When I push open my front door I catch Eva in a white dress, holding a small bouquet and posing in front of the hall mirror Joe had me pinned up against last night. I blush deeply at the thought of it and wonder if she heard us. ‘Getting married?’
It’s her turn to blush as she hurries into the living room.
When she reappears, in ripped jeans and a black jumper, she shrugs off the earlier dress code, muttering about a new website and image resolutions.
‘What are you renting out now? And please don’t end your sentence with “wife”.’
She’s uncharacteristically silent for a moment, before blurting, ‘Wedding outfits. Everyone wear once. Good to recycle. Along with pressed flowers, make-up, jewellery, garter, balloon arch …’
‘I get the picture. But why are you wearing a wedding ring?’
She slips it off her finger. ‘Forget to remove, I guess. Kai send message. Want you to meet with him and Joe at Emojitel. Kitchen almost ready and builders painting outside.’
I nod to the flowers she’s brought out with her. ‘Would you mind if I gave these to a random stranger on my way to see Vince later? I’ve challenged myself to do one good deed for someone else every hour for Wednesday’s #MakeSomeoneSmile hashtag.’ She shakes her head, grabs the flowers and points to the dishes. ‘Want to keep. Please do random act of washing up instead.’
Vince is in a good mood for our extra appointment. ‘Will you join me for a movie? I have popcorn.’
‘No, thanks. You are going to write a letter of gratitude to someone. And then we are going to discuss authenticity and how you can be true to yourself.’
‘I was thinking of a vampire movie.’
‘Oh, I love those. But we need to work first. What kind of popcorn?’
‘Whatever kind you like. I’m going to make it.’
‘Make it?’
‘Spoiler alert– it doesn’t grow on trees in Butterkist bags.’
‘OK, how about we do one exercise first so I can justify my huge fee and then maybe squeeze in another after we’ve watched the movie?’
‘Can we work on it while I make the snacks?’ Vince leaps towards the oven, ignites the gas and grabs a pan from under the sink. ‘I’ll teach you to cook at the same time.’
‘Not sure popcorn is actually classed as cooking? Anyway who says I can’t cook?’
‘Quit your belly-aching. It’s totally a low-calorie snack when you make it yourself. The movie theatre stuff is full of additives. Do you know they don’t even use butter in “butter popcorn”? They make it with oil and then add a chemical that smells like butter.’
‘Gross.’
‘The type of oil is very important here. Your basic olive or sunflower variety is no good. Virgin sucks, and I’m not talking about the vampires now. You need an oil with a higher smoke point than unrefined oil. Like coconut, or if you can afford it, this.’ He takes out a bottle of avocado oil.
‘Avocado oil costs a bomb.’
‘I’m loaded, Daisy. Help me flash that cash.’
‘As long as that’s all you’re flashing.’ He gives me the kind of grin he inflicts on his victims inThe Law of the Jungle, shortly before he tears them apart. And then he jiggles the pan around, ensuring the oil evenly covers the bottom as it heats. I decide this would be a good time to start the exercise. ‘It’s actually quite beneficial to occupy your mind so you don’t overthink what’s coming out of your mouth.’
‘Oh, I never think before I speak,’ he jokes, measuring and pouring a small heap of kernels into the pan. ‘Use organic popcorn if you can. The taste is remarkably different. Or I think so anyway. Roughly thirty-six grams for each person eating it.’
I shake my head in awe. ‘Your son would be able to recall the exact amount too. You’re such a foodie family.’
‘Food is about more than eating. It’s a trip around the world, an education, art if you like. I don’t like the way parents pander to children not liking broccoli. Jonah never cried when we gave him carrots or zucchini. He managed a shrimp curry at two years old and by the time he was six, he was making his own ice cream.’
‘Gelato. He’d demand your head on a lolly stick for calling it ice cream. No one ever tried to make me eat broccoli.’
I close my mouth as I compute the sad truth of this. When I don’t continue, he picks up the slack. ‘Put the popcorn in when the oil is heated, then turn the heat up a little and wait for it to start popping. Make sure the lid is tight or you’ll have corn all over the kitchen. And don’t ever leave the pan unattended or you’ll have a fire on your hands. Keep tossing the corn as it heats. What happened to your parents?’
‘One died. The other didn’t care.’
