An Unlocked Mind (Secrets #2)(51)

Rob took a deep breath, focused not so much on breaking an egg correctly, but on showing Vic that he could do this. This time the egg broke cleanly, and he pulled it apart, the golden yolk and thick white falling into the bowl with no trace of shell.

“Much better.”

Vic’s praise warmed him, and in no time, five eggs filled the bowl. After mixing them, Rob looked to Vic for more instructions.

Vic handed him the pack of butter. “A generous dollop of this into the frying pan, please. Then let it melt on a low heat.”

Rob rolled his eyes. “I can melt butter, you know.”

Vic regarded him steadily. “I don’t doubt it. I’m just pointing out that I want the butter gently heated, rather than bubbling away until it’s smoking.”

“This would be the low part of low and slow, right?” Rob grinned. “See? I listen.”

“Relieved to hear it, except you’ve taken your eyes off the butter.” Vic’s smirked.

Rob darted his gaze back to the pan, but the yellow mass had only just begun to spread out in a gold liquid over the black surface.

“Now, add the eggs. You’re going to keep them moving in the pan with this spatula,” Vic told him. “The trick is to keep them from sticking to it, until they begin to coalesce. We want them to be soft and creamy, not rubber bullets.”

Rob nodded, this time not taking his eyes off the pan. I can do this. Any idiot can cook eggs. He poured the mixture into the pan and began pushing the spatula through it. When a minute had gone by with no change, he moved to turn up the heat.

“Leave it where it is,” Vic said instantly.

“It’s too low. Look, they’re not cooking.” Even as the words left his lips, he noticed how the eggs had begun to solidify a little around the edge of the pan.

“See?” To Vic’s credit, he didn’t sound smug. “Now, keep the eggs on the move. The next trick is knowing when to stop.”

Rob did as he was told, his gaze fixed on the pan. “I sort of thought you stopped when they’re cooked.”

“Ah, but when is that? You have to stop before they start to get too firm. And a trick worth knowing: leave them standing in the pan after you’ve turned off the heat. Because they still carry on cooking for a little while. So you might think you’re stopping too early, because they still look a little runny, but trust me—they won’t be by the time they reach the table.” Vic paused. “And don’t forget you still have toast to do.”

“Toast?” The word came out as a squeak. “I don’t have friggin’ time to do toast. I’m too busy watching the bloody eggs!”

Vic laughed out loud. “Relax, Jamie Oliver. I’ll see to the toast. You just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Rob tuned him out and concentrated on the eggs. I am not going to screw this up.

He hoped.




“BREAKFAST WAS very good, Rob.”

Pride rushed through Rob. It was amazing how such a simple thing as successfully making scrambled eggs made him feel like he’d achieved something. Then it hit him. When was the last time someone complimented me on my work? The instances had been few and far between.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. He stood and began to gather the dishes until Vic stopped him.

“I’ll get these. Now that you’ve eaten and are in a relaxed frame of mind, we’re going to start working on meditation today. Go into the lounge and wait for me. As soon as I finish up in here, I’ll come in to help you. While you’re in there, I want you to think about nothing.”

Rob frowned. “That’s impossible.”

Vic tapped Rob lightly on the temple. “Everything you’ve got going on up here is going to blot out anything you want to accomplish. You’ve got to learn to let it go and live in the moment. Problems will always be there, but we need to figure out the best way to deal with them. I’ve found that instead of letting them overwhelm me, I concentrate on one at a time and work through it before I try to tackle another. So go sit and do your best to clear your mind.”

It seemed to be one of the craziest things Rob had ever heard, but Vic hadn’t steered him wrong so far. He walked into the lounge and sat down, the clanking of the plates in the background. He closed his eyes and tried to wish away all the things in his mind, but they were too ingrained. They’d been part of him since the day Alex had walked out of their lives and Rob had accepted the blame.

“Whatever it is you’re thinking about, it’s not nothing. Did you even try to do as I asked you?”

Rob opened his eyes to find Vic standing in front of him, arms folded across his wide chest. Annoyance raced to the fore. Of course he’d tried. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you lack focus. You allow all of your problems to weigh you down.”

Rob was getting tired of this refrain. “You know what? You try being a couple thousand pounds in debt, with no job, trying to figure out how you’re going to live day to day. Every fucked-up decision I ever made has come back to bite me in the arse, and I deserve it, because I’ve never been anything but a little shit to people.” The more he reflected on the past, the clearer that had become.

“You’re never going to be able to come to terms with your issues if you dwell on every single one. So this is what we’re going to do.” Vic pulled over a large floor cushion and left it in front of Rob. “I want you to kneel here, palms on your thighs. Close your eyes and focus on one thing. Not something that upsets you, because that defeats the purpose. One thing that makes you smile. We’ll call it your center.”