Fiona wasn’t the first person I saw when I walked onto the floor at Abode for service. It was her daughter Rosie who shrieked ‘Satoshi!’ at a pitch so high it was amazing it didn’t shatter half the glasses as she came cannonballing into my legs.
She wasn’t the second person either. That was her other daughter Georgia, who did the same thing half a second later.
She was, however, the third. Her cheeks were flushed red – a sight I’d relished the night before – but her face was a mask of horror, an expression that made me want to turn on my heel, walk into the kitchen, and stab the largest knife I could find directly into my heart.
‘Well, hello, ladies.’ I crouched down to the twins’ level. If I was looking at them, then I didn’t have to see the way Fiona was looking at me. ‘What brings you here tonight?’
‘Auntie Chess is taking us out for anelegantdinner party!’ Georgia announced.
‘These are our prettiest dresses.’ Rosie gestured to their matching purple Peter Pan-collar dresses, speckled with a white daisy pattern. ‘Do you think they’reelegant?’
I pretended to consider it. ‘Hmmm… yes, it’s official. You’re the most elegant ladies in the whole restaurant.’
‘Girls!’ Fiona called. ‘Leave Satoshi alone.’
I dared another glance at her. The red had drained from her cheeks, and it had taken every other colour along with it. I was reminded immediately of how she’d looked when she’d stumbled into the bar the night Matt had left, and had to swallow down a wave of nausea.
I followed the girls back to their table, because fleeing wasn’t an option. ‘Lovely to see you all.’ I reached deep to find my customer service smile. ‘Welcome to Abode. I’ll be your sommelier this evening.’
They were a table of seven: Fiona, her kids, Jonah and Sadie, and Sadie’s sister Chess. ‘Lovely to see you too, Satoshi,’ Sadie said. ‘But what are you doing here? Surely you’ve got enough to do at Tsundoku without moonlighting.’
I made myself chuckle. ‘You’re not wrong. But one of the components of the Master Sommelier exam is service. Tsundoku is more casual than this environment, so the owner was kind enough to let me make a one-night-only guest appearance so I can practise some more formal elements.’ I presented the wine list to Chess, making sure I was standing on her right side as per Court of Master Sommeliers protocol. If she was paying, she was the host. ‘Feel free to ask me as many questions as you want. I’m happy to make recommendations.’
‘Thanks.’ Chess studied the list. ‘The adults are going to do the tasting menu. Can we do matched wines?’
‘Chessie, that’s so expensive,’ Sadie protested. ‘You don’t have to.’
‘I want to. Besides, we’re celebrating. Would the first course work with a sparkling?’
I let my eyes flicker to Fiona again. She was staring determinedly at her silverware, tension radiating from every line of her body.
‘Yes, a sparkling would be a wonderful pairing,’ I said. ‘There’s nothing more celebratory than champagne. They have an excellent 2018 Grand Cru one here from a small Épernay grower that I’d highly recommend: an elegant expression of a classic style.’
‘Like us!’ Rosie exclaimed. ‘Elegant!’
‘Very elegant, just like you, Miss Rosie. But it’s also a bit pricey, so if you’d prefer I suggest something else—’
‘No need,’ Chess said. ‘We’ll take the champagne.’
Fiona hadn’t looked at me once. It felt like someone had uncoiled my intestines, tied several knots in them, and then stuffed them back into my body. ‘Champagne it is.’ My cheeks ached from smiling. ‘I’ll be back with that momentarily.’
It was a struggle to keep my breathing even as I found a bottle of the champagne in the cellar. I hadn’t had a full-blown panic attack in years, but I had to lean heavily against the wall and stand still for a few moments until my head stopped spinning and my heart stopped feeling like it was about to explode out of my chest.
There was nothing I could do to fix what I’d fucked up with Fiona. Not here, not tonight, not until I could get her on her own and talk to her. For now, I just had to get through this evening, one excruciating step at a time.
I took another deep breath and started loading up my guéridon, the little cart somms used for at-table wine presentation. The champagne. An ice bucket, to keep it at the right service temperature. Glassware – I served sparkling in pinot noir glasses at Tsundoku because I thought it showed the fruit better, but for a restaurant this formal, tulips were more appropriate. Service cloths. An underliner for the cork.
I thought for a moment, took down another bottle and added a second ice bucket, took a final deep breath, and pushed my guéridon back out to the table. ‘2018 Grand Cru champagne,’ I said, presenting the bottle to Chess.
‘Wonderful,’ she replied.
I did not let my eyes wander to Fiona as I placed the glasses on the table. I did not let myself think of her as I went through the familiar ritual of opening sparkling wine: two swipes of my wine knife to cut the foil, six twists to loosen the wire cage, thumb over the top of the cork as I held the bottle at a forty-five degree angle, opening it silently. I placed the cork on the underliner and set it on the table before I poured a splash into Chess’s glass. ‘For you to try.’
She tasted it. ‘Oh yes, that’s excellent. Thank you.’
‘You’re very welcome.’ Court rules of service dictated that ladies be served first, gentlemen second, and the host last, so I began by filling Sadie’s glass. ‘Every region has its bad wines, of course, but it’s difficult to go wrong with champagne.’
I had to move to Fiona’s right shoulder so I could fill her glass. It gave me a view of her lap, where she had her fingers twined so tightly together her knuckles had gone white. I had a very steady hand, but that was almost enough to make it waver.
