AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Clover
Clover and Brooke sat at the table in the kitchen and Clover tried not to put any pressure on Brooke while she ate. She let Brooke help herself to food from serving plates rather than piling it onto her plate and she didn’t stare at the food that Brooke left. Appetites could be tricky things and were so often linked to emotions. She understood how it felt to lose her appetite and suspected that Brooke’s would come back in time.
She had made a vegetarian lasagne packed with tomatoes, courgettes, mixed peppers and plenty of cheese and served it with garlic bread and a green salad dressed with virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It had been delicious, and they’d washed it down with a fruity red wine.
She cleared the plates away, waving her hand when Brooke tried to help, then got the dessert out of the fridge.
‘Brooke, this is a raspberry pavlova and it’s quite light so do you think you can manage a small piece?’
Brooke’s eyes lit up. ‘I love pavlova.’
‘I was hoping you might.’ She set the plate on the table, then added a large knife and two bowls. ‘Do you want some more wine with it?’ She gestured at the open bottle on the table.
‘Why not?’ Brooke giggled and as Clover sat down, she noticed the soft flush in Brooke’s cheeks and the shine in her eyes. Enjoying food and wine in a relaxed atmosphere had done Brooke good, and Clover was pleased to see how well she looked right now. And, she reminded herself, this moment in time was all anyone really had, so for now she’d enjoy seeing her friend looking better. Nourishment came via food and drink, but also in other ways, and friendship was nourishment for the soul.
They tucked into the pavlova that Clover had made using raspberries she’d picked in the autumn, then frozen, and a raspberry sauce she’d created using some of the raspberries and an almond liqueur she’d ordered online. The clotted cream, which came with a golden crust that melted on the tongue, was sourced from a local farm. The meringue was light and sweet and contrasted beautifully with the slightly tart raspberries and the sauce with a hint of alcohol.
‘This is incredible, Clover,’ Brooke said, holding her spoon up. ‘I could probably eat the whole thing in one sitting.’
‘You carry on.’ Clover grinned. ‘There’s plenty there.’
Brooke laughed. ‘I could but I won’t because I don’t want to burst. This is the biggest meal I’ve eaten in ages.’
When they’d finished and drained their glasses, Clover got up and loaded the dishwasher. ‘Shall we have coffee, Brooke?’
‘Yes please.’
Brooke picked up her phone and checked it. She’d kept it close by in case Allegra needed her and Clover totally understood. It was different in her day when she’d had Nolan’s father, Dale, of course. There had been no mobile phones back then, and so she’d had to rely on landlines and phone boxes. While she sometimes rued the way technology was taking over and had become basically essential to everyday life, she also thought that many of the advances were very positive. After all, Brooke had been able to come to dinner and not worry that herdaughter might need her and not be able to get in touch because they could stay in contact via their mobile phones. Brooke had told her over dinner that Allegra had a mobile phone, but she wasn’t allowed to have it during the night or at the dinner table. She laughed when she said that, as she had her phone on the table to be aware of any messages or calls from her daughter. She said she did her best to encourage Allegra to enjoy activities other than scrolling because it could be so bad for a person when it was their chief occupation. Clover had agreed wholeheartedly, having lost many hours to scrolling herself when she’d fallen down that particular rabbit hole. Now she tried to limit herself to one hour a day of browsing the internet because otherwise she found she could lose hours doing very little at all.
When she’d made coffee, she handed Brooke her mug, then said, ‘Shall we go and sit in the lounge?’
‘That would be nice.’ Brooke got up and followed her through the hallway and then through the doorway to the right of the staircase. The lounge was the smaller of the reception rooms and Clover had lit the fire earlier, so it was warm in there.
They sat at either end of the largest sofa and gazed at the fire. The room was lit with two floor lamps and the golden glow of firelight and it was perfectly cosy.
‘It’s lovely in here,’ Brooke said.
‘I’m glad you think so. It needed a freshen up last summer, so I had Ethan come and paint for me and his wife Lila made the new cushion covers and curtains. She’s very talented with a sewing machine if you ever need anything like that. She has a website where she also sells crocheted toys and other things. I discovered material I liked for the curtains and commissioned Lila to make them.’
Brooke nodded. ‘I love the dark green with the lighter swirls and the cushion covers.’
‘Me too.’ Clover looked at the soft furnishings. ‘Green is my favourite colour because it reminds me of nature.’
‘Like being out in a forest,’ Brooke said.
‘Exactly that.’ Clover sipped her coffee and sat back, feeling the onset of the aches and pains that sometimes crept in after a long day start to settle into her bones. She was very active and exercise helped a lot but she was still over eighty and she suspected it was natural that she’d experience some aches from time to time.
‘Hello!’ A voice called from the hallway, causing Brooke to jolt as if she had been shocked with an electric prod.
‘We’re in the lounge, Nolan.’
Clover noticed how Brooke sat up straight and pushed her hair behind her ears. ‘Doesn’t he have a date?’ Brooke whispered.
‘Nolan? Noooo.’ Clover shook her head. ‘I can’t remember the last time he had one to be honest.’
‘But why?’ Brooke frowned. ‘He’s lovely.’ Her eyes widened and her lips parted. ‘I mean … I meant that … he’s?—’
‘It’s OK, Brooke. He is lovely and I have no idea why he doesn’t date. Other than the fact that he’s so busy with work and seems happy as he is. I’d love for him to find someone but so far, he hasn’t.’
