‘Is everything OK?’ Caroline asked, as she and Meredith set the tables for the evening’s service. ‘You seem a little quieter than usual.’
Meredith looked up from the place she was setting and gave Caroline a brief smile but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘I’m fine. A bit tired, I guess.’
‘Schoolwork getting heavy?’
‘Something like that.’ Meredith dropped her eyes to the table again. Caroline was an excellent reader of people and she knew exactly when something was amiss with a colleague; it was part of what made her such an effective manager. Meredith’s A Level courses were in full swing now and Caroline wondered if perhaps the stress was starting to tell on her. The jump from GCSE to A Level was a big one, even for a bright student like Meredith. Caroline needed her team to be at their best during service, but more than that, she wanted them to be as settled as possible in their roles, so she decided to do a little probing.
‘Come and grab a hot chocolate with me. We’ve got a new brand in that I could do with testing, and there’s time before the others arrive.’ Meredith was always punctual for her shifts but recently she’d been coming in earlier and earlier. Caroline had noticed this for a couple of weeks but hadn’t pushed Meredith on it; to be truthful she was grateful for the extra help.
Meredith finished laying out the handful of cutlery she was holding and followed Caroline to the bar. Caroline observed her as she sat on one of the stools on the other side. She looked tired and a little fidgety, and more and more like there was something on her mind. This would be a tricky one to navigate; on the one hand, Caroline had concerns as Meredith’s employer; but on the other, she was virtually family, being Anna’s new stepdaughter. She’d have to tread carefully.
‘Is everything OK?’ Caroline asked, handing her a cup of steaming hot chocolate.
Meredith took a sip, clearly trying to compose her thoughts. ‘Not really,’ she conceded.
‘Anything I can help with?’
‘Promise you won’t say anything to Dad or Anna?’
‘If there’s something worrying you, I can do my best to help,’ Caroline said. She was wary of promising absolute confidentiality; the affairs of teenagers could be complex at the best of times. She hoped to god Meredith wasn’t going to tell her she was pregnant. She didn’t know how serious things were between Meredith and her boyfriend, but she could hazard a guess that, since they’d been together a while, things might be heading in that direction.
‘It seems so silly,’ Meredith said. ‘And really, I thought I’d be fine with it, but…’
‘What is it, Merry?’
Meredith took a deep breath. ‘It’s the baby.’
Caroline bit her tongue before she blurted out what she’d been thinking and hoped it was the new addition to the family Meredith was talking about. ‘What about the baby?’
‘I know it’s stupid,’ Meredith confessed. ‘But I feel like it’s taken over everything at home and it hasn’t even been born yet. The other day, when me and Anna were supposed to be shopping in Bristol for a dress for the sixth form Christmas party, Anna dashed off to pick up a few things for the baby and left me to go round the shops by myself. I was really looking forward to seeing what she thought of the dresses I found, but by the time she came back the parking ticket had nearly run out and we had to go home. Dad’s been rushed off his feet again at work because he hates delegating to Uncle Jonathan, and when he is at home all he and Anna can talk about is Ellie’s first term at school and this stupid murder mystery evening.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry. I know that’s going to be a really big deal for The Cider Kitchen.’
‘No problem,’ Caroline said, surprised at just how much Meredith was confiding in her.
‘I know it sounds selfish,’ Meredith continued, ‘but it feels like neither of them has even asked me about my life for months, except to nag me to get some more work done.’
Caroline regarded Meredith sympathetically. ‘It’s a big change for all of you,’ she said, ‘and it’s going to take a while to get used to. My brother James once told me that when Mum and Dad broke the news to him about Mum being pregnant with me, he trashed his train set and threw his favourite teddy out of the car window on the motorway! Mind you, he was only little.’ She took another sip of her hot chocolate, which was rich, velvety and definitely going on the menu. ‘You’re nearly seventeen and about to start a whole new chapter of your life; it’s only natural that you want to feel as though they’re interested in that. And I know that they are, it’s just that they’re so new to being married and with a baby in the picture too, they probably feel a bit overwhelmed themselves.’ It couldn’t have been easy for Meredith either, Caroline thought, sharing her father with a new wife, a stepsister and soon a new baby. No wonder she was feeling pushed out.
‘I guess,’ Meredith said. ‘And it has all happened really quickly. What with Flynn going away to Oxford as well, I just feel like no-one’s really got time to listen to me at the moment. All he can talk about is his reading list, what he should take with him, what it’s going to be like. I don’t want him to forget about me, either.’ She blinked furiously and stared down into her mug.
Caroline smiled. ‘I’m sure he won’t,’ she said gently. ‘He’s got a lot on, too. Look, why don’t you try to get some time alone with your dad and Anna? I’m sure they’d want to know how you’re feeling. Perhaps the three of you could go out to dinner, catch up with each other away from the house and the day to day stress. I could babysit Ellie for the evening so you can talk uninterrupted if you like.’
‘Would you?’ Meredith looked hopeful. ‘That would be great. I know it sounds stupid, but I want to be able to talk to them about my stuff for a change, like we used to.’
Caroline could see that Meredith was having trouble adjusting to her new family setup, much as she also liked it. ‘I’m sure they’d love to do that. Why don’t you sort out a date and let me know? Give me a bit of notice so I can arrange some cover in this place, though.’
‘Thanks, Caroline,’ Meredith said, looking much happier than she had a few minutes ago. ‘It’s good to get that off my chest.’
‘No problem.’ Caroline took the cups off the bar. ‘Now, we’d better get these into the dishwasher and finish setting up before the first bookings arrive.’ She walked through to the kitchen, feeling hopeful that she’d put Meredith’s mind at rest. She’d enjoy babysitting Ellie, anyway. One of the nice things about living in Little Somerby was seeing more of her niece, although she’d not seen as much of her as she’d have liked recently since The Cider Kitchen had been so busy. At least babysitting her for an evening would give her a little more time with her.
*
As good as her word, and taking her first Friday night off since the restaurant opened, a couple of weeks later Caroline leaned back against the soft fabric of the living room sofa at Cowslip Barn and finally started to relax. Ellie was curled up next to her, blonde head resting on her lap. The four year old had lost the battle against sleep during the last twenty minutes of her current favourite film, ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’. Much to Caroline’s relief, the film had turned out to have enough in jokes for an adult viewer not to get bored and a rather good soundtrack, so she’d allowed Ellie to stay up a little later than Anna had suggested and watch the whole thing. After performing an impromptu dance routine to a few of the musical numbers in the film, followed by a bellyful of cheesecake that Caroline had brought over from the restaurant, the little girl had lost the battle and crashed out. Caroline knew she ought to carry Ellie upstairs but she was enjoying being snuggled on the sofa with her and was reluctant to risk waking her. As the film ended and the credits rolled she shifted on the sofa, reaching for the remote control and trying not to disturb Ellie. She was quite tired herself and was starting to doze off when a voice came drifting through from the kitchen. Caroline switched off the DVD as Jonathan appeared at the living room door.
‘Ssh,’ Caroline whispered, putting a finger to her lips and then pointing to Ellie.
‘Sorry,’ Jonathan mouthed, a gentle smile on his face as he caught sight of his step niece.
‘It’s OK,’ Caroline stroked Ellie’s hair back from her face. ‘I should probably take her up to bed anyway.’
‘Do you need a hand?’ Jonathan asked.
‘No thanks, I can manage,’ Caroline said, standing up and gathering the snoozing child into her arms. ‘But if you like you can put the kettle on.’ Ellie mumbled in protest but then snuggled down onto her shoulder and drifted back off again. ‘I won’t be a minute.’
Caroline mounted the stairs to Ellie’s bedroom and only then realised she hadn’t actually asked Jonathan what he wanted. Settling the little girl into bed with her favourite toy rabbit, she pulled the bedroom door nearly closed and then headed back down the stairs.
Jonathan had boiled the kettle and was pouring water into two mugs when she padded through to the kitchen.
‘Did she go down all right?’ he asked, handing Caroline a mug of tea once he’d added some milk.
Caroline smiled. ‘She was knackered. She’d treated me to a recital of all of her best dance moves before watching the film.’
‘Sounds cute.’
‘It was.’ Caroline sipped her tea. ‘It’s nice to spend a bit of one on one time with her. I’ve been so busy with the restaurant lately, I’ve almost forgotten why I chose to move here in the first place.’
‘What, it’s not just because some handsome cider farmer made you a decent job offer?’ Jonathan quipped, sipping his own tea.
‘Well, there was that,’ Caroline conceded. ‘Were you after Matthew? He, Anna and Merry have gone out to dinner.’
‘I’m glad they’re spending a bit of time together,’ Jonathan said. ‘I’ve been so busy I haven’t seen much of Merry lately and I do worry that she’s going to find A Levels stressful.’
Caroline wondered if she should let Jonathan know about the conversation she’d had with Meredith. After all, the two were close, and he did seem concerned. But should she break Meredith’s confidence? Erring on the side of caution, she settled for, ‘she’s working very hard and she did mention she felt a bit left out of Flynn’s university excitement. Hopefully Anna and Matthew can put her mind at rest.’
‘She likes you enough to admit that,’ Jonathan said. ‘And she’s an excellent judge of character so I’d be flattered.’
Caroline blushed. ‘Thanks. She’s so lovely, I just didn’t like seeing her so down. And as her manager, I need her to be as happy and settled as she can be.’
‘I’m sure she appreciated the friendly ear,’ Jonathan said. ‘I knew you’d be great with your staff. You’ve got a knack of getting the best out of people.’
‘Not everyone,’ Caroline said unguardedly, thinking of one person in particular from her recent past. ‘I mean… sometimes all you have to do is listen.’ She put her empty mug down on the table. ‘Which is why I meant to ask before we sat down – was there something you wanted?’
‘Doesn’t matter, it can wait until tomorrow,’ Jonathan said. ‘I was just going through the paperwork for something and wanted to check a couple of things with the boss.’
‘You, working in the evenings? Will wonders never cease? All work and no play and all that.’
‘There don’t seem to be enough hours in the day at the moment,’ Jonathan sighed, putting down his own mug and leaning back in his chair. ‘But things have been busy lately. We’re looking for new orchards all the time, and as the business grows, so does the territory we cover. Along with the growing sites we own, we work closely with landowners who want to retain ownership of their own orchards rather than sell them to us, and sometimes that can lead to some wrangling about how best to maintain them.’ He smiled apologetically. ‘I’m sorry, this isn’t exactly exciting, is it? I bet you’ve been rushed off your feet, too, although it’s great that The Cider Kitchen is doing so well.’
Caroline nodded. ‘It has been quite hectic, but I’m glad. I think word’s spreading. We’re fully booked for the next four weeks and already taking bookings for Christmas functions.’
‘That’s great. So who’s in charge tonight, if you’re here?’ Jonathan asked.
‘Emma’s covering front of house. She seems really keen to learn about the front end as well as the kitchen side of things, so I thought I’d let her take the lead for a few hours tonight. She’s got amazing backup from the rest of the team and I’ve left her with instructions and my mobile number, so she’ll be fine.’
‘I like that you’ve got such confidence in her,’ Jonathan said. ‘She’s the kind of asset that should be looked after – we need as many good people as we can get to keep the restaurant turning over well.’ He put his tea mug down on the table. ‘But it definitely wouldn’t be working half so well without you in charge.’
‘Careful,’ Caroline smiled. ‘That was almost a compliment.’
‘You know me,’ Jonathan said. ‘Praise where it’s due.’
They sat in companionable silence for a moment or two. Then, with an air of reluctance, Jonathan stood up. ‘I should probably head back.’
‘You can stay and keep me company if you want,’ Caroline said. ‘Matthew, Anna and Merry will be back soon.’
‘Thanks, lovely, but I told Dad I wouldn’t be long.’ A shadow crossed Jonathan’s features. ‘He had a bit of a funny turn last night; he’s claiming he’s taking his heart medication properly but when I checked the packets this morning he’d skipped a couple of doses. Denied all knowledge when I asked him about it.’
‘Oh dear,’ Caroline responded. ‘I hope he’ll be OK. Let me know if I can do anything to help.’
‘Thanks,’ Jonathan said, then brightened. ‘The copy of the picture of me, him and Matthew really cheered him up when he saw it. Thanks for getting it framed for him.’
‘It was a pleasure,’ Caroline said. ‘I’m really glad he liked it.’
There was a pause between them again. Caroline reached over for Jonathan’s mug and as she did so, their fingers touched. ‘Sorry,’ she blushed.
‘No problem.’ Jonathan withdrew his hand and Caroline took both mugs to the dishwasher.
‘I’ll see you later in the week,’ Jonathan said, making for the back door.
‘See you soon,’ Caroline echoed. As he left, she had a sudden image of the two of them curled up on the sofa together watching something a little more grown up than Hotel Transylvania 2. She wondered what film he’d have chosen. Shaking her head, she headed back to the lounge to keep an ear out for Ellie. Business, not pleasure, she reminded herself, settling back to wait for Matthew, Anna and Meredith to get home.