Impossible to Forget(92)
So Maggie had stopped feeling bad and started looking forward to a Christmas lunch out. Romany had chosen the restaurant, a place that Maggie had taken clients to a couple of times, back when she had clients, but she didn’t remember much about it other than that it had been perfectly acceptable. It possibly wasn’t the kind of place she would have chosen for Christmas lunch but then again, wasn’t that exactly the point? A change, something new and totally unconnected to anything that Angie had done – that was the driving force behind the whole day.
She heard a car pulling up in the driveway. Leon was here. He always wanted to be in Leeds on Christmas Day morning, so that he could pop round and see his boys. This tradition would come to an end soon, she imagined. Thomas was twenty-two and would surely want to be making his own Christmases soon enough, if only to get away from the all-controlling Becky, but for now Maggie didn’t mind waking up alone on the big day and she rather enjoyed having the morning on her own, pottering about with ‘Carols from Kings’ on the sound system and a glass of something bubbly in her hand.
She slipped her feet into her shoes and took a last glance at herself in the mirror – she looked fine, she concluded, and with no need for sparkly Christmas tree earrings.
The restaurant was already busy, but there was a table for four right in the centre just sitting quietly and waiting for its occupants to arrive. It was stylishly dressed with white linen and sparkling glasses, but there were the obligatory crackers and party poppers at each place setting. You couldn’t escape Christmas entirely, then, Maggie thought, throwing a glance at Romany to see if they troubled her, but she was smiling, sharing a joke with Tiger and didn’t seem distressed. Maggie would be led by her as to whether they pulled them or dropped them discreetly to the floor.
They followed the waitress to their table and then, after a brief hesitation over seating arrangements, settled themselves down. Tiger immediately snatched up a cracker and offered one end to Romany. So much for his sensitivity, Maggie thought, but Romany seemed to accept it in the spirit that it had been offered, and soon everything that could be pulled had been and they were all sitting there in jaunty paper hats and squinting at terrible jokes.
‘This is great,’ said Romany, who somehow managed to look stylish in her yellow cracker crown. ‘Thanks so much everyone.’
No doubt someone would have to mention Angie at some point in the proceedings, but not just yet, Maggie thought. Leon also appeared to be thinking that the moment needed to be delayed as he reached for the drinks menu.
‘Shall we order some wine?’ he asked, and they all jumped at the chance to focus on something other than the absence of Angie as a discussion on what type and how much ensued. After that there was much cooing over the menu, which gave a choice of several dishes for each course but with no turkey in sight.
Conversation began, opening with Romany’s offer from Durham and the trip that she and Tiger had taken to look round, and then moving on to more random topics as the wine flowed. The meal was interspersed with various amuse-bouche and complimentary extras that they all passed judgement on, favourable or otherwise depending on taste. They were just finishing their main courses when a loud clapping started up behind them. Maggie turned to see that the chef and his team, all in glowing whites, had emerged from the kitchen to take applause. Maggie thought it a little pretentious, but perhaps it was a Christmas Day thing, which seemed fair enough when all the kitchen and waiting staff had sacrificed their own family Christmases to make their guests’ days perfect.
Maggie turned in her seat so that she was facing the team, and then joined in the clapping. It seemed to be going on for an inordinate length of time, to her mind at least, and so she let her eye run along the line. It settled on the oldest, who was standing in the middle wearing a tall chef’s hat and beaming. He was probably the main man, she thought. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him.
The hubbub died down and the team headed back into the kitchen to prepare dessert. What was left of Maggie’s meal had gone cold and so she put her knife and fork down, ready to wait for whatever was coming next. She was hardly going to go hungry, given the amount of food they had been served.
Then she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned round to see Hope standing there. Guilt flooded Maggie at once and she could feel heat roaring into her face. How had Hope found out? Was she, just like the bad fairy in Sleeping Beauty, going to make an embarrassing fuss about not having been invited to the party? It was, of course, unlikely, but Maggie couldn’t help but feel terrible that they were so obviously all there without her.
But Hope was smiling broadly. She looked stunning in an elegantly cut black cocktail dress with sparkles cascading down the front like a diamanté waterfall.
‘Hi everyone,’ she said, quickly bestowing a dazzling smile on each of them that left Tiger barely able to close his mouth. Maggie’s irritation began to fizz. Could he not show a bit more self-control? It was pathetic, it really was. She didn’t look to see what effect Hope was having on Leon.
‘Hi Romany,’ Hope continued, ‘and merry Christmas. Are you having a lovely time?’
‘Hi,’ said Romany. ‘Merry Christmas to you too. Yes, we are, thanks. What are you doing here? Are you eating?’ Romany looked around the room, trying to identify which group Hope was with.
‘No such luck. I’m working,’ replied Hope with a little shrug that made Maggie want to roll her eyes. ‘This is my boyfriend Daniel’s place. It’s all hands to the pump today, so rather than sitting at home eating chocolate on my own, I thought I’d come in and help out.’