Page 51 of Autumn at the Oak Leaf Café
‘Let’s see how they go on the ground,’ Darren said.
He put Sampson down, and the duck began waddling across the floor. Madeline scooped up Hazel, and at first held her close to Sampson, watching her reaction before letting her go. Hazel was perhaps half-grown now, but Sampson was almost as big. As he waddled among chairs, Hazel wandered after him, at first keeping her distance, then slowly getting closer. The duck, quacking contentedly to himself, didn’t appear in the least bit alarmed. Finally, as he wandered back in their direction and sat down on the door mat, Hazel wandered over, headbutted him, then slumped down alongside, their bodies pressed together.
‘Best friends forever,’ Darren said with a smile.
They both felt it best not to risk leaving Hazel and Sampson alone and unsupervised, so Darren returned him to his carry cage, promising to bring him again the following afternoon. Hazel whined at the door as Darren left, wanting her playmate to stay. Madeline, too, was a little sad to see the pair leave, but buoyed by the promise of a swift return.
The next day, Darren showed up just before six o’clock, and they enjoyed coffee and cake together while Hazel and Sampson chased each other among the table legs. It was still too early to leave them alone, but by the time Darren decided it was time to leave, Hazel and Sampson were tucked up together in Hazel’s basket by the door, the sleeping cat wrapped like a blanket around the duck. It felt almost cruel to separate them, and when Darren lifted Sampson up to return him to the carry cage, Hazel gave a sad little mew, and Sampson a disappointed quack.
On the Friday afternoon, they decided to take a chance and leave them alone together overnight. Madeline was more nervous than Darren, who had more experience of animal nature, and suggested he treat Madeline to dinner to take her mind off it.
Madeline was sitting opposite him in a nice Italian restaurant near Brentwell Station before it had even crossed her mind that this was a date. Suddenly, the ease with which she had been speaking to Darren before deserted her. Darren returned from the bathroom to find Madeline squirming in her seat, searching for something to say.
‘Are you alright?’ he asked.
‘Ah, yes. It was nice, ah, weather today, wasn’t it? Ah … unseasonal?’
Darren smiled. ‘A mix of sunny and rainy … so … yes?’
‘That’s what I thought,’ Madeline said. ‘That’s what I thought, too.’
Darren sat down and reached across the table, putting a hand over hers to stop her fidgeting with a fork.
‘Relax,’ he said.
‘Don’t I look relaxed?’
‘You look like you’ve just escaped from prison, and you’re just about to get caught.’
‘Sorry.’
‘Are you worried that this looks like a date?’
Madeline gave a sharp nod. ‘Yes.’
Darren smiled again. ‘Then you need to overcome your nerves. ‘Tell me a secret.’
Madeline frowned. ‘Why?’
‘Because it’ll help you to relax.’
‘Ah, give me a minute … all right. I was au-pairing in Australia last year. The parents were away on business as per usual, and one of the kids got a little boisterous one day and knocked over this antique lamp. It split in half. I totally bricked it, and the kids did, too … so I couldn’t just dob them in. We went around town, looking for someone to repair it. We managed to find someone in the end, but only when I took the thing in did we find out that there was a small chunk missing, that had broken off the base. I went back and tried to find it, but wherever it had gone, it was lost for all time. In the end I gave up. The restorer guy managed to fix it, even filling in the hole, but if you look closely at the back, you can see where a chunk has been replaced. Once, perhaps when they come to sell it, they’ll figure it out.’
Darren chuckled. ‘Ouch. Was it expensive?’
‘The restorer guy reckoned about twenty grand. The break had made it almost worthless.’
‘It sounds like they probably didn’t need the money.’
‘No, but twenty grand is twenty grand, isn’t it?’
‘For sure.’ He smiled again. ‘Nerves gone?’
‘Huh. Yes. You’re a magician.’
‘I wouldn’t go that far.’
‘Your turn, then.’
