He thought about calling the vet but with no obvious signs of ill health, he wouldn’t have anything to go on. Best he keep an eye on them for the next couple of days and see if anything changed. Please don’t let anything derail this venture.
In the meantime, he had grass to mow in the front paddock so the diners could park their cars and he wanted to hose out the dairy before Lena came over and started to decorate. May as well make it as presentable as I can. Got to please the lady. Pete was coming over on the Friday afternoon with the furniture from the school and a few mates to help unload it so he needed the place clean and dry before then. Ben had offered to come with Lena and help string lights and set the kitchen the way she needed it.
Lena was driving in and out of town every day bringing something into the dairy to store for the weekend. She had bottles for water, boxes of glasses, and large paper sheets for table cloths. She’d been cooking up a storm according to Kyle and the big chest freezer in Ben’s shed was full of gelati and brioche for the requested ice cream sandwiches. She’d scoured the vegetable markets for the perfect potatoes and the salad was on order for pick up on Saturday morning. It sounded as though she had things very much under control.
“Come on, Spencer. You can go and have a sleep in the sun while I get on the ride on mower and sort out the front paddock.” Get it done before the sun goes down.
Adam was still working when the school bus dropped Kyle off at the end of Hidden Lane. He watched the teen walking down the dusty road, kicking stones as he went. When he got to the fence were Adam was working, Kyle looked up and waved. He climbed on the top rail and Adam drove closer.
“Kyle, good day at school?” He turned off the mower and tipped his hat back, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“Yeah, pretty good. We had a math test. Pretty sure I blitzed it though.” He shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn’t a big deal. Adam already knew the boy was clever with numbers anyway, so it made him smile to see the mild layback manner in which he took it.
“Settling into school okay? Plenty of kids in your group besides Mitch?”
“You know him?” Kyle jumped down off the fence.
“Sure, at least I know of him. I’ve met his mother a few times and I know she’s your mum’s best friend from school.” He climbed off the mower and looked around at the paddock he’d mown so far. “So what do you think? This is where we’re parking the cars on Saturday night. Reckon there’ll be enough room?” Hope Lena is happy with it.
Kyle ran his fingers through his hair and tipped his head from side to side. “Two hundred people. That means more than half of them would be couples and even those that aren’t could possibly car share so you shouldn’t have more than a hundred cars if that. Yeah, I think so and there’s plenty of room out on the road if not. Are you going to be the parking attendant?”
The kid was clever. “Well, I hadn’t thought of it, but sure why not.” Someone has to do it, so it may as well be me then I can get in and help Lena inside. “I hear you’re manning one of the barbeques.”
“Actually, probably a couple of them and I have to help plate up because I know how Mum likes things done. Make a mess of that and she’ll not be happy.” He snorted, his eyes wide and Adam had to laugh.
“Really. Is she that tough in the kitchen?” Was he going to see a new side of her?
“Nah, it’s just that she says if you’re going to do something you may as well do it right and with food, half the skill is in knowing how to present it so it looks as good as it tastes.” Kyle gazed at the dairy and then back at Adam. “I hope she decides she likes cooking still.”
Adam tilted his head. “Why?”
“Because that’s who she is, a chef. Mum’s not any good at anything else. Cooking is all she knows.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I know she thinks she has to stay at home for me, but that’s not true. I like when she cooks cause I like to cook as well.”
“Do you want to follow in her footsteps, Kyle, be a chef when you grow up?” Ideas started running through Adam’s head as he spoke to the boy.
“Yeah. Can’t think of anything I’d rather do. And I’d like to do it in there.” He nodded at the old building. “She would too, but she just doesn’t know that yet.”
My thoughts exactly. “Anyone tell you you’re very wise for your age?” Adam patted him on the shoulder and wondered if Lena knew what a great job she’d done bringing up her son. Not that he had any experience apart from the juveniles that came through the courtroom when he was a lawyer, but that said a lot sometimes.
“Yeah, Mum says it all the time. Guess it’s the way she brought me up. We talk about most things and cooking together gave us plenty of time too. Some kids don’t have that with their folks, you know. I’m lucky and I have Nona and Pop so I don’t miss not having a real father, not really.”
Adam doubted the words as Kyle looked at his shoes, digging into the soft
