by Katie Ginger
Tom was looking really concerned now. ‘What sort of change? Become a wedding planner or something? You do love weddings.’
‘I hadn’t actually thought of that.’ She stored that idea away for later. ‘If I have to sell up, I thought maybe I could do something big like go travelling. I’ve never been anywhere—’
‘You’ve never wanted to go anywhere.’
‘I might now. Oh, I don’t know.’ She drummed her fingers on the table. ‘Lately I’ve been imagining visiting all the places I’ve never had the chance to with being tied to the hotel.’
‘You and your imagination.’ Tom’s concern was fading a little. ‘If that’s what you want, have a holiday. I’ve told you before I can look after the place for you.’
‘That’s not quite what I meant.’
Tom sipped his drink and said, ‘You always get like this when something’s bothering you. Are you sure there’s nothing going on? The last time you were like this you cut all your hair off in a pixie crop because the redecorating wasn’t going as quickly as you hoped. You said it was because you loved what’s-her-name’s hair in that film you like—’
‘Ginnifer Goodwin in He’s Just Not That Into You,’ she mumbled, knowing full well he was right.
‘But really it was because you were stressed out that you were letting your mum and dad down by changing the hotel. Are you sure you’re not stressed about Cat and Kieran’s wedding? Or the wedding fair stuff?’
Sometimes, she really hated that he knew her so well. That haircut hadn’t suited her at all as her ears stuck out a bit too much, and she’d been growing it back ever since. Luckily, she was partly yeti or something, because her hair grew very quickly. ‘Maybe it’s a bit to do with Cat too.’ She told him about the wedding dress situation. ‘But she knows her own mind and I don’t want to press too much. I’ve tried a couple of times, but she just turns the conversation to something else.’
‘Do you want me to have a word with Kieran?’
‘No, don’t do that!’ The table nearby looked over again and Nell lowered her voice. ‘Cat wouldn’t want him to know anything about the dress. It’s fine. I’ll speak to her again and see if I can change her mind. I am excited for the wedding fair though. All those couples at the hotel will fill the air with romance.’ It was going to be a magical day, but she really needed to get the brochure finished. It was only just over two weeks away, but all she needed was some photos.
As if by magic, a hand delivered two menus to the table. They were absolutely enormous A3-size sheets of thick, dark blue paper with indecipherable fancy gold lettering. The only thing her eyes could make out for sure were the enormous prices. Next to the small blocks of virtually illegible text were giant pound signs and extortionate numbers.
‘How the hell am I supposed to read this?’ asked Nell, manoeuvring her menu so she could see Tom over the top. He was squinting too.
‘I know what you mean. I can barely make it out.’ Nell popped her head up over her menu again to see Tom blinking at it. His eyes were the colour of russet autumn leaves with hints of amber and flooded with warmth. ‘We can do this. We’re grown-ups, we can read words. Even squiggly, upside down words.’
Nell laughed and turned her attention back to her menu. ‘So, the first starter is basically a take on baked camembert—’
‘But with weird cheese from Mongolia.’
They quietened as Tallulah delivered their drinks and Nell thanked her before taking a sip. It was nice, but a little watery and she wondered what brand of gin they were using, or if she’d been making hers too strong. She didn’t have many but when she made one, she didn’t always bother measuring. ‘Next is … well, it’s basically a scotch egg, isn’t it?’
Tom guffawed. ‘It really is. Except it’s Himalayan breadcrumbs and a quail’s egg. Why on earth do you need breadcrumbs from the Himalayas. I’m sure Asda ones are just as good. So, the third, veggie option is …’
‘Carrot soup,’ Nell exclaimed with a giggle. ‘It’s basically just carrot soup.’
‘Umm, no it’s not. It’s small-farm, hand-grown, organic, French baby chantenay carrots roasted with a whimsical dressing and then made into a savoury liquid. What’s a whimsical dressing?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe it tells you jokes before you eat it.’ Nell chuckled and took another sip of her gin.
‘What are you going to have?’ he asked, rolling the gigantic menu up into a tube and placing it on the table. There wasn’t quite enough room for it no matter which way he laid it.
‘I think I’ll go for the soup. I want to find out more about this whimsical dressing. You?’
‘Baked cheese without a doubt. You can never eat enough cheese.’
Nell made a mental note to buy him a cheese-related gift for Christmas. Tom took a sip of his wine and scrunched up his face. ‘What is it?’
‘The wine’s just a bit sharp.’
‘Not as outstanding as you’d expect?’
‘Not really. So, shall we try and decipher the mains?’
‘Go on then.’
After a lot more giggling, the two of them decided what they would have just as Tallulah returned to take their order. They’d been given a lot of time to decide what they wanted and that was one thing Nell liked. They weren’t pounced on as soon as their drinks had been delivered in an effort to get everything moving along. Nell hated it when that happened. If she opened the dining room of an evening, she’d have to hire a good chef first of all, but she’d also make sure the waiting staff gave people time to enjoy their time. Maybe she could hire different chefs for different evenings. Cat’s caterer for the wedding was really good, and that way the menu could always be different. The chefs could decide the food and cost out what they need, then Nell could agree charges with them.
‘What are you thinking about?’ asked Tom. ‘You’ve gone all quiet. Back in your imaginary world?’
‘Ha ha. I was just thinking about chefs and how I could make the dining room idea work. I was thinking I could get a different chef every night—’
‘Or just open a few nights a week.’
‘Good idea.’ Nell explained about the different menus, and from across the table Tom studied her. She pretended not to notice at first but when he was still watching her as she finished speaking, she said, ‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ Tom ran his hands over the smooth surface of the tablecloth. ‘You just … you always crinkle your nose when you’re thinking.’
‘Do I?’
Nell bit the inside of her cheek, feeling suddenly self-conscious. It was like they were on a date. Any girl sitting in her seat would be lucky to have Tom sitting opposite her. He was so kind and caring, and he blushed whenever he paid her compliments. It was endearing, even more so because it really should have worn off by now as they’d been friends for so long, but he’d always been like it and Nell had grown used to it. She’d never seen him blush with his previous girlfriends though, now she came to think of it, which was odd.
‘Okay, enough about work.’ She shook her head a little to shake the mishmash of thoughts away. ‘How’re things with you? I know it’s only been two days since I’ve seen you but how’s Grandad Nigel?’
‘He’s an old rogue as usual.’
‘Is he getting used to things now?’
‘With his sight you mean?’ A pained expression passed over Tom’s face and he rubbed his eyes. ‘He seems cheerful enough, but he wouldn’t say anything in front of anyone else. I’m going next week to help decorate the place for Christmas. I was thinking of making some Christmassy-smelling decorations or something. You know, cloves, cinnamon, dried oranges. I mean, Grandad’s not the only one there with vision problems – if anyone can’t see Christmas deccies, it’d be nice if they can smell something.’
That was just like Tom. He was so considerate and caring and thought a little out of the box. Not many people would think about something like that.
‘I’ll come with you next Sunday if you like. It
’ll be nice to see Nigel again.’
‘He’d love to see you too, and if you don’t mind, I’ll pop in and see him on Christmas Day before I come to you? Unless you want to come too?’
‘Of course I want to come. I wrapped his present today.’ Tom and Nell always spent Christmas Day together after a quick trip to the care home in the morning. Cat and Kieran would be on their honeymoon, Tom’s parents had emigrated to Australia and Nell’s stayed at the hotel in Dorset. Over the past few years, she and Tom had made their own celebrations, just the two of them, and sometimes guests if the hotel had bookings. As it was looking at being just the two of them this year, it was shaping up to be laid-back, easy and fun.
Their starters arrived, delivered by the surprisingly confident Tallulah, and Tom and Nell stared at them in surprise. His baked Mongolian cheese was a surprisingly decent size but covered in so much rosemary it looked like a forest had fallen onto his plate. Nell’s soup was just that: bog-standard carrot soup with some flecks of green floating in it, served in a gold teacup on a shiny matching saucer.
‘Is that it?’ whispered Tom, pointing his bread knife at the cup and saucer.
Nell looked up, trying desperately not to laugh out loud. ‘It’s tiny, isn’t it?’
‘I could neck that in about three seconds.’ She picked up her teaspoon and stirred her soup trying not to spill any as she lifted it to her lips. Just as she opened her mouth Tom’s hand shot out. ‘Don’t.’
‘What?’ Nell followed Tom’s horrified gaze to the teaspoon. Sitting in the head of the spoon was a curled black blob. Peering a little closer, her face fell into a grimace. ‘Urgh, it’s a spider! That’s so gross.’ She leaned forward, whispering, ‘What shall I do? I can’t eat the soup now. That’s honestly made me feel sick.’
‘You should tell the waitress.’
‘What? I can’t. I hate complaining. Maybe I can just say I didn’t like it, not that that sounds any better.’ Nell stared at the crumpled dead spider in her spoon, feeling slightly sorry for the poor thing. There weren’t many nice ways for a spider to go, but she couldn’t imagine being drowned in soup was one of them.
‘You have to, Nell. What if someone else finds one in their soup? You’d feel terrible. It might be a one-off, but it might also mean their kitchens aren’t quite as clean as they think they are. Someone could get proper food poisoning or something.’
‘Oh no.’ Nell laid the spoon, complete with arthropod accompaniment, on the gold saucer, which only seemed to spotlight it more. ‘This sucks. I really hate complaining.’
‘Do you want me to do it?’
‘No, it’s okay. Right, here goes.’ Catching Tallulah’s eye, she waited until the waitress came over. ‘Umm, I’m really sorry,’ Nell began, keeping her voice hushed. ‘But I’m afraid I found a spider in my soup.’
The waitress’s face registered shock and then disgust. ‘I am so sorry, madam. I think I’d better get the deputy manager for you.’ She darted away and a few moments later Bryan with a Y, the man in the shiny suit and cold ankles, arrived at the table. Tallulah had clearly briefed him because his brow was crinkled and he came over clasping his hands. Nell repeated what she’d said to Tallulah and Bryan peered at the spoon, picking it up and examining it.
‘Madam, I sincerely apologise, I can’t imagine how this has happened. I assure you that we have the highest levels of cleanliness in the restaurant. I can only imagine it fell from the ceiling when it was being carried out.’
It was possible, Nell supposed, but not likely. The poor thing definitely seemed sufficiently cooked to have been in there for a while. Even though Nell had tried to keep her voice low the other tables began to glance over and whisper amongst themselves. Bryan’s eyes darted towards them then back again as they examined their own plates for wildlife. Still, Nell tried to be conciliatory. ‘No problem. I run Holly Lodge. We don’t do dinner, but we do breakfast and my cook’s constantly cleaning everything to make sure there’s no chance of something getting in.’ She’d meant it in a nice, understanding way but Bryan sneered at the mention of Holly Lodge and embarrassment flushed over her neck.
‘We do have a five-star hygiene rating, Miss Jones.’ The fact he knew her surname even though she hadn’t told him was disconcerting. Was it that they knew of Holly Lodge? She supposed they must know all their competition in the town. ‘I can assure you nothing like this has ever happened before.’
At a nearby table, a woman was angling a phone as if she was recording the whole thing. Even the mayor was watching with her group of councillors. Nell’s cheeks grew hot and she looked at Tom for support.
‘I’m sure it’s just a one-off,’ he said to Bryan. ‘But if we could maybe change Nell’s starter to something else? And you might want to get rid of that batch of soup, just to be sure.’
Bryan eyed the woman with her phone, and suddenly his demeanour changed. He stood a little straighter and his expression hardened. ‘There is another explanation. As the owner of Holly Lodge, you might have placed it there to sabotage us—’
‘What?’ Every muscle in Nell’s body stiffened. ‘Don’t be absurd. Why would I do that?’
‘We’re well aware, Miss Jones, that your business has suffered since the opening of our hotel. You could have come here and placed that spider in your soup, so we lose business and even our hygiene rating. Or possibly you wanted a free meal. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has tried something like this. Though they usually use one of their own hairs.’
Nell’s temper flared. ‘I would never do such a thing. How dare you suggest that I would? Do you think I found and kept a soggy arachnid, bringing it with me to dinner just so I could put it in my soup to try and discredit the Langdon Mansion Hotel? That is ridiculous.’ She crossed her arms over her chest. It was clear that having realised who she was, Bryan was now trying to blame her rather than take responsibility for the oversight of his restaurant.
Bryan puffed out his skinny, wimpy chest. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave, Miss Jones.’
Nell gasped in a breath. This was so utterly embarrassing. Her body felt like it was on fire, she was sweating and could feel how beetroot-red her cheeks were.
‘Now hang on a minute,’ said Tom, his voice edging towards angry. It wasn’t something she heard all that often. ‘We haven’t done anything wrong. Your restaurant has allowed a spider to crawl into its soup and yet you’re trying to blame us?’
Tallulah the waitress was looking on in terror at the furore in front of her and she suddenly looked much younger than she had before, more like Tom’s Janie – just a young girl caught in a horrible situation. Nell felt instantly sorry for her. From Bryan’s behaviour she could imagine he wasn’t a very nice boss. One of those who was fine as long you were on the right side of them but get something wrong and you were thrown under the bus, especially if it caused him any problems.
‘Let’s just go,’ said Nell, feeling the eyes of everyone on her. She’d never been so humiliated in her entire life and once she’d walked out of a public toilet with her skirt tucked in her knickers and shown half her bum as she walked down the high street. At the time she’d thought nothing could top that, but she was wrong, this definitely took the trophy for the most embarrassing moment of her life.
‘Are you sure?’ Tom asked. ‘You’ve done nothing wrong, Nell. You shouldn’t be bullied out of having your dinner here because they’ve messed up.’
Bryan sniffed and ignored the comment even though Tom shot daggers at him.
Trying to regain some of her dignity, Nell stood and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. ‘I’d really rather just go, Tom. We can grab some fish and chips on the way home. My treat.’
As Tom passed Bryan, he turned to face him. ‘You should be ashamed of yourself. You know full well Nell didn’t place that spider there, you’re just too embarrassed to admit it. That’s despicable. And cowardly.’
As they left, with all eyes upon them, Nell felt To
m’s reassuring hand on her back. It wasn’t until they were outside in the cold, fresh night air that she felt able to breathe again and her cheeks began to cool.
‘Well, that was horrible,’ Nell said, wrapping her scarf around her neck. The awful automatic doors opened and closed as people inside walked past them.
‘It was. Do you want my coat?’ Tom asked as Nell shivered.
‘No. I’m not actually that cold. I think it’s just shock and shame.’
‘Hey,’ Tom said quickly, turning Nell to face him and taking her face in his hands. She loved the warmth of them. ‘You have nothing to be ashamed of. They’re the ones who should be ashamed. They’ve treated you so badly. I hope the mayor saw it—’
Panic flooded her face. ‘I hope she didn’t. What if she believes them?’
‘No one would believe them. They were clearly lying to save their own skin. Much easier to turn the tables and try and blame you than tell the truth that they messed up. You heard him say about people trying to get free meals. I bet they’ve done this before, blaming customers rather than take responsibility for the meals they serve.’
Some of the tension released from Nell’s shoulders and she tipped her head down. Tom did the same, resting his forehead against hers, and she enjoyed their closeness for a second.
‘Shall we get those fish and chips?’ he said as they stood there in the dark.
Nell lifted her head and nodded. ‘Much better than – what was that beef thing?’
Tom thought for a moment and recited the menu. ‘Full-blooded, Australian Wagyu beef strips in a flaked cheddar and chive pastry envelope.’
‘So, beef Wellington in cheesy pastry?’
‘Yep.’
As they strolled back into Swallowtail Bay, Nell threaded her arm through Tom’s, glad that even though the night had been horrible, she’d at least been with him. That always seemed to make everything better.
***
After ordering Tallulah to dispose of the spider soup, Bryan stomped into the kitchen.