"You know, Marcus, I think we're going to be early," I said as I caught sight of the sea over the cliff top as we headed down into Llyncroft. "What about having a cuppa in a cafe by the seafront?"

Marcus smiled. He enjoyed my energy when I was happy and excited. I loved the way he liked it when I was having fun.

The drive to Llyncroft had taken far less time than we'd planned. Though, to be fair, Marcus always added an extra hour onto the journey, just to be sure we wouldn't be late. We'd agreed to meet Mrs Blackwood at Willow Grove for elevenses, just like gran wanted.

The coastal road followed the cliff top until it plunged down to the seafront. The sea sparkled in the early morning sunlight. I remembered this part of the journey from my childhood. When we got near to the lighthouse, it meant we were nearly there and our holiday was about to begin. I felt like a 10-year-old again as I took in the once familiar view.

"Oh wow, it's not changed all that much. There's parking down by the seafront if I remember right."

Cars parked nose to tail along the front, but with Marcus's skilful parking, we squeezed the car into the last space, right by the pier.

"Oh, what about having fish and chips on the pier," I said, dashing up the wooden gantry to the fish and chip shop. Unfortunately, it was closed, too early, I guess.

Marcus came up behind me and took my hand and kissed it. He swung out arms making me laugh. "Come with me. Bakeries open early," he said, guiding me to one across the road.

When the door opened, the smell of freshly cooked bread cakes assaulted us.

"So, love, what would you like for breakfast today? Looks like they've got all sorts. Are you going for the naughty stuff or something light so you can watch your figure?" Marcus asked.

Seeing the cakes, I decided to treat today as if I was on holiday. There was no such thing as calories on vacation so I could eat whatever I liked today.

The wide variety of custard and cream filled cakes, pastries, and sugar-coated masterpieces astonished me. The place looked absolutely amazing.

"Do you know what I'd like?" The woman behind the counter asked.

"I'd really like the two Pain Au Chocolat, please," I said, to the baker,

"Of course, to eat in or take away?" she smiled, placing them in a cardboard presentation box.

"To eat in. Oh, and you do drinks. Can I have a cup of hot chocolate with that?"

Marcus smiled indulgently at me, watching me play.

"And what will it be for you, sir?" the baker asked Marcus.

"I would like, I'm not sure." He spent a minute looking at the cakes. "Give me the same, only I will have a coffee rather than a hot chocolate, please," said Marcus, handing over a £20 note.

"Of course, coming right up. Grab yourself a chair and I'll bring the drinks over in a moment."

I took Marcus's hand and squeezed it. "Isn't this amazing? This is just like being on holiday."

Marcus smiled. "This is magical. I can see why you love it."

The baker carried over our hot drinks. "What brings you to Llyncroft today? We rarely get visitors."

I read the name on her badge. "Cassandra, we're heading over to the bed-and-breakfast up on the cliff top." I said.

"Ah, May's old place. I didn't know it was open yet."

"Oh, it's not. I inherited it and we've come out to have a look."

"I'm so sorry for your loss. May was well loved in the village, and I really miss her. She came in most days for a hot chocolate," said Cassandra, smiling. Sympathy in her eyes.

"Thank You. May was my Gran. She was an amazing woman."

"She was. Welcome to Llyncroft. Newcomers are rare in the village, so I'm excited to meet you. Hopefully I'll get to know you better."

Marcus took a sip of his coffee. "This is good stuff, thank you."

"I will let you enjoy your breakfast together. There's some stuff I need to do out the back. Have a good day." Cassandra left us to enjoy her magical cakes and the scenic views.

I looked around the bakery. The fresh paint suggested recent decoration, yet the decor evoked a sense of stepping into the past. There were yellow gingham curtains in the window while net curtains covered the lower half. On each of the three small round tables, there was a small bunch of flowers. It looked as if Cassandra had picked them earlier in the day. It was a perfect seaside town spot to have a drink.

"This is wonderful," I said to Marcus.

"I'm glad you're happy, as I was worried this would be too much for you. I don't want you to feel too much pressure to comply with the expectations in the will."

"I know you aren't keen on moving out here, but I like the idea of me taking it on. Just being here it reminds me of happier days. The seaside air reminds me of endlessly long sunny summers when the sun always shone. We used to spend the summers here as a family before it all happened."

Marcus smiled, taking my hand in his. "Tell me more about it." He settled back in his chair to listen to me.

"I remember the sweet shop down the road. They had giant jars with sweets in. You asked for a quarter and they poured loads of sweets into a bag. I got to choose whatever I wanted. One quarter a day. That's all my mum would allow me. When I think about it, she allowed me a crazy amount of sugar."

"It sounds great," said Marcus, gently rubbing my hand.

While we ate, I shared more stories from my childhood holidays. It was brilliant to see to see Marcus laughing. When they were in the city together, he was normally so serious. It was good to see him happy.

"We've got about half an hour before we need to meet Mrs. Blackwood at 11 o'clock. Do you want to explore a bit more?" Marcus asked.

"I'd love to."

We strolled along the seafront looking at each of the quaint shops, restaurants and those little touristy shops that sold knick knacks with your name on. I tried to put on a flowery pair of sunglasses on Marcus, but he pulled away laughing.

"Come on, let's have a go in here," I said, pulling Marcus into a penny arcade.

The cacophony of sounds and flashing lights was hypnotic. "Have you ever considered winning me a teddy?" I joked as we walked past the toy grabbers at the entrance of the arcade.

"I'll get you a teddy at the next fair," Marcus promised. "They need more skill than these ones. These things are rigged and drop the teddy before you can win it."

"Oh, they have 2p machines. I haven't seen a 2p machine in ages," I said, rushing to a wall of old-fashioned machines.

"Lets do this. I'll get you some change."

Marcus put £5 notes into a change machine which clunked and whirred, then spat out coins. I collected the coins in a cup provided.

"Look, I got the jackpot," I joked, bouncing a little. "Come on, this is the machine I played as a kid." I led Marcus to a one-armed bandit which had seen better days.

"Looks old enough. It could be the same one," Marcus joked.

I pushed him with my hip. "Cheeky."

I put a coin into the machine and pulled the arm down. The dials spun, showing different fruit icons. I had very little luck, so after putting over a pound of 2ps into the machine, I looked round the arcade a little more.

There was a group of far more modern machines by the back wall. There was a beautiful woman with long, dark black hair putting pound coins at a tremendous rate into the slots. The machine had a touch screen and seemed very sleek compared to the clunky one-armed bandit I had been playing.

The woman must have put in over £20 into the machine. It spun, and the woman lost. She put more money in and lost that as well.

The woman was clearly becoming irritated with the machine. She pulled out another note. This time, when the woman spun the dials, I watched her put her hand on the machine by the screen. It looked as if she had lost again. At the last minute, the dial slowly moved, giving her a jackpot win.

The alarms went off, lights flashed, bringing attention to the jackpot. The machine spat out pound after pound, coin after coin, drawing the attention of the arcade owner and everyone else in the building.

"Come on now, you know you can't do that," the owner said, pointing to a sign saying "Use your powers, lose your win."

The woman looked at the arcade owner. "What do you mean? I've not done anything."

"Come on Fiona. I watched the feedback. You've changed the dial again. You know you can't do that. I know you guys are struggling, but you can't cheat the machine."

"Whatever." Storming out of the arcade, the woman threw a handful of coins into the air.

"Don't come back Fiona or I'll have to get the sheriff to have a word."

The owner nodded his head at Marcus and I. "Sorry you had to witness that, guys. Sometimes the locals forget. Have a good day."

"Forget what?" I asked, "Forget what?" but the noise in the arcade made it impossible for my voice to be heard.

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