Things had quietened right down over the actual holiday fortnight. A lot of the businesses in Halfmoon Quay had closed for the full two weeks, knowing most people would be hitting the big out-of-town retail parks for the sales. The coffee shop had only closed for Christmas and Boxing Day, but customers had been so few and far between that her dad had taken on the bulk of the work, and Kat had popped in for a couple of hours a day to work through the list of deep-cleaning tasks while he managed the front-of-house operations.
The Watts Up/Warren thing had a couple of positive points, she supposed: one, her mum was looking great and had never been fitter, and two, Warren lived several hundred miles away so there was little chance of her mother acting on this latest infatuation.
It was more like twenty than two minutes later when her mum finally pushed open Kat’s bedroom door, her hair and body wrapped in matching towels. Her mum’s gaze alighted on the bed and a line formed between her brows as she pushed the door wide and walked in. ‘Oh, is that what you’re wearing tonight? I thought we’d agreed that red wasn’t your colour.’ Jen scooped the dress up and carried it over to the full-length mirror, holding it in front of herself as she admired her reflection. ‘It is a lovely dress, though.’ She glanced over her shoulder at Kat, her smilefull of sympathy as she shook her head. ‘Such a shame you inherited your father’s colouring instead of mine.’
Though she’d already ruled the dress out, a surge of defiance made her protest her mother’s comment. ‘I thought it would be festive.’
‘I suppose so, though it’s not really Christmas any more.’ Jen Bailey smiled in what Kat was sure she believed was an encouraging manner. ‘Still, I’m sure you’ll look nice whatever you decide to wear.’
‘I really need to get in the shower, Mum, I don’t want to be late to the Penroses’.’
Her mum’s smile tightened at the corners. ‘There’s so many of them, I doubt they’ll even miss you. And besides, you can’t go rushing off because your dad wants us to all have a drink together first. He’s bought a nice bottle of champagne to toast the new year early as you won’t be here to see it in with us.’
Choo-choo! All aboard the guilt train! ‘We could’ve seen the new year in together at the party, Mum. It’s not like you weren’t invited.’
Her mum’s mouth twitched in a not-quite smile, not-quite grimace. ‘You know it’s not our scene.’
‘How would you know if it’s your scene or not when you’ve refused every invite they’ve extended to you?’ Kat regretted the snapped words as soon as she’d said them. She knew exactly why parties at the Penrose house weren’t her mother’s scene. There’d been a time about five years ago when Jen had become an avid watcher of home makeover shows and insisted on getting the kitchen refitted as a result. Ryan Penrose, Chloe’s dad, had taken the job, but politely refused the added bonus of a flirtation with Jen. Not that her mother had ever admitted it; Kat only knew about it because Chloe had overheard her parents discussing it and had warned Kat. It would’ve been even more mortifying if her friend hadn’t already been aware of Jen’s track record, butstill it had been months before Kat had felt able to visit Chloe’s house.
‘Your dad and I prefer each other’s company, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Not everyone is as lucky as us.’
Kat was amazed when her mum’s tongue didn’t fall out after speaking such a blatant lie. She’d never met two people who managed to make each other as consistently miserable as her parents. She’d tried talking to her dad about it in the past, wondering why he kept forgiving her mother after she sobbingly confessed to her latest indiscretion and promised it would never happen again. He’d shut her down, stating only it was none of her business and she’d understand the complexities of marriage one day. There was no chance of that because Kat wasnevergetting married.
She looked at her mother, all bright-eyed and brimming with excitement and energy, and knew there was no point in confronting her about anything. Her parents lived in a world of obfuscation and denial and Kat was sick to death of it. All she needed to do was keep the peace for a bit longer and she’d be able to escape from this weird parallel universe and back to normality. ‘I’ll be as quick as I can in the shower and then I’ll come down for that drink, okay?’
Her mum’s expression cheered up at once. ‘Lovely! I’ve got a few hot nibbles in the freezer, I’ll pop them in the oven, shall I?’
‘Lovely,’ Kat echoed with as much enthusiasm as she could fake.
2
‘How we doing with those meringues, Danni?’ Harry Penrose circled the central work area that ran down the length of the kitchen at Prime Catch, Russ Armstrong’s award-winning restaurant that sat on Harbour Road facing the seafront in Halfmoon Quay.
‘Nearly there, chef.’ Danni didn’t look up, her attention entirely focused on piping out the tray of perfectly round white swirls.
Harry watched her in approving silence for a moment. Her hand was steady, her movements quick and uniform. ‘Great job. Next year I’m going to insist we do Eton Mess and then you won’t have to faff around so much.’
Danni laughed. ‘Next year I’mnotlooking after the desserts station.’
Harry laughed with her. ‘Good call. You’ve been brilliant tonight; you should be proud.’ New Year’s Eve was one of the biggest nights of the year for the restaurant. Their customers had paid a lot of money and expected nothing but the best.
Harry lifted his head, taking in the other four junior chefs with an appreciative look. They were all rosy-cheeked andsweaty from a hard-worked service but there was no missing the way his words gave each of the exhausted youngsters a lift. His heart sang with pleasure at how well they’d done under the huge pressure of expectation. Not so long ago he’d been in their shoes, striving for a kind word of praise. He knew what it was to ache for even a hint of encouragement so he made sure to give both as often as possible.
After the horrors of school, the kitchen had been a haven for Harry. A place where the world finally made sense. Ingredients didn’t blur, didn’t dance around in front of him, turning upside down and back to front. They were under his control and when he combined them just right, he was a miracle worker. He wanted to instil that same feeling of wonder and achievement into each and every kid that passed through the kitchen doors. ‘You’ve all been bloody brilliant; we couldn’t have pulled it off tonight without you.’
‘Couldn’t have said it better myself!’ Russ boomed from the swing door leading from the kitchen to the restaurant seating area. ‘Nearly there, boys and girls. Let’s give it one last push and get those desserts out on the tables and then we can have our own little celebration.’ Russ opened one of the large fridges and pulled out a box of beers. He held them up and a cheer broke out.
Russ set the beers down and moved to speak a few words to Danni which had her glowing with delight.
He came to stand beside Harry. ‘You’ve done well tonight.’
‘Team effort,’ Harry said, not taking his eyes off the crew as they added the final touches to their dishes.
‘They’re more your team than mine,’ Russ said, quietly. ‘Just don’t nick them all when you abandon me, eh?’
Harry shot a sharp glance at his boss, who was watching him with a rueful smile. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’
‘Not today, perhaps, but you can’t hide your talent away playing second fiddle to me for much longer. When you open your own place, I’ll be the first booking on your list.’
