Chapter 31
As she got ready to go out for dinner later that evening, Mab looked at her glowing face in the dressing table mirror and decided that even though she felt sadder than she’d ever been and her life was in chaos, she was actually looking pretty good.
Her newly slimmed-down figure looked great in a long cherry-red dress of fine wool.
The dress had been an impulse buy last year from an online sale.
At its original price Mab would have never bought it, and when it arrived, she’d thought it was still an expensive mistake as it had clearly outlined all her lumpiest bits.
Now, the soft fabric clung in all the right places.
Its plunging neckline showed that the weight had definitely not dropped off her chest, and the gathers in the material at the high waist meant that the dress skimmed all the rest of Mab’s body, falling in gentle folds almost to her ankles.
Mab’s normally wild mop of hair, brushed for at least ten minutes, shone and curled around her shoulders and was held back at the sides with two ornate silver slides, a present from her gran.
She put on a pair of dangling silver filigree earrings.
They were her lucky ones, bought with an unexpected payment from a magazine company after she’d had a short story accepted some months ago.
Then, almost satisfied with the look, she dug around in her jewellery box until she found a necklace of ruby-red beads on a silver chain, and slipped her feet into soft suede boots.
There. Not bad at all. Was she overdressed for an evening next door?
Maybe, but who cared? This was going to be an important night, Mab could tell, and anyway, she wanted Leo to see her at her best, rather than damp, grubby and mopping up water, as they had both been since their return from the hospital.
Maybe he would think again about his judgement of her. But then again, why should he?
In the living room, the lamps were already lit.
Jess and Stan had made equal efforts to smarten themselves up, and even George was presentable in a baggy shirt and clean jeans.
Nina looked stunning. She had put her hair up, and was wearing a simple slim-fitting navy shift dress with a square neckline.
Mab noticed that Harry, dapper in matching navy blazer and cords, couldn’t take his eyes off Nina.
They gravitated together at every possible moment, making any excuse to touch fingertips, brush minute specks of dust from each other’s clothes, and to exchange loving glances.
Even Jess and Stan seemed unusually friendly tonight.
Yuk, thought Mab, in typical George style, then immediately felt guilty for being so churlish.
Why shouldn’t the others have some fun? Just because things weren’t going well for herself and Leo, there was no need to be so downbeat about everyone else’s happiness.
Leo appeared, still towelling his hair dry, and Mab caught her breath.
How could she have ever doubted that he was the man for her?
Leo was wearing tight black trousers, Chelsea boots and a soft cotton shirt that was the colour of cornflowers.
He shook his head as he dropped the towel, and his hair, newly washed and still slightly damp, curled over his collar.
The gold earring in his right ear glinted in true piratical style.
‘Blimey, Leo, you really do scrub up well,’ said Jess appreciatively.
‘I think we all do,’ agreed Harry, looking around at the assembled company with approval and taking the opportunity to tuck a stray strand of Nina’s fine blonde hair behind her ear.
‘Right, let’s get this show on the road, then,’ said Leo, once again not meeting Mab’s eyes. ‘Where’s Alex?’
‘He said he’d see us there. He was taking some wine round next door,’ said Nina. ‘I think he was going to see if Edward wanted any help with the dinner preparations too.’
‘Well, we’d better get moving, then. I’m starving,’ said George. ‘I hope he’s done sushi.’
‘Oh, I don’t think he’ll have made that, love,’ said Jess, looking worried, ‘but there’s bound to be something you like, surely?’
They filed down the stairs, out into the starry night, and straight into the warmth of Beattie’s Bakehouse.
‘Welcome, folks,’ shouted Edward from the kitchen. He was lifting a huge pie out of the oven, and the smell of freshly baked pastry was enough to make a hungry person whimper, thought Mab. Alex, swathed in a large chef’s overall, was tossing an enormous salad, a glass of red wine at his elbow.
‘Oh, there you are, Alex,’ said Leo, ‘I thought you’d maybe had a better offer.’
Alex laughed, and looked across the steamy kitchen to where Edward was now whisking a huge saucepan of gravy.
‘There is no better offer, mate,’ he said, draining his wine and bringing a tray of glasses through to the little restaurant. ‘Sit down, all of you, anywhere you like.’
The table was laid for nine people, with heavy cutlery on a deep green cloth.
The centrepiece was a low arrangement of white lilies and delicate foliage, in a large green pottery bowl.
Gilt-edged bottle-green napkins lay by each place setting, and dark green candles in antique brass holders flickered all around the room, casting a flatteringly soft light on the assembled guests.
Mab felt herself begin to relax for the first time that day.
‘Would anyone like an aperitif?’ asked Alex, shaking a silver bucket to loosen the ice. ‘There’s gin and tonic, or very dry sherry?’
‘What’s an apperry teef?’ asked George. ‘And how can a drink be dry? It’s gotta be wet, hasn’t it, Mum?’
‘I’ll explain in a minute, love, but I need to hear the tinkle of ice in a large gin and tonic first. Thanks, Alex.’
Soon, everyone was sitting around the table with a drink in their hand, and George was happily mixing Coke, tonic and a scoop of ice cream in a tumbler.
‘OK, guys, please raise your glasses to what I hope will be the first of many evenings like this,’ said Alex, smiling at Edward as everyone did as they were told, clinking away merrily and taking huge, chilly gulps of their drinks.
Jess gasped. ‘Phew, Alex, you certainly know how to mix a gin and tonic.’ She began to perk up, and Mab could see that the fiendishly strong drinks were having a similar effect on the others.
She raised her glass of pure tonic and ice to Alex in a silent toast of congratulation and he grinned back, chinking his tall glass against hers.
‘Cheers, Mab, bottoms up!’ he said. She looked at him suspiciously, and saw him exchange glances with Edward, who raised his eyebrows apologetically at Mab.
She frowned, and then began to giggle. Once she’d started, Mab couldn’t stop, and her laughter was so unexpected and infectious that within seconds, everyone except George had joined in.
‘What are you laughing at, you load of weirdos?’ he asked, as his elders hiccupped and swayed.
‘I don’t know, mate, but it’s time we all calmed down and had something to eat before everyone falls over. Alex makes a mean gin,’ said Edward, ‘and is it true that you’re a sushi fan, young George?’
‘You did do sushi! Wicked!’ said George, ecstatically, eyes widening as he saw the platter of artfully arranged vegetarian tasters, with dainty rolls of rice and seaweed and strips of tender yellow pepper.
‘There’s also a dish of creamy garlic mushrooms and some crusty bread for those of you who aren’t into raw fish, and Alex has made a salad of great magnificence, haven’t you, mate?’
‘If we eat all this, we’ll never manage that pie,’ said Jess, digging into both dishes happily.
‘Oh, yes we will,’ said Harry and Leo simultaneously. Edward smiled at the sight of his guests taking so much pleasure in the food he’d created for them. He sat down in the empty seat next to Mab, and looked as if he meant to enjoy himself.
Much later, as George lay dozing on a pile of cushions in the corner, when the coffee cups had been refilled and the remains of the tiny homemade vegan petits fours were scattered on a silver tray in the centre of the table, Mab could see that everyone was ready for some serious talking.
During the spectacular meal, Edward had outlined his plans for the future, and Leo had chipped in with questions and comments.
It was decision time. Edward sat back in his chair, and eyed his chief guest.
‘So, Leo, you’ve heard pretty much everything I’ve got to say. Have you got anything left to ask me?’
‘I don’t think so, but maybe one of the others has thought of something I’ve missed?’
There was a short silence as the rest of the company struggled to think through a haze of excellent wine and far too much dinner. Finally Mab said, ‘There is one thing that’s been bothering me, Edward.’
‘Go on then, Mab, fire away,’ Edward said, taking a nervous gulp of wine.
‘Well, it’s just that in all this talk, and I reckon it’s a fabulous idea, just for the record, about a merger between The Chocolate Cake Bookstore and Beattie’s Bakehouse, there’s one person who hasn’t been mentioned.’
‘Who’s that then, Mabel?’ asked Stan, draping an arm round the back of Jess’s chair. Jess glanced at him under her eyelashes and appeared to decide to let Stan’s arm remain there. He grinned at her and then focused on his sister again.
‘It’s Beattie. Where does your wife come into all these plans, Edward? Are her business commitments going to get in the way of her joining us? Will she still be able to cook for you? What about the future?’
The future. To Mab, those simple words seemed to fill the room. Silence fell again, but this time it was an edgy, ominous quiet, like the moment before a thunderstorm. Finally Alex cleared his throat.
‘Go on, Ed, you can’t put it off any longer. Tell them.’
Edward leaned forward. ‘You asked a very important question there, Mab. The fact of the matter is, there will be no Beattie in this arrangement.’
‘No Beattie? You don’t mean… has she left you, Edward?’
‘Yes, she has left me, Mab. And the reason that she’s left me is that…’ he paused, and this time the silence was deafening, ‘I’m gay.’
There was a collective gasp. Then Alex stood up.
‘And while you’re all mulling over that one, here’s something else to consider. I’m gay too, and I’m moving down here to be with Edward. We’ve… well, we’ve fallen in love and he’s asked me to live with him and work alongside him in the business, while I get established as an artist.’
As a coming-out party, this must rank as one of the most spectacular, thought Mab, as she watched the expressions on the faces of her fellow diners, and as a conversation stopper, it had to be one of the best. But what was she going to do now?
What about the baby? Mab willed Edward to look at her, but he was gazing at Alex as if he couldn’t believe his luck.
Harry was the first to speak. ‘Well, lad, I can’t say I’m delighted, although I always knew you weren’t the marrying kind. I wish you well in whatever you do and whoever it’s with. But who’s going to look after my bloody signwriting business?’
At this honest outburst, the tension was released.
Laughing and crying, Alex got up to hug his dad, and suddenly everyone else was on their feet too, kissing, hugging, wiping their eyes and generally getting totally over-excited.
Under cover of the chaos, Mab hissed to Edward, ‘We need to talk. And soon.’
He looked back at her, flushed and happy. ‘I know. Tomorrow morning, first thing? I’ll message you.’
At last, George’s clear voice cut into the babble. ‘Do you think you could all be a bit quieter? I’m trying to sleep here. And what does “gay” mean anyway?’