Page 41 of Your Carriage Awaits in Crumbleton
Michelle raised her own cup, but she was too busy holding her breath to taste it. Was she finally about to get to the bottomof the feud? Unfortunately, Keith seemed to be content to sip his tea and stare out of the window to follow his previous chain of thought.
‘Erm… can I ask you something?’ said Michelle, still hovering.
‘Of course!’ said Keith.
‘What happened… between you and my dad, I mean?’
‘Blessed if I know!’ said Keith with a shrug. ‘One day we were best mates, next thing I knew, he wouldn’t even look at me in the street.’
‘You’re not serious?’ said Michelle. ‘You really don’t know?’
‘Not a clue,’ said Keith, shaking his head. ‘And I’m guessing you don’t either, being as you’re asking me?’
Michelle shook her head. ‘No, sorry.’
‘Shame.’
‘All I’ve been able to find out is that it might have something to do with a car… though that’s not from the horse’s mouth,’ said Michelle.
‘A car?’ said Keith, frowning.
Suddenly, he looked exhausted, and Michelle felt awful for letting the conversation get that far.
‘Keith, when was the last time you had something decent to eat?’
‘Hospital food doesn’t really count, does it?’ said Keith with a small smile.
‘Definitely not.’
‘In that case, it’s been days,’ he sighed. ‘And there’s no point looking in there unless you’re after a bit of old cheese that’s created its own civilisation!’ he added as Michelle moved to open the fridge.
‘Well, I hate to contradict you in your own kitchen,’ said Michelle, ‘but it looks like Mary Poppins has been busy in here too!’
The fridge was not only clean but filled with everything from fresh eggs and cheese to mince, sausages and bacon. There were a couple of tubs of ready-made farmhouse soup, too. Clearly, Danny had been keen to make sure his dad would eat properly when he came out of hospital.
‘Okay, you’ve got a choice,’ said Michelle, turning to peep into the breadbin. ‘You can have a full fry up, or toast and eggs however you like them, or I can make you a quick spag bol?’
‘You don’t have to—’ started Keith.
‘Are you hungry?’
He nodded. ‘Marvin.’
Michelle chuckled. ‘So… what’ll it be? And don’t just choose the thing you think is quickest because you think you’re doing me a favour—I love to cook.’
‘Well…’ said Keith slowly, ‘in that case, it’s got to be the spag bol.’
‘You’ve got it.’
‘So, cooking’s your thing, eh?’ he said, making himself more comfortable in the chair. ‘Is that what you do for a living?’
Michelle paused, her thoughts flying back to her parents busily tucking into their burgers. The old showroom just outside. Her diner dream.
‘It’s going to be.’
‘Oh, now that sounds exciting,’ said Keith, his eyes lighting up with interest. ‘Tell me more.’
CHAPTER 12
