The Waffle House on the Pier - Tilly Tennant Page 0,97
with Luke, but she did realise that she would have to show her face at home, regardless of how much she didn’t want to. There was still much to discuss and a fractured relationship with her grandma to fix, and she wanted to do that as soon as she could. The idea of Gammy holding a grudge against her, of being hated by her, was more than Sadie could bear. And she felt braver now, buoyed by the time she’d spent with Luke, which had made her feel more special and wanted than she had in a long time.
On the way back she stopped at a florist to pick up a bouquet of summer flowers. She’d give them to April with an apology and beg for forgiveness, and maybe her grandmother, having slept on things, would be in more of a mood to forgive. It didn’t matter whether any of it was Sadie’s fault or not; it only mattered that she and Gammy got back to where they’d been before all of this blew up.
* * *
Nobody was home when she got there, so Sadie set about cleaning (not that the place needed it because Henny kept everything spotless) and making a start on a fish pie for everyone. Her grandmother, in particular, loved a pie full of juicy salmon, fat prawns and chunks of fluffy cod and creamy mashed potato – she called it food for the soul, God’s gift from the sea – and Henny had all the ingredients in, clearly planning to make one herself at some point. And by the time everything was bubbling away, the kitchen smelt so good that Sadie was beginning to think that Gammy might be right about God’s gift from the sea – it was certainly a heavenly scent, and her mouth was watering already.
An hour later Henny, Graham and April returned. Sadie’s parents had cut down their trips so they could finish early, and it had turned out to be a wise decision because the sea was getting frisky, or so her dad said, and there would be a storm before the night was out. That was OK, because before she’d left Sadie had told Luke that she probably ought to be with her family tonight in the hope of sorting out the mess they seemed to be in. As they’d spent the afternoon together he’d been OK with that. He had a house to build anyway, he’d said, and he was hardly going to do that with the sexiest woman alive distracting him. That had made her want to jump back into bed and show him just how sexy she could be, but she’d done a remarkable job of resisting the urge and here she was, ready to make peace with Gammy. Or, at least, she hoped so, because Henny wasn’t the only woman in the Schwartz family with a stubborn streak.
‘Something smells good.’ Her father took a seat in the conservatory and Sadie put a cold glass of his favourite ginger beer in front of him.
‘Fish pie,’ she said.
‘Oh, and what have we done to deserve such manna from heaven?’ he asked, taking his drink with a warm smile.
‘Nothing. I just thought I was here doing nothing and you were all out working hard so I might as well cook.’
‘If you’re going to cook every night then we might just keep you on as a parlour maid.’
‘Oi!’ Sadie admonished with a laugh. ‘Don’t worry, in light of that comment I won’t be cooking tomorrow night!’
Her mother came through, after freshening herself up, and gave Sadie a kiss on the cheek. ‘How’s your day been? Did you manage to get some rest?’
‘Yes. Thanks for taking Gammy with you…’ Sadie looked around. ‘Where is she, by the way?’
‘She’s gone for a lie-down – she said she had a headache.’
‘Oh. I got… never mind, I can give them to her later. How has she been today?’
‘Complaining. I’ve never heard anyone complain so much. And I’m afraid her memory has been quite sharp today, because she’s told just about everyone who would listen what happened in our house last night, word for word.’
‘So everyone thinks it’s my fault the waffle house is closed?’
‘Don’t worry, we set the record straight where we could. But I think we’re going to have to grin and bear it for a while, until things settle and she’s a little happier.’
‘You mean I’m going to have to grin and bear it? She’s not blaming anyone else.’