Summer at Rachel’s Pudding Pantry

Between them, they pretty much knew all the high-school teachers, having been to the same school (except for Hannah, who’d moved to the village once she’d married), and it opened up a fun conversation with a few cringeworthy teachers’ names thrown in the mix. Kirsty bypassed the obvious choice of Mr Adams the PE teacher, and plumped for Mr Stephens who’d taught Geography. ‘Tall, not bad looking, and he made Geography seem pretty cool.’

‘Fair enough,’ commented Rachel. ‘I can see how he might have some appeal.’

‘Hah, you were too busy looking at Jake to be eyeing up the teachers,’ said Charlotte.

‘Yeah well, look where that led me …’ Eve knew that Rachel didn’t regret having her beautiful daughter for a minute, but her relationship with Maisy’s dad, Jake, had been a bit of a disaster. ‘Maybe I should have been harbouring secret crushes on the teachers at that point.’

With the game over, they relaxed back into the sofas. With Hannah putting some music to play on her iPhone, they chilled out and enjoyed the rest of their last night away. It was just before midnight when Eve found herself yawning. She felt shattered. It was time to crash out. ‘Sorry to wimp out, but I’m going to have to get to my bed, folks …’

‘Yeah, me too.’ Kirsty caught the yawning bug.

‘Sounds a good idea. We’ll be driving back tomorrow and need clear heads,’ added Jill sensibly.

‘Back to reality,’ said Hannah.

Indeed, back to reality, thought Eve with a heavy heart.

6

Before they all headed off to their beds, Rachel felt she wanted to say a few words. It had been such a wonderful few days with her besties beside her. ‘Thanks so much, everyone, for making this long weekend so special. It’s been a ball. I’ve loved it … and I’ve loved being with you lot.’ She found herself feeling a bit emotional.

‘Aww.’

‘It’s been fab. I haven’t laughed so much in ages. I actually have sore ribs,’ said Hannah.

‘And hey, we’ve still got loads of fun to come, remember,’ added Charlotte with a wide smile. ‘There’s a bloody beauty of a wedding day to celebrate in July.’

‘Hah – yes!’

Thinking of Tom, and of her beautiful surprise wedding dress that was hidden in the wardrobe, of welcoming yet more friends to the celebrations, and having the rest of her family around her – including little Maisy, bless her, who was going to be a flower girl along with Amelia, and Granny Ruth, who wasn’t quite up to a hen do (though Rachel would have bet she’d have given the abseiling a go!) – all filled her with joy. Not to mention the amazing food they were planning for the reception, and the celebratory bubbly.

Yes, the best was yet to come, of course it was.

A little while later, with everyone settling for bed, Eve wandered back into their bedroom from the bathroom, uttering a subdued, ‘Night, Rach.’

Her friend didn’t seem right at all. She’d been way too quiet today. Yes, she was nursing a hangover, but Rachel had seen that before. This was different; it was as though she was keeping something in. And … what was that with the Truth or Dare game? The others hadn’t seemed to pick up on it, but that question about the kiss, she’d gone all weird and cagey. She and Eve were so close, Rachel had a feeling there was something deeper going on.

‘Hey, you okay, Eve?’ Rachel ventured, as she scrubbed her face with a cleansing wipe. ‘It’s just … you seemed a bit … off … today.’

‘Yeah, no worries. I’m fine, Rach.’

But the tone of Eve’s voice and the look on her face told Rachel that her friend wasn’t fine at all.

‘Eve, come on … it’s me … tell me.’

‘Everything’s all right, Rach. I’m just being silly. It’s your hen do, this is a celebration, you don’t need to listen to me harping on.’

‘Well, whatever it is, I can see it’s troubling you. So, hun, I’d rather you harp on, than sit stewing on it. Is it to do with Amelia, Ben? Something with me?’

Eve let out a long slow sigh. ‘Oh, Rach … I don’t even know how to say it.’

‘Well try, just blurt it out. It can’t be that bad … and if it is, I’m here for you, whatever it is.’ Rachel sat down on the bed beside Eve, the two of them slumped together against the headboard, taking them back to being teenagers.

‘Umm …’ Eve let out another sigh. ‘It’s just … there might be someone else.’

Rachel couldn’t hide her shock. What on earth was her friend talking about? Someone else for Tom? What did she mean? There was a lump in her throat like a stone, and Rachel’s heart felt as if it had fallen down a mine shaft.

Eve must have seen her face drop. ‘No, it’s not anything to do with you or Tom,’ she blurted out to clarify. ‘Me … it’s me.’

‘What do mean, Eve. Another man?’

Eve nodded sheepishly. ‘Don’t worry. I haven’t done anything stupid; well not quite, not yet. There’s been a near-kiss moment, that’s all.’

Rachel was still trying to take this all in. Eve and Ben were such a lovely couple. So solid. And there was little Amelia. Rachel would never have imagined that anything like this might happen.

‘What about Ben? Your family, Eve? What’s happened?’ Rachel was still pretty incredulous. Eve just wasn’t the gallivanting sort.

‘I can’t get him out of my head,’ Eve stated, looking sad and torn. ‘And I don’t know if that means I don’t love Ben any more … I don’t know what to think.’

‘Oh, Eve. Who is this guy … how?’

‘He’s someone I met through the craft events. He’s an artist, really talented. He does the most amazing seascapes in oils.’ There was a note of adoration in Eve’s tone.

‘Oh, Eve. Be careful, hun. Surely you can’t know this guy very well. It’ll just be some crush. And, what about Ben and Amelia and everything you have together? You’re a family. A lovely family.’ Rachel couldn’t bear to think of the implications for their fabulous little unit. She loved them all dearly.

‘I know, I know. I’m married to Ben … and we used to be so close. And it scares me too, and I don’t know how I’ve got to feeling this way …’ Her voice had dropped to a whisper as a big fat tear plopped down on her lap. ‘But I do.’

Rachel held her friend’s hand, concerned for her and her family. ‘Maybe you and Ben have just got a bit stuck in a rut,’ she said gently, but with a note of warning too. ‘Maybe you need some time as a couple. I’ll look after Amelia, if you want a night away or something …’

‘Yeah, well, maybe we do take each other a bit for granted. We have had a bit of a wobble lately. But, this guy – Aiden – it’s like we’ve got so much in common. He’s creative, and he’s enthusiastic about my crafts. For Ben, my business is all just a big mess taking up space in the dining room, and my time.’

Oh dear, Eve seemed to have it bad. ‘Eve, it’s got to be different living with someone day to day, I’m sure. Life’s not always glamorous and romantic, is it?’ In fact, Rachel had it all to find out. She hadn’t even had a chance to move in with Tom yet, wanting to keep things simple for Maisy up until now. But she was realistic and knew it couldn’t always be plain sailing. ‘Don’t do anything stupid, hun. Promise me.’

‘I won’t … I won’t.’ It was as though Eve was trying to convince herself. She went quiet for a few seconds. ‘Rachel, you can’t tell anyone. Not even Tom.’

‘Of course, I won’t.’

‘It’s just … if Ben found out, even this much, that might be it. I don’t think it would ever be the same again between us.’ She sounded so afraid.

‘I promise. It’s our secret. And you keep talking to me … and keep thinking of your family, Eve. Don’t let yourself get swept up in something you might live to regret.’

‘Ah-huh.’ Eve’s fingers were shaking inside Rachel’s palm.

Rachel gave her friend a warm hug. ‘Hey, petal, let’s get to bed and get some sleep, hey. Things’ll work out somehow.’

‘Yeah …’

They both slid down under the covers.

‘Night, Eve.’

‘Night, Rach.’

Rachel held Eve’s hand gently beneath the duvet as she waited for her to drift off to sleep. Two friends lying side by side, one about to embark on her marriage journey, the other several years in and finding herself drifting on a turbulent tide.

Something New

Jill’s Hen-Do Tiramisu

A lovely and easy new recipe for you to try!

Ingredients

2 eggs, separated (please be aware this recipe does contain raw egg)

4 tablespoons golden caster sugar

250g (9oz) mascarpone cheese

125ml (4½fl. oz) fresh strong coffee

4 tablespoons Marsala

125g (4½oz) sponge fingers/boudoir biscuits

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Method

Top tip – make in advance and leave the flavours to develop.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until light and frothy. Fold in the mascarpone.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and carefully fold into the cream-cheese mixture.

In another bowl, mix the coffee and Marsala together. Dip half the sponge fingers in this and lay them over the base of a large dish. Spoon over half the cream-cheese mixture, and dust with cocoa powder. Repeat this stage to make another layer. Smooth the surface gently and dust with more cocoa powder.

Chill for at least two hours before serving and preferably overnight.

Seriously scrumptious!

7

A warm welcome awaited Rachel and Jill at Primrose Farm. It lifted Rachel’s soul as they came back into the gentle folds of the lush green valley; though she’d had a great time away with her friends, and had loved the rugged Scottish countryside and her lake view, here was where her heart lay.

They dropped Eve off first, Rachel getting out and helping her with her things, including the precious wedding dress that her friend was going to keep safe for her. Rachel gave her an extra big hug as she waved her into her cottage, and back into the arms of her husband and daughter. She still felt pretty stunned by last night’s revelation, and wished them all a silent good luck.

Soon they were turning onto their farm track, and as they pulled up by the farmhouse, Rachel spotted a big homemade banner over the front door that read: ‘Welcome home, Mummy and Grandma!’ with bold sunny flowers in pink and yellow painted each side of the writing. A ‘Maisy creation’ for sure, with a bit of help from Granny Ruth. Though hopefully someone other than Granny had hoisted it into place, Rachel thought, not wanting to imagine Granny teetering up stepladders or suchlike at her grand age.

‘Oh, look, how lovely.’ Jill was grinning from the passenger seat.

Within seconds the front door opened and out bowled Maisy. No sooner was Rachel out of the truck than she was in her arms. ‘I missed you sooo much, Mummy!’

‘Missed you too, petal.’ It was gorgeous to feel her daughter’s solid weight in her arms, smell the shampoo-fresh blonde curls.

‘So, have you been a good girl for everyone?’

‘Yep …’

‘Been good as gold,’ confirmed Ruth, who had trundled out and was there beside them now too.

‘I love the special banner,’ said Grandma Jill, who was next in line to receive a huge Maisy hug.

‘And we’ve made coming-home cupcakes,’ beamed Maisy from Jill’s arms. ‘Chocolate ones.’

‘Wow, you have been busy.’

‘I’ll head in and pop the kettle on then, my lovelies,’ said Ruth, ‘and we can hear all about your trip away.’

Daniel popped out of the Pudding Pantry – the wonderful tearoom venture that they had set up last summer in the converted barn – where he had been helping to serve with Jan today, the pair of them holding the fort whilst Jill and Rachel were away. Jill went across for a few words, and Rachel spied her mum giving him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. It still felt strange to watch, and her heart dipped slightly as she inevitably thought about her dad; yet she was starting to understand and accept her mum’s new relationship.

Moss, their Border collie, gave a welcome bark from his kennel in the yard. Rachel quickly went around to greet him with Maisy at her heels.

‘Hey, boy.’ She opened the catch and he bounded out, skirting her legs as she leaned over to pat the soft fur on his black-and-white head. Moss’s tail never stopped wagging as he happily herded them all back inside the farmhouse kitchen. Home.

There was someone else who Rachel couldn’t wait to see too.

Fifteen minutes later, the sound of his truck pulling up in the yard made her heart sing even more. She dropped her mug of tea down on the kitchen table and dashed out to meet him.

‘Tom!’ She couldn’t hide her excitement.

‘Good time …?’ Before he could get to the door, she was in his arms and smacking a big kiss on his grinning lips.

‘I guess you missed me then, hey?’ He pulled away, laughing.

It was only a few days, and she’d had a great time with her friends, but she had missed him. His broad smile, the feeling of his strong arms around her, the woody smell of his aftershave, the promise of slow nights making love … if she could get away this evening, that was.

As she finally touched her feet back on the ground, she took Tom by the hand and led him inside towards the family gathering.

‘Hello, Tom.’

‘Hi, all.’

‘Hey Mummy, Tom helped me with my jigsaw yesterday, and he took me out to see Petie in his truck.’

‘Thought I’d give Ruth a bit of a breather,’ he smiled.

‘Aw, thanks, that’s so thoughtful of you.’

‘And I went and helped Dan in the Pantry. We made cheese scones together … but they were triangle ones and not circles. He’s not as good as you, Grandma …’

‘Well, you have been busy,’ replied Grandma Jill with a grin.

‘Cupcake, Tom?’ Ruth passed the plate across. ‘Double chocolate sprinkles, courtesy of Maisy.’ She gave a wry smile.

‘Don’t mind if I do.’ He took one, and gave a thumbs-up to Maisy, who beamed with pride.

‘So, everything’s been fine with the farm?’ Rachel asked, turning to Tom.

‘Yeah, just one of your ewes got a bit tangled in a fence. I got her out okay, but she’s got a deep nick on her foreleg. Treated it with the purple spray; looks like it’ll heal okay.’

‘Ah, there’s always some trouble, hey?’

The usual farmyard niggles.

‘You’ll find her in the Top Field, still limping a bit this morning.’

‘Well, thank you. It was great knowing Primrose Farm was in good hands.’

‘You’re welcome. And Maisy filled me in on lots of things while we were out and about. I’ve learnt all kinds of things while you were away.’ His eyes were twinkling mischievously.

‘Hah, I bet she did, little chatterbox.’ Rachel squeezed her daughter’s cheek affectionately.

Back in the fold of Primrose Farm: Moss stretched out by the Aga, his tail rhythmically giving a happy thump on the tiles, the Baking Bible set there high on the shelf above the well-used food mixer, and the glorious view of the valley beyond the square-paned window, green and lush. Sitting in the hub of the kitchen with her fiancé and her family, Rachel felt such warmth. There was a glow of happy love around that table. It felt good, and Rachel was so thankful. Her mind drifted to her best friend Eve, and the recent revelation that had rocked her. She sent a silent prayer that Eve was feeling that same warmth on her arrival home.

8

EVE

Eve walked up the path to her cottage with her suitcase and the precious dress carrier in tow, and saw Ben and Amelia waiting on the doorstep. Her daughter dashed out to greet her in a rush of miss-you hugs and chatter, telling her all about her weekend.

‘Maisy was here and we had pizza and ice creams … and Haribo … and we stayed up till eleven o’clock!’ her cute six-year-old voice raced on.

Argh, so that’s what happened when she wasn’t around. Eve raised an eyebrow sharply at Ben, just as Ben gave Amelia a cheeky shush, that’s enough, kind of look. She couldn’t really be cross, though – a late night once in a blue moon probably wasn’t going to hurt. It was good to think that they’d been having fun together. She knew that Ben was a lovely dad to Amelia, it was nice for them to have some father–daughter bonding time. And, she had been away herself, having a brilliant time with the girls.

‘Hey …’ Ben was there at the doorway, helping to take her case before brushing her cheek with a kiss. ‘Had a good time then?’

‘Yeah, it was great.’

The three of them bundled in over the threshold, Eve finding a safe place to hang the dress, using the top ledge of the open lounge door. ‘And Rachel so loved the dress, phew.’

‘Well, that’s good,’ Ben replied, a little distractedly.

The number of hours Eve had spent on the dress had already caused some tension between her and Ben, that and trying to keep up with all her Etsy orders online. Her craft business was doing well, and she made soft toys, knits and home decorations to sell at the Pudding Pantry and at local craft fairs, but all this took time and sometimes stole into their evenings. The dress was yet more work, but she really wanted to make her best friend’s wedding extra special. After hearing from Jill about the frock that Rachel had left behind, she couldn’t get her friend’s disappointment out of her mind, and she had been determined to play Fairy Godmother. Ben had huffed and puffed his way through many an evening of late as she sat stitching chiffon flowers onto the skirt, saying he couldn’t see why Rachel couldn’t just go and buy a wedding dress like most other people did.

‘You load so much pressure on yourself already,’ he’d commented. ‘You don’t have to take even more on.’

But Eve wanted Rachel’s big day to be perfect for her bestie, and was almost as excited about Tom and Rachel’s wedding as the happy couple were.

Ben was looking at her. ‘So, what did you get up to? What was it like there? It sounded a great place.’

‘Oh, yeah, we had a fab time,’ Eve answered quickly, realising her husband was waiting for a response. ‘Yep, the lodge was amazing, a proper log cabin, set right by a lake.’

‘Oooh, it sounds pretty there, Mummy.’ Amelia was standing beside them in the hallway.

‘Yes, it was, really pretty. With woods to walk in and a lovely seaside town nearby.’ Eve felt a little nostalgic about it already.

‘That’s good. Glad it all worked out for you all. And … you deserved a bit of a break.’

‘We missed you, Mummy.’

‘Yeah, we did,’ Ben agreed, raising a warm smile, with a reassuring glimmer of his old self back. They’d seemed sadly distant of late. ‘Right, great. So, what’s for tea?’

Ah, back to normal then, thought Eve.

Echoes of Kirsty’s domestic complaints rattled through Eve’s mind, mocking her.

‘Oh …’ she hadn’t even thought. Mealtimes and cooking were usually her domain, but after her long journey and busy weekend, she had kind of hoped that Ben might have come up with something for her arrival supper himself.

‘Well, I have been cooking all weekend,’ he began.

That wasn’t strictly true, as she knew they’d been over to his parents for dinner last night, and she’d left that lasagne in the fridge. Warming up a frozen pizza and serving ice cream for the girls didn’t exactly take all evening or make him MasterChef material. But she bit her tongue; she’d had her wonderful, if slightly emotional, weekend away after all.

‘Right, well, I’ll have a look in the freezer, there’s bound to be something there,’ Eve mumbled, wracking her brain. There might be some breaded fish, oven chips, peas? So, there she was, straight back to it. Reality hitting home already.

And there they were, slipping back into tired roles, family life. Everything back to normal … or so it seemed. Tea time. Popping Amelia in the bath for some splash-filled fun and more chatter. Bedtime routine: a book and a hug, and a tender kiss on her strawberry-soap-smelling cheek. An evening for two in front of the television. Comfortable, uninspiring. Time to turn in themselves.

Once they were in bed, Eve turned to her husband to snuggle up. She knew she needed to make more of an effort herself. Things weren’t so bad at home; she just needed to try a bit harder, that was all. For all their sakes. They were a family.

She’d made her own wedding vows six years ago, till death do us part, and she had meant every word as she’d spoken them in the church that day. She and Ben could get back to how they used to be, surely. But as she leaned against him, brushing a hand over his chest, with fingertips that used to make his skin quiver under her touch, she realised his breathing had slowed. A snort of a snore emitted from his mouth.

She rolled away to the coolness of the other side of the bed, feeling the moisture of a tear brush her lashes, wondering how life – how they – had changed so much.

9

A shaft of warm sunlight fell on Rachel’s face. She got up to open the curtains on a glorious gold-flecked morning. The sky an azure blue with mere puffs of candyfloss cloud. Summer was here at last.

After a breakfast of toast spread thickly with Ruth’s bramble jelly, and having seen Maisy off on the school bus, Rachel headed across the sun-dappled farmyard to the Pudding Pantry, where she and Jill were back on duty. The May sunshine warmed the honeyed-stone walls, and danced off the white wooden tables where little posies of pink roses, plucked from their garden and mixed with sprigs of delicate white gypsophila, sat in mini milk bottles.

The coffee machine was gurgling. Elderly yet spritely Frank, one of their regulars, was seated at his favourite window table, overlooking the valley, with his newspaper propped up before him. ‘Nice to see you back, ladies.’ He gave them a smile.

‘Nice to be back, Frank,’ replied Rachel warmly, ‘though we did have a lovely time, I must say.’ Rachel was standing in the little kitchen area behind the counter, spooning creamy cheesecake mix on top of buttery biscuit crumbs for a summery lemon dessert. The zingy citrus smell was delightful.

‘Fabulous, it was, Frank. We had our own wooden lodge right by a lake,’ added Jill, as she lifted a batch of freshly baked scones out of the oven, ready to put out for cream teas – it most definitely was that time of the year. She’d already baked two halves of a Victoria sponge in the farmhouse Aga earlier this morning, ready to sandwich together with whipped cream and strawberries.

‘Sounds delightful. Oh, and has Tom had his stag do yet, then?’ enquired Frank. ‘You young ones seem to do all sorts of exciting things these days. Mine was a few drinks down at The Black Bull with my pals. In fact,’ he gave a chuckle, ‘I remember ending up a little worse for wear, and my mother being extremely cross with me when I finally staggered home. I do believe I might have been a tad poorly in one of the front garden flower beds.’

‘Hah, those were the days, Frank, hey,’ chipped in Jill.

‘Tom’s had his stag already,’ Rachel replied. ‘He and his friends went down to Newcastle for a night out. They’re big rugby fans so they tied it in with watching a match there at the Newcastle Falcons.’

‘Ah, right. I bet they had a good time.’

‘No doubt – though I didn’t ask for too many details,’ she laughed. ‘So, do you think we should freshen up the menus, Mum?’ added Rachel, changing tack. ‘Make sure we add some new summery puds?’

‘Oh yes, good idea, love. We’ll need something for the gluten-free range too. Oh, and let’s make a new selection for our mini pudding platters. What about a small rhubarb and vanilla pudding, with a slice of your lemon cheesecake and a bite-size strawberry meringue, and then something chocolatey, perhaps?’

‘A mini brownie, maybe?’