‘Why do you assume I need something?’
‘Well, don’t you?’
Hattie sighed. ‘Yes, of course. I’m afraid I do. The tank in the attic is leaking again and I’ve got my nephew Xander staying for a while.’ She wasn’t sure why this made the leak seem more important, but it did.
‘I’ll be over.’
‘I’ll give you supper.’
She loved cooking for Luke. He was appreciative but discerning. He was a good cook himself, but he had thepatience to follow a recipe all the way to the end which was something that Hattie never managed. Her cooking style was like the rest of her, haphazard and unorthodox but successful. She could always make a delicious meal out of whatever was available. Her parents and sister found this gift really annoying and Hattie suspected her wild great-granny had shared it.
After hanging up, Hattie explained the situation to Xander, who had come in and seated himself down at the kitchen table. She gave him a Diet Coke (forbidden fruit).
‘So I must feed him. He mostly lives on food you buy at petrol stations and it’s not healthy.’ She opened the door of the fridge, which was now full of what she thought of as Xander food, although it was possible that Xander wouldn’t eat any of it. ‘I think I’ll do special fried rice. It’s his favourite.’
‘Is Luke your boyfriend?’ said Xander.
Hearing this question from her nephew’s lips took Hattie aback, but not so much that she couldn’t explain. ‘No. Luke is a very dear friend. People often ask me if he’s my boyfriend because they don’t believe men and women can be friends with each other without anything else doing on.’
She put two onions on her chopping board. ‘It’s a special friendship. I could never risk anything bad happening to it.’
‘What do you mean?’
Hattie wondered if it was the fact that Xander hardly spoke that made him so direct. ‘If anything romantic started and it went wrong it could spoil the friendship irrevocably. I couldn’t risk that.’
Xander nodded. Hattie wondered if he’d used up his daily ration of words.
She’d thought about it, of course she had. When they first met, she’d been struck by how handsome and kind he was – she’d have been mad not to have considered it. But they’d both been with other people and by the time they weren’t, she and Luke had slipped into an easy friendship.
A little while later, Frank and Fearless bounded in through the double doors and bounced on to the sofa to make a big fuss of Xander.
‘Horrible dogs,’ said Luke, following them.
‘Dogs off!’ commanded Hattie, aware she didn’t know if Xander was dog friendly or not.
The dogs immediately jumped off the sofa, but Xander said, ‘No, leave them.’
Hattie saw them get back on to the sofa and settle with their heads on Xander’s lap. He smiled slightly and seemed to relax. And Hattie let out a breath too. Maybe it would be all right.
While Luke was up in the attic, putting some wonder product on the leaking water tank, she carried on cooking. Soon there were large bowls on place settings and she got out a bottle of wine and glasses from habit and then realised no one would be drinking it.
‘Would you like another Diet Coke?’ she asked Xander. ‘I know you’re only supposed to have one a day, but it is your first night.’
‘Water is fine.’
Luke came down and looked at Hattie sternly.
‘That should last a little while, but you must speak to your landlord.’
‘I will mention it, but I can’t make demands. I’m lucky to be here.’
‘You’re protecting his investment. You’d be doing him a favour.’
‘OK then. If you put it like that.’ She smiled. Luke grunted. He knew as well as she did that while she’d mean to report to Aiden, her landlord, she’d probably forget because of all the other small but time-consuming things she had to do as part of her work. Luke was one of the few people who realised what hard work being a property finder was. Most people thought she was a combination of Kirstie and Phil but only did what Kirstie and Phil did on television, showing nothing of the tireless research and many, many hours that had to be put in first.
When Hattie served out the fried rice she put some in all the bowls without consulting Xander. She knew he probably thought she’d forgotten about his ‘pasta only’ diet but in fact she thought he might like something different if no one was making a big deal of it.
And so it proved. There wasn’t much conversation as everyone seemed hungry. Hattie offered seconds and Xander and Luke both had some.
