Page 20 of Eden's Comfort Kitchen
‘Older than that.’
‘Not much.’
‘Still, I miss those times. You’d be doing me a huge favour too – I’ve got loads to do, and the coffee morning is tomorrow.’
‘I’ve got to revise – you know that.’
‘You’re not revising now. You can take a short break, can’t you?’
Eden could. She wanted to but still…she wasn’t a little girl any more. She was too old to measure out ingredients with painstaking care as she looked up at her mum’s delighted smile, soaking up the adoration and praise. She was too old to lick the mixture from the spoon or ask to go in the car to help deliver the cakes. She was too old to hang out in the kitchen with her mum.
The memories had sent Eden to sleep with tears burning her eyes, but she’d woken with renewed determination to somehow make up for all the times just like that one where she’d disappointed her mum in some way or not been the best version of herself, the daughter her parents had deserved.
Plans were forming in her brain, but they were still small and uncertain and not fleshed out enough to discuss with anyone. She didn’t even know who the best person would be to talk to – though Livia and Ralph were the two most obvious to start with. Putting all that aside, it seemed to her that the logical starting point must be a venue. Perhaps when she had that the rest would start falling into place.
Her wanderings took her to parts of the bay she’d never seen before – mostly because, quite naturally, she’d stuck to the tourist traps on her previous visits as a child. There was no need to go any further than those for anyone who didn’t live there, after all. But off the main row of shops and cafés on the seafront, away from the high street, the town spread like tentacles into roads where the permanent residents lived. Here the houses were still lovely, full of character, but more worn, like old shoes that had once been expensive but hadn’t been resoled in a long time. Here was where the arteries of local life pulsed. The streetswere quiet; it was daytime and midweek, so Eden assumed most people were out at work.
The rows of houses – some semi-detached thirties builds, some a little newer, some terraced streets that dated from the early twentieth century, the odd outlier standing alone – were all very interesting but not what Eden was looking for. In fact, she’d just about given up on finding any building that wasn’t a house when she passed a gap between a row of houses on an inconspicuous road and stopped. At first it looked like it was waste ground, but then she noticed that set back, sheltered by two trees that met in the middle like a huge umbrella, was a hut with a corrugated roof. The hut itself was weather-beaten and ramshackle – but the ground it sat on was lush with wild grass, hidden rose bushes and trees of varying sizes. An overgrown asphalt path snaked from the front fence to the entrance door. Eden got out her phone and checked the map. After a moment working out exactly where she was, she concluded that this must be the scout hut.
‘Excuse me!’
Eden seized the chance to question a passer-by who was out walking a grizzle-mawed old dog. She rushed across to where he’d stopped, eyeing her curiously.
‘Sorry to bother you, but is that the scout hut?’ She pointed to the building.
‘Yes. Nobody there at this time of the day, though.’
‘Do you know if it’s in use all the time?’
‘Not sure.’
‘Can anyone use it? I mean, could someone maybe rent it for blocks of time or something? Like to do community stuff?’
‘Couldn’t tell you…’ The man rubbed his chin. ‘But there’s a number you can ring on the gate there. Would that help?’
Eden looked to see a sign she’d missed. It was hardly surprising, considering how dirty and green with moss it was. Ifthis building was in regular use, there didn’t seem to be a huge amount of maintenance going on. The notion filled her with a sudden misgiving. Perhaps this wasn’t it, after all. It might not be suitable, and even if it was, she was assuming she’d be able to use it, and that might have been jumping the gun just a little.
‘Yes, thanks. Sorry – I didn’t even notice it.’
‘That’s all right.’
The man continued on his way, and Eden went back across the road to take a photo of the sign. She could have dialled the number there and then, but she hadn’t really figured out what she was going to ask for if there was an answer. How many days a week did she want to do this? How many people could she cater for? Where was the food going to come from? Who would cook it? Eden was a competent enough cook when it came to throwing some fish fingers in an oven, but that was about it. She’d need help, and who would be able to spare the time? There was still so much to work out, and she didn’t know where to start. Today’s search had seemed like the first step, but standing here now, she realised the journey hadn’t started at all. She’d been carried away on the fantasy, excited by her plans, but they hadn’t been plans to speak of.
Instead of dialling the number on the sign, she decided to see if Livia was free. It was a working day for her, of course, and she’d be at the ice-cream parlour as she always was, but perhaps she’d be able to spare half an hour so Eden could run some things past her. And if she didn’t know the answers, perhaps she’d be able to point Eden in the direction of someone who did.
Livia sat on the low wall that separated the parlour’s seating area from the promenade and licked at her ice cream. Eden had been lucky enough to catch her about to go on her lunch break. She’dlaughed when Livia had emerged from the door of the parlour with two ice creams.
‘Is that your lunch?’
‘It’s got protein and carbs. I’d call that a balanced meal.’
Eden laughed as she took one of the cones. ‘I always imagined if I worked selling ice cream all week, I wouldn’t want to see one on my breaks, let alone eat them.’
‘Well, they’re right there, so it’s quick and easy. Mum says I ought to make the most of the years when I can eat like this and not put on weight.’
‘Sounds fair enough.’
‘So what’s all the excitement? You’ve not come to tell me you hate the job at the pub and you’re leaving already? You’d better not, not when I’ve only just trained you up.’
