“Thanks, love. I just wish more customers thought that too.” I bent over and leant on the counter. “Mum’s really struggling to make ends meet and even though we’ve picked up some new orders for cakes, I worry how she’s going to pay her bills.”
Madison contemplated that for a moment. “Maybe I can get my brother to consider using you to make the cakes for his restaurants.”
“I didn’t know that Blade owned restaurants.”
“No, not Blade. My other brother. He runs four restaurants. I’m sure I can twist his arm to take on your cakes. If not, I’ll get to him through J,” she said, winking at me.
“Is J close to your brother?” Her family sounded pretty close although I didn’t really know anything about them.
“God yes, they’re best mates. Sometimes it irritates the fuck out of me.”
A shot of jealousy ran through me. I envied people with extended family; my father had died when I was young and it was only my mother and I left after that. It would have even just been good to have a brother or sister. “Must be nice though. I mean, you hear stories about in-laws who hate each other and rip families apart, so for your brother and your boyfriend to get on that well would make it easier.”
She nodded. “Yeah, you’re right there. Hey, what you are you doing on Sunday?”
“I’ve got the day off. Why?”
“I’m having a barbeque at my house and I want you to come.”
This surprised me; we weren’t exactly friends. “Ah, sure.”
She laughed. “I know that we don’t know each other very well but I’d like to get to know you better. You up for it?”
When she put it like that, I realised that I’d like to get to know her more too. I didn’t have a lot of friends in Brisbane yet. “I’m in. What do you want me to bring?”
“Just yourself and anything you want to drink.”
“How about I bring some cake too?” I’d make one of Mum’s red velvet cakes. They were always a hit at parties.
“Sure, honey. That sounds great.” She started searching through her bag again, retrieving her phone. “I better go otherwise I’ll be late for work. Thanks for the coffee. I’ll probably see you tomorrow.” Swiping her keys off the counter, she turned to leave but then looked back at me. “Thanks for listening to me whinge. I don’t have many friends in Brisbane so it’s nice to have you. I’d better get your phone number and then I can text you my address.”
Smiling, because she’d said what I’d been thinking too, I rattled off my number for her. She keyed it in to her phone and then thanked me one last time before leaving to go to work. I was really looking forward to Sunday now; meeting Madison’s family and friends would be fun if they were even half as nice as her. Her boyfriend, J, intrigued me; I wasn’t sure what he did for a living or why he was away for so long, but the way that Madison talked about him made me think he was a nice guy.
Chapter 5
Scott
Juggling a tray of steaks, a tray of sausages and a huge bottle of tomato sauce, I strode through J’s front door and down the hall towards the back of his house. Out of the corner of my eye, I vaguely took in the paint tins on the floor near the back door and the pile of paint chips on the kitchen table. Madison must have gotten her way; she wanted to repaint the house but I knew that J hadn’t been keen. She had him wrapped around her little fucking finger.
I placed the food on the kitchen bench and surveyed the back yard where they had everything set up. J had a large undercover area outside; it was usually where we liked to drink and shoot the shit but now that Madison was around, I could see more of these barbeques happening.
“Scott, you made it,” Madison said as she approached the back door from outside. “Did you bring the meat?”
“Yeah, you want it outside now?”
“Not yet. Why are you late?” She slid the door open and came inside.
“I had to deal with Lisa’s cat again. That fucking cat has a death wish and it doesn’t help that Michelle couldn’t give a shit.”
Madison started pulling food out of the fridge and then said, “God, I dislike that woman so much. What happened to Monty now?”
I leant against the counter. “He got out of the house when he should have been inside. Then he climbed a fucking tree and I had to get him down.”
She started laughing. “You climbed a tree?” she asked.
“Yes, I climbed a tree. The fucking cat jumped down so it was a waste of time. Anyway, Lisa caught him and got him back inside. So, crisis averted, but I had strong words with Michelle. That bitch really needs to get her shit together.”
Madison went quiet and I knew what she was thinking. I reached out and lifted her chin so she was looking at me rather than the floor. “You’re nothing like her. You’re working on your shit, handling it; she doesn’t give a fuck. And she should because she’s got a kid. Okay?”