Page 98 of The Side Road
Tash nodded. She let go of his hand and mimicked the action, holding the body of the beater with one hand and turning the handle with the other.
‘What was she baking?’
‘Golden syrup dumplings.’
Oliver raised himself on one elbow. ‘What happened next?’
‘The same thing that usually happens. She poured the eggs into the flour and made balls of dough. When she saw me in the doorway, she said, “Hello, luv, I didn’t see you there.” And I said, “Hello, Nan, you’re supposed to be dead.”’
‘What did she say?’
‘Nothing. She passed me the big cooking spoon so I could taste the dough.’
In the darkness, he studied her frowning face. ‘Did she tell you where the money was?’
‘No. But she told me something else. She said she was cooking in the middle of the night because she had a broken heart and golden syrup dumplings made her happy. I asked her if she missed me, and she said no. But she said God was real.’ Tash turned to her father. ‘So, you lose.’
Oliver smiled. ‘You want me to check the kitchen?’
She nodded.
Oliver climbed out of bed. Tash followed him down the hallway into the kitchen. The light was still on, but Elsie’s ghost had left the building.
Like a tracker dog searching for a scent, Tash sniffed the air in one direction and then the other. Wiggling her nose, she said, ‘Golden syrup?’
Following her lead, Oliver sniffed. It smelled faintly of apples. ‘Hungry?’ he asked.
‘I could eat.’
‘Know how to make those dumplings?’
‘We can YouTube it.’
He passed her his phone, which was charging on the bench. Tash looked up the recipe while Oliver retrieved mixing bowls, wooden spoons, and the hand beater.
The recipe had 135 reviews with a score of 4.3. They decided this was adequate, especially at 2 a.m. Tash listed the ingredients. ‘Butter, sugar, flour, eggs, cream, and golden syrup.’
Oliver collected the items and placed them on the table. ‘Why did she keep the golden syrup in the fridge?’ he asked.
‘Ants. I think we should sell this house.’ Tash said.
‘Agreed.’
Tash read out the recipe instructions. ‘There are only two steps. First, put the flour into a bowl, then rub in the butter until it looks like breadcrumbs.’ Lifting one hand, she rubbed her fingers and thumb together. ‘I’ll start on the syrup.’
Oliver began rubbing the flour and butter mixture between his fingers.
Taking a saucepan, Tash added water, sugar and golden syrup. After turning on the stove, she placed the pan on the element. ‘Some people didn’t like Nan.’
It was a statement, not a question, so he didn’t think it required an answer and continued rubbing. When Oliver looked up, Tash was watching the syrup come to the boil.
‘She would say things like, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.” And then she would say awful things about other people.’
Oliver couldn’t disagree. He had heard Elsie in action; the woman had a bitter disposition.
‘I think Pops did something bad,’ Tash continued. ‘That’s why Nan had a broken heart.’
‘He wasn’t a bad man, but perhaps he made an unwise choice. Sometimes in life, things just happen.’
