The Tea Chest

by Josephine Moon

  Position Vacant:

  Assistant Business Planner and Developer for expanding gourmet tea business.

  Short-term appointment (3 months, with possible extension) Based in London. Immediate start. Click here for full description.

  She didn’t really have all the experience the ad required, but she had to be in it to win it. It wouldn’t hurt to apply.

  Seven months earlier

  Lucas first told Leila about Achara on the boat.

  ‘She’s eleven years old now,’ he said, passing her a laminated photo that he kept in his wallet. Leila simultaneously reeled from the shock of the unexpected news and hummed with affection for a man who would keep a photo of his child in his wallet. It was so retro. And so sweet.

  The photo showed a small girl with shoulder-length dark hair, dark skin and dark eyes, and with a bright open smile that was both typical of the good nature of the Thai people and strikingly familiar.

  ‘She’s got your smile,’ she said.

  ‘Poor girl.’

  Leila slapped him lightly on the arm. ‘Stop it. She’d be lucky to have any of your good looks.’ She shot Lucas a sly sideways glance, but his eyes had taken on a faraway expression as he gazed at the other party boats forging white V shapes through the water of the river.

  In the dim lighting on deck, Leila studied the photo once more, taking in the sand plastered up Achara’s lower legs as she squatted on the beach, a stick in her hand scribbling in the wet grains, the skinny dog in the top right corner, and her bright yellow dress, a couple of sizes too big for her slight frame.

  ‘She’s pretty,’ Leila said, her voice affected by some sort of emotion, though she wasn’t sure which one exactly.

  Lucas replaced the photo into his wallet. ‘Her name means pretty angel.’

  ‘And you’ve still not met her?’

  He shook his head and threw back the last of his drink.

  ‘I didn’t even know about her until this year. It was an accident, obviously. I was in Thailand at the full moon festival at Ko Pha Ngan, on the beach. It’s quite famous. Happens every month and tens of thousands of tourist go there for a huge rave. She—Achara’s mother, Nootsara—was working the bar. I was young and so was she, and ridiculously pretty.’

  Leila winced.

  A trio of workmates came shrieking and yelling across the deck, arms linked, Christmas tinsel wound around their shoulders like boas. Leila gave a smile and a small wave, wishing them away.

  ‘So what now?’ she asked Lucas, once the cackling group had moved on.

  Lucas rolled the now-empty glass between his hands, the coloured light bulbs strung above them reflecting in the cut edges. He took a few moments to answer her.

  ‘I want to meet her, of course,’ he said, his face set in concentration in the familiar way he had when assessing a logistics problem at work. ‘She’s in a village with her mum, grandparents, aunties and cousins. The whole village family thing. I think she’s quite okay, from what Nootsara has said in her emails. She’s not on the streets or anything. But—and I don’t want to sound all white imperialist or anything—I think I could make her life better.’

  He turned to Leila for understanding. ‘I mean, she goes to school, but I don’t think it’s anything like what we have here.’

  ‘You want to bring her to Australia?’

  ‘No. I don’t think so. All I know is that I need to work hard, because if I can’t be there, on the ground, doing the things a dad should be doing, then I can at least do what I’m good at here. Make money. Focus on my career. Take every opportunity that comes my way to get as much as I can. Because one day she’ll need it. I’m sure of it.’ He raised his eyebrows, thinking. ‘And one day it will be her inheritance,’ he said, as if only just fully realising it.

  He stroked his chin thoughtfully. ‘Maybe one day she’ll want to come to Australia and start a new life. Or maybe it will buy her a new life in Thailand. Who knows? Whatever happens, all I know is that the more money I earn, the more options she’ll have in life. And that’s pretty fantastic.’

  She reached over and took his hand in hers. ‘You’re a good man, Charlie Brown. Achara’s lucky to have you.’

  She longed for Lucas to give that kind of devotion to her. He stared at her, looked down at their entwined hands, squeezed hers and raised it to his chest.

  Leila’s heart thundered as her hand felt his warmth, the firmness of his chest.

  He lifted her hand to his lips and held it there, warming her fingers.

  The water slapped at the sides of the boat and they rocked from side to side. The coloured lights twinkled. It was the perfect moment for him to kiss her fingertips.

  But then he gently passed her hand back to her and the cool air whipped around her skin.

  ‘Leila?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I can’t get distracted,’ he said carefully.

  She blanched and shifted backwards in her seat. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I don’t want to risk my career right now for something that may not work and that might hold me back from my commitments.’

  Her face burned. Her lips tightened.

  ‘I need to focus one hundred per cent on my career now, so that I can take some time off next year and spend it with Achara and get to know her.’

  ‘Of course you do,’ Leila said, crossing her legs and wrapping her hands over her knees, pulling against them till her knuckles went white.

  ‘And who knows,’ he ploughed on, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort, ‘if I set it up right, maybe I could take a few months off. Be a dad. For the first time.’ He smiled, the thought of being with his daughter lighting up his eyes. ‘I need to keep things simple. Not complicated. I can’t make ties that might get in the way.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ she said, ignoring the pulling around her heart. She plastered on a brave smile. ‘You’ve got to do what’s right for you and your child.’

  6

  ‘Strahan Engineering, Lucas Harris speaking.’

  ‘Hi, Lucas, my name is Kate Fullerton. I’m phoning because Leila Morton has applied for a job as the assistant business planner and developer for The Tea Chest and she’s listed you as a referee. I’m wondering if you have time to talk?’

  ‘Certainly. I was hoping to hear from you,’ he said warmly.

  ‘Great.’ Kate paused, taking a moment to look down at her notes. This was the first time she’d hired anyone and her nerves were twanging like a plucked string. Leila had been impressive in the interview. Kate had no doubt about her confidence or her management ability. Her only questions lay around her business dealings and experience.

  ‘So, I’m wondering mostly about how much involvement Leila has had with the business dealings of the company. Could you tell me a little about that?’

  ‘I’ve worked with Leila on a number of proposal teams,’ Lucas said, his tone encouraging. ‘She always had to work with the writers to guide them and manage them through the schedule of putting together tenders and coming up with better systems. We have multiple writers who work on different parts of the tenders and Leila had to find a way to pull all those disparate pieces together, usually at the last minute. She had to coordinate everything with writers based in other cities, on other floors, and with a huge variety of backgrounds.’

  ‘Did she ever come up with new business ideas or forecast cash flow?’

  Lucas hesitated. ‘She wouldn’t have had much opportunity in that role; however, in editing those tenders and other business documents, she frequently saw problems, spotted errors and raised valid points about risk management and personnel management. She had quite a lot of input into how the proposals were structured, identifying our strengths as a company and playing to those.’

  Kate nodded silently. Lucas was confirming her own impressions: that Leila’s management ability and all-round talent were valuable assets, though her dealings with the nitty-gritty numbers and spreadsheets was limited.

  But she’d been t
he best candidate overall. She had a wonderfully positive approach to her work and was clearly a creative problem solver. At the end of the day, it was Kate’s responsibility to deal with the nitty-gritty. What she needed was a Jill-of-all-trades to keep things moving. The position was for an assistant, after all. Besides, she needed to get on a plane next week. She didn’t have time to wait any longer.

  ‘So would you recommend her?’

  ‘Without hesitation,’ he said.

  Kate relaxed. ‘Thank you so much for your time.’

  ‘Not a problem.’ He waited half a beat and then added, ‘She’s a great . . .’

  Kate waited, expecting from the tone of his voice for him to finish with ‘girl’. But he pulled himself up in time.

  ‘ . . . employee.’

  ‘What’s this?’

  ‘It’s a present,’ Leila said. ‘To say thank you for giving me a good reference. I would be dead in the water if I didn’t have you to help. I don’t think people who assault co-workers normally get favourable references.’

  Lucas put down his pappadum to open the envelope and Leila handed over the six-pack of Crown Lagers to the waiter.

  ‘Awesome!’ Lucas said, reading the voucher. ‘I’ve always wanted to go up in a hot-air balloon. Thank you.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘And it’s for two, so you’ll have to come with me,’ he said, putting the voucher back in the envelope and coming to her side of the table to hug her tightly. She leaned into him, relishing the feel of his arms around her.

  ‘You don’t have to take me,’ she said, though of course that was the idea. ‘It’s yours to enjoy with whoever you want.’

  ‘Nonsense. We’ll do it when you get back from London.’

  The waiter arrived with two opened beers. ‘Are you ready to order?’

  ‘Actually, I haven’t even looked at the menu,’ she apologised. ‘Another minute?’

  ‘I’m really happy for you,’ Lucas said. ‘This is an amazing opportunity.’

  ‘It is.’ She gritted her teeth. ‘The stakes are high, though. After my colossal disaster at Strahan, and my mother’s fervent shame at my disgrace, I feel like I’ve got a lot to prove.’ She played with her napkin. It was difficult to admit failings, especially to someone who meant so much to her. ‘It’s actually quite scary.’ She gave him a nervous smile.

  He thought about this for a moment and took a sip of beer. ‘Kate sounded really nice and as though she really liked you.’

  ‘She must be desperate.’

  ‘Yeah, I think she is, actually,’ he laughed. ‘But that doesn’t mean you’re not the right person for her.’

  ‘I feel like this is my last chance.’

  ‘No. It’s just a deviation in the road you thought you were on. I’m not saying what happened was good. It wasn’t. But it’s not the end. You’re still young, not even thirty, you’ve got plenty more opportunities to muck things up.’

  ‘That’s inspiring.’

  ‘And you’ve got plenty more opportunities to make them right again. Same for me. I have a chance to make things right with Achara and Nootsara and that’s what I’m going to do. No point dwelling on what I did wrong.’

  And there’s no point wishing for a man I can’t have.

  He raised his beer and she followed suit, the bottle necks crossing above the fake flame on the table. ‘Here’s to your outrageous success in London,’ he said.

  ‘I can’t believe I’m actually going.’

  ‘You’ll do great.’

  ‘I’d better. Or my mother will disown me.’

  Leila’s smiling face beamed back at Kate from the front seat of the taxi. Even from where Kate stood at the picket fence, it was easy to see just how liberated and excited she felt. Her skin shone as though it had been scrubbed squeaky clean.

  Mark called for the boys to come and say goodbye.

  The boys thundered down the stairs and out into the weak sunshine. Keats had his school uniform on the top half and his Cheeky Devil pyjamas on the bottom. He hadn’t brushed his hair yet and she smoothed it down with her hand. She kissed the crown of his head and held his face in her hands until he squirmed away.

  ‘Be a good boy for Dad,’ she said, her throat tight.

  He nodded and ran his hand through his hair to mess it up again.

  ‘Will you see Prince Harry?’

  She smiled. ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Cool.’

  She knelt down and held out her arms for James. He sidled into them and leaned against her as she wrapped him into a hug. His hands, still so small, reached up to grab on to her. She breathed in the scent of porridge and squeezed him that little bit tighter, closing her eyes and feeling his imprint on her soul.

  ‘I’ll be back before you know it,’ she said. ‘I’m just a phone call away.’

  He nodded and the taxi beeped again.

  Reluctantly, she let go and stood. James looked up at her and she was shocked to realise just how much like her he was. ‘You’re getting so big.’

  That made him smile. ‘Measure me,’ he said. He delighted in seeing the line move up the growth chart on the back of the kitchen door, racing towards his brother’s marks.

  ‘Sorry, little man, but we don’t have time right now,’ she said, the first real quivers of emotion threatening to unstick her.

  ‘We’ll do it after Mum goes,’ Mark said, putting his hand on James’s shoulder. Then he picked up Kate’s bags and carried them across the footpath to the taxi’s boot. She followed, holding a hand of each of her boys in her own.

  With all the bags stowed, there was nothing left to do but hug them goodbye again. Then she stood to face Mark, her nostrils flaring with emotion, a sure sign she was about to burst into tears.

  Mark smiled with affection at the tell-tale sign and put his hand behind her neck. ‘We knew this would be hard,’ he said, with more bravery than she knew he felt. ‘We just have to keep the big picture in mind. Far bigger opportunities for the whole family than we ever thought possible.’

  She nodded, willing her throat to lock the wave of waterworks firmly below.

  ‘And more importantly, we follow our dreams in this family,’ Mark said. ‘That’s an incredibly important lesson to teach our boys.’

  She sniffed and wiped at the tears that had started to fall. ‘Absolutely.’ She held him close. He bent his head to rest his chin in the crook of her neck.

  ‘Text me when you get there,’ he said.

  ‘Look after my little men,’ she said, her voice wavering.

  ‘With my life.’

  ‘And text me every single day. About anything. Everything counts. Peanut-paste fights. Lost socks. Anything at all. I don’t want to miss a thing.’

  ‘I promise you’ll get a daily Fullerton Frat House Report.’

  She opened the yellow cab door to get in.

  ‘And Kate,’ Mark said, ‘I love you.’

  She bit her lip and blinked hard, her chest tight. ‘I love you too.’

  ‘And Kate?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘You’re going to be a star.’

  7

  Kate dragged her luggage out of the black cab and she and Leila stood on the footpath of Kings Road, Chelsea. The cab pulled away, leaving them to lean on their suitcases and gaze at the shop in front of them.

  This was it. This was the address.

  ‘It’s gorgeous,’ Kate squealed. ‘I knew it. Simone was a genius. This place is perfect.’

  To the left was a fashion store, with its tall glass windows displaying a range of mini dresses, and to the right was a glass and black-walled beauty salon. The Chelsea Classic Cinema sat at the end of the block. The position was perfectly chosen to attract just the sort of customers they wanted—wealthy, concerned for their health and harmony, and nostalgic.

  It was only eight o’clock in the morning. Looking up and down the street, most of the shops were still shut but they watched one or two shopkeepers emerge to place signs on the footpa
th.

  They turned back to the shop in front of them.

  ‘Do you have a key?’ Leila said.

  ‘No, we have to pick it up from the agent.’ Kate grinned. ‘I just couldn’t wait to see it.’ She stepped carefully towards the big darkened window. There was a silver logo of a teapot and teacup embossed onto the glass. It was sweet. Still, it was odd Simone hadn’t used The Tea Chest’s original logo. She must have decided to change it for the English market for some reason.

  Kate held her hands on either side of her face and pressed her nose to the glass. Leila did the same beside her and together they breathed steam marks onto the pane. It was dark inside, but they could make out high-backed wooden booths and round filigree tables and chairs. The floor was tiled in an ornate rosebud pattern.

  Roses—her favourite.

  She stepped back from the glass to take it all in. Rectangular flower boxes lined the windows. Purple, pink and white blooms tumbled out, waving in the breeze.

  ‘I can’t believe how much work’s been done already,’ she said. ‘It looks so real, so official and so complete. A bit too much like a tearoom, rather than a shop. I thought there was still heaps of work to do, but we could open tomorrow.’

  Leila jigged up and down with excitement. ‘Maybe we can. Maybe it’ll be easy.’

  They grabbed each other at the elbows and skipped on the spot with joy.

  Just then, the door of the store jangled open. Both Leila and Kate turned to face a thin woman, her grey hair in a bun, wearing a long woollen skirt and white cashmere twin set with pearls.

  ‘Can I help you?’ she said, eyeing their luggage and jeans.

  ‘Who are you?’ Kate said, with more accusation in her voice than she’d intended.

  The woman peered at her with a raised brow. ‘The backpacker hostel is a few miles that way,’ she said, pointing down the road.