Yes Chef, No Chef - By Susan Willis Page 0,26
when we get home…”
The other women at the table looked embarrassed and the men shuffled uncomfortably in their seats. Katie seethed at his revolting arrogance and was gearing herself up to fire another caustic comment at him when Terry, a divorcee from the planning department, stepped in as peacemaker and agreed it was hard to find good local places to eat.
Looking around the table at everyone, Terry said, “But really, it’s not a restaurant I’m looking for, it’s a cook. I want to find someone to cook for me at home so I can impress Jessica with my new apartment on Richmond Hill.”
Katie teased him gently. “Oh my, it must be getting serious now, is it?”
Terry blushed. “Yes, well I think so. But I want the first time she comes to my new place to be special. Do you know anyone, Katie? Would your Tim do it?”
The upset at the mention of Tim’s name made her catch her breath. “D…Don’t think it’s his type of thing, Terry.”
Terry winked kindly at her and then grinning he joked, “Hey Fran, do you fancy cooking for me?”
Frances tossed her wild hair back and swallowed a mouthful of mince. “Yeah, that’ll be right enough. Buy yourself a bloody cookbook!”
Everyone erupted into laughter. One of the sales secretaries’ suggested looking for a catering company to do the job but Terry pulled a face. “I’ve tried that, they only have professional chefs who charge a bomb when the meal is for small numbers. And, I’d rather have someone I know that would cook great food with none of that pretentious nonsense.”
James added, “I know, I hate that bloody nouvelle cuisine, all that means is you get less food on a huge plate for twice the price! A friend of ours calls it fancy food with foams and drizzles and micro-leaves. Yuk! Well, if you find someone to cook for you, Terry, let me know. And then I can get them to do the special dinner at home for us too.”
All of a sudden Frances jumped up from her seat. “Of course, bloody-hell, why didn’t I think of it sooner,” she cried and shot off across the room to a table where Susan and the team of personnel were eating.
Back in the office Katie wondered if she should ring Tim. Maybe he hadn’t received her email last night but there again she knew if she rang him he’d probably be busy in the restaurant and she didn’t want to chance leaving a message with a wobbly voice. But Christ, this had to be sorted out because as far as she could see she seemed to be the only one who was suffering.
Frances appeared at Katie’s desk breathless from hurrying up the stairs. She stroked the back of Katie’s hair in a motherly fashion and for one split second she could have put her face into Frances’s soft warm body and wept like a baby.
“Now, I have news,” Frances said excitedly. “Just hear me out before you say anything. My sister, Susan has a friend called Claire who has gone off this week to Africa for two months. Before she went she’d tried to find someone to rent her flat but because it was for such a short period of time nobody was interested. The flat is actually not too far from Sarah’s house in Putney and is fully furnished with one bedroom. Well, I thought if things don’t pan-out with Tim, or you feel you need more time to think but don’t want to stay at Sarah’s, how about renting the flat?”
Katie thought about it. “Hey Frances,” she said. “That’s a great idea, thanks. I’ll wait to see what response I get from this email and let you know.”
Waiting for Lisa to arrive at Sarah’s, she was showered, changed, raring to go and with her stomach groaning, she thought of the Indian menu, deciding she would choose a creamy chicken dish with her favourite mushroom pilau rice or maybe lamb biryani which was another of her all-time favourites. Her mouth watered with the thought of the pickle tray and poppadum’s, the flavours of garlic naan breads, and smiling she remembered how Tim used to tease her about her love for Indian food and her insistence of sticking with the same tried and tested dish.
Shaking the thought of Tim from her mind she went upstairs and wandered around Sarah’s studio thinking how great it would be to have your own work place one floor above you, with all