Page 47 of Merrily Ever After
‘On it, Maude,’ said Kylie brightly, springing up from her chair.
Emily left them to it and ran upstairs to check on Ray.
Her dad had a visitor sitting on his sofa when Emily knocked and let herself in – a woman in a smart navy dress, holding a clipboard.
‘She’ll tell you,’ Ray said to his guest, pointing at Emily.
‘Tell you what?’ Emily bent to kiss his cheek and smiled at the visitor. ‘Hello.’
‘What I like for dinner,’ he answered. ‘I can’t think.’
‘I’m Shirley, the catering manager,’ the woman said, extending a hand for her to shake. ‘You must be Emily?’ Emily nodded and Shirley continued, ‘I’ve popped in for a chat with your dad, to see what his favourite meals are. So far, I’ve got pork chops.’
‘On Mondays,’ Ray clarified. ‘That’s when Mum does them.’
‘Do you know what, Ray,’ Shirley said. ‘Next Monday, you’ll get your pork chops, and that’s a promise.’
‘I’m quite envious,’ said Emily, warming to Shirley instantly. ‘I’ve already heard good things about your fish pie.’
‘We do our best.’ Shirley looked flattered. ‘My philosophy is that there is never any excuse to serve bland, uninteresting food, no matter how little appetite someone has. In fact, the smaller the appetite, the more important good food is.’
‘True.’ Emily looked at her dad. He seemed to have shrunk these last few months. His neck looked thin peeking out of his jumper, his face had developed angles where before there had been roundness, and only last week, she’d had to make a new hole in his belt because the waist of his jeans had been so loose.
‘Was your lunch nice, Dad, what did you have?’ She pulled up a chair from the little dining table and sat beside him.
Ray chuckled. ‘And you say I’m the forgetful one.’
Emily looked at Shirley, confused. ‘Have I missed something?’
‘When your dad didn’t come down for lunch, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t because he was particular about his food,’ Shirley explained. ‘But he says you brought him a sausage roll which filled him up.’
‘That was at the weekend, before you moved in here, not today.’ Emily touched his arm gently. ‘I’ve been at work all day; I’ve just arrived.’
‘Ah, right,’ Shirley said. ‘Well, that won’t do.’
‘I was sure that was today.’ Ray’s forehead furrowed and his stomach gave an almighty rumble.
‘I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again,’ said Shirley, getting to her feet. ‘How does some soup and buttered toast sound, to keep you going until dinner time?’
Ray raised an eyebrow. ‘Tomato?’
‘If that’s your favourite, I’ll make it my mission,’ the catering manager promised, scribbling a note on her clipboard. ‘And if you think of anything you fancy, just speak to one of the staff.’
‘Thanks, Shirley.’ Emily saw her to the door. ‘If I bring any food in other than snacks, I’ll let you know. Sorry to be a nuisance.’
‘You’re welcome. And don’t apologise. We like people to feel as if we’re all part of a big happy family, looking out for one another, you know?’
Emily nodded. She did know, although she’d never experienced it personally. Ray and Tina were the only living relatives she had left, and they weren’t even asmallhappyfamily. The thought reminded her of the photograph and she wondered whether the mysterious tin which he seemed very attached to might contain some other memories, his own parents perhaps?
She sat down in the space on the sofa vacated by Shirley. ‘You know that tin, the red and black one I fetched for you?’
He gave her a shifty look. ‘What about it?’
‘Can I see that photograph again, the one we looked at before?’
He muttered about being up and down like a yo-yo, but, nonetheless, disappeared into his bedroom to get it. He wrenched off the lid and slid out the photograph.
She moved beside him so they could look at it together. He stared at it for such a long time that she had to double-check that he hadn’t nodded off.
