Colin spread his arms out. ‘This. What your mother and I have? Don’t you want more for yourself?’
‘How do you mean?’
‘I mean adventures, excitement. Don’t you want to go off and have adventures rather than finding yourself in a grotty hall at fifty wondering where your life’s gone? You’re a bright and beautiful young woman. You deserve more than this.’
Sarah let out an uneasy laugh. ‘Been on the beer, Dad? You and Mum have a great life. I want to be just like you.’ The thought of adventures made Sarah’s pulse quicken, and not in a good way. What was wrong with her parents’ life? Safe, secure, and comfortable. What was not to like? ‘I’ll check Mum’s OK.’
‘All right, love. You do that.’
‘Can you believe they want to leave all the food here now?’ shouted Cynthia, as Sarah crossed the room. ‘The sandwiches will be dry as a rusk biscuit, and the ham will have gone bad before everyone gets here.’
‘Madam, you told us to deliver the food at two.’
‘Yes, but how was I to know the kitchen couldn’t accommodate the buffet in their fridge? How is that my problem?’
‘Well, it’s not ours,’ said the caterer, gathering up empty boxes in preparation to leave.
‘How about I take all the perishable items back to the house and put them in our fridge?’
‘No, you’ll do nothing of the sort. You,’ said Cynthia, jabbing a finger against the caterer’s chest. ‘You will sort this out for us.’
It was as though Sarah heard the snap resound in the room. The caterer grabbed tray after tray of food and tipped it out onto the floor. Cynthia stood in silence, so incandescent with rage, she couldn’t find the words. The caterer turned on her heel and stormed out of the building. Cynthia found her voice and began hurling insults after her, Colin holding her back before she could commit an assault.
‘You’ll have to sort it,’ said Cynthia, turning on Sarah.
‘Me? Why me?’
‘Because all this stress is going to give me a heart attack, and your father wouldn’t know his way around the kitchen to save his life.’
‘What do you need me to do?’
‘I need you to prepare a buffet for a hundred people. What do you think I wanted you to do? Fly to the moon?’
Sarah went to speak, but Colin shook his head. She sighed and picked up her handbag. ‘Could Dad come with me? I’ll need a car to get everything back from the supermarket.’
‘No, I need your dad here. You’ll have to take a taxi.’
Sarah thought of the few pounds left in her bank account slipping away fast. She headed out of the bar, only stopping when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see her dad running towards her.
‘Here,’ he said, handing her a wedge of bank notes. ‘Use these to buy the food and pay for a taxi. Just don’t tell your mother.’ He tapped his nose and headed back inside. Sarah steeled herself for the hours she had in front of her chained to the kitchen.
*
Sarah surveyed the groaning table of food and congratulated herself on doing a good job. Her fingers smelled of tuna. A piece of boiled egg lay tangled in her hair, but she’d surprised herself by how much she enjoyed preparing the buffet. The kitchen was Cynthia’s domain, so it was a treat to be let loose without being watched like a hawk.
‘You took your time,’ said Cynthia, bustling across the room, her breasts spilling out of too-tight satin.
‘Wow, love, you did all this in a few hours?’ Colin’s reaction caused Sarah to beam with pride.
‘Yes. I even made a quiche.’
Colin stood beside Sarah and gave her arm a squeeze. ‘Well done, love, well done.’
‘Oh, stop fawning over her, Colin. You’ve still got balloons to blow up.’
‘Yes, love,’ said Colin, giving Sarah a weary smile as he walked away.
‘Right, I’ll just pop home and get changed, Mum.’
