CHAPTER 24

 

Allie sampled a piece of one of the macadamia prawn cakes she had set to cool on the kitchen bench and nodded her approval. To her delight, it was even better than the recipe had suggested. Placing the golden cakes on a plate, she covered them with Glad Wrap to take to Bella and Pat’s later. As she searched for room in the fridge, she glanced over the multitude of dishes ready to be stacked in the freezer, evidence of her marathon cooking spree over the last few days.

Allie was still trying to process the ‘almost kiss’. Now with the aftermath of Meg’s heart attack, she was feeling so completely distracted that her only protection was to immerse herself in her kitchen. While she diced, blended, measured and created, she found herself able to think more clearly and allowed the routine of her craft to soothe her enough to regain a sense of control. Now, more than ever, she clung to that sense of balance, because everything felt as if it was in total free fall.

Since Meg’s heart attack, she had hidden herself away at home, not wanting to talk to anyone, refusing all invitations and visitors. Finally, this week, a very determined Bella had refused to be turned away.

“Allie, Pat and I are worried about you and we insist that you come to dinner,” Bella had said, sitting at Allie’s kitchen table sharing a pot of tea. Looking at her friend, she’d gently wiped away a smudge of flour from Allie’s cheek. “You can’t keep hiding in your kitchen.”

“It’s the only thing that helps, Bella. I keep telling myself that if I keep doing what I love, a sense of order will take over and I will be back in control and able to think rationally about it all.” Looking around her kitchen at the myriad of pots and pans bubbling on the stove, Allie had let out a big sigh.

Bella had shaken her head. “There is an Italian expression, cibo nutre il vostro stomaco, amici nutrono la tua anima, that roughly translates as ‘food feeds your stomach, but friends feed your soul’.’” Taking Allie’s hand in both of hers, Bella had leant in. “Come for dinner, bring some of the wonderful product of all this confusion and let Pat and I help you through this. It’s only us, Allie.”

Allie knew that Bella was right. She did need to be around the people who cared for her, who might be able to help her make sense of this mess. She also knew she needed to do something before Meg’s return to the village in the next few days.

While cleaning up her kitchen, she once again tried to sort through the tangle of emotions taunting her. She wanted to be happy that the surgery had been successful and that Meg had recovered so well, but a greater part of her emotions were stuck on the fact that the heart attack should never have happened in the first place. That because of Meg’s stubborn pride and inability to trust her…

There it was again, the one thing she kept coming back to: despite everything they’d been through together over the last forty years, Meg had endangered her own life rather than trust Allie to help her. Well, damn her, she thought, throwing the dishcloth in the sink with force. She was done with fretting about Meg.

Allie looked around her kitchen. Bella was right; she had hidden herself away for far too long. It was time she got out, relaxed and enjoyed an evening with her two good friends.