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Juniper’s eyes lit up. “Surely not in your little kitchen. You can use mine.” Georgie hesitated, not wanting to impose. Then Juniper smiled. “Please. I’d love it.”
“Okay.”
“Great!” Juniper grabbed one of the shopping bags and headed off.
“It’s a little intimidating,” Georgie confessed, following her into the kitchen and putting the bags on the bench.
“What’s that?”
“Cooking in front of an expert.”
Juniper snorted. “I’m far from an expert. And I still stuff up, a lot. But I love cooking. I love feeding people, so I persist. Plus, there’s pretty much no mistake you can make with cooking that can’t be turned into something else amazing.” She glanced over to see the bag of potatoes Georgie was opening. “Having said that, that’s an awful lot of potato to turn into something else if you stuff this up.” There was no mistaking the amusement in her voice. “I see you’ve adopted the go big or go home strategy and I’m here for it.”’
Georgie eyed the potatoes uncertainly. “Ah, yeah, maybe I’ve overdone it. I could just do half.” She looked at Juniper. “Or a quarter?”
Her green eyes twinkling merrily, Juniper said, “Nah. We can always find someone to eat them. I’ll pop the kettle on.”
“Mummy!”
“In here baby!”
Georgie turned to see Billy marching down the hall into the kitchen, William behind him. “Daddy said he’d make me a vegemite sandwich because I was too tired to do any more work.” He looked around the kitchen, realized what was going on and said, “Are you cooking, Georgie? I LOVE cooking.”
“I am, but I’ll get out of your way if you need to make a sandwich.”
“I’m not hungry now. Can I cook with you?”
Amused, Georgie looked to Juniper for permission. “Of course you can,” she said when Juniper nodded.
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” William gave Juniper a quick kiss, told her he’d be back in the Long House if she needed him and went out.
“It’s a pretty good set up you’ve got here,” Georgie observed as she helped Billy tie his apron on.
“Yes, I feel so incredibly lucky.” Juniper poured the tea before continuing. “There was a time when I thought I’d never see William again, so every day I get to spend with him feels like a bonus.”
“I need my hat,” Billy interrupted, looking expectantly at Georgie.
“Manners,” Juniper said warningly.
“Sorry. Thank you, Georgie, I need my hat.”
“It’s in the bottom drawer just behind you,” Juniper explained to Georgie.
“Oh, right.” She opened the drawer for him and her heart melted when he pulled out a miniature chef’s hat and squashed it onto his gold curls.
He proceeded to pull a step stool out from next to the fridge, wash his hands at the sink and wipe them on his apron before announcing, “I’m ready!”
Georgie felt a little uncertain. It was going to be hard enough navigating cooking something she’d never made before, let alone adding a preschooler to the mix. To her surprise, though, Billy was a very good helper. He knew the safety routines, things he wasn’t allowed to touch, where the pots and utensils were. So while they worked, Georgie was able to ask Juniper about what had happened with William and why she’d thought she was never going to see him again. Leaning back against the kitchen counter with her mug of tea, Juniper relayed the devastation of their breakup and how William had found his way back to her and Billy.
“Then Daddy came back and gave me a big cuddle,” Billy added, pushing flour all over the bench.
“Wow, I bet you loved that,” Georgie replied as she poked the potatoes with a fork.
“I did!”
Smiling at Billy, Georgie said, “What do you think of these, Juniper? I don’t want to overcook them.”
“Bit longer, I reckon.”
