Page 44 of A Touch of Magic at the Comfort Food Café
By the time I go back into the café, Katie has joined us. She looks exhausted and is slumped in her chair, clutching a coffee mug for dear life.
‘Are you okay?’ I ask, as the others make their way back from the window.
‘No. I have three male children and they are savages. I will never be okay.’
Oh. Well. I don’t really know what to say to that. Katie is usually a very non-dramatic person. She must have had a really bad day.
‘Is there anything I can do to help? I can babysit. Or dress up as Nanny McPhee?’
‘They’d eat Nanny McPhee alive. But thanks for the offer of babysitting. I might take you up on that one day. For the time being, wine will have to do.’
I realise that her coffee mug is in fact full of booze. ‘What are you going to the Halloween ball as, Katie?’
‘A physical representation of that painting, The Scream. Or, failing that, I’ll just stick on a witch’s hat and hope for the best. The kids are excited though. Well, the older ones are. The baby isn’t even one yet, so he’s not expressed strong views about anything other than milk and Tinkerbell’s tail. He hasn’t been bothering you, has he?’
‘The baby or the cat?’
‘Either. They both have supernatural powers.’
‘Tinkerbell pops in every now and then, but I don’t mind at all. Would you like… uh, a spa break?’
She looks up at me and laughs. I don’t know why. Is that innately funny?
‘No, I mean it,’ I insist. ‘I got given a voucher ages ago and I’ll never use it. I think it’s got your name written all over it. It’s for two, but hey, there’s no rule that says you can’t go alone…’
‘Oh. I see. Thank you. Well, I’ll think about it. That’s very kind.’
The others join us, and Laura gives Katie a big hug before she sits down. ‘You look knackered,’ she says. ‘Kids playing up?’
The conversation turns to children and their challenges, along with plenty of disclaimers from the mums in the room about how much they actually love their offspring, and how they couldn’t imagine their lives without them. I catch Cherie’s eye and she smiles over her glass. Nobody means to exclude us, and listening to the stories is funny, but it’s not something we can contribute to very much either.
Cherie disappears to the balcony to smoke one of her special cigarettes, and I wonder what Aidan is up to. I know he ran past, and he usually then heads straight to the village. Maybe he’s popped into the butcher’s for some treats for the dogs. Maybe he’s called into the pub. Maybe it’s none of my business. Why am I even thinking about Aidan? I should be thinking about more important things, like my Halloween costume.
I glance at my phone, wondering if there’s any kind of emergency help line for people in a Halloween crisis. Or if I’ll have to drive to a real town somewhere and find an actual shop. Could I get away with some devil horns?
I hear the door to the café open, followed by a slightly surprised silence. I look up just as Laura says: ‘Aidan! And Aidan’s friend!’ Luna scampers over for her traditional fuss, gazing up at the new arrival from beneath her furry fringe.
I stare from Aidan to the person he’s with, my mouth dropping open and my brain struggling to catch up with my eyes. What I’m seeing does not compute with reality.
Not only is Aidan here, thankfully with a top on, he’s not alone. He’s with mysister. I blink, just in case I’m hallucinating, but the vision doesn’t clear. Sally is still standing there, her blond curls windswept and a big leather overnight bag at herfeet. She’s looking around the place with a slightly stunned look on her face, and Aidan meets my eyes. He gives me a little shrug, and then comes over to kiss me on the cheek.
It’s not the same full-on assault on the senses as the kiss at the twins’ party was, but it is enough to make my café friends stare in disbelief. Laura’s eyes look like they’re going to fall out of her head and Becca raises her mug as though congratulating me. Katie’s mouth forms a surprised little ‘oh’, and you could hear a pin drop in the room as everyone other than Cherie clearly wonders what the hell is going on. I can almost imagine Laura’s thought processes: ‘Who is this stranger with Aidan, but more importantly, why is Aidan kissing Sarah? Sarah said she wasn’t interested!’ She will be literally exploding with curiosity.
Cherie already knows about the pretend date we put on for my family in London, and she is looking on in amusement, sitting with her machete on her lap and enjoying the show.
Bugger. Sally is here. Sally thinks we’re a couple. Aidan is keeping up that pretence. He is maintaining the story we spun, but in as respectful and friend-zone-rated a way as he can. These thought processes all take place very quickly, and my nice, ordered life explodes in the space of about twenty seconds.
‘Sally, what are you doing here?’ I ask, finally finding my voice. I’m still trapped in disbelief, not quite accepting that she is standing in front of me. Sally lives in London. I live in Dorset. It’s like my two worlds have collided and I’m squashed in between them. Flat as a pancake.
She snaps out of her own reverie and turns to look at me with a very confused expression. The Comfort Food Café will do that to you on your first encounter– it’s a feast for the eyes, for sure. I suppose I’ve got used to it, but I still remember walking in here, almost a month ago now, and being fascinated by the exotic clutter of the place.
‘Oh, I… I thought I’d come and stay for a bit. And then you weren’t in. And then I bumped into Aidan and he said you might be here. Is it okay that I came?’
She sounds fragile and uncertain, and that is cause for concern with Sally. I can’t remember ever hearing her sound fragile and uncertain. I suddenly don’t care about anything else, so I walk over to give her a big hug. ‘Of course it is. It’s lovely to see you.’
It would have been nice to have some warning, but I keep my mouth shut about that. Maybe it was a last-minute decision.
‘Do you want some wine?’ Cherie asks, offering her a glass. Sally is fixated by her, and nods mutely. I suppose giant killer clown Cherie is even more intimidating than normal Cherie.
