Page 37 of A Perfect Devon Pub
While Josh returned to the kitchen, Fiona and Kim joined Rose, who was laying up for the evening service.
‘Are we full again tonight, boss?’ asked Kim.
‘We’re fully booked every night. There’s a waiting list for most evenings,’ replied Rose, picking up a glass and holding it up to the light. ‘This one has marks on it.’
‘I’ll fetch another,’ said Kim, grabbing the dirty glass and rushing off.
‘So helpful, that girl,’ said Rose, examining another glass. ‘I confess I was a little anxious when her father asked me to take her on. She’s hardly from the classic waitressing background, but I was wrong. All the guests like her. She’s got energy, enthusiasm and she’s always got a smile on her face.’
Around everyone but me, thought Fiona, managing a weak smile. She wished Josh hadn’t called the surfing lesson ‘a date’ in front of Kim. It wasn’t a date, but she had an inkling Kim would find a way to spin the information to her advantage.
For a few minutes, Fiona and Rose moved around the tables, checking the glassware, straightening cutlery and folding napkins. Kim seemed to be taking an awfully long time finding a single glass.
‘You know, I respect your wine knowledge,’ Rose said. ‘I need your help finishing the cellar stock take – you find everything so quickly. Can you come in around ten tomorrow morning?’
Fiona agreed, but part of her was questioning if her cellar knowledge was about to become a liability.
Kim trotted back into the dining room, carrying a glass. ‘George says he’ll be out shortly. They’re a bit behind on preparations.’ Kim angled her head towards Fiona while spinning the wineglass in her hands. Fiona blinked, suspecting she knew what was coming, and sure enough, Kim added tartly, ‘Apparently Josh was a bit late for work.’
Rose’s eyes flickered between the two younger women, as if sensing that one was willing her to enquire why Josh had been late for work and the other praying she wouldn’t probe. Rose took a breath before speaking. ‘I understand from Richard Hastings there was a mix-up over their wine on Saturday night, which Kim helped resolve.’
Fiona frowned; she would have preferred Rose to ask what caused Josh to be late for work. That wine incident was Kim’s work, and Kim had done nothing to resolveit, but Fiona had no proof, and decided it was better to simply take the blame. ‘I fetched the wrong bottle. Mrs Hastings was a lot more understanding than her husband.’
The kitchen door opened, and George strode out, followed by Ru, then Josh.
‘Just be more careful next time, please. He is our landlord,’ said Rose.
‘It was quite a drama!’ said Kim, in an unnecessarily loud voice, a smile twitching at her lips.
‘What’s this?’ asked George scowling.
‘Did someone saydrama?’ drawled Josh.
‘We were just discussing Fiona’s wine mistake on Saturday night,’ said Kim.
‘Orchestrated by you,’ Fiona snapped. The words were out before she could stop herself, and she instantly regretted them.
There was a collective gasp. Rose trained her eyes on Fiona, then spoke gently. ‘We’re a team. Please don’t be prickly with Kim.’
‘Sorry,’ mumbled Fiona.
‘Once I explained to Cora and Ricky that she had failed her Advanced Sommelier exam they were very understanding,’ said Kim in a sympathetic tone.
Biting her tongue, Fiona took the clean glass from Kim’s hands, setting it down on the table a fraction more forcefully than she normally would.
‘Shall we talk about the specials?’ suggested Josh.
While George extolled the virtues of the evening specials, Kim scribbled notes with an attentive expression painted on her face and asked questions like the class swot. Was the fish from Brambleton Harbour itself? How was the duck confit made? And which farm was the meat from? Fiona diverted her mind, focusing on pairing food flavours with wines.
‘Any more questions?’ asked George.
‘Yes, can someone lend me a pen, please,’ laughed Rose.
Josh plucked one from behind an ear and tossed it over.
Kim put up her hand, making Fiona cringe. ‘Sorry, but Ruben, could you please run me through how that duck confit was made?’ She waved her hands as if dismissing everyone else. ‘Idon’t want to keep you all waiting, but it sounded amazing, and I didn’t take proper notes.’ She smiled at Ru. ‘If you could spare a couple of minutes ...?’
‘Sure,’ said Ru.
