Recipes for Melissa
Page 24
Beside the stove the mother is watching this and smiling also. She puts a zester in the sink then bends down to check the ovens. On the left, a tray of cupcakes is set on the middle shelf. In the smaller oven on the right, a leg of lamb is sighing into an unctuous mess of onions and wine and herbs. Look at the mother’s eyes more closely now.
See how they change as she turns again to her daughter.
‘When these cakes are cool enough, you can have one with your milk, then it’s time for bed.’
‘I’m not tired.’
The mother moves her head so that the daughter will not see her bite away an even broader smile as she picks up the oven timer from the edge of the table and pops it into her pocket. The child, eyes already heavy, will be asleep within ten minutes of head on pillow.
‘Listen – mummy is going through to finish her writing. You wash your sticky hands when you’ve finished. Yes? Then cake, then bed.’
The mother stands, checks the timer again in her pocket then walks past the table where she smooths her daughter’s fringe back from her eyes and kisses her forehead. Through the hall next, across the oak floor and up the stairs. In the corner of the bedroom there is an alcove with a big, bay window. She sits at a wide dressing table-cum-desk and glances for a moment at the tree beyond the window – straining to the left with the wind. Very soon her husband’s car will appear on the drive and the daughter will run into the hall to greet him. With her sticky fingers still unwashed.
The mother opens her laptop …
ORANGE ZEST….AND OTHER STORIES
BY FOOD BLOGGER MELISSA DANCE
Melissa leans forward to type the date. March 2015. She sees Sam’s car crunch across the gravel and smiles at the reaction downstairs.
And so – what to write today?
Ah yes.
Today she will share once again how this all began. How a campaigning journalist shape-shifted into the kitchen. How a precious journal sparked a memory. That sparked a blog. That turned a woman who thought cooking was just about food into a woman who can travel through time.
Today she will write about a child at a kitchen table in Cornwall who cannot peel her orange, moaning and whining for help. The mother – creaming butter and sugar and smiling – I tell you what, Melissa. Why don’t I show you how to zest before I peel it? We can try the zest in the cakes instead of vanilla? See what we think?
Yes. She will write once more about that twist. The memory and the magic of a single, simple scent.
* * *
Zest the orange. Close your eyes. Travel back there. Right through time.
Child at the table. Orange on the plate. Reaching out with sticky fingers….
…to hold a mother’s hand.
* * *
THE END
A NOTE FROM TERESA
Thank you so much for reading Melissa’s story – pure fiction, of course, but the theme does come from the emotional landscape of my life and I worried a bit about that.
I lost my mother to cancer when I was 17 and for a long time I wondered whether that experience had any place in my writing life. Then as a BBC television news presenter, I was asked to start a local Race for Life to raise money for Cancer Research and there were all these lovely ladies, many with a single word pinned to their backs. ‘Mum’. It was both traumatic and comforting also and I realised, as a writer, I perhaps had something to say…
It took me a long time to find a strong enough fictional story to carry a theme so close to so many people’s hearts. But once Melissa and Eleanor finally stepped into my writing room, the novel almost seemed to write itself.
My next novel with Bookouture is THE SEARCH and I will share publication news and updates on my website www.teresadriscoll.com. You are also very welcome to get in touch via Twitter or my Facebook Author page.
* * *
Also, if you’d like to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, just sign up here:
* * *
Thank you, again, for reading my debut. If you are able to post a review, that would mean a lot to me. Most important - I feel so very proud and privileged to be signing off here as an author at last.
With warm wishes,
Teresa Driscoll
@teresadriscoll
teresadriscollauthor
www.teresadriscoll.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My journey to publication has been a long one and huge thanks go to all who have supported me along the way – most especially my wonderful husband and two sons who never stopped believing.
Massive thanks also to my fabulous agent Madeleine Milburn who finally made all this happen for me and to my patient and very clever editor Claire Bord, together with the dedicated team at Bookouture.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Melissa - 2011
Eleanor – 1994
Melissa 2011
Eleanor – 1994
Melissa – 2011
Max – 2011
Melissa - 2011
Melissa – 2011
Eleanor – 1994
Melissa – 2011
Max – 2011
Melissa - 2011
Max – 2011
Melissa – 2011
Max – 2011
Eleanor
Melissa – 2011
Melissa – 2011
Max – 2011
Melissa – 2011
Eleanor – 1994
Max – 2011
Melissa – 2011
Eleanor – 1994
Max – 2011
Melissa – 2011
Eleanor – 1994
Melissa – 2011
Melissa - 2011
Eleanor – 1994
Melissa – 2011
Max – 2011
Eleanor – 1994
Max - 1994
Sam – 2011
Melissa – 2011
Melissa and Eleanor
Melissa – 2011
Orange zest …
Orange zest….and other stories
A note from Teresa
Acknowledgements