Page 2 of Yule Party on Sunflower Street

‘Firstly, the shell was cold, rough and not easy to hold. Then there was the colour of the oyster: a kind of grey blue. It didn’t look at all appetising. But we were surrounded by sophisticated French couples throwing them back like they did it every day. They genuinely seemed to be enjoying them. I thought, in for a penny and all that, so I took a deep breath and then… stared at it again.’

‘And?’

‘Big mistake. Huge!’ She grimaced. ‘It reminded me of grey phlegm floating in the shell. Like something a whale had coughed up.’

‘That’s disgusting.’ Tara shuddered.

‘But Sander was gazing at me with love in his eyes along with that look. You know the one.’

‘Thankfully, I do not know the one because if Sander looked at me like that, we’d have a problem.’ Tara sniggered.

‘Anyway,’ Sadie continued, ignoring Tara’s joke. ‘Sander was looking at me like I was a piece of chocolate cake he wanted to devour, so I decided to just get it over with. I tilted my head and let the oyster slide onto my tongue. It was cold, slimy and felt too big to swallow. I mean, we chew our food, right, and the idea of simply swallowing without chewing seemed impossible and so… I made the mistake of chewing.’ Her eyes watered at the memory and Tara worried for a moment that she might be sick.

‘What happened next?’ she asked.

‘It was horrid! Salty and briny like seaweed and… and rotting fish.’

‘That’s disgusting!’

‘Exactly. And when I chewed it, because my reflexes told me it was not going down otherwise, it did a kind of popping thing in my mouth and the taste intensified. It was like sucking on a penny.’

Tara snorted. ‘Did you swallow?’

‘I did, honey, but that was the only one I ate. I told Sander I was not going to feel romantic by eating more whale bogies and he just laughed and said all the more for him. He ate the rest and I drank the absinthe to wash it down.’

‘Were you drunk?’

‘I was tipsy but I made sure to drink a lot of water too. When we got back to the hotel, Sander ended up being quite unwell and swore he’d never eat oysters again. Which was quite a relief.’

‘Yeah, I can’t see me ever wanting to try them.’

‘Don’t. It’s not worth it. I think it’s the type of thing you either love or hate and for me, they were a definite hate.’

The shop door opened, bringing with it a gust of chilly air and a strange man. Tara set her tea down and stood up.

‘Hello. Can I help you?’ There was a sign stuck to the door that said Opening Soon, so she wasn’t sure why he would have walked straight in.

‘Good morning,’ he said as he approached the counter.

Tara noticed how tall he was and how his broad shoulders filled out his navy down jacket. Beneath the jacket, he wore a jumper with jeans, and a wool beanie covered his hair. He was dressed casually as well as prepared for the cold weather.

‘You’re here to fix the toilet, right?’ Sadie said, putting her mug down. ‘It’s just through here.’ She gestured at the door behind them.

‘What?’ The man’s thick black brows met above his grey eyes.

‘The toilet doesn’t flush properly first time, and you have to keep your finger on the button to get things to flush and so⁠—'

‘I am not here to fix the toilet,’ he said sharply.

Sadie glanced at Tara and flashed her a look that said, Who peed in his cornflakes?

‘Oh, sorry. Well, we’re not open yet so we can’t sell you anything,’ Sadie said. ‘But come back next week and we’ll have a whole range of stock for you to browse through.’

Sadie flashed him a smile then took their mugs through to the kitchen. The man stood in the centre of the shop floor scowling. He looked around then his eyes landed on Tara like an unwelcome spotlight.

‘I’m the landlord,’ he said.

‘Oh!’ She came from behind the counter and walked closer to him. ‘Sorry about that. We were miles away then because Sadie was telling me a story about her husband and she’s really missing him right now, so⁠—’