Page 57 of Barging In
Noticing his eyes were on the bar again and particularly on Clem, she sniffed with amusement, “You’re wasting your time there.”
“Yeah, she said she was a lesbian.” He pulled his phone out. “I told her she hadn’t met the right bloke yet.”
“Please tell me you didn’t,” Victoria hissed, recoiling as her expression froze somewhere between shock and second-hand embarrassment.
He shrugged. “What? It was a joke.”
“It wasn’t funny. You keep away from her,” Victoria growled, not realising her voice had grown so loud and people were beginning to look in their direction.
He shoved his phone back in his jacket pocket. “Okay,Clemis off-limits. I have to head off anyway.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You just got here.”
She questioned why she was so surprised. It was predictable for Drew to be absent from her life; she’d feel more relaxed without him around anyway.
Avoiding giving any details, he said, “I’m sure you can catch a lift back to the house or get a taxi.” Looking at his watch and then around the room, he added, “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks for the business awards,” and walked away.
Victoria huffed. He’d done everything necessary, making sure to show his face and shake a few hands. That was the only reason he’d come, it seemed. It certainly wasn’t to compliment her on how she looked; he hadn’t bothered — unlike Clem. She couldn’t seem to get her jaw off the floor when she emerged from Florence.
“Hey,” a kind voice said from behind her. “Having a nice evening?”
“Emma. Hmm, yes, wonderful, thank you,” Victoria lied. She reached out and placed a hand on Emma’s arm. “Thank you for today, and for the last few days. I appreciate the effort you’ve put in since Christine left.”
Emma’s lips twisted into something close to a smile. “I know it’s probably not the right time, but I wanted to say — well, ask — if you would consider me to replace Christine.”
“You?” Victoria asked, gently withdrawing her hand.
“Who looked after everything when she was on holiday?” Emma pleaded. “I can do all the ordering. I’ve been here from the start. I know how everything works. I’ve never missed a day of work. I love my job, and I love the wharf.”
Victoria blinked. “Golly.”
“I get that a lot needs to change around here. Particularly in the café. Starting with the cake, and then the coffee.”
Victoria drank in Emma’s enthusiasm. She was practically vibrating with anticipation. Her lips wereparted, poised for a positive response. Now was the time to trust her instincts.
“How about I give you a two-week trial? Does that sound fair?”
Emma’s face lit up. “More than fair. Thank you.” Before Victoria knew it, Emma had leapt forward and hugged her. “I won’t let you down.”
“And I think I have solved our cake problem,” Victoria added. “Clem has agreed to bake for us.”
“That’s amazing,” Emma said, eyes wide as she pulled back. “I heard her cakes were really tasty.”
Victoria tried not to laugh at Emma’s attempt to make out she didn’t know firsthand how good Clem’s baking was. She couldn’t blame her for the little white lie; it seemed they all had a soft spot for Clem’s cakes.
“Oh, and happy birthday.” Emma squished her face. “Jasper told me.”
“It’s not a secret,” Victoria allowed. “I wanted to focus our efforts on the wharf today.”
That was true, but she also knew if she didn’t agree to combining the celebrations for both occasions, then Jasper would want to celebrate her birthday in some other no doubt exuberant way. Knowing him, he would organise a ghastly surprise party. Their quiet spa weekend was enoughcelebrationfor her.
“If it’s any consolation, you don’t look a day over forty,” Emma said before skipping off.
Any consolation?
Victoria sniffed with amusement as Emma joined their receptionist, Rachel. They were fawning over Clem’s Victoria sponges. It brought a smile to her lips, as did Emma’s comment, even if she knew it wasn’t true. She knew ageing was inevitable, fixed yearly by the candles on a cake and the gradual loosening of skin around her eyes.Somewhere along the way, the lines on her face would have to stop being a battle to fight, and she would need to accept them for what they were, a record of endurance. For the moment, they were another thing she was trying to ignore — like her marriage.
Fifty probably felt a lifetime away to someone like Emma, but it was waiting around the corner for her, ready to pounce. And now that Victoria had hit it — the so-called halfway point — she didn’t feel any different. Perhaps just a quiet sense of relief that she was on the other side of it. It wasn’t such a frightening place after all. One less thing to dread for a few years. She’d leave sixty for future Victoria to worry about.
