Page 51 of The Second Chance Supper Club

‘Hey, we are all at different stages of our culinary careers,’ said Andreas. ‘Everyone is welcome, old hands, aspiring chefs or beginners. And don’t worry, we’ll bring you on in time, it’s all in the grand Supper Club plan.’

‘It is?’ Will looked up anxiously.

Cath had no idea what Andreas was referring to. There was no plan.

‘Well, it’s been Cath, then Nikki, and it’s our turn now. Other than Lily doing a Bake Off special, which could be delightful, I think that means it’s your turn next.’

‘Oh …’ Will had paled.

‘Never fear, we can help,’ added Dan.

‘Or, there’s always good old M&S or a takeaway.’ Will was clutching at straws.

‘Give him a break, lads,’ Nikki interjected. ‘We can help, of course we can. And no one needs to feel pressured here. Fish and chips from the van at Kirkton will do me fine … with a glass of Prosecco. Perfect.’

‘Fish, chips and fizz sounds pretty good to me, too,’ added Cath with a smile.

‘Phew.’ Will visibly relaxed.

‘We can’t let him off the hook that easily,’ said Andreas, still grinning. ‘Hook … fish and chips …’

The group groaned in unison.

‘Talking of fizz, anyone for a No-secco at this point?’ offered Nikki.

‘Or, I’ve got some elderflower no-gin cocktails, I can make up too,’ offered Cath. It was actually nice to have an alcohol-free occasion. With all the stress of these past months, she wondered if she’d been using the wine a little too much as a crutch, lately.

‘Ooh, spoilt for choice.’

‘Elderflower for me.’

‘And I’ll try a No-secco.’

The group relaxed with their fizz in the sunshine, chatting away and enjoying the day. A short stroll along the sands towards the imposingly stunning stone castle preceded lunch, which was a fab foray of picnic treats. Dan and Andreas did themselves proud with smoked salmon or local ham sandwiches, Greek-style feta and spinach parcels, olives, nuts and nibbles, including freshly baked cheese straws, and for later, there was still plenty of Andreas’s honey cake. The savoury snacks, accompanied by Cath’s delicious herby sage-and-onion sausage rolls, went down a treat. And the grand finale was Will’s strawberries and raspberries served with Lily’s scrumptiously light and creamy chocolate-topped profiteroles. Tummies were contentedly full. Even Shirley’s, who’d had ham sandwich crusts and a sausage roll or two tossed her way. Her behaviour was now impeccable, except for the odd bark aimed at any canine interloper who dared get near her picnic-munching human pack.

After all that food, the group had to have a brief lie-down behind the windbreak. Cath lay enjoying the sun and the feel of the gentle wind on her face. Will lay just a hand-stretch away. Hmmm. I feel it in my fingers … began strumming away in her mind. Giving her a secret inner smile.

All too soon, however, there was a call to action.

‘Right, enough of the lazing about. It’s rounders time,’ announced Dan.

‘Really?’ Nikki’s mouth dropped open. ‘I dash around all the bloody time. This is bliss. I could lie here all afternoon.’

‘Well, I’m up for a game.’ Lily was up on her feet, with a smattering of sand hitting those still prone. A groan or two came in response.

‘Okay, me too.’ Sporty Will jumped up and was ready to play.

‘Can I be umpire?’ Nikki asked, apparently in a bid to maintain her current position.

‘We don’t need an umpire. We need a team. Three on each side, I’ll toss a coin,’ Andreas announced.

So that was it, Cath scrambled to her feet too, and a pitch was marked out with a stick-line in the sand and a couple of pullovers as base-stumps. A bat and tennis ball appeared out of one of Dan’s bags. Teams were allocated – Cath, Will and Dan versus Andreas, Nikki and Lily – and the game commenced, with Cath in as first batsman. She was relieved to at least hit the ball with a satisfying thwack, and dashed to first base with a grin.

It was all a bit of fun in the sun. But it got more competitive when each team (Dan’s Devils versus Andreas’s Angels) had won one game, and they went for a third to decide the overall winner. The bowling by Dan upped the ante, with the ball now moving at the speed of light – well, bruise-worthy, put it that way. At one point, Shirley stole the ball and made off with it, which Will declared an unfair advantage. And they couldn’t help but laugh as Nikki ended up in a heap in the sand trying to get to third base, before the airborne ball hit the fleece-top marker.

It was then that Andreas’s mobile rang. His smile dropped immediately as he answered.

Cath couldn’t help but overhear. ‘Oh, oh, I see … How is she? Where are they sending her?’