Alice had enjoyed every minute of her weekend with her daughter. Galway was a great city, and it was easy to see why Jenny was so happy to be up here at university. They’d gone for walks along the Corrib and out along the Salthill promenade.
On Saturday morning she’d enjoyed visiting the Galway market with all its artisan foods. There were wonderful smoked fish and cheeses and some dressings and marinades which Alice couldn’t resist buying. It was a real ‘foodie’ heaven of a town, with its fantastic range of little restaurants: from lunch in the Old Mill to dinner in Bia which was just off Shop Street. Jenny dragged her along to meet some of her friends in Hanley’s pub afterwards. They were a great crowd, and it was lovely to see her daughter so happy and settled. As she ordered a round of drinks Alice couldn’t help but notice the tall skinny guy with the beard who seemed to be constantly at Jenny’s side.
Dylan seemed very pleasant and nice to her, and it was only when she was going to the train station that Jenny admitted that the quiet fourth-year medical student was her boyfriend.
‘Well, I really like him,’ Alice said, hugging Jenny goodbye, ‘and you know Dylan’s very welcome to come home to Dublin whenever you want!’
Sitting on the train she laughed and texted Joy.
You were right! His name is Dylan.
The Tuesday class had gone really well, and Alice had shown her pupils how to make a simple duck confit with juniper berries and individual chocolate pudding pots.
Rachel and Leah had surprised her by turning out an almost professional-looking meal.
‘Our husbands don’t know what’s hit them,’ they joked. ‘We’re both having friends around to dinner next weekend, so fingers crossed that we remember everything and that it goes well.’
‘I’m sure everything will turn out perfectly,’ said Alice. ‘Just remember to do as much preparation beforehand as possible so you can both enjoy yourselves. There’s nothing worse than the hostess slaving alone in the kitchen!’
‘Are you still on for our dinner on Saturday?’ reminded Rob before he left.
‘Yes, of course!’
‘Then I’ll pick you up about eight on Saturday night. We’re eating in a nice little place overlooking the sea.’
‘Sounds great. I’m looking forward to it.’
Alice had raked through her wardrobe trying to decide what to wear, opting in the end for a little black wool dress that had a cinched-in waist. She hadn’t worn it in quite a while, but now, since she’d dropped another five kilos, it made her feel young and attractive. Her hair was very gradually going up a tone, and the sprinkle of light-blonde highlights that her hairdresser had introduced had given her a lift. She slipped her feet into the expensive pair of new black strappy high-heeled shoes that Jenny had insisted she buy in Galway, saying that they were an investment. Giving a twirl, Alice had to admit she was pleased with her reflection in the mirror.
I’m happy! And I look it!
The past few months had been great. She really looked forward to the Tuesday night classes; not just the cooking and giving lessons, but the planning and organizing and just being busy and having people around. She couldn’t believe it, but her new Thursday night class was already full.
Rob was punctual collecting her in his Volvo. She wondered where they were heading, was it Sandycove or Dun Laoghaire? Or maybe they were going to dinner in Howth on the far side of Dublin Bay, where there were some really good restaurants.
To her surprise they only drove a few minutes and Rob pulled his car up outside his own house on Clifton Terrace which had an amazing view of the seafront and bay.
‘We’re having dinner here tonight!’ He laughed and opened the car door for her.
‘You’re cooking dinner?’ she asked, really surprised as he led her into the house.
‘Well, I’ve had a very good teacher,’ he explained, as he showed her around.
The house was beautiful, fabulous tall ceilings with perfect cornices and magnificent decorative centrepieces that dated from when the house was built in the 1800s. The sitting room was upstairs on the first floor, and overlooked the whole of Dublin Bay. Alice took a glimpse through Rob’s expensive telescope at Howth Head as the sun began to dip in the sky.
Although the room was huge it was warm and comfortable, with big couches, an ottoman and heavy brocade curtains, one wall lined with books and a collection of family photos. Rob poured her a gin and tonic as she had a look around.
There were lots of photographs of his sons – one slight and fair, the other tall and dark like Rob – and photos of Rob and his wife Kate. A pretty petite woman with dark hair and laughing eyes, there were photos of her everywhere: on holidays, on the beach, holding a baby, dancing with Rob, the four of them on bicycles.
‘She’s beautiful,’ said Alice, ‘really beautiful.’
‘Thanks.’
Rob had set up a small table and laid it for dinner in front of the window.
‘I told you we’d be eating overlooking the water.’
Alice couldn’t believe that he had gone to so much trouble: silver, candles, crystal and a vase of freesias.
‘I’d better go and check on things in the kitchen,’ he said, leading her downstairs to the basement with its ultra-modern pale-grey and ivory SieMatic units, and finger-touch hob. ‘Kate had it put in four years before she died,’ he explained. ‘She’d put up with a dark basement kitchen with oak units and green tiles, which she hated with a vengeance, for most of our married life! Finally we decided to do a job on it, and replaced the narrow back window with French doors to the garden, and decided on a new window and door to the front, too, so we have light from both ends.’
‘It’s an amazing kitchen. You’ll be the envy of everyone in the class.’
‘To tell the truth, Alice, I spend very little time here. I cook and then live in the other parts of the house.’
‘What are you cooking tonight?’ she asked, curious.
‘Well, a wonderful chef I know always recommends keeping it simple, so I have taken her at her word and done just that.’
‘Can I do anything to help?’ she offered.
‘No, I think everything is under control,’ he said confidently, checking the oven.
‘That smells good!’
‘There’s fillet steak and creamy gratin potatoes and a crumble for dessert.’
‘Hey, I’m not doing a crumble for dessert for another two weeks,’ she teased.
‘I cheated and took one of the photocopies of the meal plan you’d left lying around two weeks ago, and followed it step by step.’
Rob was really full of surprises.
‘Come on, let’s go back upstairs, enjoy the view, and open a nice bottle of wine, as we are just about ready to eat.’
Rob had made prawn cocktail, and served it with slices of lovely warm brown bread.
‘That bread was my mother’s recipe. I found it in an old box of photos and school reports she had kept.’
‘It’s got a lovely, almost nutty taste to it,’ Alice said, helping herself to another slice.
The steaks were perfectly cooked and tender, and worked beautifully with the potatoes and tossed green bean medley.
‘Rob, you really can cook!’ Alice said, praising him. ‘You’ve come on so much. I’m impressed!’
‘It started off as a necessity, but now, I suppose you’re right, I’m beginning to think about food more and enjoy preparing it.’
As he went back downstairs with the plates she took in the magnificent view of the lights around Dublin Bay, and the beam from the lighthouse cast its glow over the shore and the marina and the yachts moored in the harbour below.
‘Rob, what a view! It must be so relaxing after a long day at work to come home and just sit here and stare at the sea, watching the waves going in and out.’
‘I suppose it is very soothing,’ he said, bringing in the dessert and putting it on the sideboard. ‘There is always something to watch and see. Sometimes I just sit here for hours.’
‘Hey, this looks good!’
‘Apple crumble,’ said Rob with a flourish, as he served her the dessert with a scoop of whipped cream.
‘I feel so guilty letting you do all this work,’ Alice admitted afterwards, as he poured them some coffee.
‘Me … cooking … it used to be a pretty rare event!’ He laughed. ‘I suppose I just wanted to see if I could do it!’
‘Well, you certainly can! If the rest of the class have learned half as much about preparing and serving a perfect meal like you’ve done, Rob, I’ll be so pleased!’
He blushed, slightly embarrassed, though she could see he was delighted with the praise. Funny how men rarely got praised about things!
‘Let’s take our coffee over and sit down in front of the fire,’ he suggested, throwing another log on.
Alice felt so relaxed after the food and the Bordeaux they were drinking. She curled up on the couch beside him, and found herself telling him about her trip to Galway.
‘It’s one of my favourite places, too; maybe some time we’ll go there together?’ he said.
‘Sure.’ Alice laughed, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
Rob brought the remainder of the wine over and topped up both their glasses.
Go easy! she warned herself.
Rob told her about his childhood growing up on a large dairy farm in Tipperary.
‘They were great times and good fun, but milking cows day after day held no appeal for me, so I came to Dublin to study law.’
‘What did your dad say?’
‘I suppose in hindsight he was very disappointed, as I was the eldest. My brother Johnny, who’s a dentist, had no interest in the place either, but at least my younger brother Alan was mad about farming, and Dad made it all over to him years ago. Alan has built it up and increased the herd and is a real farmer; he hates leaving the place!’
Alice told him about her parents’ hotel and the summers there.
‘It was kind of magical, I suppose, with the beach and the guests, and working along with my mum in the kitchen. It was such a happy time!’
‘Then?’
‘Then, like you, I came to Dublin to study, to do a course in catering, and after two years I went to Brittany to get work experience but had to come home when my mum died suddenly. I suppose, like you, I didn’t know if I wanted to stay and run the family business. But my dad made me go back to France. There I trained under a fantastic chef called Maurice Aubert in the Rivoli, which was one of Paris’s best restaurants. The hours and the pay were crazy but I learned so much. Eventually I came back to Dublin and worked in Wilde with Myles Malone, which was a great experience.’
‘It’s funny the way fate interferes in our lives,’ he said seriously, taking hold of her hand. ‘Alice, if I hadn’t seen the note about your cookery school I would never have joined, and then we might never have met.’
‘We might have bumped into each other, anyway,’ she teased. ‘We do live very near each other.’
‘Both of us losing someone … and the loneliness of it!’
‘Rob,’ she said softly. ‘Kate dying must have been awful for you, but Liam’s alive, and though he’s an utter rat, he’s still around.’
‘What I’m trying to say …’ Rob laughed, ‘is that I’m glad we met. I thought when Kate died I’d never meet anyone again, and then suddenly you came along!’
His expression was serious, and before she knew it Alice was in his arms, and he was kissing her. His lips were strong and his mouth tasted of wine, and she found herself responding to him kissing her. It was so long since a man had wanted her, and she found herself lowering her inhibitions and needing to be closer to him. Rob’s hands touched the line of her breasts as he kissed her. Suddenly she looked in his eyes and could see the loss and loneliness and lust in his eyes. He wanted a woman, maybe any woman, to make him feel better, to wipe away the memory temporarily of the woman who stared out at them from the photographs. She had drunk a lot of wine, but somehow her head felt clear. He’d been expecting too much tonight … she should have seen that.
‘Stop, Rob!’ she shushed, taking his hand in hers. ‘Stop. Slow down. I’m not ready for this yet.’
He groaned, pulling away from her. Alice got up.
She went down to the kitchen and made them more coffee. Rob sat on the chair with his head in his hands.
‘Have I blown it?’ he asked.
‘No,’ she said, serious. ‘You’re a lovely man, Rob Flanagan, but it’s just that I’m not sure about this yet. We’ve had such a great time together, and I really enjoy being with you, but I don’t know that either of us is ready to start another relationship.’