Abby looked up at her, a little startled. “Hey, Marcy. I’m fine, I think. Everything’s under control.” She smiled. “It’s been a while, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s been a couple of weeks. Last time I was at the gallery you were out with Fred for your anniversary dinner, so I just missed you, and the week before that, Mum said you were picking up the kids from the airport.”
“Yes, that’s right. They were all over for a long weekend and then we had our thirty-third wedding anniversary.” Abby sat back and looked up at her. “It’s good to see you. I wanted to call you, but I wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do,” she continued, lowering her voice. “After our talk I felt guilty about how I was treating Fred and thought it best not to be around you.” She shrugged. “Fred is a good man. I’m lucky to have him and I’m taking your advice. I’m going to tell him how I feel, otherwise our marriage won’t last.”
“Good. I think it will work out for you.”
“And you deserve a chance at love,” Abby said. “Your mother told me about this girl you’ve been seeing.”
Marcy frowned and let out a chuckle. “Well, Mum is wrong. I’m not seeing anyone.” She subconsciously looked over her shoulder to the stand outside, where Zoe was serving people. She’d told her mother nothing was going on between her and Zoe, but she clearly didn’t believe her as she’d already started spreading the fake news. “But I’m very happy to hear you’re going to talk to Fred; I promise you it’s for the best.” Making sure no one was watching them, she placed a hand on Abby’s. “You might thank me one day, when your marriage is open and free, and you both feel like you’re living your best life.”
“Perhaps. That’s what I’m hoping for.” Abby squeezed her hand. “Thank you, Marcy. For everything. For making me realise what I want and—” She stopped herself when someone came up to the table to pay for a vase.
Deciding this was the right time to end their talk, Marcy smiled and patted her hand. “Thankyou, Abby. I hope to share a bottle with you and Mum soon.”
God, why had her mother told Abby about Zoe?No, she thought. Why hadshetold her mother about Zoe? She didn’t make a habit of sharing her private stuff with her, and when she’d told her she’d made a new friend, she didn’t think her enthusiasm had been so obvious. Was she that bad at hiding her crush? Panic struck when she spotted her mother outside, heading straight for Zoe. She was just about to catch up with her mother, ready to enforce damage control, when Maevis, and another neighbour from further down, stopped her in her tracks.
“Marcy! Hi, love. Isn’t this nice? What a lovely idea of yours to hold the event here, and can you believe how many people have showed up? How’s your new house? Have you finished decorating? And when are you moving out?” She nudged her friend. “I told you Marcy was moving, right?”
“Yes, you told me five times,” the woman whose name Marcy couldn’t remember said, then turned to her and smiled. “We’re going to miss you here. Who’s going to take care of us now? We can’t even replace a toilet roll by ourselves,” she joked, and burst out in laughter. “So, have you found yourself a fella? Are you moving in together? Maybe make some—”
“I told you, she’s of the lesbian kind,” Maevis interrupted her. “Marcy doesn’t date men.” Marcy didn’t have the chance to answer any of the twelve questions fired at her, as Maevis continued. “Isn’t that the girl who stayed over the other night?” She glanced at Zoe through the open doors. “Is that her? I can’t see very well these days, but I recognise that bandana in her hair. Are you dating?”
“She’s not my girlfriend and she didn’t stay over,” Marcy said when she finally managed to get a word in. “Her name is Zoe, and we’re just friends.” She wondered how many times she’d have to repeat that line today because she wouldn’t be surprised if the whole park thought they were dating in a couple of hours.
“It’s okay, love.” Maevis gave her a conspiratorial wink. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Well, we’re really not—”
Again, Marcy was interrupted, this time by the other lady. “Are you really a lesbian? My granddaughter is a lesbian and she’s single.” She chuckled. “We’re more open-minded than you think in this park; you really didn’t have to keep it a secret.”
“A secret? How many times have I told you she’d kept us up at all hours with her lady friends screaming through the night? Marcy doesn’t keep secrets.” Maevis lowered her glasses and looked at Zoe again. “Well, apart from that lass over there. You’ve been awfully quiet about her.” More residents joined them; the couple from across the road, and another two ladies who lived at the other end, near the car park.
Marcy took that as her cue to excuse herself before her mother scared Zoe away. “Why don’t I get us all some food?” she suggested. “If you grab a table, I’ll get the dumplings.”
38
“You must be Zoe.” A heavily tanned blonde woman held out her hand and Zoe put her tongs down to shake it. “I’m Delia, Marcy’s mum.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Marcy told me you were the driving force behind this event. It’s so lovely of you to raise money for the dog shelter.”
“Well, what can I say? I love those little rascals. Thank you so much for helping out. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” Delia looked at the steamer baskets. “What have you got in there? It smells great.”
“Cantonese dumplings.” Zoe opened the top basket to show her. “My mother helped me make them, she’s super-fast. Would you like to try them?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
“I figured you’d already be selling coffee and cake here, so I wanted to bring something different, and these are easy to prepare and cook. I wasn’t sure how popular they’d be, but you’d be surprised how many people have had them for breakfast.” Zoe pointed to the three baskets. “I have mushroom with black truffle, pork and shrimp—that’s the most traditional one—and there’s a chicken and leek option. All served with fresh spring onions and a vinegar and soy dip.”
“Yum. They all sound delicious. Can I try all three?”
“Of course. I was actually going to suggest that.” Zoe filled a paper plate with a selection and dressed it.
“Thank you, darling,” Delia said, inhaling the savoury aroma wafting up from the plate. Zoe served the next customer, but Delia didn’t move away from the stand. Instead, she studied Zoe, who was filling more steamer baskets and nibbled on the dumplings while a queue formed behind her. “These are very, very good. You must teach me how to make them.” She smiled. “So, you and Marcy… I hear you’re friends?”
“Yes. We’re new friends.” Zoe didn’t dare look Delia in the eyes, and she had no intention of mentioning what had happened in the past, their rocky start when they were both working at El Escondite and their recent playful flirtations.
“Marcy’s lovely, but she’s also a bit of a womaniser.” Delia chuckled. “And she rarely has female friends, simply because she always ends up in bed with them. So, you can imagine I was understandably curious when she told me about you.”
