Page 109 of Cooking Up a Christmas Storm
Hope things are going well with your preparations for the festive seasonand especially for Hogmanay. I’m sure it’ll be lovely for some sectionsof the community to have the option of a less elevated event to go alongto.
‘Bastard.’
Adam nodded.
It’s so impressive to see you trying to make a go of one of thesmaller estates. Don’t forget I’m here though. Ready to step in when itgets too much.
Best
JM
‘When it gets too much?’
‘When we run out of money and have no choice,’ Adam clarified.
‘And when will that happen?’
‘If we don’t at least break even on Hogmanay then about January second.’
‘It’s not that bad?’
‘Maybe not quite, but there’s a lot of cost putting the thing on and every time we have a bump in ticket sales, half of them cancel a few days later.’ He gestured to the coach house. ‘This will help massively long-term, but if we don’t get some money in soon I’m not sure we have a long-term.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Right now, this baby won’t be here soon enough to stop me being the last Lowbridge at Lowbridge Castle.’
Chapter Seventeen
The three weeks Jodie spent living out of her parents’ spare room was the longest she’d spent under their roof since she was seventeen. And in many ways it was so easy. She could exist without having to think about who she was, or who she was supposed to be. She could be herself without having to mask or hide.
In other ways, it was harder than being fake Gemma had ever been. She could feel her parents moving around her tentatively, cautiously – scared, she knew, that it was only a matter of time before she pulled a classic Jodie move and screwed something up.
It came to a head on a Saturday morning. Jodie came down from her room to find her mother sat at the kitchen table. ‘I’ve sent your dad out to play golf.’
‘Since when did Dad play golf?’
Her mum shrugged. ‘He doesn’t. But there’s a crazy golf on the seafront. He can try that.’
‘I think they call it adventure golf.’
Her mum rolled her eyes. ‘Well, those people need more adventure in their lives, don’t they?’ She grabbed two big slices of toast from the toaster, spread them with butter and honey and set them in front of Jodie. ‘Anyway, he’s not here so we can have a proper talk.’
Jodie knew what was coming. It was going to be a pep talk she’d heard a hundred times before. Jodie needed to pull herself together. She needed to take responsibility. She needed to get a grip and make something of her life.
Her mother sipped her tea across the table. ‘What’s really wrong, love?’
‘Nothing.’
‘There’s something. You’re not like you,’ her mum replied. ‘You’re all flat.’
She supposed she hadn’t had much get-up-and-go the last couple of weeks, but she was licking her wounds after Pavel. To be fair, her mum didn’t know that. ‘I’m fine. Just a rough few weeks.’
Her mother shook her head. ‘No. Not just the last couple of weeks.’ She took a deep breath in. ‘I sent your dad off because I know he wouldn’t want me saying this, but I’ve got to. You’ve not been yourself for the last few years.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Since you got together with Gemma.’
