“A Heritage Manager, that sounds interesting. What does that involve?”
“Well, I would be responsible for the conservation and management of heritage sites like historic buildings, landscapes, museums, and ancient monuments,” he replied with excitement in his voice. I could tell he was passionate about this topic, as his whole face had become animated, and his voice became louder and more dramatic as he went on explaining the role of Heritage Management.
When he had come to the end of his explanation, Scott and I replied, “Wow,” at the same time. Scott continued by saying, “Well, James, sounds like you have your head screwed on well, I have no doubt you will one day become a Heritage Manager.”
“Thanks Scott, that means a lot. I hope you are right, it has been a dream of mine for many years now,” James replied.
Sophie just sat there looking at James as he spoke, in total awe of him. She looked proud to be sitting next to a man with such focus and determination. She was falling for this James, and she was falling for him bad, I hoped he felt the same for her too. Oh, well, as they say, ‘Time will tell.’
There was now silence; the conversation had come to an end. I felt the need to fill the gap, so decided to put my foot in it by saying, “Well, James. You put me to shame, I’m only in the catering business.”
Scott gave me a little poke in the arm, “Only? Well, that must put me to shame too then, does it? As I’m only in the catering business as well.”
“Scott, did you forget you are actually a business owner, not just a caterer. Your business is booming. Scott just won the contract to cater on my favourite T.V. series’ film set. They start filming season four on Monday, and I’m his new employee.”
Sophie was trying to say something, but was too excited to get the words out. Finally, the words appeared.
“You are going to be on the set of ‘Out, Out, Outlan...?” She couldn't quite get the word out through pure excitement. “You are going to actually feed all the characters and crew?”
“Well yes, the actual real-life actors, I will be,” I corrected her. “But yeah, same thing.”
“That is amazing!” she said. “You are so lucky.”
“Yes, I am. So, I’m going to need you to be available to nanny on the days I have to work.”
“No worries, only if you let me visit you on set at least once,” she replied. “So, Scott is your new boss aye?” she then added with a wink.
“Well, we like to call it master, not boss,” Scott replied.
“What is this series you talk of?” James asked Sophie, after sitting at the table looking confused at what we had all been talking about for the last five minutes.
Sophie, Scott and I all looked at James as if to say, ‘Really? Where have you been for the last few years?’ Our next thought turned to, ‘Oh my God! We have found another newbie to deseed.’
“Sophie, you need to get this boy on to it,” I told her.
“Yes, I totally do,” she replied.
“Oh dear, what have I got myself into?” James asked, looking worried.
“A whole lot!” we all answered at the same time.
Chapter Six
First Day On The Job
Sunday arrived. I was due at the ‘Scottlander’ kitchen at 1pm, where we would be baking and preparing food for the following day. It was a simple menu, from what I remembered when I quickly looked over it during our stakeout. ‘Simple and boring,’ I thought. Just let me get through my first day of work before I started making changes, I decided.
I arrived at work right on time. Yes, I was determined not to make another unwanted entrance this time. Scott was in his office that was located at the end of the kitchen; he had a big window with blinds that could be opened or closed, depending on if he was keeping an eye on his workers, or if he was slacking off. He saw me arrive and signalled with his hand for me to come into the office. I had to walk down the long kitchen to get there, and as I walked I took it all in; the high-quality equipment that was present, along with the amount of stainless steel benches, dishwashers and refrigerators that were located around the place. There were also two big quotes on the walls, one on each end of the kitchen, the first one I read aloud, “Cooking is Love made Visible,” the second one said, ‘Happiness is Homemade.’ ‘Nice touches,’ I thought.
As I approached Scott’s office I heard him say, “Hey, Letticia. So, you all ready for your first day at work?”
“Sure am, and right on time,” I added that last bit in just so he was aware that I did have the ability to get to places on time.
“Yes, I wasn’t expecting you for at least another thirty minutes. I actually told you to come thirty minutes earlier than everyone else thinking you would then be on time.”
“Ha, ha, ha. Looks like I out-smarted you this time then, didn’t I?”
He laughed, then said, “Well, seeing you are early, you can start by helping me load some equipment into the Robin mobile, I mean van. I will introduce you to your cooking assistants once they arrive, then I must be off to set. I will be setting up the catering burners, coffee machines, and tables and chairs today.”
“What? You are leaving me in charge on my very first day?”
“Yes, well, you are the head caterer, that is your role.”
“Very well, I guess you are right. A little old Aussie girl in charge of five Scotts, this should be interesting.”
“You will be fine. They are really nice people, very passionate about food, so they will put you in your place if you are doing something wrong.”
“Oh, thanks for the heads-up Scott.”
The van was packed; he was all set to leave me and throw me to the wolves.
“So, when do you plan to take off and throw me to the wolves?” I asked.
“Throw you to the wolves I do intend to do Letticia, but only to have you return, leading the pack,” he replied.
“Ohhhh! I like it, so very deep of you. Where did you get that quote from? I asked, but before he had time to answer, the door of the kitchen swung open and in came five Scots – two women and three men. They all seemed to know each other well, and were happy to be back at work after the kitchen had closed for a few weeks in between contracts. One of the men was the first to speak.
“Aye, and who do we have here?” he asked.
Scott replied, “Everyone, this is Letticia, she is your new head caterer. She is from Australia, so if you can’t understand her, that is totally understandable.”
He laughed, as did the others. ‘How rude,’ I thought.
I replied by saying, “Yes, I am Letticia from Australia, and if I can’t understand you guys either then that is totally understandable too.” “Aye, of course,” one of the women said. I looked at Scott for a response.
“Yes, of course. Fair is fair.”
He then went on to introduce everyone to me.
“This is Ann,” he said, pointing to an older, round lady who looked like she should be cooking in a homely café out in the country. She looked warm and inviting, somebody I could confide in. Note to self: Ann is who I will go to for advice and comfort when times are tough.
The next lady in line was Bonnie. She did live up to her name; she was tall and beautiful. She must be around the same age as Sophie I guessed, she had great makeup and fashion sense. But what was her cooking ability? Whether she could cook was beyond me at this stage, she must be able to cook though otherwise Scott would never have hired her. Nooooo, he’s not that kind of guy, he wouldn’t hire on looks, would he? I never took him as the shallow type. Anyway, time will tell. Note to self: I will be going to Bonnie for all makeup and fashion advice.
The next in line was Campbell, he looked about my age. He looked tired and over-worked. He wore a wedding ring on his finger and was carrying a recipe book under his arm. Note to self: I’m going to like Campbell, he looks like he is a hard worker, and somebody else who thinks this menu sucks so has decided to be pro-active and bring in some new ideas. Either that, or he really h
as no clue how to cook and needs instructions on how to boil water.
“Now we come to Dougal,” Scott announced. “He will be second in charge, working under you.”
“Oh, right. I didn’t know I had a second in charge.” I said.
‘Wonderful,’ I thought, ‘this should be interesting.’ Dougal was a character, he looked nothing like the Dougal on Outlander. He too, was round, with jet black hair and wore glasses. I think a few of Scott’s workers have been cutting into the profits a bit with free samplings of food. He was full of life, Dougal. I could see he was going to be the life of the kitchen, he had not stopped cracking jokes since coming in the front door, and I was his main subject. After he knew I was an Aussie, the jokes just didn’t stop. One of the jokes he told was:
“Why did Scott hire an Aussie? Because she was koala-fied!” I actually laughed myself at that one.
Last, but not least, was Young Duncan; he looked like he had only just left school. He had a few pimples scattered around his face and he looked very shy and overpowered by this lot. They seemed to have got him under their wings though, and included him in their banter.
“Right, now we have that out of the way, I would like to say a big welcome back guys, and, we have a lot of work to be done! I have put the menus out for everyone to go over, and the cupboards and fridges are stocked. I now leave you in the capable hands of Letticia. What she says, goes.”
Scott reminded Duncan before he left, “Can you ensure we have coffee and water ready to go by tomorrow morning? Coffee and water always and forever, coffee and water are non-negotiable!” he said as he laughed.
“Okay, so I take it coffee is a must then?” I asked.
“Aye, that is correct, Letticia. You are picking this up fast,” Scott said proudly. “The best and simplest way to make the cast and crew happy is by keeping them fed, the key to their hearts is through their stomachs. And on that note, I must be off. When I return, I shall expect to smell and see amazing food, understood?”
“Aye, boss,” the group said, and with that, Scott was gone and he left me with a pack of wolves that were about to eat me and spit me out.
“Right, to your stations. Let’s get cooking!” I announced, and to my amazement, they did as they were told. We divided up the menu and worked in pairs. The first day on the job and we were all working like a well-oiled machine.
I worked with Bonnie making the morning and afternoon tea snacks, which included spinach and cheese quiches, scones with jam and cream, and sausage rolls. Campbell and Ann worked on the lasagne for the hot lunch – they were making trays and trays of it. Duncan and Dougal oversaw dinner, which was home-made burgers. They made the patties, then had to do all the prep work of the rest of the ingredients to go inside the burgers.
The menu sounded boring to me, but after seeing the quantity we had to make of each item, I can see why Scott chose it for the first day of filming, the next day would be a whole different menu altogether. Breakfast on the first day was only cereal and toast, as the actors and crew were not required on set until 9.30am, and of course, coffee and water would be on hand throughout the day. The second day would be more full-on; Scott had told me. There were going to be three-hundred extras on set along with the main characters and crew. Filming was going to take place from 6am in the morning, right up until around 9pm at night. I could tell I was going to be putting a lot of hours into this job, but Scott assured me I would get at least two days off a week, and I wouldn’t always be needed on set either. I’m glad he understood that I also had children that needed to see their mum.
By the time Scott returned, we had pretty much completed the first day’s menu and were just packing the trays of food into containers and storing them in the huge industrial walk-in refrigerator. Scott looked amazed, “Wow, well done! Finished already! What did I tell ya Letticia? You would return leading the pack! I never doubted you.”
“Why, thank you Scott. I never doubted myself either, well, maybe
just a little, to start with.”
I looked at the time – wow 8pm!
“Well, I’d best be off. I need my beauty sleep tonight if tomorrow I will be feeding my idol.” Only Bonnie knew what I was talking about, she was a crazy fan as well. The others had no idea what the show was. ‘I would fix that,’ I thought. First though, I just wanted to survive the next few days of work.
Scott offered me a lift home, which I accepted straight away, my feet weren’t up for the walk home. Once I sat down in the van, I realised neither was my body, I was stuffed. My body was obviously still in holiday mode. We drove back to Old Bark Cottage, making small talk, Scott was as tired as I was. He dropped me at the top of the path and said he would be back at 5am to pick me up.
“5am!” I said. “So soon. Really?” I then added jokingly, “Would you rather just stay over?” “Really?” he said.
“That was a joke Scott.”
“Haha, yeah. I knew it was.” He had a disappointed look on his face that he was trying to hide. Oh, my God! At that very moment I realised Scott was falling for me. How did I miss the signs? This is not good. I’m meant to be falling back in love with myself, a man is not part of my plan anymore. Things just became awkward.
“Right, then. Best be off, see you bright and early.”
“That’s the plan, Stan.” Scott was trying to play it cool now.
As I walked down the path towards the warmth of our accommodation, I decided to be honest with myself. I knew deep down, that I too was falling hard for Scott. I wouldn’t, or couldn’t go there though, this trip is all about me and the kids now. There was a strong connection between Scott and I, the chemistry is hard to ignore when we are around one another. I did feel the need to kiss him, or even just touch him when he came within a certain distance to me: the smell of him, the way he walked, the way he talked, the way he dressed – even in army pants – his kind nature, the banter we shared with each other, his attitude towards my crazy ideas and taking up the challenge to join in. I could imagine Scott standing by me, no-matter what. I felt I could tell him anything and he would still be there for me, just like how Jamie said to Claire that he trusts her and would believe in anything she tells him. All these things made Scott my Jamie. But I was no longer looking for my Jamie.
“Oh, I need sleep. No more thinking,” I said to myself. I’m just overthinking now. Maybe I had just misread that whole situation due to my tiredness, and we were indeed no more than friends.
I arrived home to find the girls tucked up in their beds fast asleep, and Sophie watching her new obsession, her boxed set of Outlander DVD’s.
“I’m so sorry Letticia, I couldn’t wait to watch it with you.” “That’s fine,” I said. “I’ve seen that episode far too many times anyway.” “Hey Letticia. Do you think James looks a bit like you know who? Or am I over-thinking things?”
“Do not get me started on over-thinking things, but yes, the moment I saw James I saw the resemblance. Do you want to know what I thought?” I asked her.
“Sure. What did you think?”
“I thought, ‘Damn you Sophie, you found yourself a Jamie before me.” We both laughed.
“Well, what about Scott? He’s not bad for an older guy, he could be your Jamie.”
“Older guy! What are you saying? He’s my age.”
“Ohhhh, you know what I mean. Compared to me.”
“Yes, I knew exactly what you meant young lady, and anyway, I’m no longer looking for a Jamie. I’m now here to learn to love myself and find myself again.”
Sophie looked confused, her young mind could not comprehend how one can lose themselves. She said, “You are not lost, you are right here in front of me,” and on that note I left her still looking confused, and worried for my state of mind.
“Enjoy the rest of your show, and your Jamie,” I said as I walked off to get ready for bed.
The next morning came around fast, it felt like I had only just closed my eyes when my bag-pipe phone alarm went off. I sat up
fast once I realised what today was. Today was the day I get to see my idol in the flesh, and what’s more, I get to feed him. I felt like I was a little kid at Christmas again; the anticipation to see what Santa had left was just far too overwhelming. Thanks, Santa, I must have been a really good girl this year. Come to think of it, I should really be thanking Scott, not Santa.
I looked at my watch, 4.32am. I was getting picked up at 5am, right, best get into the shower. After a hot shower, which I found hard to get out of, I got dressed into my ‘Scottlander’ uniform – “Really? I have to wear this to meet my idol?” – which consisted of black pants, and a tight black long sleeve thermal top with a sleeveless forest green Puffer vest that zipped up. The vest had the ‘Scottlander’s Catering’ logo on the left-hand side. I thought I would be a rebel and wear my black flat knee high boots over my trousers. The uniform code states closed in black shoes, so, tick! That’s what I’m wearing.
Thanks to Bonnie, who gave me advice on how to apply makeup, I blended my foundation correctly at last. It’s only taken me 37 years to learn how. I even went for the smoky grey look for my eyes, and a bit of red lippy. I was set. Here I come, my idol, to feed your oh, so perfect, belly.
My kids were still asleep, I started to get the guilty mum feeling. I had come home when they were asleep and now I’m leaving before they wake up. I decided to leave them a note each on their pillows, they both said, ‘Mummy loves you very much. I am back at work today making $$$$ so we can do something special on my day off. Have a great day with Sophie, see you after work. Love Mummy oxox.
I placed the notes down and looked at my watch, 4.55am. I’d better get going. I picked up my handbag, turned off the kitchen light and locked the door behind me. As I shut the door, my phone beeped, it was Scott:
Scottlander Page 9