Page 36 of Eden's Comfort Kitchen
‘I expect so,’ he said with a vague shrug. ‘But if it did, my mammy never said so, and my dad wasn’t around – died when I was a baby – so he wasn’t saying much about it either.’
Eden left him to his work and then went to speak to Liam and Debs, just to make certain they were aware of how grateful she was, and then she went back to Julia, who set her on making a simple pasta sauce for their bake while she saw to the stew. Bilbo began to whistle loudly, causing Nancy and Levi to start giggling and attempt to join in – though neither of them could do anything except make rasping sounds. So Bilbo started to teach them how to purse their lips and eventually a sound came from Levi, and then from Nancy, both children with looks of absolute delight on their faces once they realised they could do it. If Eden had thought them cute before, this was close to overwhelming. She had to force herself not to watch, because she might just spend the afternoon doing that and nothing else.
‘Oh… fudge it!’
Eden turned to see Julia frown at the dials on the oven. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘It’s been on the wrong temperature…see, the numbers are worn off and I thought it was lower. The meat will be tough as Livia’s old Doc Martens.’
‘I’m sure it will be fine,’ Livia said from across the kitchen. ‘Just turn it down.’
‘But it’s been on…well…’ Julia let out a sigh that Eden sensed was full of contained impatience. She could understand where it had come from. The old kitchen of the hut was far from perfect,but they were making the best use of it they could and working out systems as they went for getting around and using the less than ideal equipment. In a few weeks, they’d have it figured out, she supposed, but for now, it wasn’t causing tension exactly but making conditions less than ideal for their purposes.
‘It’ll be fine, Mum,’ Livia insisted.
‘I know, but I want it to be better than fine. It’s Eden’s first dinner, and we want people to enjoy it so they come back again next time.’
‘Your cooking is amazing,’ Eden said. ‘Of course they’re going to enjoy it.’
‘Yes, I’m sure it will be all right, but it’s just not going to be my best.’ Julia peered at the temperature dial as she twisted it to adjust. ‘It’s never the same using a kitchen that’s not your own because you’re used to your own, but I want it to be at least close.’
‘It will be.’
‘It smells wonderful,’ Bilbo said, shuffling over to pat Julia on the arm. She looked up at him, and he offered her a warm smile. ‘I’m sure I’ll be coming for seconds.’
‘Me too,’ Eden agreed. But she wished she felt as confident as she sounded. Not for a second did she doubt everyone’s efforts in the kitchen, but she did worry that this was doomed to spectacular failure no matter how the food turned out. What if nobody came? What if nobody enjoyed it? What if they all thought it was a waste of time? What if…?
There seemed to Eden so many things that could go wrong here, but she tried to put them out of her mind. She had to remember why they were all here, and that the most important thing in the end was intent. They could only try to give the community of Sea Glass Bay something good and important, something that would nurture those in need and bring people together, and as long as they concentrated on that, everythingelse would either fall into place or it wouldn’t. But at the end of the day, Eden had no more control about that than she did the tide rolling in and out on the beach. People would come or they wouldn’t, and they could do their best, but if people didn’t enjoy it, there wasn’t a lot she could do to change that.
‘Ouch!’
Liam held up a finger oozing with blood, and Bilbo dashed over with a tea cloth.
‘What happened, lad?’
‘Knife slipped…It’s going everywhere.’
‘Come here…’ Bilbo wrapped the cloth around his grandson’s hand and led him outside. Eden tried not to see it as an omen. As if she wasn’t already on edge.
‘I’ll take the first aid kit out to them,’ Julia said, hurrying to fetch the box from a shelf.
‘I hope it’s not bad,’ Eden said.
‘Didn’t look it. A good sticking plaster and I’m sure it will be fine.’
Eden glanced across the room at Livia. ‘Why do I feel like that’s a bad sign?’
‘Take a breath,’ Livia said with a reassuring smile. ‘Affirmation time – right? Say it after me: this will be a success.’
‘But—’
‘Say it!’ Livia insisted, pretending to grit her teeth.
Eden had to grin, the tension draining from her. She closed her eyes, the grin still fixed to her face, repeating the affirmation in a sing-song voice.
‘Ohm…this will be a success.’
‘There you go. You’ve sent it out into the universe and so it has to manifest. It will be a total success.’
