Wednesday 28 December
Dinner menu
Hors d’oeuvres
(with mulled wine and fruit punch)
***
Chilli con carne and jasmine rice
***
Chocolate bombe
Things are still uneasy between Mum and me.
She’s given up trying to apologise and now seems to be in a major huff with me, which is a bit rich, really, considering that, technically, she’s an arsonist and I could probably have her arrested for tampering with my post. We step around each other all morning, being coldly polite. The idea of her having to stay here until her own house is sorted and redecorated is a total nightmare.
Then, just before midday, Clemmy phones me in a panic. ‘Ruby’s gone missing and poor Gloria is absolutely demented with worry.’
‘Oh, God, that’s awful. And she hasn’t got a phone. Where on earth would she go?’
‘Well, Tom said she’d probably got the bus into Easingwold to look at phones. And when Jed said there are no buses from here, Tom mentioned the word ‘hitching’, which obviously sent Gloria into a state of hyper-frenzy.’ She sighs. ‘We wondered if Ruby had said anything to you about her plans?’
‘I’m afraid not. When did she leave?’
‘Some time this morning. We were all planning to go to Bob’s opening ceremony but the plan has changed. We need to look for Ruby.’
Bob’s latest architectural project, a stylish office building on the outskirts of Easingwold, was completed back in November, and I knew all about his plans to invite his associates and the local press to an opening ceremony.
‘Can I come with you to search for her?’ I ask, feeling Gloria’s pain and hoping Ruby is all right. (Also, Mum just passed through the hall and gave me a sly ‘daggers’ look.)
‘Great!’ Clemmy sounds pleased. ‘The more the merrier, Poppy. Pick you up in twenty minutes.’
The search party arrives in Jed’s car. Calling to Mum that I won’t be too long, I hurry out to the car and peer surreptitiously inside to check who’s in there. Gloria’s sitting in the front, next to Jed, and Clemmy is in the back.
There’s no sign of Katerina.
My relief is instant – perhaps I won’t have to alter the quantities for tonight’s dinner after all!
I slip into the back seat next to Clemmy and she beams at me. ‘Great news. Bob’s just phoned. Ruby’s with him at the opening ceremony, sort of as his right hand woman. Well, girl …’
Gloria turns round in her seat. ‘She didn’t bother to tell her mother, of course. Cheeky mare just waltzes off without a single thought of how I might think she’d been murdered or something even worse!’
‘It’s nice she’s making an effort to get to know Bob, though,’ says Clemmy cheerfully.
Gloria grunts. ‘True. It’s been full-scale bloody hostilities up until now. Although I can’t for the life of me think what’s softened her attitude towards Bob.’
It does seem a little odd. Ruby has been so anti-Bob, it’s felt more than a little awkward at the cabin. Especially, I imagine, for poor Bob himself.
‘At least we know where she is now,’ remarks Jed who, up till now, has been silent, staring straight ahead, concentrating on the driving. He’s so tall, his hair brushes the roof of the car. I stare miserably at his big, solid shoulders. He didn’t even turn round to say hello when I got in the car. I can only assume he’s regretting our passionate clinch the day before yesterday.
Gloria groans. ‘I just hope she isn’t planning to derail Bob’s event.’
Jed turns. ‘It’s just a ribbon-cutting ceremony. There’s not much Ruby could do to sabotage it.’
‘You don’t know my daughter,’ mutters Gloria darkly.
Clemmy raises her eyebrows at me and I grin.
When we get to Easingwold, Jed finds the building and parks on the other side of the road. We all stare up at the stylishly modern structure with its impressive glass frontage.
‘Very posh.’ Gloria sounds proud of her man. ‘Wait a minute!’ She leans right across Jed to stare out of the window. ‘What’s going on? Are there people hanging off that building?’
‘Oh my God, you’re right,’ says Clemmy.
We get out of the car and walk over the road towards the small crowd gathered near the entrance. Several representatives of the local press are there, training their cameras skywards.
I screw up my eyes. ‘Looks like they’re abseiling down the building.’
Two figures, looking like ants from this distance, are about level with the fifth floor and are moving slowly, bit by bit, down the side of the new office block.
‘Abseiling?’ shrieks Gloria. ‘Oh my God. Is that Bob? And Ruby?’
She runs the last few yards, yelling, ‘Ruby? Come down this minute! You might fall!’
‘She’ll be fine. Don’t worry,’ Jed reassures her. ‘Bob wouldn’t cut corners when it comes to safety. There’ll be a professional crew in charge.’
Gloria’s panic subsides a little. ‘Now I know why she didn’t tell me. She knew I’d say no if I thought she was doing something like this. But I can’t believe Bob didn’t let me know what was happening. The two of them must have been in cahoots!’ She covers her mouth. ‘Christ, she’s coming down way too fast. Slow down, Ruby!’
Jed grins. ‘I don’t think she can hear you.’
‘She’s such a daredevil,’ says Clemmy admiringly. ‘You wouldn’t catch me signing up for that.’
Gloria sighs. ‘Bob’s exactly the same. A thrill-seeker, I think you’d—’ She stops. Then her mouth curves slowly up into a smile. ‘The clever bugger! He’d have known Ruby couldn’t say no to an extreme sport. I think he might just have played a blinder there.’
*
The gang at the Log Fire Cabin have decided to have a hot-tub party tonight.
When we get back from Easingwold, I call Erin to ask if she wants to come food shopping with me. I’m going to serve lots of little savoury nibbles to soak up the mulled wine and, specially for Ruby, a non-alcoholic hot spiced punch.
‘Yeah, great,’ she says, sounding totally lacklustre. ‘A party at the cabin sounds way more exciting than anything happening in my flat.’
We end up buying quite a lot of booze for the drinks and I put Erin in charge of making the mulled wine and the punch to try and cheer her up.
‘Do you think we’ve bought enough alcohol?’ Erin asks, on the drive over to the cabin. ‘These party drinks need to pack a punch.’
‘Hey, you won’t be drinking them, so don’t even think about it! They’re for the client and his dinner guests!’
She frowns. ‘I know. I’m just saying. You want this party to be memorable, don’t you?’
I laugh. ‘It will hopefully be memorable because of the delicious food, not because they all have massive hangovers the next day. Anyway, if we run short, there’s always the alcohol left over from the vodka lemon chicken we made the other night.’
‘Oh, yes. You lost the lid, didn’t you?’
I nod. ‘Decanted it into another bottle. It’s in one of the cupboards.’
‘Righto, boss.’ She grins. ‘By the way, can you manage a night at the cabin on your own? I don’t mean tonight. It’s the day after tomorrow. Mark and I are having a special meal.’
‘Oh. What’s the occasion?’
‘No occasion,’ she says gruffly. ‘I think we both just feel we need to talk. Spend some quality time together …’
I wince inwardly. Sounds ominous. ‘Your idea?’
‘No. His, amazingly.’ She frowns. ‘Maybe he’s feeling guilty for working late so often.’
I decide to broach the subject of their relationship with her later – to find out how Erin’s feeling about everything – because talking things out can often work wonders. But as it happens, we barely have time to draw breath, we’re so busy in the kitchen. We’re making four different types of hors d’oeuvres to serve with Erin’s mulled wine and punch, before everyone sits down for the big pot of chilli con carne I’ve made for the main course, and the chocolate bombe for dessert.
I cast a last eye over the two big platters of nibbles before we take them out. ‘They look so tempting,’ says Erin. ‘Let’s hope they eat loads to soak up the alcohol. When I went out there with more of the punch, they were all quite merry already, and it’s not even eight o’clock yet. Gloria seems to be on the Baileys, drinking it by the half pint!’
‘Bloody hell. Let’s get these eats out. Then we can serve the chilli in half an hour.’
Everything seems to be going down well, and when Erin returns with the main-course plates, she has a special request from Gloria.
‘She wants dessert in the hot tub.’
I eye the ultra-squidgy chocolate bombe and shake my head. ‘I can’t see it mixing with the steam, can you? It would be a disaster.’
The door opens and Jed comes in.
Our eyes meet and my heart does a giant lurch.
‘Ignore Gloria.’ He runs a hand through his hair and grins. ‘She’s halfway down a bottle of Baileys and has lost all sense. We’ll have dessert at the table, I think. Then Gloria and Ruby can dive into the hot tub afterwards.’
‘Ooh, lovely!’ says Erin.
‘You’re welcome to use it yourselves, if you like,’ offers Jed, smiling at Erin. He flicks his eyes across at me and I glance down at my feet. I presume I’m included in the invitation, even though he was pointedly talking to Erin. ‘The hot tub’s all ready. I’ve even put candles around it,’ he adds, to no one in particular.
‘Well, I’d have been up for it,’ says Erin after he’s gone. ‘If I’d brought a swimming costume. The cooks definitely deserve some fun.’
‘It wouldn’t be very professional, though, would it?’ And I’m not sure I want to stick around, only to be ignored by Jed.
‘Spoilsport!’
Erin takes in dessert then we start clearing up the kitchen, humming along to Christmas songs on the radio. When the door bursts open, my heart leaps, thinking it’s Jed. But when I turn, it’s only Clemmy. ‘Oh God, that chocolate bombe was absolute heaven,’ she says. ‘You really are a genius, Poppy! Well, both of you!’
Erin grins. ‘Thanks, Clemmy. But she’s the genius. I’m the dogsbody.’
‘You make a mean mulled wine, though. I don’t suppose there’s any more?’ Clemmy’s eyes are extra-sparkling and her cheeks are flushed. I think she might have drunk quite a lot of it herself.
‘Erin?’ I glance across.
Erin salutes. ‘On it, boss.’ She smiles at Clemmy. ‘I’ll make it a good ’un.’
‘Brilliant! Oh, by the way, we’re playing Truth or Dare and we need more people. Will you come and join in?’
She sees my hesitation. ‘Please, Poppy. It’ll be great fun.’
I think about the frosty atmosphere back at home. I’ve no real desire to get back until Mum’s safely out of the way, in bed. So, I give in and smile my agreement.
Clemmy whoops and rushes out of the kitchen. ‘I’ll drag Gloria and Ruby out of the hot tub!’
In the living room, everyone is lying about on the sofas or the floor. Clemmy and Ryan shuffle along their sofa to make space for Erin, and I sit on the floor, leaning against the arm.
Jed, who’s lounging directly opposite me in one of the armchairs, rubs his hands together. ‘Right, who’s going to start?’
Eventually, it’s decided that Tom will go first. He opts for a dare.
‘Ooh, I’ve got a brilliant one,’ smirks Ruby. ‘Tom, you have to phone Charlotte up and ask her out.’
Tom turns as white as the baby grand piano. ‘No way.’
‘You can do it, Tom,’ says Jed, and Gloria nods. ‘Go on, my son. I bet she says yes.’
Ryan grins. ‘If she says no, you can always tell her it was just a dare in a game.’
Clemmy leans over and digs him playfully in the ribs. ‘That’s typical of you, Ry. Always cagey when it comes to being truthful about – ooh! – feelings.’
He throws a balled-up sweet-wrapper sideways and it bounces off her head.
‘I don’t have to do this, do I?’ Tom looks appealingly at Clemmy.
She nods. ‘Yes,’ she tells him firmly. ‘Yes, you do, Tom. Be brave.’
So he does, looking excruciatingly embarrassed, with everyone listening. He’s red as a beetroot and, after he’s asked the question, there’s a long stretch where Charlotte talks and he listens. When he hangs up, everyone is on the edges of their seats – well, apart from Ryan, who’s as laid-back as ever.
Tom swallows. ‘She says she’s busy tomorrow night.’
There’s a chorus of groans and ‘well, never mind, it’s her loss,’ and ‘at least you tried’.
Poor Clemmy looks quite tearful, no doubt wishing she hadn’t urged him to accept the dare. ‘Never mind, Tom. You did it. And that’s what counts.’
Erin is up next, and hers is a Truth.
‘When was the last time a boy did the dirty on you?’ blurts out Ruby, and everyone laughs.
‘What?’ Ruby demands, colouring up. ‘It’s a good question, isn’t it?’
I glance anxiously at Erin. With such a dire romantic past, she’s got so many ‘boys’ to choose from.
‘It’s a great question, Ruby,’ Erin murmurs, attempting a smile. She looks around the room, pauses, then says softly, ‘I thought I’d found the perfect man for me. We were so happy together. But now I think I’m losing him and it’s killing me.’
There’s a stunned silence, and it occurs to me that maybe Erin has been ‘testing’ the mulled wine rather too much while making it. Why else would she be revealing her most-personal feelings to people she doesn’t know that well?
Ruby breaks the stunned silence. ‘So you think he’s about to dump you?’
Erin nods miserably.
‘Well, you should chuck him before he chucks you,’ says Ruby. ‘You’re much too nice to put up with any crap, Erin!’
‘Language!’ Gloria points an admonishing finger at her daughter. In her alcoholic haze, she’s actually pointing at Jed, but we all get the drift.
Erin laughs sadly. ‘Wish it was that easy.’
Ruby starts chanting, ‘Dump him! Dump him! Dump him!’ Then everyone’s telling her to be quiet, although Erin seems to think it’s quite funny.
Ryan, who’s sitting next to Erin, puts his arm around her and whispers something to her. It must be a compliment, because Erin smiles bashfully at him. I see Clemmy’s face fall as she watches them, and my heart goes out to her.
‘Can we go back in the hot tub?’ begs Ruby.
‘No, it’s Bob’s turn.’ Jed grins.
He opts for a dare, and Ruby shrieks, ‘You’ve got to slide down the banister then sing ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ at the bottom.’ She springs up and starts unwinding some of the foliage and fairy lights from one side of the stairs.
‘Ry can play the piano!’ shouts Clemmy. ‘He can play while you sing, Bob!’
Everyone looks at Ryan, who folds his arms and says flatly, ‘I don’t think so.’
I feel sure the rather-reserved Bob will also flatly refuse but, to my surprise, he drains his whisky glass and gets to his feet. Walking rather unsteadily, to chants of ‘Go, Bob!’ from everyone, he gets to the top and slips one cheek onto the banister.
‘Careful, Bob!’ shouts Gloria.
She needn’t have worried. Despite being very obviously pissed, Bob manages to slide to the bottom of the stairs in one piece, and even with a certain degree of elegance. He takes a bow then launches into a jolly rendition of ‘Rudolph’, and everyone else joins in when he starts forgetting the words.
Clemmy nudges me and giggles. ‘I’ve never seen Bob so “relaxed”. What’s in that punch?’
‘It’s non-alcoholic. Basically, fruit, some spices and lots of fruit juice. We made it with Ruby in mind.’
She snorts. ‘Well, Bob’s been on it all night and it looks a bit less harmless than that!’ She raises her glass of mulled wine. ‘Cheers, Bob!’
He raises his glass in return and nearly over-balances. ‘Nice stuff, this. Any more?’
‘That’s the second batch,’ says Erin. ‘I’m afraid there’s no lemonade left. But there’s plenty of mulled wine.’
Bob shakes his head. ‘I don’t drink.’
‘Could have fooled me,’ whispers Erin, grinning at me. ‘Ooh, it’s your big moment, Poppy. You’re up next!’ She points at Clemmy.
‘Right, Poppy. Truth or dare?’
My head feels a little woozy and at first I don’t catch on. I’ve been on Erin’s hot spiced punch, like Bob. But, also like Bob, I’m feeling as if I’ve drunk half a bottle of wine, at least. Has the punch been spiked?
Come to think of it, everyone seems pretty hammered. Even Ruby …
I’m about to ask Erin. But Clemmy’s big smile looms in front of me. ‘Truth or chair?’ She explodes into giggles. ‘Sorry, dare!’
‘Um … truth!’
Gloria and Ruby are arguing about mobile phones again. Clemmy clears her throat and shouts at them to pay attention. All eyes turn to me. Except Jed. He’s gazing down at his glass, a pensive expression on his face. Maybe he’s thinking about Katerina and wishing he were with her, instead of with us rowdy lot?
Thinking about that makes me think of Harrison and a wave of emotion rolls over me. So when Clemmy says, ‘What’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to you?’, I barely hesitate.
‘My boyfriend has proposed and I’m going to marry him!’
There’s a moment’s stunned silence. Then a lot of whooping and congratulations. Erin looks at me incredulously. ‘Is this true? Why didn’t you tell me?’
Oh, God. Why did I let it slip out? I never meant to tell anyone till after New Year. No wonder Erin looks perplexed and a little hurt.
I’m so painfully aware of Jed sitting opposite, as soon as he gets up, my gaze swivels in his direction. ‘I’m really pleased for you, Poppy,’ he says, fixing me with those green eyes. Except they seem darker somehow and closed off to me.
‘We need champagne to celebrate,’ he says softly, and goes out to the kitchen.
I watch him leave, my stupid heart yearning to follow him. With that mane of chestnut hair, he’s like a glorious jungle animal prowling around his territory … oh God, I really am pissed! ‘Erin, did you put anything else in that punch?’
She frowns. ‘No, just some lemonade I found in the cupboard.’
Lemonade?
Oh God, no. When we lost the cap for the vodka, I had to find another bottle to pour it into. A lemonade bottle.
‘Shit! Everyone, the hot spiced punch has vodka in it!’
Ruby raises her glass. ‘Cheers, Poppy. It tastes brilliant!’
Gloria gets up and snatches the glass from her hand, then downs it herself before Ruby can object. ‘My turn! I choose dare!’
Her dare turns out to be dipping all ten toes in the lake for ten seconds.
‘But it’s freezing!’ protests Bob. ‘You can’t, Gloria.’
She laughs. ‘Eeh, don’t worry, Bob. We’re tough, us Geordie lasses.’ She takes off her shoes and we all get up and follow her to the patio doors. She slithers over the snow-covered grass to the water’s edge, turns round, flings her arms in the air and yells, ‘Here goes!’ Next second, she loses her balance, staggers backwards and lands with a gigantic splash in the icy water.
‘Oh my God. Mum!’ Ruby tears down to the water in a panic and starts trying to heave Gloria out, but she’s a dead weight. She’s flailing around, gasping in the sub-zero temperatures. We’re all on our feet but Bob gets there first. Acting amazingly quickly, considering he’s the worse for drink, he grabs a fleecy throw from the living room and runs after Ruby and, together, they finally manage to pull Gloria out of the water.
She seems unharmed, except for the fact that her teeth won’t stop chattering, even when Bob wraps her up tightly in the throw.
Bob seems overwhelmed with relief. ‘I was worried your heart might not stand the shock,’ he says, walking her back to the cabin. ‘Never do that again, Gloria. Promise?’
‘Never.’ She gives an extra-violent shiver as she steps back through the patio doors into the warmth.
‘I love you, Gloria.’
‘You do? Even after all the temper tantrums and the rows about mobile phones?’ She looks sharply at Ruby, who has the grace to look ashamed.
‘Especially after everything,’ smiles Bob. ‘Gloria, you have rocked my safe-but-boring world and it’s taken a bit of getting used to. But now I never want to be without you.’
There’s a chorus of ‘aaahs’.
‘Oh, Bob.’ Gloria kisses him full on the lips. ‘Let’s keep on rocking into old age!’
‘I think I might be there already.’
‘No, you’re not. You came down that banister with the speed and suppleness of a man half your age.’
‘You flatter me, my love.’
As they head for the stairs, Gloria giggles. ‘I’m sure we could find other ways of putting that suppleness to good use.’
‘Oh, puh-lease!’ groans Ruby, and everyone laughs.
When Erin and I go into the kitchen to make Gloria some hot tea, we both instantly notice the ‘lemonade’ bottle standing empty on the counter.
We’re laughing about this, when Jed comes into the kitchen. ‘Poppy, you’ve got a visitor.’
‘A visitor? Who?’
He smiles, although I notice it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘It’s Harrison.’