The Christmas Sisters

She ripped off her outer layers until she exposed the blue T-shirt emblazoned with the Café Craft logo. Then she swapped weatherproof trousers for jeans and her trainers.

If she was going to be on her feet all day, there was no way she was wearing heels.

She slipped a clean apron over her head, tied it around her waist and emerged into the cinnamon-scented warmth of the café.

Her mother had an almost-magical ability to create a welcoming, cozy atmosphere wherever she went. In Café Craft you felt as if you were cocooned and protected, not only from the icy Highland winds, but from the icy winds of life. Reality was forced to wait outside the door until you were ready to let it in.

“Let me just finish this order and you can tell me all about Bonnie. Two cappuccinos and a chocolate brownie to share—” Suzanne turned to the machine, a look of determination on her face, and Posy nudged her aside.

“I’ve got this.”

“Could you deal with the paperwork later if it’s quiet?”

Posy hunted desperately for excuses. “You’re better at it than I am.”

“Which is why I think you should do it,” Suzanne said. “This place will be yours one day and you need to know everything there is to know about running it.”

Oh joy and bliss.

A lifetime of paperwork stretched ahead of her.

“Plenty of time for that. You won’t be retiring for ages.” Please don’t retire. “I took a slab of your fruitcake to the team this morning. They almost bit off my hand to get to it. You’d think those guys never eat.”

Pushing the thought of running the café to the back of her head, she ground the beans, tamped the coffee and timed the pour. The aroma of fresh coffee wafted upward and she had to fight the impulse to drink the first cup herself. There was nothing, she decided, nothing in the world better than good coffee when you’d been out in the cold and the snow.

She heated the milk and created a leaf pattern on the surface of the coffee that satisfied her artistic instincts.

“Take a seat, Jean,” she called out. “I’ll bring these to your table.”

The café was already filling up. There was a comforting hum of conversation, a feeling of camaraderie and inclusiveness. In the summer the place was always packed with tourists eager to soak up the whole “Scottish experience,” which they generally assumed to be tartan and shortbread. If they’d returned in the winter months, they would have experienced the true Scottish experience. This was a community that supported all its members through the harsh winter months. Everyone knew each other and looked out for each other.

As the last village in the valley, Glensay was sometimes cut off in the winter. For decades the Glensay Inn had been the only place to eat out, and it had been Stewart’s parents who had come up with the idea for a café. Suzanne had eventually taken over the business, and she was the one who had expanded the space and added crafts. As well as a place to sell the pieces she and her friends knitted, it was somewhere for the locals to meet on cold winter days.

Suzanne had created a place that people wrote about when they arrived home. As a result they had visitors from all over the globe. But the beating heart of Café Craft were the locals.

Three evenings a week Suzanne opened up for different groups, as a way to combat the dark nights. Monday was Book Group, Wednesday was Art Club and Friday was Knitting Club.

Posy wondered how she was going to keep that part going when she eventually took over. Despite her frequent trips to the library, she never had time to read, the only thing she’d ever painted was the henhouse and she couldn’t knit.

She’d be qualified to run an Outdoors Club, but there wouldn’t be much point in holding that indoors.

Posy glanced at her mother, noticing the blue sweater for the first time. The wool had a hint of silver that sparkled under the lights. “That’s pretty. New?”

“Finished it last night. I should probably be wearing one of our shirts, but I figured as I’m the boss, I can wear what I like.”

“It looks good on you.”

“I’m knitting a few to sell in the café. I had another box of yarn delivered yesterday. I can’t wait to get started, but I have those Christmas stockings to knit first. Anytime you’d like me to teach you—”

“No, thanks. I’m scared of needles, and that includes knitting needles.”

All but two tables were occupied, and Posy knew that by the time they closed at five, her legs would be aching more than they did when she went ice climbing.

She put the cups on a tray and added a slice of perfect gooey brownie, so deliciously chocolaty that it probably should have come with a health warning. Posy had to employ every last morsel of willpower to carry it to the table and not eat it herself.

“Here you go, ladies.”

Jean took one of the coffees. “You were out training with the team this morning?”