THE TWENTY-SECOND pt2

Fortunately, my dad provides a distraction as I walk into Cake. I can hear James and his crew fitting out the new cloakroom, so we settle on one of the sofas, away from the noise, to talk through the strategy for the grand opening, which Dad has taken upon himself to be in charge of. We go through the invite samples he has had made up by a local printer, finally settling on a heavy teal card with embossed silver writing. I make a mental note to try and replicate the colour in icing to go on top of the cupcakes that we will be sending out with the invites.

“Dad, this is amazing,” I say. “I can’t believe how fast you have managed to pull all of this together.”

“You can get anything done with a little bit of bribery, love,” Dad chuckles. “You are going to owe these guys a few cakes down the line…” I chuckle in response, knowing that Dad will have used his trademark charm and good looks to get away with murder, or at least the tightest turnaround they have ever done.

“Right, let’s hav