The restaurant appeared trendier than she’d imagined: large floor-to-ceiling windows, stainless steel double doors, and ‘Lee’s House of Fusion’ etched in gold lettering on polished ebony wood. A tiny bamboo garden flanked the entrance, with embedded spot-lights casting shadows against the stalks. Elegant and classy.
The double doors opened and Ferne almost toppled in her haste to hide. Not that she expected Jesse to walk out if he was a chef as Bette had said, but still, she didn’t want to be seen. As a young hipster couple walked past her, the tempting aromas of sizzling garlic and ginger wafted out of the restaurant and she inhaled, remembering the many stir fries Cruz had cooked for her even at the end of a long day working on the farm.
She’d known that had been his downtime, a way to reorient after a day spent with his father barking orders at him and still finding him lacking, and she loved those times dicing veggies alongside him and watching him combine hoisin and oyster sauces, sesame oil and shallots, concocting the perfect balance of marinade with a few ingredients. Tears prickled her eyes at the memory of cooking alongside her son.
Ferne took a few steps forward, wanting to get a peek inside the restaurant before heading home. She wasn’t sure why, she only knew she couldn’t shake the compulsion.
The door opened again and this time, she glimpsed a screen decorated with intertwined koi fish separating the entrance from the rest of the restaurant.
‘Are you coming in?’ Kika, her neighbour, held the door open for her, her perfectly shaped brows drawn together in impatience before her eyes widened in recognition. ‘Hey, you’re staying with Mac, right? How are you settling in?’ Kika’s gaze focussed on her crutches and walking boot. ‘Yikes. That doesn’t look good. What happened?’
Ferne’s heart sank. She didn’t want to make small talk with a virtual stranger, but perhaps now would be as good a time as any to tell the young woman about the reason behind her new residency.
‘After we met, I tripped while getting a coffee at the local café. I’m Ferne, by the way.’
‘You poor thing. But for what it’s worth, I love that place, because their coffee is the best in the city.’ Kika pointed over her shoulder.
‘This restaurant is great for a local haunt too. Though this is the first time I’ve eaten in, I usually get takeaway.’
Kika still hadn’t mentioned Jesse, which meant she’d probably never met him. Ferne should feel relieved, but a small part of her wished Kika had known Mac’s lover so she could quiz her.
‘Is Mac with you?’ Kika glanced over Ferne’s shoulder, as if expecting to see him materialise. ‘I need to have a word with him about ghosting me.’
Ferne refrained from laughing at Kika’s inadvertent pun. She may not be grieving, but Mac’s neighbour had obviously liked him.
‘Kika, I’m sorry to tell you this, but Mac passed away a few months ago. He was my husband, and I’ll be living in the apartment from now on.’
Shocked, Kika’s face crumpled. ‘My condolences. Is there anything I can do?’
Touched by Kika’s concern, Ferne shook her head. ‘Thanks, but I’ve come to terms with it.’
Kika focussed on her shoes before her gaze swept up to Ferne. ‘I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but I used to hear laughter and voices coming from Mac’s apartment sometimes into the early hours of the morning. He was probably entertaining friends, but …’ she trailed off, the implication clear, and Ferne had to put the considerate young woman out of her misery.
‘It’s okay, I know about Mac’s secrets.’
Relieved, Kika’s wobbly smile made Ferne want to hug her. ‘If you need anything at any time, don’t hesitate to knock on my door, okay?’
‘Thanks, Kika.’
‘So, are you picking up takeaway?’
If Ferne said no, she’d look like a fool, hovering at the entrance with no intention of going in, so she nodded.
‘I can get it for you next time, just let me know.’ Kika squeezed her arm. ‘I really am sorry to hear about Mac. Feel free to drop in for a cuppa any time.’
‘Thanks,’ Ferne said, as Kika held the door open wider for her to enter the restaurant, before waving and closing it behind her.
If the aromas outside had been good, they had nothing on the combination of lemongrass, coconut milk and spices that made her salivate despite the dinner she’d eaten not that long ago. The place gave off an understated yet opulent vibe: red and gold dragons on charcoal walls, inverted crimson lanterns casting a golden glow on the ceiling, polished concrete floor and a bar that spanned one side of the restaurant, backed by striking jade tiles.
She loved the place on sight and would’ve happily taken a seat at one of the few empty tables and ordered a yuzu-infused margarita or a sake, but the open kitchen meant that not only could diners watch flames leaping high from beneath woks, but the chefs could also see into the restaurant and she’d risk being spotted.
Not that Jesse would recognise her. If Mac had kept Jesse a secret from her, she assumed his lover wouldn’t have wanted to know a thing about the clueless wife stuck on the farm.
Casting a final glance around the restaurant, she took a step forward to leave but stopped as the clatter of a dropped frying pan rang out through the restaurant.
She glanced towards the kitchen and froze as the man she’d seen in an intimate embrace with Mac on her husband’s secret phone stared at her in open-mouthed shock.
Guess that answered the question about Jesse recognising her.
