention wandering. Well, it wasn’t my world any more, was it? I didn’t mean to sound uncaring but why would I be bothered about Anna’s disastrous dates, Paul’s driving lessons or Barry’s ongoing indigestion?
That first Monday morning lie-in was bliss – yet I realised that I needed something to do. It was a nice, sunny day so I packed a flask and joined Tom on his allotment. The allotment had kept him occupied and he’d become friendly with all the folk there.
“Hello love.” He was pleased to see me, yet I sensed a subtle distance.
Later, I learnt that he preferred to keep his hobby separate. He didn’t really want me involved. That was fine – I had to respect that.
“We could visit my sister and her family in Australia, now I’m not working,” I suggested that evening over dinner.
He pulled a face. “You know how I feel about long-haul flights, Tess. I hate flying in general, anyway.”
“I know but look, what if we broke the journey and stayed for a week at the half way point?” I suggested.
“Hmm. Let me have a think about it.”
“Then there’s Lisa in the Yorkshire dales -”
“Calm down, love. I realise that you’re free as a bird now but there’s no need to suddenly dash here, there and everywhere,” he chuckled.
It was a fair point. Later, I mulled things over. Perhaps I’d been hasty in accepting voluntary redundancy? I didn’t miss the problem-solving element attached to my job but I missed the daily work routine and yes, I admit that I missed company.
Well, if travel wasn’t on the agenda maybe I should look for another job, I thought.
A part-time one would be good – it wouldn’t absorb all my energy, and I’d be able to pursue a hobby. I still had my Friday lunches with Angie to look forward to!
Yet when I arrived at the cafe on Friday, Angie wasn’t there. It was our usual time… my mind whirled. I hadn’t had a text, saying, she’d be late. I sighed. I knew how it was – we’d get caught up with a client over the phone and couldn’t get away… the cafe was crowded, yet I managed to find a spare seat. Then a text came in – but it wasn’t from Angie. It was Tom.
“Okay. Let’s go to Oz,” he said.
My heart leapt. Great! I reckoned that a long weekend in the Yorkshire dales beckoned, too!
Back to the cafe…as it was busy, my table hadn’t been cleared. So, I gathered the empty mugs and took them to the counter.
The woman smiled. “Oh, many thanks!”
I then made a sudden, impulsive, decision.
“Look, I know this out of the blue, but what if I did a voluntary shift for you, right here, right now?”
The idea had come from nowhere – yet it could fit the bill.
Her face lit up. “Would you? I recognise you – you’re a regular customer. You come in every Friday.”
I nodded. “That’s right.”
“Well, yes please to helping out. If you do well today, I could be offering you a part-time job, er -”
I beamed. “Tess.”
“I’m Kate. Pleased to meet you. I’ll need to check your references but in-the-meantime, here’s a spare apron. Table three’s order should be ready in the kitchen.”
I nodded but before I could tie my apron, another text bleeped. This time it was Angie, saying sorry, she’d had to work, so would miss our lunch. I vowed to buy her a sandwich and pop round to Energo when I could. Then I switched my phone off, stored it safely in my bag and got cracking.
Three hours later, I was thrilled when Kate offered me the job! That really made my day!
