“Yeah, me and my big mouth. I like your daughter, Ben, very much in fact. But I don’t think she’s ready for anything just yet.” More’s the pity.
“Well, I’m guessing she might just need a bit more time, Adam. Be patient and it’ll all turn out for the best, I’m sure.” He patted the younger man on the back and turned to a customer.
Hopefully. “Yeah, maybe.” He kept his gaze on the cold room and watched her walk out with a large tray of steaks. Lena lugged it over to the counter and called Kyle and her mother back to man the barbeque.
Soon the sizzle of barbeque meat filled the kitchen and a few of the diners walked over to watch their meal being cooked. Lena chatted with them over the counter and Adam noticed many of them pulled out their phones to capture the moment, a couple of them even managing to get selfies when she was in the right spot. Lena didn’t appear to be fazed by any of it. He could see she was enjoying the evening and cooking certainly seemed to be her happy place. He’d not seen her this carefree and at ease before.
Kyle was seemingly in his element too. He was turning steaks with the skill any adult would be proud of cooking the Sunday barbeque. The boy had inherited his mother’s talents and he wondered if she knew his passion was to follow her into the restaurant trade. Would she be happy or would she be more inclined to see him take on more literary pursuits? Perhaps she had hopes of him following in his grandfather’s footsteps and into the field of law.
Adam could tell him the pitfalls of that profession, although Kyle didn’t have an overbearing, overachieving father like he’d had. One who lived for the glory of being in the spotlight. Luckily for Lena, her father Ben was the total opposite. His small law practice in Mudgee was nothing like the one waiting for Adam when he passed his bar exam in Sydney. It hadn’t taken him long to wish for something that small without the back slapping and dealing he wanted no part of.
“That boy is going to make a great chef one day.” Ben was standing with his arms folded watching his grandson. The pride on his face left a pang of longing in Adam’s heart. Never before had be wanted to be part of a family as much as he did at this present time.
* * *
After the dessert was served, Mr. Bond-Jones stood at the bar and turned on the portable microphone, tapping it to get everyone’s attention. The shrill squeal was met with protests and cheers alike. “Good evening everyone. Are we all having fun tonight?”
The crowd roared and the sound of glasses clinking followed.
“It gives me great pleasure to see you all here. As you know, this is the third such event the school has held and this year it’s for a very good cause.” He paused until he was sure he had everyone’s attention. Lena suddenly felt as though she was back in school at the assembly meeting waiting for a special announcement that could change her life.
“The Education Department didn’t know what it was taking on when they sent a letter to the school telling us we had to fill in our swimming pool because they didn’t want to cover the cost of repairs. Well, did we show them or what?”
The crowd roared and Lena shared a big smile with her father. Adam was standing next to him and flashed her a grin. The heat in the kitchen had nothing to do with the flush creeping up her cheeks. She turned away and lifted her hand to twirl a short lock of hair around her finger.
“This year we’ve had the best turnout we have ever had for the Grill and Swill, our major school fundraiser. We took a gamble and doubled the amount of tickets on sale and we did that for one reason only. Because this year, we managed to snap up one of Australia’s best chefs. Yes folks, many of you know her or at least know of her. May I present to you tonight, our award winning chef, fresh from Sydney, Ms. Lena Hawkins!”
The crowd roared its approval and Mr. Bond-Jones waved his hand frantically for her to come and join him. This hadn’t been part of the deal. Lena was happier to be behind the kitchen cooking rather than in the spotlight. One of the main reasons Cole had managed to integrate himself into the publicity of the restaurant so easy.
“Go on, Mum. He’s waiting for you.” Kyle pushed her in the back and she had no choice but to go and stand beside her old headmaster. Gail in the front table, put her fingers in her mouth and very unladylike, blew the loudest whistle imaginable. Lena winced and covered her ears much to the delight of the crowd.
Brad Bond-Jones put an arm around her shoulders and grinned as the crowd went wild. “Smile, Lena. You’re not getting a detention now, you know.”
She smiled and gripped her hands in front of her, unsure what to say.
“Now folks, you’ve all tasted the superb food on hand tonight. What did you think? Pretty outstanding, yes?” Lena looked to her mother for guidance when the wolf whistles started again. She was so out of her league here, but her mother was dabbing at her eyes again with her apron and was no help. Kyle was standing beside her father and Adam, who were both grinning and holding their thumbs up.
She turned back to the crowd and gave a feeble wave, mouthing ‘thank you,’ hoping that would be enough. But it seemed Brad had other ideas. “Rumor has it, or is it just wishful
