First Among Equals

by Katherine Hayton

  Derek’s fidgeting had notched up to frantic levels. “I didn’t want to tell him, honest,” he said, wringing his hands together and shuffling from foot to foot. “I’m so sorry. He wouldn’t stop talking at me, and everything just came out. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

  “It’s okay, Derek.” Crystal walked over and put her hand on his arm. “I know that you wouldn’t do something like that on purpose. Just keep it a secret from now on, okay?”

  He nodded so vigorously that his slicked-back fringe fell over his face, covering his eyes.

  “Now, I’d like to continue on with my plans, if you don’t mind,” Crystal said to Mr Masters. “Derek and I were about to go out for dinner.”

  “He’s coming home with me.” Mr Master reached his hand out and grabbed his son’s arm, digging his fingers in as the young man struggled. “I may not be able to control who attends meetings, but I warn you”—he poked his finger at Crystal’s face—“I don’t want you seeing my son outside that group. You’re a bad influence.”

  Crystal’s face tightened, her throat working as she fought back the tears. Holly reached a hand out to comfort her, but her sister turned and ran back to the familiarity of the house.

  “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll talk some sense into your sister.”

  Holly’s mouth opened in outrage that the man would dare to lecture her. Mr Masters didn’t even stop to draw breath.

  “I own the mortgage on this place, you know. Not to mention your precious bakery. If I wanted to call in those debts tomorrow, I’m legally allowed. It would be a shame if you lost everything just because of a foolish mistake!”

  The threat would have turned up the heat on Holly’s fury if she didn’t already know better. Both the business and the house were worthless. If she could sell them both, then the best she and Crystal could hope for was to wipe out the debt.

  “Don’t stand on my private property and threaten me,” she said. Nodding to Derek, Holly gestured for the two men to leave.

  They walked away, their footsteps ceasing when they reached Mr Master’s car. Holly stepped out to watch them drive away, then turned back to the house.

  The bushes to the side of the drive rustled.

  Thinking it would be the small cat again, Holly moved closer to peer into them, seeking a furry face. Instead, she caught the flick of a heel as a person jumped the short fence into the neighbour’s property.

  Somebody had listened to the entire conversation!

  Chapter Four

  Holly gave chase, but between the poor lighting along their street and the unfamiliar terrain, she soon fell behind in the pursuit. Three houses down, she stopped and listened out for the noise of a person running.

  Nothing.

  With her heart beating uncomfortably fast in her chest, Holly turned around and walked out onto the road before jogging back to the house.

  Once inside, Holly didn’t mention the suspected eavesdropper to her sister. Crystal’s eyes were already red, she didn’t need another weight dropped on her sagging shoulders.

  “You did what you could,” Holly reassured her. “Not everyone’s support networks are going to do the right thing. All you can do is be there if Derek needs you.”

  “Unless his father keeps him away.” Crystal shook her head. “I swear, that man would stop his son getting help just to spite me!”

  Holly slung her arm over her sister’s shoulder and rocked her back and forth. A memory surfaced of her doing the same thing when Crystal was young. Whenever a nightmare jolted her younger sister awake, Holly would soothe her with a rocking hug.

  The magic still worked. After a few minutes, Crystal sighed. “I just wish I had enough experience to know that I was doing the right thing. Some mornings, if I didn’t have the bakery to go to, I swear I’d just head to the pub as soon as it opened.”

  The statement sent a chill through Holly’s heart, and her arm squeezed tighter. Too tight.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” Crystal said, wriggling out of Holly’s grasp. “Trying to crush me.”

  “Sorry. I was thinking how much I rely on work to keep me going too,” Holly lied.

  Well, not so much a lie as truth in place of a different fact that she now desperately wanted to conceal.

  “You must love it,” Crystal concurred. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you take a holiday in five years.”

  Holly ducked her head down, closing her eyes. She’d hoped to avoid the subject for a while longer, but there was only so much she could hide from her sister at one time.

  “I’m not on holiday,” she admitted, clasping her hands together in her lap.

  “What?” Crystal’s eagle eyes turned on Holly, scanning her up and down before widening. “You haven’t been fired?”

  Holly’s stomach twisted into a knot. “Not fired,” she said quickly. After a pause, she added, “Not yet.”

  “But what happened?”

  The concern in Crystal’s voice made tears well in Holly’s eyes. She sniffed and tilted her head back. No more crying. If she started now, then she’d never get all the way through telling her sister.

  “Simon wants a divorce.”

  Although Holly wasn’t looking at Crystal, her gasp let her know precisely the reaction. “When did this happen?” she demanded, then a second later, “He’s not sleeping with someone else, is he? I’ll kill him!”

  Holly shook her head. “It’s nothing like that.” She paused to swallow, her throat struggling to perform the simple task. The knot in her stomach expanded out until her entire torso felt as tense and solid as a rock. “It would be so much easier if he’d just fallen in love with someone else,” Holly managed. “I can’t begin to tell you how much worse it is that he just fell out of love with me.”

  “How could someone not love you!” Crystal knelt in front of Holly, taking her hands. “That’s a lot of rubbish. You’re the most loveable person I know.”

  The emphatic statement made Holly burst into laughter through her tears. “That’s not true, and you know it. I’m the ice queen, remember?”

  “Only to strangers, and Simon wasn’t that.” Crystal squeezed Holly’s hand and then her expressive face turned into a giant frown. “I don’t understand, though. Surely, he’s not forcing you to leave the practice?”

  Holly pulled a hand free so she could use it to wipe her nose. Although she would have loved to return it to the warmth of her sister’s grasp, she didn’t think Crystal would appreciate it quite the same.

  “He’s not the one wanting me gone,” she said. When did words start to hurt so much? Just speaking them aloud was tearing out her heart. Holly lowered her voice to a shameful whisper. “I may have had a screaming match with him in the middle of the foyer.”

  “If you did, I’m sure he deserved it. I hope that they’re making him take a break, just the same as you.”

  Holly couldn’t begin to express the horror of what had transpired. The shocked faces of her fellow partners and the junior staff would probably haunt her memory for the remainder of her life. Her behaviour had been appalling.

  It had also been a blessed relief.

  From the moment Simon announced that he wanted a divorce, something he did with his bags already packed and waiting in the boot of his car, Holly felt like he’d pulled the pin on a grenade buried in her chest.

  For weeks, she’d walked around feeling the pressure and knowing that at some point it must explode, shattering her mind into pieces. The tension of waiting for it to happen had slowly driven her insane.

  When she opened her mouth and screams rather than mild pleasantries came pouring out, the relief had been so incredible that Holly barely registered she’d blown up her life.

  For the first time in weeks, she felt able to breathe.

  “It might have been one-sided,” Holly admitted. “Simon didn’t scream back, he just stood there and took it.”

  “Well, he must have done something to rile you up,” Crystal sa
id staunchly. “As you said yourself a minute ago, you’re the ice queen.”

  Holly stared at her aghast for a moment, then burst into laughter again. Crystal joined her, and they hugged each other as they wound down into giggles followed by the occasional snort.

  When Holly woke the next morning, the smell of frying bacon filled the air. Although her brain struggled for a few moments to work out where she was, it didn’t attempt to do so in an atmosphere of concern. Any place that had bacon was a good place. That was a proven fact.

  Rays of sun spilled through the curtain and washed up against the bright yellow wallpaper, turning the room into a gorgeous ball of light. As Holly cast aside the covers, she thought such an auspicious start must mean a glorious day was in store. Although the finances snagged a fishhook in a tiny corner of her brain, Holly gamely ignored the tug. Later. Everything nasty could be dealt with much later.

  “Good morning,” she called out, walking into the kitchen in the same clothes she’d worn the day before. Unpacking was a terrible chore and one that could safely be put off until tomorrow. Luckily, Holly had packed her undies in the top pocket, so she didn’t have to sacrifice too much.

  “I made enough for two, so I hope you’re eating,” Crystal said. “If not, then I’m nabbing the bacon to have it cold in a sandwich at lunch.”

  “No sandwiches for you then, I’m afraid.” Holly gave her sister a friendly squeeze before crossing to the cupboard to fetch some plates and cutlery. “If it smells that good, I’ll have whatever you feel like making.”

  “Do you have any plans for the day?” Crystal asked as she heaped up Holly’s plate with bacon, hash browns, and French toast. It had always been their habit to top off the toast with ketchup. A childhood spent in a bakery surrounded by cupcakes sounded ideal, but both sisters grew so used to the sweetness that they craved savoury treats.

  “It looks like I’m spending the next hour or so eating breakfast,” Holly teased. When Crystal moved to take a slice of toast back, however, Holly snatched her plate away. “Just teasing. I’d love to come down to the bakery and see it in action. You made it sound so nice.”

  “It won’t be too nice,” Crystal warned. “I’d usually have made up a few batches of cupcakes at night, so I’ll be busy this morning.”

  “Then, it’s an excellent plan.” Holly smiled as she crammed half a rasher into her mouth. A few minutes of chewing and she continued, “I can supervise the baking while you mind the shop or vice versa. Whatever you prefer.”

  “That’ll actually be a real help,” Crystal said. “I’m not complaining, but it’s been hard to stay on top of everything with just one of me working.”

  “Just don’t get too used to it,” Holly warned. Another tug of guilt at her brain that she successfully ignored. “I won’t be staying here forever.”

  “Well, of course not, silly.”

  Once breakfast was over, and Holly had done the dishes since she didn’t cook, she washed the bacon grease off with a shower. Not even halfway through her list of things to be scrubbed, Crystal was knocking on the door.

  “Don’t use up all the hot water,” she warned. “We’re on a half tank here, remember, and it’s on night store. If you leave me high and dry, no amount of extra help at the bakery will make up for it!”

  Holly quickly ran her loofah over the remaining limbs on her list and called it good. When she stepped out, Crystal slipped in past her.

  “Don’t want to let the stuff in the pipes cool down and be wasted!”

  Living with Simon had been less obtrusive in their twelve-year marriage, than twenty-four hours sharing with Crystal.

  “Can you do me a favour?” Holly asked later, walking down to the bakery in the early heat of the day.

  “Depends on what.”

  “Do you think it’s possible I could be spared the sight of your naked body again while I’m staying here?”

  Crystal slung her arm around Holly’s neck. “Sure thing, sis. Just keep your eyes closed.”

  They crossed the road to walk under the shade of the massive oak trees that lined the main boulevard. Crystal occasionally jumped into a pile of discarded leaves, dried to a crisp finish by the summer sun.

  Already, pairs and groups of tourists were arriving at the hot pool gates. Some had bags slung over their shoulders, while others went minimalist, wearing their bathing suits and carrying rolled-up towels tucked under their arms.

  In the bustle of Christchurch, Holly had forgotten the pleasant attractions of small-town living. Even given it was morning, and they were about to start a full day of work, she felt relaxed and carefree. She’d succumbed to the allure of a sundress instead of her wrinkled travel clothes and allowed one item to be unpacked.

  At the bakery, a delivery of dry goods sat by the door. In the city, they would have been stolen in ten seconds flat, no matter if the thieves had a use for the ingredients or not. Here, they’d been out in full view for a good hour, judging by the delivery slip, and no one had even shifted the invoice laid on the top.

  “Goodness, I’m late,” Crystal said, glancing at the clock over the counter. “I should be pulling the first batch of cupcakes from the oven by now. If the town starves, I’m blaming it on you!”

  Holly laughed with good humour. Considering the figures she’d been staring at glumly for the past few weeks, she doubted anyone used the place at all. Still, now wasn’t the time for Holly to contradict her sister. Not unless she wanted to dive into an uncomfortable conversation right off the bat.

  “Right,” Holly said, clapping her hands together. “Where do you need me?”

  “You’re good at numbers,” Crystal said, pointing at an apron. “You can serve behind the counter. Move those cakes down to the end-table. We can still sell them as day-olds until midday.”

  “What happens then?”

  “If they’re keepers”—Holly knew she meant the ones made with oils that kept them from quickly going stale—“then I take them down to the mission in the afternoon. The others, I bag up. There’s a piggery down on the flats below the bridge, and they’ll take whatever they can get.”

  “No wonder that bacon tasted so delicious,” Holly exclaimed. “They’ve obviously been sweetened up by our cupcakes.”

  “Oh, don’t!” Crystal put her hands over her eyes. Squeamish about where her meat came from, though she’d happily eat it just the same.

  They set to work at their different tasks. When Crystal brought the first batch of cupcakes out from the bake, fully decorated in record time, she pushed back the doors and turned the sign in the window to open.

  For the next hour, it was bedlam. Holly barely got time to breathe. Customer after customer arrived. All of them curious to know who she was and how long she was in town. None of them bashful enough to prevent them from asking.

  By the time the third tray was out, Holly felt as though she’d spent a full day at work. Being on her feet, rather than plonked down in an office chair, gave her a vastly different view of a working day.

  “Have a seat at the table,” Crystal ordered, seeing the way the wind was blowing. “I’ll bring you a cake and a cup of coffee.”

  Holly sat, immediately feeling guilty as her sister ran around, fetching her a morning tea treat.

  “Did you ever think of selling coffee here as well?” she asked. “The machine out the back looks like it could handle industrial-grade demand.”

  Crystal brought a frothy latte over to the table. “Dad used to do that.” She pointed across the courtyard to a café. “But then we came to an agreement with ‘Bean there, done that.’ We make more money selling cakes to them in exchange for no coffee than we ever made from our machine.”

  Holly raised her eyebrows with interest. The only thing separating the two shops was a square yard full of tables and chairs. Rather than being roped off for the separate establishments—including the tavern and wine bar squeezed in with them—the customers sat wherever they chose.

  “That seems like a
good deal. Doesn’t the café make any of their own food, then?”

  “They do sandwiches and burgers, stuff like that. We take care of all their baked goods.”

  With a final scan of the café satisfying her curiosity, Holly turned back to her snack. “Are you not joining me?”

  Crystal screwed her face up, and Holly had to laugh. The downside of working in the bakery was growing immune to the allure of cupcakes.

  As Holly bit into the velvet texture of the chocolate cupcake, she found it difficult to believe, all the same. The taste was glorious from the first bite to the last.

  “Is business always this good?” Holly asked. “I remember it going a lot slower.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty standard. It took longer to serve today, but that’s just because everyone in town is a busybody.”

  Holly laughed. “I’ve been giving out my name rank and serial number for so long, I feel like I should just record it, so they can play it back.”

  “That would be a trick. It’s good to have you out front. It drives me crazy when I’m torn between the counter and checking on things in the back.”

  “I don’t know how you’ve managed it,” Holly said. After the morning’s crowd, she had a renewed respect. “I’ve had enough trouble staying on top of one part.”

  “You’ll get used to it quick enough. And by tomorrow, everyone in town will know your story, so you’ll save yourself a lot of time.”

  When Holly finished her cake, Crystal slapped her hand down on the table. “Time to get back out there. The lunchtime crowd will be coming soon, and I’ve got some deliveries to make.”

  “Do you deliver to a lot of places, besides them?” Holly jerked her head at the café.

  “Sure do. I’ve been roping in Ben next door to watch the shop the past few weeks. It’ll be a relief not to have to do that.” Crystal leaned forward and dropped her voice to a whisper. “I’m never sure he understands the till.” She mimed money coming out instead of going in.

  As Holly walked behind the counter, she frowned and pulled out a notepad. Using a pencil stub, she quickly wrote out some figures, then used a calculator to confirm her suspicions.