Free The Cherry Tree Cafe by Heidi Swain

love. You know what an old tease he can be. Now what can I get you – it’s on the house?’
    Tom and Ben forced their way through the crowd towards the bar where Jemma and I were perched on a couple of stools. Their fireside seats were taken long before they reached us.
    ‘We didn’t think there was much point hiding in the corner after that!’ Tom laughed. ’Do you girls fancy a song?’
    Jemma rolled her eyes and tugged at Tom’s sleeve.
    ‘Please not tonight,’ she begged, ‘can’t we just have one night off, one single, solitary trip to the pub that doesn’t turn into a bloody Mumford
tribute?’
    ‘No,’ Tom laughed, kissing the top of her head. ‘We thought a bit of a sing-song might take the heat off Lizzie for a bit. Feel free to join in, won’t you?’ he
winked at me.
    He disappeared amongst the crowd again with Ben following on behind. He didn’t say anything as he passed and I struggled to believe that the impromptu entertainment was really for my
benefit and even if it was, it certainly wasn’t Ben who had come up with the idea.
    ‘I get the impression Ben doesn’t like me!’ I shouted to Jemma, after I’d made sure he was out of earshot.
    ‘What do you mean?’ she asked, shouting back above the noise.
    ‘I can’t explain it,’ I shrugged, ‘it’s just a couple of things he’s said.’
    Jemma shook her head.
    ‘Don’t take it personally,’ she insisted, ‘he’s got a lot on his plate right now.’
    ‘Like what?’
    Jemma took a sip of her pint.
    ‘I’m sorry, Lizzie, I’m not supposed to say anything.’
    ‘Oh,’ I said, feeling a bit put out.
    ‘Let’s just say Ben is pissed off with pretty much everyone and everything right now,’ she explained, ‘so don’t take his comments personally, OK?’
    I was intrigued. My hunch at the Café was obviously right.
    ‘That’s easy for you to say!’ I told her. ‘I haven’t heard him snap at you!’
    ‘Oh, he’s had his moments, believe me.’ Jemma smiled.
    A thought suddenly struck me.
    ‘He isn’t cross because you offered the flat to me, is he? I mean, he was already with you before you asked me if I wanted to move in, wasn’t he?’
    ‘No, no! It’s nothing like that. I don’t think he’s planning on hanging around long after the Café’s open,’ Jemma reassured me. ‘He hasn’t
talked about staying on, anyway.’
    ‘Fair enough,’ I muttered. ‘I’ll try not to take his comments to heart next time.’
    Jemma didn’t say anything else and I knew I wasn’t going to get anything more out of her. It wasn’t fair to try and force her to fess up, but I still couldn’t help
feeling left a little out in the cold. After all, Ben knew why I was sleeping on the sofa in my best friend’s sitting room; the least he could do was return the favour and share his woes with
me, wasn’t it? I’d already worked out we were going to be spending a lot of time together at the Café over the coming weeks and without knowing why he had come back I was bound
to put my foot in it and incur his wrath.
    Jemma turned to face me again. She was obviously feeling guilty.
    ‘Like I said, he’s got a lot on his mind right now. He’s coming to terms with some pretty major stuff that’s happened in his life, but bear with him. You’ll really
like him once you get to know him and I dare say he’ll fill you in when the time’s right.’
    I drank a mouthful of my pint and glanced over to where the guys were preparing to entertain the crowd. Tom, sitting at the piano, was grinning broadly and Ben, miraculously smiling, was
fiddling intently with the strings on a double bass. A third member of the crowd joined them and cheers went up as he whipped a banjo out from behind his back. I looked around at the ruddy,
slightly unfocused faces and thought how the place hadn’t changed at all. We were certainly in for a fun evening.
    A little while later Jim had somehow tempted me behind the packed bar and I found myself