Chapter 10
MICHELLE
M ichelle stood on her tiptoes, hunting around in the back of her mum’s kitchen cupboard. She was sure she’d spotted some little red plastic baskets in there somewhere. They’d be just the thing…
‘ If I can find them!’ she huffed, tugging out a packet of serviettes that was in the way. Her eyes went wide when she spotted that they were adorned with stars and stripes. ‘Ooh, very star-spangled banner. I can make use of these!’
Michelle tossed them onto the counter and resumed her rummaging. Her parents would be back in a little over an hour, and she wanted to transform the kitchen into a mini American diner before they arrived.
Her imagination had been running wild since her chat with Caroline earlier. Suddenly, she felt like both of her most cherished teenage dreams might be within reach… if only she was brave enough to grab them.
Against all odds, Dany Dalton was still young, free and single…
and for the first time in years, so was she.
On top of that, it looked like the real version of Crumbleton’s bad boy was even better than the fantasy version…
on first inspection, at least. He was kind, caring, and a seriously hard worker.
Plus, he seemed to adore his dad. The fact that he’d become even more knee-meltingly sexy over the years was an added bonus!
The question was, could she bring herself to make the first move after all this time? And if she did… what about the feud between their fathers?
Michelle shrugged and moved on to explore the next cupboard. She couldn’t do anything about her burgeoning feelings for Danny right now… so she was going to spend the rest of the day focusing on her other fantasy instead.
The 1950s American Diner dream.
It had been a long-cherished obsession. Ever since the first time she’d watched Rizzo lob that milkshake into Kenickie’s face, Michelle had dreamed of opening her own diner.
To be fair, it hadn’t all just been pie-in-the-sky daydreaming. Sure, she was the proud owner of a fat scrapbook dedicated entirely to the interior décor, but she’d put in plenty of real work over the years, too.
Even though Michelle had never quite summoned the courage to turn her big, shiny idea into reality, she’d quietly gathered as many applicable skills as possible… just in case.
There had been all the cooking and menu testing when she’d been younger, of course, but she’d also taken a degree in business with a focus on the food and beverage industry.
She’d even managed to get a third-year placement shadowing the manager of a huge chain of themed restaurants.
When her time with the company had come to an end, they’d promptly offered her a contract to work on developing a new menu that would be rolled out across the country.
Michelle had turned the offer down… and it was probably one of the biggest regrets of her life.
At the time, though, her new relationship with Lawrence had felt like the most important thing in the world. Unfortunately, it had turned out to be the beginning of the end where her dreams were concerned.
‘Until now!’ she muttered.
Michelle didn’t know if it had been all those vintage cars at the Dalton Garage, or the strange tingling that had crept down her spine at the sight of the old showroom that had done it… but her old dream had flickered back to life.
‘Maybe roared is more like it!’ she chuckled, finally locating the nest of red plastic baskets and lifting them down carefully.
First things first, though… she needed to see if she even enjoyed the basics anymore. It was time to get cooking.
By the time her parents wandered into the kitchen, sniffing the air hungrily, Michelle had a big grin on her face.
‘Come here, my little Chaos Magnet,’ chuckled her mum, stepping forward and gently brushing Michelle’s cheeks. ‘You’re covered in flour.’
Michelle submitted to the motherly tidy-up, biting her lip at the pet-name.
‘What on earth have you been up to?’ said her dad, peering around. ‘And what is that glorious smell?’
‘That, dear Papa, is your tea,’ said Michelle, disentangling herself from her mum with a smile.
‘You cooked for us?’ said her mum, looking thrilled.
‘I did,’ said Michelle. ‘But no worries if you’ve already eaten. I just… fancied cooking something.’
‘We haven’t!’ said her dad, patting his stomach.
‘This is such a lovely surprise,’ said her mum. ‘I remember you used to do this sort of thing all the time when you were a youngster.’
Michelle nodded. ‘It’s just burgers and fries. I hope that’s okay?’
‘Okay? I’m in heaven right now!’ said her dad. ‘By the way, this looks incredible, love!’
Michelle grinned as she ushered them towards the table. She had to admit—it had worked out even better than she’d hoped. The gingham tablecloth had just the vibe she’d been aiming for, and she was chuffed with the table centre she’d put together.
After a quick trip up to Millie’s Flowers for some pink carnations, Michelle had packed them tightly into a tall, vintage glass.
With a striped red and white paper straw sticking up from the middle, it looked exactly like a frothy milkshake.
She’d placed the flowers on top of an old vinyl record, along with a pair of folded cat’s-eye glasses, and a kid’s toy car that looked spookily like the Buick.
‘Is it strange that I feel underdressed in my own kitchen?’ laughed her mum.
‘Don’t be daft,’ said Michelle with a grin. ‘You look gorgeous—as always. Now, would you like a milkshake, or a Coke, or something else?’
‘Coke for me, please!’ said her dad.
Michelle had to resist a little fist-pump. She’d been hoping one of them would say that. She’d managed to get hold of a pack of the old-fashioned glass bottles in Bendall’s, and they fitted her whole fifties vibe perfectly.
‘Oh, wow,’ laughed her dad as she placed one in front of him, the bottle beaded with condensation after chilling in the fridge. ‘I’ve not seen one of these in years!’
‘Were you serious about a milkshake?’ said her mum.
Michelle nodded. ‘Strawberry, banana, or chocolate?’
‘Strawberry, please. Ooh, what a treat.’
By the time Michelle had whipped up the milkshake, serving it in a huge sundae glass she’d found in her mum’s cupboard along with another stripey straw, the food was ready for plating up.
‘That looks incredible, love,’ said her dad, as Michelle brought the plates to the table with their chequered greaseproof paper and fries in the little red baskets.
He lifted his burger with reverence and examined it like it was a work of art before taking a bite.
‘I feel like I’m in a fancy restaurant.’
‘It’s just a burger,’ said Michelle, sliding into a chair. She couldn’t keep the grin off her face. This felt right. More right than anything had felt in a very long time.
‘Just a burger?’ said her mum, taking a sip of her milkshake and closing her eyes in bliss. ‘I think not. This is amazing! I didn’t think you liked to cook anymore… what inspired all this?’
Michelle stole one of her mum’s chips, suddenly feeling nervous. She couldn’t exactly tell them about the Buick and the abandoned showroom awakening her long-lost dream, could she? But… maybe she could tell them some of the other stuff.
‘Well, you remember I always used to love anything 1950s?’
‘You had Grease on replay until the video wore out!’ said her dad around a mouthful of fries.
‘Yep. And… like you said, I used to love to cook.’
Her mum nodded. ‘You were always feeding us elaborate weekend breakfasts and trying out new recipes.’
‘Ooh, remember those stacks of pancakes with the maple syrup and bacon?’ said her dad, his eyes lighting up.
‘Yeah… you didn’t like that idea much to begin with, did you, Brian?!’ chuckled her mum.
‘Didn’t take me long to have my head turned, though!’ he said, taking a sip of Coke.
‘Honestly, love,’ said her mum, ‘it’s a shame you stopped.’
‘Yeah, well,’ Michelle shrugged. ‘Life got in the way, didn’t it?’
‘But with that degree of yours, I was always sure you’d end up doing something food-related.’
‘Yep. But then I met Lawrence and had to get a job and…’ Michelle trailed off.
Lawrence had hated her style of cooking, and it hadn’t taken long before he’d managed to suck all of the joy out of it. Her shiny dream had quickly turned into something that felt like a failure because she’d never been brave enough to defend it and take the final leap.
‘Anyway, that’s over now,’ she said, not wanting thoughts of that idiot to tarnish the moment. ‘Actually, there’s something I’d like to talk to you guys about. Something I need to tell you.’
Her parents exchanged a quick glance but stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue.
‘I didn’t just leave Lawrence,’ said Michelle. ‘I left my job too. I hated it there. I know it probably sounds completely irresponsible and stupid… and I really should have told you straight away… I just didn’t want to be even more of a disappointment.’
‘You’ve never been a disappointment!’ said her dad, looking shocked.
‘Not once,’ said her mum, shaking her head.
‘What, not every single time you called me a Chaos Magnet?!’ said Michelle. She’d meant it as a joke, but her voice had come out all leaden and flat.
‘Love… I think you might have the wrong end of the stick,’ said Brian, putting his burger down and giving her his full attention.
‘Yes,’ said her mum, her eyes wide. ‘We always called you that because… well… everyone turned to you to fix their problems! You mended toys, baked birthday cupcakes, put plasters on scraped knees…’
‘See. Chaos Magnet!’ laughed her dad. ‘That’s how it started, but then… it was just your nickname.’
Michelle stared at them, open-mouthed. It felt like a huge weight had just fallen from her shoulders. All that worry… all that judgement… she’d just been heaping it onto herself!
‘So… what are your plans for work?’ said her mum. There was nothing other than genuine curiosity in her voice.