DEEP IN THE VALLEY

CHAPTER SIX

THE CAFE

"I knew you were acting weird" Shelly says as we make our way towards geography class "Who is the Tony and where did you meet him?" she calls all hot guys Harry after Harry Styles.

I can't tell her whats going on so do my best to come up with something on the hop "He's just moved to town and we met through my aunt Catherine. He's just a guy, there is nothing going on".

"Just a guy! You are such a liar!  I saw how you both looked at each other, all coy and cute. And he is stupid hot". 

"Was he all coy?" I ask, secretly happy with this bit of information. 

"Completely!".

We take our seats in Geography and I don't hear a single word the teacher says because all I can think about is David and the fact that I'm going to meet him after school. 

I zombie my way through the rest of the afternoon and when the home bell finally rings Shelly lets out a little scream. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" she asks as we pack up even though I have told her ten times that she's not coming. 

"No, and yes I will ask if he has any brothers or good looking cousins for you". 

"OK". 

We walk towards the gates and I see David standing in the alleyway. 

"Now you call me if any of his good looking relatives joins you, promise?"

"I promise" and she watches me cross the road and approach him. 

"Hello again" he says "Your friend is staring".

I look behind and Shelly is still standing by the traffic lights watching us with a big grin on her face. She then gives me the thumbs up and I want the world to end. I shoo her away and she finally moves off with one more thumbs up. 

"I'm sorry, she's very excited that there is someone new in town' I say doing my best to move things along but my heart is beating fast. 

"Where would you like to go?" he asks "Ladies prerogative"

"There is only one nice place in town, down by the river" I say and as we walk past the park and descend through the town towards the river he asks me about my family and about how long we have lived in Penrith? 

I am wary at first and only provide him with one word answers but by the time we arrive at the café I am telling him all about my dad, about his military career and his ambush in Afghanistan. I never talk this easily to anyone and am surprised with how comfortable I feel with David.

'Nice place' David says as we enter the café that was once grand when mine money ran through the town. It's tall vaulted windows and ornate Victorian mouldings provide a faded grandure to the cafe that once served fancy cream cakes on fine china but now mostly serves egg and chips on chipped plates.   

'Lets take that table by the window, you get a good view of the river' I say and lead the way to a table that will give us some privacy. It's a grey day outside and the river has swollen it's banks raging a lazy torrent around the corner and out to sea.

"Did you know that because the town was built on the banks of this river there was trade and transport for centuries before coal became the major industry in the area. This river made the town what it once was" I look at him and can see that he's trying to impress me and quite like it. 

The waitress comes and takes our order and seems as charmed by David as I am. Once she has gone I decide to get to the bottom of things.

'Speaking of coal, what are you doing under that old house?' I ask as David rubs his head.