Page 21 of New Beginnings at the Little Christmas Inn
‘My, why so dour?’ Simona giggled. ‘What’s that, kitten?’
‘Fabio does a mean sticky marmalade pudding.’
‘Oh, sweetie,’ Simona cried, fluttering her eyelashes and putting her hand to her heart. ‘Who could resist?’
‘Clotted cream?’
‘Oh, clotted cream,’ Simona breathed in ecstasy. ‘Can I share your pud, though? The only way I can maintain this svelte figure of mine is not to eat. It’s utter torture, darling. I shall require the merestsoupcon.’
‘I think that can be arranged. I’ll see what I can do,’ Livvy answered, liking the woman’s honesty, and went into the kitchen.
CHAPTER 14
Hot mulled cider – perfect for bonfire parties and barbeques. Add Calvados, cloves and allspice for an extra kick.
The day of the bonfire party dawned bright and clear, with watery turquoise skies. Even the wind which seemed to have taken up a permanent job of battering at The George’s sea-facing walls had eased. The storm had blown itself out and washed the sky clean.
Livvy breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t raining and hummed happily to herself as she bustled about the kitchen, ticking off the list of things she’d had to do. Local media alerted, stocks replenished, menu agreed, jobs allocated, timings organised. Staffing would be tight; one reason to only serve food in the restaurant, but she had faith in her team and Mark and Pete had kindly offered to help out where they could. She’d asked them to be bonfire wardens.
As well as the launch proper, the party was her thank you to all those who had helped her get this far. She was so grateful.Fabio and Karl were already proving themselves staunch allies even in the short space they’d worked together.
And now, she was standing in an empty restaurant which, in under an hour’s time would hopefully be full of contented diners. The Three Ds had done a fantastic job in here and she couldn’t believe they’d finished in time. The laminate flooring that she’d been so snobbish about but which Darrell insisted would look great for a restaurant floor, would prove hard-wearing and easy to clean. The walls, stripped back to their rough plaster, had been painted the same stark, clean white as in the bar and new wall sconces had replaced the eighties monstrosities that were there before. More mismatched tables and chairs were dotted about and dressed with white linen, gleaming cutlery and sparkling glassware. It looked just as she hoped; unpretentious and welcoming, if perhaps a little bare. Something on the walls was most definitely needed. Livvy felt a wriggle of excitement. Her vision was coming together.
No bar food tonight: they were pushing people into here. If anyone wanted to eat more casually, they could buy sausages, burgers and toffee apples at the kitchen door to eat by the bonfire. Her anticipation mounted; she was really looking forward to this.
‘Well, kitten,’ yelled Simona into her ear, three hours later. They were standing in front of a blazing bonfire, their faces hot and reddening, the cold circulating draughtily behind. ‘I rather think you can consider yourself very much put on the map. I’m hearing the most wonderful compliments about Fabio’s food. Do you think he can come out to play any time soon?’
As she spoke, words muffled by her enormous fur-trimmed hood, Fabio arrived to stand next to them. He leaned into Livvy. ‘Stewie’s in charge of the bonfire snacks. Apart from that, The. Kitchen. Is. Closed.’
‘Thank you, Fabio. You’ve been… fabulous.’
‘Of course.’ He shrugged. Then he grinned and threw an arm around her shoulders. ‘We make a good team,bambina.Congratulations!’
‘And ithasbeen a real team effort, Fabio. Really couldn’t have done it without you.’ She was curious to see a strange emotion flicker across his face but was unable to say more as the first of the fireworks erupted. Several rockets shot high into the sky, trailing glistening streams of multi-coloured light across the sky, reflecting in the indigo sea. Everyone cheered. She looked around at the happy faces, gleaming in the flames from the bonfire. The beer garden was packed. Surely tonight’s success boded well? A glow of contentment warmed her and she hugged Fabio’s arm in sheer happiness.
Afterwards, Fabio, Karl and Livvy stumbled back into the bar, everyone else having finally departed.
‘Quick drink before you go home, chaps?’
They shook their heads.
‘I have to drive home.’ Fabio came to her and kissed her on the forehead. ‘Great night. Toodle-pipsbella.’
‘Night, Fab. And thanks, once again, for everything.’
‘And I have to get back to the missus,’ Karl said. ‘Been a good night, Livvy. Folk’ll be talking about this for a while. Got the Christmas season off to a smashing start. Heard someone say the fireworks were as good as they’ve seen anywhere, includingLyme Regis. And that’s saying something. Night, Fabio,’ he added, as the chef exited out of the front door. ‘Livvy, can I have a quick word before I go?’
‘Of course.’ Livvy lifted the bar hatch and, slipping behind the bar, began to load the washer with the first lot of glasses.
‘I came back here to use the lav,’ Karl began. ‘For some reason I checked if the door to the bar was locked and it wasn’t. Fabio was supposed to have locked up when he’d finished in the restaurant so there would be no access to here. Stewie was running burgers and whatnot from the kitchen and doing plastic glass sales from the kitchen door. Limited range like beer and cider.’
‘Yes, that’s what we agreed. He seemed to be coping.’
‘He was. Wasn’t too busy. Think folk were too busy watching the fireworks to think about eating.’
‘So, what’s the problem?’ Livvy abandoned what she was doing and faced him, panic gripping her stomach. She knew she should have got in extra agency staff. They’d been stretched too thinly. ‘There’s nothing missing, is there?’
‘Not that I can see. But a bloke was having a good old nosey around in here. In the bar. Jason Lemmon, think it was. Tall geezer, thin, hair no particular colour, mousy like.’
