Page 27 of Starting Over at Halesmere House
‘You don’t mind if Neil and Zac join us, do you, Alice?’ Sandy said blithely. ‘Sorry, I forgot to mention it. We only arranged it last night, afterStrictly. Turns out Neil likes dancing too.’
‘Of course not.’ There was no other reply Alice could give without arousing Sandy’s suspicions. Her thoughts were on Zac again, wondering what he made of her now.
‘Alice? Did you hear me? Did you bring the crumble?’
‘What?’ Alice blinked and more dismay for letting Sandy down this time swiftly followed. ‘Sandy, I’m so sorry, I was going to do it last night when I came back from the studio. I was later than planned and forgot all about it.’ She still couldn’t look at Zac. ‘I’ll nip down to the shop and pick something up before they close.’
‘I don’t mind making a crumble if you have more apples, Sandy?’ Neil was looking at her hopefully. ‘I enjoy a bit of baking and a crumble is easy enough. Won’t take me long.’
‘Oh, would you? That would be marvellous, thank you! Anyone prepared to cook in my kitchen is always welcome to get stuck in.’ Sandy beamed at Alice. ‘Why don’t you three go on ahead and I’ll be along shortly? I’ve got a few things to do here first, and you were about to leave, anyway, Alice. And it’s just the four of us; my Ukrainian family have gone to a friend from school. They’ll be back around teatime.’
It was ten minutes’ walk to the rectory and thankfully Neil kept the conversation going at a cheerful pace, with the odd reply or comment from Alice and Zac. She unlocked the front door and pointed to her right.
‘That’s the sitting room, Zac, if you’d like to make yourself comfortable. There’s a cloakroom through that door for coats.’
‘And the kitchen?’ Neil looked as though he couldn’t wait to get stuck in and Alice was expecting him to roll up his sleeves any second. ‘I’d better get on with that crumble, if I won’t be in your way.’
‘Through the dining room, straight ahead then left.’
‘Righto. Something smells delicious already.’ Neil thrust his coat at Zac, who had none to hang up.
‘Sandy left a chicken in the oven,’ Alice said, glancing at Zac. ‘Shall I take your dad’s coat?’
‘I can do it.’ Neil had already disappeared, and Zac touched her arm before she could follow and keep herself busy. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine,’ she told him brightly. ‘There’s a nice view of the garden from the conservatory.’ She sounded like an estate agent now. ‘Why don’t you go and sit in there and I’ll bring you a drink.’ At least that would keep him out of the kitchen while she got on with the lunch. Neil was whistling now, and she heard water running.
‘I’d rather make myself useful. Is there anything I can do?’
‘Not really.’ She was on her way to the kitchen after Neil. She wouldn’t be surprised if he had the crumble mixed and the apples sliced by now.
‘At least let me set the table?’
‘Thanks. I’ll show you where everything is.’ Alice desperately didn’t want to give away that she’d fallen asleep thinking about him and his kindness last night.
In the kitchen, she helped Neil find the ingredients he needed to make the crumble, and he set to work as she made a cheese sauce for cauliflower and left the roasted chicken to rest while Zac did the table. Sandy hadn’t got quite enough apples picked for the crumble so Neil sent Zac out into the garden to fetch a few more. Alice had already recognised that Neil was one of those jolly people who didn’t need any encouragement to talk, and she checked on the potatoes roasting nicely in the oven.
‘It’s great staying here with Zac and having some time together.’ Neil was mixing flour, butter, oats and sugar to make the crumble topping. ‘He was sharing with me until he moved, and he’s looking for a house ready for when he starts his new job in January. It was very good of Max to offer him some work to see him through, and the flat, of course. He was a late starter, Zac. Not like his sister, Hayley – she never came back after university. And I was in no rush to pack him off. I knew he’d go eventually, when he found the right place, not that I’m sure he has yet. He thought the world of that fiancée of his and it turned out she couldn’t see further than his four wheels.’
‘Neil, I don’t think…’ Shocked, Alice didn’t want to learn any of this but if Neil had heard her, he gave no sign as he carried blithely on. She lifted the cauliflower from a steamer and layered it in a dish, pouring the hot cheese sauce over the top, trying to make as much distracting noise as she could.
‘How do you get over a thing like that, when your mum took off too?’ Neil caught Alice’s eye and his were suddenly full of anguish. ‘I’ll never forget him crying himself to sleep every night after she’d gone. What do you tell a little lad who just wants his mum why she’s not there? Me sitting on the floor in his bedroom and both of us pretending I wasn’t because he didn’t want me to know he was upset. I thought he’d found what he wanted when he and Serena got engaged but she went off after someone else the minute it suited her better.’
‘Right, I think I’ve got enough apples now.’ Zac dumped a bowl on the worktop and his gaze slid from Neil to Alice and back again. ‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ Neil dropped his eyes guiltily.
‘What’s he been saying about me, Alice?’ Zac’s face was taut, and she really didn’t want to be in the middle of this.
‘I was telling her about Serena, that’s all,’ Neil said defiantly.
‘That’s over, Dad.’ Zac’s voice was very level and Alice glimpsed the tension in a muscle flickering in his cheek. ‘There’s nothing else to say. And I would really prefer it if you didn’t talk about me as though I was still some little kid lost.’
‘But you wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for her. Serena,’ Neil replied angrily.
‘Dad, please… Just leave it, okay. I’m done with it.’
Chapter Nine
