The Tea House on Mulberry Street by Sharon Owens Read Free Book Online Page B

the raindrops stung her eyes and ears. She arrived home dripping wet and in despair.

Chapter 6

    T HE S TORY OF D ANIEL S TANLEY
    The day passed in a blur of serving and cleaning and washing-up. At seven o’clock, the cafe became quiet, and Penny and Daniel sat down to their supper, in the kitchen. Needless to say, when Penny put her suggestions to Daniel, he was not impressed.
    He did not think it was a good idea to employ a cleaner and a couple of waitresses and give Penny some time off. Why would she need time off? There were weeks when the takings were down. And that was the great thing about not having any staff: it kept the overheads to a minimum. He patiently went through the familiar arguments for her.
    And then the bombshell: she wanted them to try for a baby before it was too late. He was deeply shocked that she was still harbouring the idea at all. He thought she’d forgotten about all that, thought that they were now very cosy running their own business together.
    He pointed out to her that it would be impossible to run the tea house and take care of a baby, that they could not afford it. And, by not having children, look at all the trouble they were saving themselves: the sleepless nights, the months of teething, the crawling stage when they might put dropped coins and bits of carpet fluff into their mouths and choke until they had to be thumped on the back…
    “How do you know all this stuff about babies, if you don’t want a child?” Penny wanted to know.
    “I heard Millie telling you about it. Her children sound awful. If she turns her back on them for a minute, they’ve broken something, or hurt themselves.”
    “They’re only small for a short while, Daniel. Then they start to grow up and develop their own personalities.”
    “That’s even worse! You have to find a good school for them. And then they fight in the yard and rip their blazers. And they won’t do their homework, and the teenagers are all out of control…”
    “Oh, Daniel, you’re talking total nonsense! You should hear yourself! You sound like the Crawleys. Our child would never be like that. We’d love our child and teach him, or her, how to be a good person.”
    “There are no guarantees in this life, Penny. How can you be sure you wouldn’t change your mind afterwards, and want to go back to when it was just you and me and our little shop?”
    “Because I just know I’d love our baby, no matter what.”
    “That’s a silly thing to say.”
    “Not as silly as claiming you’d rather serve tea and toast and cream buns to strangers, than bring a new baby into the world!”
    “I thought you loved Muldoon’s as much as I do, Penny! It was your family’s after all. You were born into it, and the catering business.”
    “Daniel, I do love it. And I know you work hard and you’re a terrific chef. But I don’t want to be here for fifteen hours a day. I’m not getting any younger, and I want a child.” Tears sprang to her eyes.
    “Don’t I have a say in this?”
    “Of course you do. But I’ll be the one who’s going to carry it, and give birth to it, and feed it. I haven’t got much time left, Daniel…” And she began to sob.
    “You’re getting very emotional, Penny. Please calm down. All I’m saying, is that you might get fed up some day. You might want to run away and get your freedom back.”
    “Well, why would I do that? Haven’t I all the patience in the world?”
    “Have you?”
    “How do you think I’ve managed to live with you all these years?” she wept.
    “Look, we’ll have an early night. Would you like that?”
    “Are you going to use birth control?”
    He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.
    “Forget about it, Daniel. I know it’s just another chore for you!”
    And she flounced out of the cafe and went up the stairs to the flat, to run herself a hot bath. She would take a bottle of chilled wine into the bathroom with her, and a crystal glass to drink it from, and a new paperback as