Yes Chef, No Chef

chapter Twenty- Two



"Sounds fab," Katie said excitedly. "I’ll make some bites to eat and get a bottle of champagne." Ending the call on her mobile to Sarah she decided this would be the perfect opportunity to make it up to her friends and hurried into the kitchen to check her supplies. Considering it was only the last few days of March it was unusually warm and Sarah had suggested getting out of the city for the day and heading down to Brighton beach for some much needed fresh air. And Katie decided as she hadn’t seen them for a couple of days this would be the ideal time to tell them about Tim.

Wandering around the cash and carry she stocked up on essentials, detergent, bleach, kitchen rolls, and J-cloths and then called into Waitrose where she bought fruit, chocolate, strawberries, and a bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne.

Leaving the supermarket with the bottle tucked under her arm she struggled to read a text from Lisa. Apparently she had her boss’s convertible car for the drive to Brighton which meant that even if they got stuck in busy traffic at least they'd be cool and comfortable. Lisa had also asked Katie to keep the food a secret until they got there so it would be a delicious surprise. Smiling at the text she headed towards the car and loaded her groceries onto the back seat knowing full well that Lisa would love the white chocolate strawberries she was making for her. She could never understand why some people thought cooking was a chore to be avoided because she loved to see her friends enjoying the food she cooked, and the pleasure on their faces was always well worth the effort. Remembering a quote she’d once read which stated how satisfying it was to be the provider she smiled wondering if she too was becoming a mother hen like Sarah.

She began cooking the minute she walked into the flat and didn’t finish until late evening. She made mango & passion fruit smoothies which would be cool and refreshing to drink on the beach and a large frittata with peppers and tuna because this was just as delicious cold as it was hot. Sarah’s favourite muffins were almond, lemon & blueberry and she diligently made a batch revelling in the lovely smell when they came out of the oven. If they didn’t manage to eat them all tomorrow Sarah could take what was left over to nibble at in her studio the following week. Finally, while she waited for the muffins to cool she hulled and washed the strawberries, melted the white chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of boiling water and lined a tray with greaseproof paper. Dipping each strawberry separately into the melted chocolate until they were three quarters coated she laid them carefully onto the tray and placed them into the fridge.

The next morning she woke early, showered and dressed in white pedal-pushers and T shirt and had the bags packed and ready when Lisa pulled up outside in the convertible. They loaded the cool bag and picnic hamper into the car and amidst whoops of laughter and here-we-go chants, Lisa pulled off down the road and out towards the M25 leaving the city behind them.

Sitting in the front next to Lisa, Sarah selected an Amy Whitehouse CD. "Is this OK?" she asked them both. "Or there's Dido?"

"N...no!" Katie stuttered, alarmed at the memories from the day before. "Sorry, I mean, this is fine, Sarah."

"OK, what’s up?" Lisa asked, looking at her through the rear view mirror.

"Up?" Katie queried, although she knew what Lisa meant.

Sarah half turned in her seat and raised an eyebrow. "I think Lisa is implying that there's something wrong that you're not telling us about?"

Katie looked at them, realising that to try and keep what had happened with Tim from them was futile because they were like sisters and always seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

"All right, all right," she moaned begrudgingly. "I do have something to tell you both but we'll wait until we get there because Lisa needs to concentrate on driving."

Lisa nodded in agreement and seconds later swore loudly when the guy driving behind her overtook at such speed he practically grazed the side of the car.

"Wanker!" she screamed after him and they both burst out laughing when Sarah with outstretched arms did the actions to match the insult.

"Sarah!" Lisa shrieked, "I didn't know you even knew hand signals like that?"

"Well, I haven’t hung around with you two for the last five years without learning anything," she quipped.

"Glad to have been of service, your ladyship," Lisa mocked slowing down to join a queue at traffic lights on the M23.

Sarah, obviously delighted to be thought of as uncouth as her friends laughed out loud.

"And," Lisa said teasingly, "I have to tell you both about another wild night with Adam and show you the photographs on my phone - what a hunk!"

Katie asked, "Adam? I thought you went to the party with Jason?"

Throwing her head back she laughed. "I did but he was so boring I ditched him after an hour and went home with Adam to a night of the best sex I can ever remember – it was even better than the first one."

She glanced sideways at Sarah judging her reaction and then grinning mischievously, she added, "Well, you know the old saying, once you’ve had black - you never look back!"

"Oh Lisa, but Jason is so cute and nice, and available," Sarah offered, shaking her head disapprovingly.

Lisa snorted and put her foot on the accelerator when the traffic started to move. "Exactly, who the hell wants nice? And if you think he’s so cute you should try going out with him and being bored to death."

Sarah persisted. "But, Lisa, you should be thinking more long term now and not wasting your time with one night stands," she said patting her bare knee beneath pink denim shorts. "You’ll never find your Mr Right doing that?"

Katie intervened, "Maybe Lisa's not looking for him though, Sarah."

Lisa slowed a little and drove with care through the sleepy village of Eastdean and veered south along the coast road heading to Birling Gap beach.

"Er, Sarah," Lisa teased. "You don’t honestly believe you’re going to meet this Mr Right, do you?"

When Lisa easily reversed the car into a space in the hotel car park, Katie breathed a sigh of relief because she could feel the underlying currents of a disagreement brewing between them and started collecting their things together on the back seat.

Sarah looked at Lisa with such a sorrowful expression on her dainty face it made Katie catch her breath. The pain in her eyes was almost tangible. "I have to believe in it, Lisa. I’ve been looking for him since I was eighteen," she whispered.

Lisa’s shoulders visibly shrank and back tracking her voice mellowed, "Oh honey, he’ll be out there somewhere," she soothed. "And you know, if there's anyone deserves to be happily married, it’s you."

"I know, but where is he?" she moaned, "I’ve been dating for twelve years now and I’m exhausted..."

Lisa draped her arm along Sarah's slight shoulders and Katie stroked the back of her hair while they both empathised with her.

Sarah gave herself a little shake. "Oh Christ, sorry, I don't know where that came from. Come on, let’s get down to that lovely beach."

"Just hang on in there, sweetheart. It’ll happen one day,” Lisa breezed confidently taking the keys out of the ignition.

Sarah swung her legs out of the car and grabbed the cool box to carry. "Of course, it will," she said more cheerfully. "And when we get settled I want to hear all your news, Katie."

With their arms full they made their way down to the beach via wooden steps that led from the hotel car park and Lisa pointed to the high heels that Sarah was tottering on whilst trying to negotiate the steps carefully. Sarah was what they laughingly called a shoe-aholic and because of her short height she always wore the highest heels she could find. In a specially designed section of her wardrobe she had around forty pairs of shoes and called them her collection, which was held in sections of colours, height, season, and fashion – she was extraordinarily proud of them.

Looking at the denim four inch wedge sandals, Lisa teased, “Ideal sandals for the beach then, Sarah?”

Sarah stopped and holding onto the handrail alongside the steps she looked behind grinning at Lisa. “Well, they’re from my denim section to go with my skirt,” she pouted playfully. “And my three pairs of flip-flops weren’t the right colour to match. I’ll take them off when we get on the sand.”

Laughing, they continued on their way and Katie revelled in the peace and quiet while the sun shone and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The gleaming white chalk cliffs of Seven Sisters overlooked the small shingly-sand beach and they carried on walking for another 400 metres and then dropped the folding chairs, towels, cool box, and hamper onto their chosen spot.

Even though the sun wasn’t intense Katie still smothered herself in sunscreen to protect her fair skin, while Lisa stretched out on her towel and removed her T-shirt revealing a black bikini top. Birling Gap wasn’t an official nudist’s beach but it had been used by naturists for years and they loved the freedom and quiet surroundings in comparison to the noisy, overcrowded beach in Brighton. Sarah pulled her big, white sun hat further down over her eyes, kicked the sandals from her feet, and adjusted her denim skirt over her knees, while Katie poured the cool smoothie into glasses and told them about Tim’s visit. She had a huge lump in her throat and had to stop twice to take a drink because her throat was dry with choking back tears as she explained how she felt.

Lisa had sat up listening intently to her and Sarah looked watery eyed again as she nodded her head with sympathy and understanding. Katie finished and looked at both her friends almost in a gesture of defeat as if she'd failed in some way.

"Well, I'm not totally surprised, Katie, in fact I've been waiting for something like this to happen," Sarah murmured.

"You have?" Katie looked puzzled.

Lisa leaned over grabbing the bottle of champagne and gasped, "Jeez, get this opened, Katie, I need a proper drink."

Katie opened the champagne and pulled glass flutes out of the hamper while Sarah explained how her cousin had been seeing a psychologist after her divorce and how she'd been told she has to take the right amount of time to grieve and find closure to the relationship.

"And that’s the one thing you haven't done, Katie," Sarah uttered quietly but respectfully. "You’ve been so busy fighting with yourself to get over him you haven't grieved properly. You guy’s never saw or talked to each other afterwards and the only communication you had was via email, which I think is so impersonal."

Lisa hadn't spoken until now and looked at Katie with her face full of concern. "And you’ve been going through all this since Wednesday on your own?" she asked. "You should have called one of us to come over, sweetheart?"

Katie felt ashamed and didn't want them to know she'd ignored their calls. She croaked, "Well, mum called round and then I was just so upset..." She wiped her nose with a napkin. "And I know I should have called you guys but I just wanted to think it through and get it sorted in my head."

Sarah empathised. "Of course you did. And we've let you down because I was at the new cocktail bar and Lisa was with her guy at the party. We should have been there for you..."

"Now, just a minute," Lisa said pursing her lips. "I might have been shagging Adam all night, Sarah, but one text or call and I would have left him like a shot and been in a cab before he'd had time to whip his condom off!"

Unable to stop herself, Katie sniggered at the image of Lisa running from

Adam’s bed. "No really, it was fine. And neither of you have let me down."

Lisa bristled. "I mean, men are just men aren't they? I would have dropped him red-hot for either of you two. Like Cameron Diaz said in the film, The Holiday, we’re The Three Musketeers,” she said looking at them both directly. “You do know that, don’t you?"

Katie squeezed her arm affectionately. "We do," she said. "Don't we, Sarah?"

Sarah traced her finger along the bottom of Lisa’s chin and with a smarmy voice, she oozed. "Of course we do, sweetie."

"All right, all right," Lisa grumped but her mouth twitched in amusement. "That’s quite enough."

"Food?" Katie asked and got up onto her knees to open the cool box. She felt so much better after talking to them and suddenly her stomach groaned with hunger – she was ravenous. Lisa wet her lips in anticipation while Katie lifted out the frittata, and some pieces of saffron bread with tiny pots of oil.

"Is this the bread you were kneading?" Lisa asked, "I do like your style mind, Katie, it’s very original."

She shrugged her shoulders thinking of Tim and smirked. "It wasn't planned," she protested. "It just sort of happened. And, there was no one more surprised than I was, believe me!"

Lisa picked up a strawberry liberally coated in chocolate, “Hmm, forget love, I’d rather fall in chocolate,” she swooned, put the whole strawberry into her mouth and groaned in pleasure. “These are fab-u-lous.”

Sarah broke off a piece of muffin and inhaled the fruity lemon aroma and smiled nodding her appreciation to Katie. “My favourite,” she said grinning and took a large bite. “Thanks a million.”

Memories flooded through Katie when she looked at the bread and knew she needed to talk about Tim – she didn't want the girls p-ssy-footing around her anymore.

While they were contentedly eating she broke the silence. "You see, guys, he was my Mr Right,” she said quietly. "And I blew it! I'd actually found what you’ve been searching for, Sarah, and I walked away from him without a backward glance."

Lisa bit into another strawberry and then wiped away some juice that trickled down her chin. "I’m sorry, Katie, but that’s utter bloody crap!" she cried. "Er... Hello? Have you suddenly forgotten Mr Right’s godforsaken drunken arrogance, and the patronising crap he dealt out? Not to mention having his tongue down some size eight blonde’s throat?"

"I know," Katie wailed. "Oh, I’m so mixed up."

"Then do nothing," Sarah advised finishing the last of her muffin. "Just stand still for a while and come to terms with what’s happened."

Lisa smiled and nodded. "Unaccustomed as I am to agreeing with any of Sarah’s take on romance, she’s right – do nothing."

"Blimey," Katie whispered. "Wonders will never cease..."

Lisa added, "But, although I agree with doing nothing about Tim, if it was me I’d get out there, have some fun, and get your tongue down somebody’s throat." She flipped her mobile open and scrolled down looking for photographs.

"Now, girls, feast your eyes on this!" she said eagerly. "Is he gorgeous? Or is he gorgeous…"

Katie took the mobile and laughed at Lisa. She was priceless, she thought, while making appreciative comments and handing the phone to Sarah who gaped at Adams smooth, black chest and huge muscles.

Sarah’s eyes seemed to be standing out on stalks. "Yeah," she mused. "Someone like that would certainly be enough to take your mind off Tim."

The twisted look of intense concentration on Sarah’s angelic face was hilarious and Lisa rolled around on the towel cracking up with laughter while Katie hung over the arm of her chair and laughed until the tears ran down her cheeks.