Clem nodded, hiding a smile. ‘And a craft group, five couples and a family from Victoria who ordered almost everything on the menu. I’m glad I sat you on the quiet side, you look like you’ve been very productive.’
Spencer had done a solid morning’s work on the community theatre production. The storyline mightn’t be structurally tight yet, but it was a start. And there was most definitely a role that would be perfect for a dramatic eight-year-old girl.
Clem wasn’t sure how the weekends went twice as fast as the weekdays, but before she knew it, Saturday had turned into Tuesday and there were only a few days until Harriet’s audition.
The early morning rush had been and gone, clearing out her gourmet bagels and homemade sausage rolls and making a decent dent on the trays of mixed slices. Selina arrived just a few minutes late, which was better than the previous week,and only sulked a little when Clem insisted she tie her hair back properly.
‘It’s already half-up,’ Selina said, glaring at the purple velvet scrunchy Clem offered. ‘I’ve curled the back and I’m totes not wearing that.’
‘All your hair needs to be up, not just the front few strands. We can’t afford a one-star review for breakfast garnished with hair, no matter how silky or curled it is. And you’re the one who traded shifts with Sebastian to work the student-free day. It’s a scrunchy or an elastic band from the kitchen, your choice.’
The teenager skulked off, choosing the latter option, and Clem looped Harriet’s favourite scrunchy around her wrist again.
Kev arrived shortly after 9 am, and she propped the scone recipe in front of him. ‘No time like the present, we’ve got Kathy’s singing group coming in this morning, and Pop has reserved a table for his pétanque crew.’
The doorbell jangled and she saw the first of the old timers ambling through the door. ‘Hi Barney, you’re in early! You guys are over by the fireplace.’
Barney Anderson, who also happened to be the president of the golf club, gave her a wink. ‘Gotta get here early if I want the best seat in the house and more time schmoozing with the prettiest girl in Penwarra.’
‘And here I was thinking you were here for the great coffee and the home cooking.’ Clem laughed. She brought him the menu, asked after his grandchildren, then opened the door for Hazel’s mum, Kathy, and her choir.
‘Brrr, it’s chilly out there, Clem. Late September shouldn’t feel so wintry,’ Kathy said, shaking out an umbrella.
‘What’s the gossip today, Clem?’ one of the singers asked. ‘Kathy’s gone gaga over her latest grandson, she had the nerveto abandon practice to accompany Hazel to his latest check-up. Can you believe it? Where’s the commitment?’
The ladies laughed, and Kathy whipped out her phone to show them the most recent photos of Cormac as Clem took their orders.
‘No gossip here.’ Clem smiled. ‘Just running around after my girls and trying to keep up with these changeable seasons. The weather’s got a mind of its own, and it’s throwing my supply of fresh fruit and seasonal veggies out of whack,’ she said. ‘Tell me, have you ladies had anything to do with the Penwarra theatre?’
Joy, one of the choir’s soloists, sat up a little straighter. ‘Oh, I always wanted to give that a shot but the rehearsals fall on craft nights.’
‘I hear the Brealy family is heavily involved,’ another of the singers said. ‘You know, the ones whose son-in-law is going on that TV show? Hard to imagine he’d have trouble getting a girlfriend, with those rugby thighs and that dark, brooding personality.’
‘He must be as shallow as a pauper’s grave if he’s part of a reality TV show,’ another lady said. ‘Keen to ramp up their own profiles and get their kit off, aren’t they? The girls spend half the show in bikinis from memory, and the blokes aren’t much better.’
Clem shook her head. ‘You’re thinking ofMarried at First Sight.Love on the Landis a lot more wholesome. And Spencer’s not like that at all. He’s a nice guy, at least as far as I can see.’
She left the singing group deliberating over this as she slipped into the kitchen to start on their orders.
Why had she blurted that out? Spencer was old enough to fight his own battles, and the way she’d jumped in to defend him had only drawn more attention to the topic instead of extinguishing it.
Kev’s scones were out of the oven by the time she finished making the first round of coffees and a pot of tea. ‘They look fabulous,’ she said, breaking one open and plating it up beside a little pot of cream and bowl of blackberry jam. Kev tipped his head, giving the tray a sceptical look. ‘Still not as tall as yours.’
‘Not yet,’ Clem said. ‘But soon they will be, I have no doubt.’
The aroma of warm scones immediately attracted more orders from the nearby tables, and Clem was ferrying out three plates from Kev’s second batch when the doorbell jangled again and Spencer Hawkins walked in.
She set the plate down in front of Joy. ‘Speak of the devil,’ the older lady stage-whispered to Kathy. ‘I see what everyone means about rugby thighs, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a set like that wrapped around me.’
The table burst into laughter and Clem hurried away, hoping Spencer hadn’t heard.
‘This is a record,’ she said. ‘Three times in one week! Aren’t you supposed to be at school?’
‘Honey delivery on my way to a meeting,’ he said, flashing her one of those smiles and putting a box on the table. ‘And after the morning I’ve had, I figured I deserved a decent coffee. Long black to go, please?’
He was in and out in less than five minutes, but the gossiping from Kathy’s choir and her grandfather’s equally nosy pétanque gang lasted at least three times that.
‘Do you think he’s going to come off well in the TV show? I hear those producers choose a hero and a villain in every relationship, and edit the footage to suit their own agenda. Didn’t I hear you were there?’ Kathy said. ‘It must have been exciting on set?’
