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‘No, please don’t say that. That’s not true at all. You and Mum mean everything to me.’ My eyes flickered with hurt.
‘I reckon your set-up is dumb. You don’t earn much and would rather pay Deb’s parents money just forfreedomwhen you could be here, rent-free and saving. What a waste of money, and I bet you’ve had to use some of Dad’s money to pay the rent.’ His forehead creased as his eyes stared deep into mine with a look of betrayal.
Tears formed in my eyes as I tried to swallow back my emotions, but each word he said made me feel guilty. It didn’t matter to me who I paid rent to as long as I had my own space. Carlos had been like this ever since Dad passed. He saw me living out of home as abandoning our family, but that’s not the way I saw it. I got where he was coming from, though. We only hadoneparent left, and our grandparents on both sides were dead, so I guess he wanted to spend every day with Mum and me while we were all alive.Was one night a week too little to see your family?I mean I was only a phone call away, and I regularly contacted them, but I had other commitments like work, and living out of home meant I could have boys over without questions or awkwardness.
‘Carl, I don’t expect to live rent-free. I don’t want Mum to pay for my expenses. I want to be independent and earn my own money. I know it’s tough out there, but I feel proud of being a worker.’ My tone was calm and honest.
‘I’d never leave Mum, Naomi. I don’t care about this being independent stuff. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I moved on with my life and something happened to her. Family is more important to me than anything on this planet.’ His blue eyes brimmed with emotion.
‘I know, Carlos, and I think you’re such a lovely and strong person for doing this. I love our family with all my heart too.’ I sighed and fiddled with the tablecloth.
‘What a waste of talent.’
I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. ‘Huh?’ I looked at him with widened eyes.
‘You’re wasting your talent working there.’ His voice was stern, and his eyes were narrowed.
‘Why do you say that?’ My left brow shot up in interest.
‘Come on, Naomi. That Daniel bloke is a user. I mean, you’ve been working there nearly a year now, and he still hasn’t offered you a full-time position. You’re the reason for pizzas on his menu. That’s Dad’s pizza-dough recipe,remember?’
There wasn’t a day I wasn’t reminded of my work situation. Every day it seemed to come up, and, yes, that was Dad’s dough recipe, which Paul and I used as the base of the recipes we created together. And, yes, Daniel did take advantage of me, and I’d put up with it for the good paydays, but I knew they’d go back to bad again. My heart quickened at the thought of lean times. Deb was truly lucky she was full-time and that her pay wouldn’t be affected when the holidays ended. The only thing making me feel secure money-wise was my inheritance to fall back on, and I was saving that for emergencies.
‘Carlos, I get your concerns, and, yes, Daniel is a piece of work, but you know how hard it is to find work on the Coast. I’m just acook, so even if I found somewhere new to work, I would continue to get treated like just acook, which means more casual shifts in a new kitchen with new rules.’ I eyed him and watched his facial expression relax at my words.
‘Yeah, that’s true, but you deserve better than this. Dad would hate to see you in such a poor-paying job.’
I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but the words came bubbling up anyway. I was upset. ‘This isn’t the way things were supposed to be, you know. Dad and I were going to open a café together, and now he’s gone.’
‘Yeah, well, time to make other plans now.’ His tone was flat.
‘Mmmm.’
Carlos’s dedication to our small family was admirable, but his unrealistic views on money and careers got to me. Yes, Dad would want usbothto have high-paying careers, but that wasn’t going to happen at the moment.
Mum walked over with a generous serve of roast lamb and gravy, potatoes, pumpkin, and broccoli. She put Carlos’s plate down first, then mine, and lastly, hers.
Before Mum had even sat down, Carlos was already wolfing down his dinner. He stopped eating and poured a waterfall of gravy all over his food.
‘Woo. Slow down, Carl. Save some for Naomi,’ Mum said from the other end of the table as she took her seat. ‘Sorry, Mum. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.’ He looked at her with guilt written all over his face.
I took a mouthful of the lamb. It was so tender and juicy, and the flavour of rosemary and garlic danced on my taste buds.
‘Mum, you don’t give yourself enough credit. This is amazing,’ I said in satisfaction at the well-balanced flavours.
‘She’s right, Mum. You’re a great cook.’ His mouth was so full, I was surprised he could even speak.
‘Oh, you two. I love roasts, but what I love even more is that we’re all together.’ Her eyes sparkled as she held back tears.
‘Yeah, me too,’ I said with a weak smile as my lip wobbled.
We sat quietly, the only sound the scrape of cutlery on plates before Mum broke the silence. ‘Naomi, I wish I had a solution for you about work. It really makes me angry that he can pay you so little. Fifteen dollars an hour? Not only is that illegal, but it’s an insult to your skills and your upbringing with your father’s cooking.’ Mum furrowed her brows and sighed. ‘But I guess talking about it won’t change anything. It’s up to you if you want things to continue down this path.’
I took longer swallowing than I needed to before responding. ‘I know. You’re right. To be honest, sometimes I even questionwhether I like working in a kitchen anymore.’ I paused and thought about the last kitchen I worked in with Dad. It was fun with him being the head chef of the kitchen, but even so, I still couldn’t score a full-time position because the owner didn’t have enough hours to give. ‘The truth is things haven’t been great lately, Mum. Would you believe Daniel accusedmeof leaving my hair in someone’s meal?’ I winced at the memory.
Mum screwed her nose in disgust and stared at me with worried eyes. ‘Oh, Naomi. Working in a kitchen is hard work, but you love it and have always wanted to cook ever since you were a little girl. Please don’t let Daniel ruin that for you. You’re honestly an asset to that kitchen, and your boss is awful.’ She sighed. ‘There’s something certainly off about him, and not to mention, he’s patronising as well. It takes a lot of mental and physical strength to last in a job like that. He’s very lucky to have you.’
‘Thanks, Mum. You always seem to make me feel good at my most vulnerable times.’ I smiled weakly.
