Page 72 of New Beginnings at the Little Christmas Inn
Eli’s mouth twisted. ‘I suppose I’ll be getting the sack now.’
‘Do you want to carry on working here?’
He nodded violently. ‘I love it here. I mean I know I’ve got a lot to learn but I really like it. It’s well cool.’ His eyes strayed to Brittany who was laughing at something Simona said.
Livvy’s lips twitched. Eli would have to get a whole load more world weary before he tackled Brittany. ‘Then you can keep your job–’
‘Oh, Livvy, that’s so great!’
‘Hold on, before you get too excited, you have to promise me something.’
Eli nodded eagerly. ‘What?’
‘That, if you’re unsure about anyone, or someone makes you feel uncomfortable or puts pressure on you, you come straight to me. Understood?’
‘Understood. I promise you, Liv, I won’t let you down again. And it’s way cool, I mean, really good of you.’
‘Well, Verity the vicar drummed the message of forgiveness into me at the church service so I’m trying to put it into practice.’
Eli leaped up, went with an impulse and kissed her cheek, blushed furiously and went.
Livvy stared into the flames for a moment, bone-weary. Eli made her feel old. Gathering what was left of her strength, she stood up. That was the Eli problem sorted and she’d apologised and thanked Simona so that left one more person. Collecting their discarded mugs, she went into the kitchen where, as expected, Fabio and Stewie were cleaning up. Bay Radio played ‘Happy Xmas, War is Over’ softly in the background.
They really ought to update their playlist.The inconsequential thought came out of nowhere.But it’s the season for cheesy Christmas songs and this one’s weirdly appropriate for a night like this.She hoped whatever war Jason had waged on her was truly over. ‘Stewie, would you mind going into the bar and collecting some glasses? And shove the first lot in the washer, will you? Oh, and don’t forget to pick up your envelope with your Christmas tips. It’s behind the till.’
‘Sweet. Will do. Cheers, Livvy. Happy Christmas.’
‘Happy Christmas, Stewie, and thanks for all your hard work.’
She waited until he’d gone through to the bar. Outside, the car park was in blackness. The security lights came on, making her flinch, but it was only Karl putting the empties into the bottle recycling bank. The noise thundered through the tension as she faced Fabio. ‘Fabio?’ she began.
He put up his hands in defence. ‘No, let me start. I have much to say. I promise you, even though the intent was to sabotage the restaurant, over order stock, incorrectly charge, mess about with the invoices, that sort of thing–’
Livvy’s eyes widened. ‘I had no idea.’
‘I did nothing.’ Fabio stabbed the air. ‘Nothing.Niente.Not even right at the start.’ He agitated his head from side to side. ‘Well, I admit to a tiny bit of over-ordering at first, but I soon stopped that.’ He threw a cleaning cloth onto the aluminium prep surface. ‘Even though that man,’ he pointed an aggressive finger towards the bar, ‘harassed and bullied me, just as he has been doing to Mama. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t serve substandard food or send out service lukewarm or badly seasoned. I have too much pride in what I do. In my art.’
Livvy sank down onto a stool. Flailing for a response, she opened her mouth, but his torrent of words continued.
‘From the first, from the very first, when I cooked you that tasting menu, I knew I could make this place a success. I believed in you.’ This time the finger stabbed towards Livvy. ‘So I vowed I would never compromise my cooking or this restaurant. Never!’
‘I can’t believe Jason asked you to do all that,’ she murmured. ‘The man is despicable.’
Fabio’s response was to flick his thumb from his teeth, which Livvy was pretty sure was his definitive judgement on Jason Lemmon. She could but wholly agree. ‘In which case, I must thank you for not bowing down to the bullying. You could have ruined The George all too easily. I’m so grateful, Fabio, you must believe that.’
‘I did nothing. I cooked, I created, but I would never sabotage what we have here. I wouldn’t do that to you. I knew you had the vision for it. I knew The George would be superb. With my cooking and your vision.’
‘I’m not sure I agree with that.’ Livvy sighed. ‘The vision bit, I mean. I’ve spent the last three months agonising over exactly what I wanted to achieve with The George.’
‘You’re too close to it. It’s evolved organically.’ He gave an Italian shrug. ‘You have somewhere people want to cometo drink and socialise, a community base,’ Fabio’s voice was heated. ‘Even a thriving skittle alley, although I’m mystified by the appeal.’ He paused, then added with emphasis, ‘And a restaurant everyone is talking about.’
‘And that’s down to you.’
Fabio ignored the comment, continuing passionately. ‘In three months you have achieved all of this! You’re too modest, you don’t believe in yourself enough. You don’t see yourself,’ he prodded his chest with a thumb, ‘how I see you.’
Livvy bit her lip. He was getting more Italian with every sentence. ‘Can I… Can I rely on you to stay? Do you want to continue here?’
‘Of course.’ Fabio looked surprised. ‘Unless you feel it’s not right. It’s true I have to earn back your trust, I appreciate that.’
