CHAPTER THIRTEEN
-:- BLAKE -:-
It’s Friday lunchtime and I’m getting ready to have a break from working. I am enjoying working the day job, the people are nice to work beside and Liam is a good boss. He doesn’t ask any of us to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself. He often takes out the large trashcans we have in the kitchen, and doesn’t complain if he gets covered in anything nasty either.
I pour a tall glass of cold water and take it outside where I sit at the small bench we have behind the shop. Closing my eyes a moment, I count my blessings that I am able to pay all the utilities with no issue. I’m going to sell the house that Yax is living in. There is no point my keeping it as I would never live in it, and I certainly don’t want to be a landlady.
Hearing my name, I turn and smile at Bitty, who is bustling over to me from the side of the shop. “Hello, Bitty.”
“I’m getting too old to be coming into town all the time. I’m going to introduce you to the people at the clubhouse, then you can come and see me. I’ve asked the realtor to look at my place and hopefully I can get it up for sale soon. Now, I have the news that Specs has gotten rid of all the debts, so you don’t have to pay them anymore, forget them. The only payments you need to make are the mortgage on that house Yax is living in, which we’ll get rid of soon, and your own utilities, grocery shopping, etcetera.”
“What do you mean he got rid of them? Gone, as paid?” I’m shocked and worried that this may come back and bite me on the ass.
“Specs found all the debts in your late husband's name, and yours, and he had them all gotten rid of. Puff, gone…”
Bitty is grinning at me as though she’s a magician that just waved her wand and everything in the world is right. But looking at her, she’s nobody’s fairy godmother I’m positive on that. I’ve seen her do too many things to even think she is anything but innocent.
“Puff, gone? I’m not going to get into trouble with the Sheriff, am I?”
Giggling like a teenager, Bitty winks, “Forest is one of us, Blake. He’d never arrest you or we’d make sure he and Heather had more issues than they could cope with. I’d even consider getting Meat, Wings and Chaos onboard.”
I’ve heard the name Meat, and know he’s the man that came to my house with the food. But there are so many odd names that I’m not keeping up that well. I’m not going to ask. No Blake, I think to myself, just keep your head down and say nothing. “Am I really free of debt?”
“Yes, you are. Now, you don’t have to work two jobs if you don’t want to. You can kick one to the curb and have a bit of an easier time,” Bitty grins, giving my hand a squeeze where I had it laid on the table.
“I’ll keep my jobs as I like them both. I’ve been meaning to ask if I can use one of your chairs as I’m going to ask my clients to come for a meal one Sunday. I don’t have enough chairs as I need five and I only have four.”
“Of course you can. In fact, I’ve been meaning to ask if you want anything from my place before it’s sold. My dining table and six chairs are in better condition than yours, and if you want the set, it’s yours. Oh, my washing machine is only a year old, if that’s better than yours?”
“I would love your dining table and chairs, and the washing machine too if that is really okay? My washer has been leaking for a while and I have to keep mopping the water that comes from under it every time I use it.” I blush a little at that admission, but I’m not going to withhold the truth from Bitty. She’s being the support I’ve not had in a long time.
“Okay, well I’ll get the boys to come over and sort it out. It will be Sunday afternoon more than likely as they have training, and then they have church on Sundays. We can’t rely on that mind you, so don’t take it as gospel.”
Church? Blimey, I didn’t realize they were religious…maybe they are a cult after all!
Once Bitty has gone back to wherever she appeared from, I make my way back inside and finish my shift. Walking home later that day I ponder on how busy the place has been. I never realized how busy a café can be, which is basically what it is, in my opinion anyway. It is staggering to have seen how many people have been in for a drink and panini in just one day. I’ve washed so many cups, saucers, plates, mugs and trays that it’s been like a factory line of dirty dishes.
Eight-thirty and I’ve gotten Audrey, Pru, who is Prunella, and Robert organized and they have agreed to come for a meal at my home once I have Bitty’s dining table at the house. I’ve left them all with a chicken stir-fry which I threw together from the groceries that I purchased. I have a few groceries for each of them, and they were so grateful that it left me with tears in my eyes.
Knocking on the door I hear Ed shout, ‘Come in, Blake’. Entering the house, I walk into the kitchen where Ed is covered in flour and what looks like strawberry jelly.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m baking. Well, I’m trying to bake. I have this recipe that says it’s quick and easy, but I’ll tell you it’s a damn lie. This is harder than mixing cement in the yard.” Ed is giving me such an irritated look that I can’t hold back the giggle.
“Come on, let’s clean you up. Then you can show me the cake you wanted to make.”
Spending quite a few minutes, we enjoy talking as we clean the kitchen before making the batter for the cake and getting it into the oven. Ed obviously has enjoyed the experience, even though he kept eating the batter from a spoon as we were pouring it into the cake tin.
“Now, you didn’t need the jelly at all, so what had you using it?” I can’t hold back asking.
“Well, I just thought it’s a cake, so why not throw in some strawberry flavor by using the jelly that has been sitting around not being used since…forever.” Ed gives me a shrug of his shoulders, and I don’t even try to hide the grin I’m wearing.
Wiping the counters and glancing at Ed I ask, “Not this Sunday coming, but the one after I’m going to make a lunch for all my clients, that of course includes you Ed. Would you like to come to my home, have a home cooked meal and a little company? I’ll have a cab collect you all and bring you to my home. That way, you’ll not have to worry about anything.”
“Girlie, of course, I want to come. Not sure about sitting with all the other old coots, but I can suffer being around them for you.”
Ed has a delighted expression on his face, so I know full well that he’s only blustering. “Well, that is good, because it would not be the same without you.” I grin to myself as I notice Ed puffing his chest out as he takes a seat at his kitchen table.
The rest of the evening I spend with Ed, far longer than I should be here. But he is such good company that I enjoy listening to him talking about his wife who died and their travels. They didn’t have children as they wanted to see the world, and they both worked hard so they could have two months of the year traveling.
Ed owned a diner, and his wife worked alongside him. They had a trusted employee who would step up when Ed and his wife traveled.
“Ed, so if you owned a diner, and you did most of the cooking, how come you can’t make a cake?” I know I shouldn’t have asked, but the question flew out of my mouth before I could stop it.
“Well, I did all the meat, fries, and stuff like that. Sophie did all the green shit and other sides. The desserts we had brought from the bakery each day. So, in fact, we never had to do any baking. Even the bread we used for the burgers was fresh each day from the bakery.”
Taking the cake out of the oven, I turn it out onto the wire rack and the smell is divine. Looking at Ed, who is sniffing loudly while his eyes are closed, obviously enjoying the sweet smell too.
“Okay, Ed, while this cools, I’m going upstairs to clean the shower. I didn’t have time yesterday, but I want to do it tonight as tomorrow when I come, I want to get your laundry out of the way.”
“I’ll put the TV on and wait for you to get done. Then we can have a piece of this cake before you go home.” Ed bypasses his walker, which is in the kitchen near the door. My eyebrows must raise a little and Ed gives me a wink once he sees what I was looking at, but he makes no comment as he walks into the living room.
For some reason, he reminds me of the Three Stooges. It seems these older people have far more going for them than they like us to know about. But I’m going to be an older person one day, so I’m going to learn all the tricks I can, while I can.
The cake is lovely and I have a second smaller piece while Ed has two enormous pieces. “You know you’ll have some for a snack tomorrow if you don’t eat anymore.”
“Yeah, I’ll have it with my morning coffee. Then there will be a piece left that I can have after that horrid meal Alf will send over. It’s a peppered steak on Saturdays. It’s okay, but it gets boring having the same thing every week,” Ed grumbles.
“Do you want me to mention that to Alf or Heather when I see them?” I ask.
“Yeah, why not.”
“Okay, then, I’ll do that.” I grab my jacket, give Ed a smile, and after saying good night, I quickly get to my van and make my way home.
Saturday came around quickly, and knowing all my clients will eat peppered steak today, I didn’t worry about making meals for them. I’ll make sure all laundry is done and everyone has everything they need for Sunday while I have the day off.
By the time I’m home again, my feet ache and my back feels like it’s split in two. I take two pain-killers and drink a bottle of water before heading to the bathroom, and filling the bath with a sprinkle of Neroli and Jasmine bath oil into the water.
Laying in the water, my head back and eyes closed, I sigh contentedly. I allow my mind to wander and think about Bitty and her having the debts removed. It’s an immense relief and I’ll have money to spare for the first time in years. I have to get Yax removed and sell the house. Then I will truly have a way to save for my future.
My eyes fly open as I remember Mav and the date he said we were having. I don’t know if he’s coming here, or I’m supposed to meet him at Club Whisky because that’s where he said we were going. I jump out of the bath, and grab the towel, wrapping it around me quickly as I empty the bath and make sure everything is tidy. I know I can be a little OCD, but when you’ve had to look after yourself most of your life, you learn to keep life easy.
After drying myself, I wear clean underwear, find my newest pair of skinny jeans, which are at least a year old, and a fake cashmere top. It’s the best I can do until I get new clothes in the future. I throw my hair into a loose bun and think that’ll have to do. I hardly wear makeup, just a touch of mascara and lip gloss.
Downstairs, I place a tissue, lip gloss, and a few dollars in my purse. I’ve enough to get an Uber if needed and even pay for my own part of the meal. I’m always going to be ready to watch my back since Stefan had let me down.
Knocking at the door has me taking a deep breath, letting my nerves flow out of me before opening it and giving Mav a smile. “Hello, I’m ready.” I don’t pause as I close and lock the door, dropping the house key into my purse.
“You look lovely,” Mav quietly states, and grabs my arm as I trip over his foot. Which I have to tell you has a massive biker boot on it. He’s wearing black jeans, a button-down shirt and the leather vest which has all the writing on. The cult vest as I think of it.
I climb into the SUV that he guides me to and helps me sit inside before closing the door. After he removes his vest and places it on the back seat, then gets into the vehicle, we quickly make our way to the club, talking quietly as we traveled.
Walking into Club Whisky a while later, I trip over something on the ground and nearly fall onto my hands and knees. Mav grabs me around the waist and rights me once more. I’m not sure why I seem to be so clumsy of late! “You’re really trying to fall at my feet, aren’t you?” Mav chuckles.
Now, I’m not one to take offense, but I think if someone trips or falls, you don’t make fun of it, so I scowl at his response even though I know he’s joking. Looking where I’m going I see a lot of men wearing the same vest as Mav is wearing, and without thinking, I mumble, ‘It’s a cult!’
“What’s a cult?” Mav asks, but before I can reply someone steps between us and I scurry to a nearby empty table where I quickly take a seat, and think that solves the tripping incidents for now.
The evening progresses well, and we have what is called a basket meal. Mine is fried chicken, fries and onion rings, and it is great. “I’ve not had a basket meal before, and I love it.”
“They are good, and there is a wide choice now too. We have the best desserts around if you want to try one?” Mav is licking his fingers and I’m fascinated watching how he sucks, then slides his mouth down a finger. I swallow hard because this has my mind wandering to some naughty thoughts, which I’m brought out of when Mav asks, “You okay, Blake?”
Dang, he noticed, and he’s amused. The sparkle in his eyes tells me he knew exactly where my thoughts had wandered to. Thankfully, before I can reply, a lady sits at our table and gives Mav and me a huge smile. Then a massive man sits next to her, throwing his arm around her shoulders. He looks me right in the eye and smiles, and that is when my eyes notice the dimples…
“Yeah, she’s got the look. The dimples did it, didn’t they?” The woman asks me.
“Sorry, that was rude of me, but my eyes just saw the dimple pop on his cheek and it took my attention.”
“Happens to everyone, don’t worry about it. I’m Jo and we met at the Coffee House when Mia had the coffee morning. That was the morning one of the twins had gas, and I mean he had it bad.”
“Oh…I remember the twins and the gas incident.” I grin because it still amuses me that the one twin had smelled the butt of the other.
“I wanted to say hello before we head out. Bitty told us all that she claimed you as a daughter,” Jo giggles. “You will have to watch those three. They are trouble and can rope you in for any mischief they have planned. I know because they have got me involved plenty of times.”
Laughing a little, I reply, “For now, Bitty has not gotten me in any trouble. In fact, she’s done the opposite. But I will take what you have said and watch what Bitty is doing.”
“Okay, my man, I have a scene to play out,” Jo says to her man and gives him such a look that I feel myself blushing. They both jump to their feet and nearly run out of the club, and I’m watching in total amazement, I have to admit.
“Sex. That’s what she’s talking about. She’s an author, writes hot as fuck sexy stories, but she has Knuckles play out all the sex scenes with her, so she has them right. Well, that’s her excuse. I think she just wants in his pants,” Mav chuckles.
Before I can respond a woman walks up to the table from behind Mav, so honestly he doesn’t see her coming. But she throws herself onto his lap, wraps her arms around his neck, and before he or I can say or do anything, she’s kissing him.
Now, I’m no idiot and not going to be disrespected, so I’m on my feet before you can say ‘Jack shit’ and I’m out the door looking around for a cab. I know they hang around waiting to pick up customers, so make my way over to one quickly and jump inside, telling the driver my address.
I know I was rash running like that, but he didn’t push the woman off quickly as you would expect when on a date with someone else. It told me he knows her and they have been intimate. No way am I sitting and watching that on a date. He needs to get his act together and his past just where it should be, in the past, before he contacts me again. I need to see and speak to Bitty tomorrow. I’m thinking she’ll have some good advice for me on this subject, and I’ll be quite happy to go along with what she suggests.