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While Flick was in the office, Sabrina cleaned the loos and put in fresh loo paper from the stores, filled up the soap containers and emptied the bins. She was introduced to the sous chef Antonio, who was actually Tony from Whitby, but he wanted to be Italian so they’d made him an honorary one. She mopped the restaurant floor, polished the cutlery and set the tables. She did jobs she wasn’t asked to but thought they might need doing like wiping down the laminated specials menus, giving the stainless steel coffee pots a good polish and watering the plants.
Teddy’s cousins – their father Luca was Salvatore’s younger brother – Niccolo and Roberto turned up just before twelve and greeted her with big curves of smiles. They were young, good-looking Italians who didn’t take life too seriously and Sabrina liked them on sight. She guessed, despite their flippancy, they were hard workers because she didn’t think Teddy would tolerate slackers, family or not.
George arrived then, whose job it was mainly to make pizzas in the wood-fired oven in an adjoining room. ‘Proof that anyone given the proper training can make good pizzas,’ Teddy explained to her. ‘Even an old Greek.’
‘Less of the old, I’m only sixty-one,’ George threw back with some choice words of Greek and Teddy threw a mouthful of Italian back at him and Sabrina thought that this must be how it always was between them, this cheerful banter disguised as warfare; it smacked of people who were fond of each other.
When the first people for lunch turned up, Sabrina’s dutieswere transferred into the kitchen. Teddy set her on cutting up onions and peppers and mushrooms and grating garlic because he never crushed it, he said, and crossed himself as if it was on some sort of sin scale to do so. While she was chopping, she was observing. She liked the buzz, the theatrics of the waiters conversing with each other in their native tongue, even though Teddy told them at least twice to tweak down the volume. She noticed how many people seemed to be grabbing a quick lunch, no starters, no desserts, and she noticed how many were walking in only to be turned away because there were no tables free. And she knew that whatever was blocked in her brain, the corporate analyst part of it was running as well as it ever was.
They had a break at two-thirty. Teddy said that she could stay or go until five. She stayed and ate with them all around the big table and just absorbed the chat, also answering the odd question although they all knew that she’d lost her memory and was working here in the hope it would help her get it back; and she was glad they knew because she had nothing to hide from these kind people. She turned down a pudding though Flick didn’t: a slice of lemon cheesecake that was the size of a house brick. Then when the others, all except Teddy, went off until the dinner shift, she carried on cleaning.
‘You don’t have to,’ he said.
‘What else am I going to do?’ she replied. Whoever they’d had in cleaning before had done an okay job but her standards were higher.
She thought that he should have dimmable lights for the evening customers, they were too harsh at present, and candles with real flames rather than the battery-operated ones. It was all good, but it could be better. There was a much moreintimate feel to the evening and little touches and changes would add to that.
The last diners left at ten but no one rushed them to finish, no one shut the door as soon as they were out of it and bolted it; there was no air ofWe’ve got your money, now on your way.
‘You look knackered,’ said Flick to Sabrina.
‘I’m fine,’ she said, but she did feel very weary now. She started to lift up the chairs and put them on the tables, but Teddy told her to stop.
‘Do that tomorrow,’ he said. ‘We don’t open Sundays; we just get ready for Monday. So ten till three please.’
‘I’m not in,’ said Flick, stretching her long arms up and yawning. ‘Just you and Uncle Teddy. Won’t that be nice for you, Sabrina? Right, I’m off to bed. Goodnight, everyone.’
‘Okay, I’m coming,’ said Teddy, darting out of the kitchen to escort her.
‘Oh for god’s sake, I’m only around the corner.’
‘I know this but it’s late,’ he said and followed her out, and Sabrina thought what an enviable relationship they had, so close. She was just putting her jacket on when he returned.
‘I’ll give you a lift,’ he said, picking up a pizza box from the counter. ‘Here’s your supper.’
‘It’s fine, I—’
‘Don’t you dare turn down one of my pizzas,’ said George, wagging his finger at her.
‘Okay, I won’t,’ she smiled in return.
Everyone filed out and said goodnight, Teddy locked up and he and Sabrina walked out to his Golf in the restaurant car park.
‘I pass by my mother’s house so it would be stupid not to drop you off. And even if I weren’t it would be about a minute out of my way,’ he said, getting in.
‘Well thank you, it’s much appreciated. Do you live nearby?’ she asked, clipping in her seat belt.
‘A mile away,’ he said. ‘I’m renting somewhere at the moment so when I find a house I’m not in a chain. I sold mine recently. No doubt my mother told you that I bought it with someone who dumped me less than a month after we completed.’
‘No, she didn’t actually,’ said Sabrina.
‘Ah, sorry then, I thought she might have because she tells everyone.’ He laughed. ‘And also that my ex-fiancée emigrated to Australia and it still isn’t far enough away for my mum.’
Australia.Her daughter was there. She had a strong feeling she’d told her she’d be in touch as soon as she was settled and not to worry if she didn’t hear from her in the meantime. But that was before all this happened.
‘You okay? You look deep in thought,’ said Teddy.
‘I was thinking about my daughter. She’s over there now and I don’t know what she’ll do if she needs me and can’t get hold of me.’
