Page 62 of Eden's Comfort Kitchen
‘Hey.’ Eden laughed. ‘Less of the oldies! I might look haggard from a night frying chips, but I’m not old!’
‘Don’t be daft,’ Mavis said. ‘You’re still as pretty as a clifftop buttercup.’
Eden flushed.
‘Honest!’ Mavis insisted. ‘As soon as I clapped eyes on you, I said to Bilbo, “Oh, isn’t she lovely!” And Bilbo says, “Yes, she is. Inside and out.”’
Eden blushed harder still and turned her concentration to the dishwasher. When she looked up again, she caught Cam grinning her way. What was up with him? For a moment, she considered throwing a cup at his head to wipe the smile off his face, but was thankfully distracted from the idea by Liam asking whether she needed anything else because if she didn’t, then could he leave because he wasn’t planning on going to the pub.
‘Of course!’ Eden said. ‘You don’t need to ask, Liam! You’re doing us the favour; I’m not your boss, you know!’
Liam gave an awkward smile and then went to have a quick word with Bilbo before grabbing his jacket and heading off.
‘I don’t know if my old legs will take a walk up to the pub tonight,’ Bilbo said. ‘I might have to let you down.’
‘You say that’ – Mavis wagged a finger at him – ‘but then you’ll get home and wish you’d gone. Afraid of missing out – that’s always been your trouble.’
‘There comes an age where your body won’t let you do anything but miss out,’ Bilbo said, though his tone was playful. ‘And I have to save myself for the afternoon dancing tomorrow, don’t I? Don’t want to let you down – I’d never hear the end of it.’
‘Aww, come on, Bilbo,’ Cam said. ‘You’ve got to come. I want to hear more stories about Razor in the navy. How about I give you a lift up in my car? And if your legs are still tired later, I’ll pay for your cab home.’
Bilbo broke into a smile, and Mavis simply shook her head.
‘Didn’t I say so? He couldn’t miss a party if his life depended on it.’
‘It’s not a party,’ Bilbo said.
‘That’s what you think,’ Cam replied. ‘It all depends on how the night goes, but there’s every chance it could turn into one!’
At this, Bilbo looked about as excited as an old man could look, and he suddenly seemed forty years younger. Eden thought – not for the first time since she’d met him – that he might well have been an absolute menace as a youngster, but in the best possible way. No wonder he’d needed Cam’s great-uncle to look out for him in the navy.
Eden walked up to the Dolphin later than everyone else, having seen them all off so she could check around and lock up. Some had wanted to wait, but she’d insisted they go on and start their socialising, and she’d be there soon enough.
When she arrived, she could hear laughter from outside the pub. She walked inside to find Bilbo and Cam giggling together like children, and broke into a broad smile. It was funny, however, that she was pleased to see it, but this time it hadnothing to do with her wanting to win the bet with Cam. She was genuinely pleased to see them get along and to see them becoming such good friends. Then again, it was impossible not to love Bilbo, even if you were Cam Faulkner.
‘Here she is!’ Bilbo threw his arms in the air, cheering like a football fan as he spied her coming through the doors.
Cam turned to Ralph, who was manning the bar alongside Livia. ‘Orange gin and lemonade. Better make it a double, Ralph.’
Eden frowned slightly as she approached the bar. ‘How did you know?’
Cam grinned. ‘I pay attention.’
‘There you go.’ Ralph put her drink down. ‘It went all right today?’ he asked Eden. ‘As you didn’t have Livia or Julia? Bilbo says you did a great job.’
‘I have to admit to being impressed myself,’ Cam said.
Now Eden knew he was drunk for sure.
‘It was all right, I think,’ Eden said. ‘Not as bad as I’d worked myself up to think it might be. Definitely helped that you gave us all that food ready to go – the lasagne went down really well.’
‘Glad to help.’
Eden looked to see that, while the pub wasn’t packed out, it was busier than it would be on most weeknights, and her volunteers had probably swelled the numbers. Livia gave her a vague wave from the other side of the bar as she served someone.
Eden turned back to Ralph. ‘You seem busy. You need me to hop round to the other side and lend a hand?’
‘We’ve got it all under control.’ Ralph patted her hand as it rested on the bar top. ‘You’ve worked hard – you deserve a drink.’
