Page 25 of The Second Chance Supper Club

‘I’d better make it three.’ Even with her back turned she could tell from his tone that he was smiling. ‘Nikki’s bound to want one.’

‘Helloo!’ There she was, a blast of brightness in a vivid yellow polka-dot top and denim three-quarter jeans. ‘Boy, am I ready for this. Full on at work, craziness at home as per usual, but I’m away, a three-hour window just to be me. Thank you so much for stepping in, Cath.’

‘It’s fine, no problem at all.’

‘Sorry, I didn’t have time to make anything, but I picked up a box of chocolate truffles on my way back from Alnwick – good old M&S.’

‘Perfect, they’ll be wonderful after the meal with a nice coffee.’

‘Gin’s ready.’ There was Will with three tall glasses that were filled and lightly fizzing.

‘Thank you. Cheers, my lovelies.’ Nikki took one.

‘Cheers.’

‘Chin-chin.’ Cath smiled. ‘And here’s to Andreas’s mum getting better very soon.’

‘Absolutely. Get well soon, Maria.’ Will lifted his glass. ‘She’s such a lovely lady,’ Nikki said. ‘I met her in the village a while back. The boys had her out to lunch at The Star. Bit of a character, she was. She was enjoying bossing Andreas about, as I remember. He was trying to stop her having an extra glass of wine, something to do with her meds, and she was having none of it.’

‘Hah, I like the sound of her. Fingers crossed that all is well.’

‘Yeah, absolutely.’

‘Ooh, are we up in the shed? I loved it there last time,’ asked Nikki, glancing up the garden, as the trio stood chatting in the kitchen.

‘If you’d like to be, yeah. I’ve set it up for us, just in case.’ ‘Ah, yes, please. It was so gorgeous. I still can’t believe how you’ve transformed it. Plus, up there, you get a view across the hills, as well as your lovely garden.’

‘And the evening sun’s on it for now, too,’ added Will, gazing out of the back door. ‘May as well make the most of it.’

There was in fact quite a lot of grey cloud bubbling up as well as that golden glimpse of sunshine, but Cath was more than happy to head up there. With a bowl of nibbles to hand, she led the way.

‘So, how’s everyone’s week been so far?’ Cath started the conversational ball rolling as they took up their seats near the open summerhouse doors. ‘Sounds like you’ve had a busy one, Nikki.’

‘Don’t I always … What’s gone on this week? There’s always some caper. Oh, yes, Mrs Douglas’s cat got stuck up a tree in her garden. The old dear was all stressed about it. So, there’s me wobbling on stepladders trying to get the little bugger down – for forty bloody minutes, no less. Not a chance, he just kept going further up. Then, when I gave up, ready to crack on with the cleaning I was meant to be doing, he climbed down himself. I’m sure he was smirking at me as he waltzed back into the house, tail and head held high.’

Cath and Will were chuckling. Nikki’s life always seemed to be full of drama, and she had a great way of telling a tale. ‘Mine was a bit quieter than that,’ added Will. ‘Steady away at the cycle shop. Did a coastal run, then went out on the bikes, fifty miles with a mate. And yesterday, I went off for a bit of a hike in the hills. It was stunning up there.’

Blimey, he really was a bit of an action man. Don’t think of the Lycra …

‘Yeah, I love the walking around here, too,’ added Cath. ‘The countryside is so beautiful.’

‘Hah, no need for all that huffing and puffing. I do enough of all that at work. It’s lovely just sitting here.’ Nikki stretched her legs out, lifting her face to the evening sun. ‘Your cottage is so peaceful.’

‘Yes, it’s really beginning to feel like home.’ And it was, Cath realised with a glow.

‘That’s good. Oh, by the way, you two, would you mind if I invited my niece along if we had another supper night … if I did it at mine?’

‘Of course not. The more the merrier,’ said Cath.

‘She’s a bit younger than us lot, only seventeen, and she adores cooking. Told me she wants to be a chef one day. A pastry chef actually. She loves watching all the cookery programmes. Bake Off and MasterChef are her favourites. In fact, I’m hoping she might come up with some patisserie style puds for us all. There’s a method in my madness.’ Nikki winked.

‘Sounds great,’ added Will. ‘She’s just a little younger than my daughters. A great age, the whole world’s ahead of them.’ ‘Yes, all those dreams and good times ahead,’ added Cath rather nostalgically, unable to stop herself thinking, before it all goes wrong.

‘It’s a confusing time too, mind. So many choices and pressures,’ expanded Nikki.

‘Yes, you’re right, it can be.’ Cath used to love chatting with her pupils at school, guiding them where appropriate. So many paths to choose, and so easy, seemingly, to get it wrong, but every child, every person was different. You just had to try to make the best decisions you could, once you’d taken everything into consideration. Better to take a chance than miss out on an opportunity in life. Even the failing was a lesson in itself, that’s what she told her students – you could always learn and take something forward from that.

‘That’s the thing. Her parents – my brother Jason and his wife – well, they aren’t too keen on her going down the catering route. She’s a bright girl, and I think they’re pushing hard for her to take up a traditional university place, something like a Geography or an English degree – those are her other A Level subjects. I’ve heard they’re at loggerheads, just now. I think she might need a bit of moral support.’