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The mains were mediocre too. The crust on his pizza could break teeth and he found the ham slimy. George certainly had nothing to worry about. No one offered Sabrina a hearty grind of black pepper or a snowfall of freshly grated parmesan for her spag bol. She abandoned it halfway through after finding the second bit of gristle in the meat. Cheap mince, clearly. When she picked up the salt pot, she found it coated in dried sauce.
‘I’d love to see their kitchen,’ said Teddy. ‘I’m sure it passes muster but it won’t be to the standard of my restaurant. I’ve always had top hygiene ratings. But I have to say, you’ve brought an extra shine to everything, Sabrina.’
He meant it literally but it sounded flirty. He needn’t have worried because she didn’t notice.
‘There’s something really satisfying about scrubbing at things and getting them clean,’ she replied.
‘Maybe you’re… subconsciously trying to scrub at your life to find out what’s hidden?’ Teddy suggested.
‘Or maybe I just like cleaning, who knows?’ She smiled, but she did think that she must have liked it in her other existence too.
Eventually, after a very long wait, the desserts arrived: tiramisu for Sabrina and a cheesecake for Teddy – bought in, he could tell.
‘I bet you’ll be lost without Flick when she’s gone to uni.’
‘I will. She’s very keen to go. I think you’ve given her ideas. How’s your tiramisu?’
‘Horrendously sweet. And flavoured with a nasty rum essence.’
‘Can I try?’ asked Teddy.
Sabrina pushed the dish over so he could stick his spoon into it.
‘Everything tastes cheap, doesn’t it?’ was his judgement.
‘Because itischeap. They aren’t focusing on quality. Cheap and cheerful, except they need to seriously work on the cheerful part. I wonder if they have a mission statement. Do you, Teddy?’
‘Yes, to get through every shift without killing someone,’ he replied, grimacing at the first mouthful of his cheesecake.
‘You don’t mean that.’
‘You’re right, I don’t.’ Teddy put his spoon down. ‘I can’t eat any more of thismerda.’
‘You’re very passionate,’ she said, adding quickly for clarity, ‘about your food.’
‘I’m passionate for the things I care about, Sabrina,’ he said with feeling. ‘My work, my people.’
She had a sudden flash thought of what he might be like in bed and shooed it off before it brought a blush to hercheeks. She imagined he would be a lot more satisfying than her tiramisu.
Teddy paid the bill with his card but handed over a generous cash tip and told their waitress that it was just for her. Sabrina liked that he did that.
‘Ooh, cheers,’ said the waitress. ‘We aren’t supposed to keep tips though. We have to shove them in a jar and it goes towards a Christmas night out.’ She pulled a face. ‘I’ll not even be here then.’
‘Are you leaving?’ asked Sabrina, seeing a good opportunity for some info.
‘I’ve got another job.’ The waitress looked at her watch and made a quick calculation. ‘In twenty-nine hours exactly I’ll be walking out of that door and never coming back.’ Her tone suggested she was really happy about it too.
‘You looked rushed,’ Sabrina said, with her best sympathetic voice.
‘No staff. They can’t keep them. It’s shit here. Shit food, shit hours, shit conditions, shit pay, shit bosses…’ She gasped then. ‘Oh god, you aren’t mystery diners, are you?’
‘No,’ said Teddy, smiling at her. ‘Don’t worry.’
‘Shame really. I wouldn’t mind being sacked on the spot.’
‘Good luck,’ said Teddy. ‘And do keep the tip for yourself.’
‘Interesting,’ said Sabrina as they walked out. ‘High staff turnover rates are very telling and don’t add anything to stability.’ Then she noticed something she hadn’t seen on the way there. Across the road was a vacant building with signage indicating it was a commercial property available to rent. In faded lettering above the door was the name ‘Luigi’s’. A little restaurant bullied out of business by the big boy across the street? It looked very much like that.
