Lorraine
Olson had lived in Mornington for two years, in the room above the restaurant
at the Old Mill Inn.
Originally
she was employed by landlady Helen Andrew as the sous chef but after only six
months, Francois, the temperamental French chef, stormed out after a heated dispute
with a customer who had had the audacity to criticize his sea bass.
He
returned the next day in a much calmer frame of mind but landlord Peter Andrew
wouldn’t have him back under any circumstances and Lorraine was made up to chef
until they could find a suitable replacement for Francois.
However
once Lorraine was given her chance she made the most of it and thrived in the
role but after three months the Andrews were still looking for another Chef
with similar experience to the Gallic Francois and weren’t quite ready to give
her the reins permanently.
Despite
it only being temporary it was still a dream come true for Lorraine.
She
had been fortunate in that as part of her job she also lived as part of the
Andrews family.
Polly
Andrew was the same age as she was and so they became like sisters and she
thought her brother John, who was a couple of years her junior, fancied her.
But
after two years she was ready to move on which meant if she couldn’t find
somewhere to live in the village she would have to move to another restaurant
as well.
But
fortunately things were changing in the village, because the Mornington Estate
had exercised its option to purchase Mornington Field back from the MOD and along
with it they also acquired all the buildings and infrastructure on the airfield as well as 29 houses in the
village formally used as quarters for military personnel.
Lyndon-Sanders
Properties of Shallowfield had been instructed to find tenants for them but priority was to be given to local people or
people with ties to the area or those who worked in some capacity for the
estate such as agriculture or the brewery.
So Lorraine applied for one of them, but she was
told that she might not be successful, being a single woman and the new housing
stock all being 3 and 4 bedroom homes.
But
then she had some good fortune of a sort due to events that had occurred some
distance away in Abbottsford.
The
Olsen family were originally from Abbeyvale but Lorraine’s older sister Hannah
moved to Abbottsford after she had married Mick Hill.
Mick
however deserted his wife and family after the birth of their second child
leaving huge debts behind him including 6 six months of mortgage arrears.
As
a result Hannah lost her home and she and her children ended up living in a two
bedroom flat in a dingy part of town.
However
what was once dingy and undesirable was, after five years, suddenly up and
coming, and so her landlord decided to sell out to a developer.
It
just happened that her eviction notification came within a few days of Lorraine
meeting with the agent about one of the newly acquired Mornington houses.
So
with her sister about to be made homeless it meant she could make a new
application for herself, her sister Hannah and the children and this time they
qualified for a 4 bedroom house.
Lorraine
got word from the agents that she was being given the tenancy of number 6 The
Close on Friday September 26th, the day before the wedding of Harry
Topliss and Jenna Newman, which was the biggest wedding in Mornington for 30
years or more.
It
was big for Lorraine as well because she was catering the wedding breakfast and
the reception with the assistance of Jane Cooper and Emily Goff from
Shallowfield, which meant that she and Hannah couldn’t move in until the
following weekend.
But
even when the weekend arrived Lorraine couldn’t take any time off because the
restaurant still hadn’t replaced Francois and the other problem was that
between her and her sister they had little or no furniture and number 6 the
Close was unfurnished.
However
help with that came problem came from an unusual quarter in the shape of
Gabriel St George who was having lunch at the Old
Mill Inn with his girlfriend Chantel.
“I’m
sorry we’re having to push service back half an hour” Helen Andrew said when
Gabriel and Chantel sat down
“That’s
fine, we’re in no hurry are we?” he said and squeezed Chantel’s hand
“Absolutely
not” she agreed
“Well
thank you for that” Helen said
“Is
everything ok?” Gabriel asked
“Lorraine
and her sister moved into the Close this morning” she explained “and she was a little
late”
“Oh
moving house is horrible” Chantel said “Not that little lord Fauntleroy here
would know anything about that”
When
they had both finished laughing at Gabriel’s expense Helen went on to explained
that the sisters had no furniture and that they would be sleeping on the floor
in sleeping bags.
“Oh
I think we might be able to do better than that for them” he said
After
lunch Gabriel phoned his friend Jonathon Springthorpe who lived in the village
at The Old Forge but despite the fact it was a Saturday he was in the office at O’Sullivan and Springthorpe Auctioneers in Shallowfield.
Apart
from their normal business as one of the premier Auctioneers in Downshire, the
firm were also required rather more often than they liked to do house clearances.
On
many occasions they would turn up a few choice pieces to at least cover the
cost of the clearance but that still meant there was a lot of serviceable items
that weren’t worth auctioning but still had value.
Apart
from the Auction House they also owned and operated second hand shops across
the county but even they couldn’t sell all the goods they had amassed which had
to be warehoused.
And
of course among the warehouse full of unsold goods was furniture of every
conceivable colour and style.
“O’Sullivan and Springthorpe” a female voice said
“Jonathon
Springthorpe please”
“May
I say who is calling?” she asked officiously
“Baron
St George”
“I’ll
connect you immediately” she said
“You
never use your title” Chantel said quietly
“I
do sometimes with particularly officious receptionists” he said
“You’re
terrible” she said “I’m shocked”
“Well
when we’re married you’ll be able to call yourself Baroness”
“Well
I won’t,” she began “What do you mean when we’re married?”
“Oh
didn’t I mention it?”
“Hello
Gabriel” Jonathon said “What can I do for you?”
“Hi
Jon, I’m looking to relieve you of some stock”
He
then proceeded to detail what he was looking for from a hand written list
Chantel had prepared and the address it needed to be delivered to and then he
disconnected.
“Well
that’s sor…” he began but was prevented from finishing his sentence by Chantel
wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his mouth, and this
was not done in appreciation of his generosity.
Gabriel
St George put his head around the kitchen door and spoke to Lorraine
“Lorraine
I must apologize” he said “the furniture should have been delivered yesterday”
“What
furniture?”
“Well
you’re renting number 6 the Close” he said
“Which
is supposed to be furnished”
“Is
it?” Lorraine asked
“Yes”
he said “and it will be delivered this afternoon between 3 and 4”
After
he had convinced Lorraine that it was a clerical error that it didn’t mention
“furnished” in her tenancy agreement he and Chantel went back to the Manor to
tell the family that they were engaged.
Lorraine
wasn’t fooled for a moment by Gabriel St George’s performance but she was very
grateful to him so she played along.
Almost
the moment the kitchen door closed she was on the phone to Hannah to warn her
of the impending delivery.
It
wasn’t until 4.30 in the afternoon that she managed to slip off her whites and
hang them up.
Once
she had, Lorraine took the green bandana from her head and let her carrot
coloured hair cascade onto her shoulders before she went over to the house.
When
she arrived the shutter was just being pulled down on the O’Sullivan and
Springthorpes truck and she could see Hannah stood on the doorstep.
It
was obvious from a thousand yards that they were kin, both of them possessed of
freckled cheeks and open smiling faces and the flaming red hair.
The
only difference between them was that of stature, Lorraine was tall and slim while
Hannah was shorter with a fuller figure but then she had given birth to two
children, 7 year old Nick and Joe 5, and they too had the carrot coloured hair.
As
she got closer Hannah ran to meet her she said
“You
should see what they sent us Loz”
“Well
show me then” she replied
They
settled in to The Close quickly and with the children enrolled at school Hannah
worked hard making the house a home but Lorraine was still bearing all of the
burden at the Old Mill Inn because try as they may finding a replacement Chef
to come to Mornington was proving difficult.
The
restaurant was closed on Monday’s and apart from that one day a week she hadn’t
had any time off since Francois flounced out in a Gallic huff.
She
had no time for a social life, no time to spend helping Hannah around the house
and there’s wasn’t a second to spare for a love life.
And
as she was running the kitchen virtually on her own from prep to clean down,
she was completely frazzled, and noticeably so.
Helen
Andrew could see that Lorraine was being pushed too far, and even with Helen
her husband and the children mucking in when the need arose Lorraine was still
near breaking point.
Helen
knew that things were only going to get busier as they counted down the weeks
to Christmas and she realized that if they didn’t do something soon they would
need to find two new chefs in the New Year.
So
on Halloween she took decisive action.
Halloween
was one of the few nights of the year apart from Mondays when the restaurant
was closed to diners, instead they did the hot dogs and burgers for the
Halloween party at the village hall and for Lorraine it was like having a
holiday.
And
it was at the end of the evening when Lorraine, Helen and Polly were packing up
that Helen said her piece.
“You
know that we think you’ve done a brilliant job Lorraine”
“But
you’re going to go back to being the sous chef and take orders from some
arrogant French ponce”
That
was how Lorraine imagined the conversation going.
“But…”
Helen continued
“Here
we go” Lorraine said in her head,
“You
can’t go on the way you are, you need help”
“That’s
not what I was expecting” she continued in her head “I expected better”
“We
want you to take the Chefs job” Helen said
“Me?”
she asked
“You’ve
been doing it for weeks and the number of covers is up” she went on
“Me?”
she repeated
“Unless
you don’t want it” Helen said
“Yes”
she snapped “I do”
“But…”
Helen began
“Why
was there always a “but”?” Lorraine asked herself
“It’s
going to get busier, Helen continued “we’re already taking bookings for
Christmas and some days are fully booked already so you do need help”
“A
sous chef” she was going to suggest but then she had a thought.
When
she had catered Harry and Jenna’s wedding she had some help, one of whom was Emily
Goff, as her sous chefs and when they were chatting Emily told her that there
were two girls living in the village who were on the same catering course as
her and they were both very capable.
Now
ideally she would have liked Emily to work with her but she was already kept
very busy by Jane Cooper, the Chef at the Brown Windsor in Shallowfield.
So
she would have to settle for one of the two young girls but even that would be
a very big help.
And
as it turned out the girls lived in The Close, either side of Lorraine, Tegan
Crockford was at number 5 and Cally Wilson at number 7.
And
having chatted with her new neighbours during the course of October she knew
that the girls still hadn’t found anything permanent.
So
she made the suggestion to Helen and she agreed to interview them.
“No
promises mind” Helen said
Three
days later the two girls sat quietly together in the bar of the Old Mill Inn.
It
was a strange feeling for them as they were actually best friends.
They
had even walked to the interview together, it hadn’t seemed to dawn on either
of them that they were rivals.
Maybe
they knew something no one else did.
Cally
was the older of the two by about two weeks and she was significantly larger,
not fat but very definitely cast from a bigger mold.
She
stood six feet tall with short curly auburn hair, and a very large bust.
Tegan
on the other hand was a foot shorter and at least six stones lighter.
She
was small with delicate features and bobbed strawberry blonde hair.
And
was small enough to shelter beneath the bust of her friend if it rained.
The
anomaly with the pair wasn’t their physical appearance it was their
personalities.
The
giant Cally was quiet and reserved while tiny Tegan was feisty and forthright.
Tegan
was called first and was on her feet immediately but Cally grabbed her hand and
said
“Good
luck”
And
she meant it too even though getting a job in a restaurant kitchen was her
dream and doing it in her own village would have been perfect.
Because
Cally’s mum had MS and everyone in the family had to do their bit.
Tegan
was only gone for about 15 minutes and when she came out Cally asked
“How
did it go?”
“I’m
not sure” the normally ultra-confident Tegan replied “But they said to wait”
That
reply didn’t fill Cally with an ounce of confidence but then she was called and
this time Tegan squeezed her hand.
Cally
was also only gone for 15 minutes and she too was told to wait and then after
about 10 minutes Helen and Lorraine both walked into the bar to where the girls
were sitting and sat opposite them.
“Well
we have made our decision and we thought it was only fair to tell you
immediately, rather than keep you waiting” Helen said
“We
have decided to offer you the position of trainee chef”
The
two girls looked at each other and then at Helen and then and Lorraine who was
grinning.
“Which
one of us?” they said in unison
“Both
of you” Lorraine said and the two friends hugged each other and just at that
moment the landlord Peter Andrew walked in to the bar with his son John close
behind and said
“What’s
going on here then?”
“We
have just offered Cally and Tegan the trainee chef positions” Helen said
Introductions
followed and then John shouted down the bar to his sister Polly
“Here
Poll, come and see Lorraine’s started her own Ginger coven”
Tegan
turned and gave him a look and said
"I’m actually a strawberry blonde"
"And I’m auburn" Cally said
“and I” Lorraine began, but then paused
“Ok
I am actually ginger” and everyone laughed
The
two newbies started work two days later which was a Monday so the restaurant
was closed and she could see what they could do.
Lorraine
had to forgo her only day off but she thought it would be worth it in the long
run.
Almost
immediately the three of them gelled and worked extremely well together and
with having the extra pairs of hands to do the prep it meant Lorraine could try
out new dishes to add to the menu and almost from day one Lorraine was visibly
more relaxed as the two trainees proved to be every bit as good as Emily Goff
had indicated.
The
three girls soon settled into a comfortable routine, Cally came in later in the
mornings than the other two because she had to help her mum get ready for the
day but then she made up the time in the afternoon while the other two took a
couple of hours off.
The
newbies were both very different characters, Cally was steady and dependable, precise
in her application and never strayed from the task.
Tegan
on the other hand was a bit more adventurous in the kitchen as well as in life.
But
there was one thing they had in common and that was that they were totally
reliable.
Cally
Wilson was a “steady Eddie” who had commitments so she couldn’t put in any
extra hours but every minute she was in the kitchen she made every second
count.
Tegan
Crockford was a bit of a firecracker and loved the banter with the pub staff
but she was also an eager beaver and ambitious and she wanted to absorb as much
as possible, Lorraine didn’t doubt for a second that she would have her own
kitchen one day,
Cally
wasn’t ambitious but because of her work ethic she would never have a problem
getting work.
As
November drifted seamlessly into December the girls all new things were going
to get really busy.
Apart
from being fully booked in the evenings there was also a full calendar of seasonal
lunches so as Christmas approached Lorraine was leaning more heavily than ever
on Cally and Tegan, particularly the latter because they had a lot more prep to
do after service was finished and there were a number of early starts which
Cally couldn’t participate in because of her mum.
As
they worked diligently through the tasks Lorraine had become quite close to
Tegan and was growing increasingly fond of her, it was so nice to work with
someone she liked, not that she didn’t like Cally but Tegan had become a friend
as well.
As
the weeks slipped by Lorraine found herself really looking forward to her four
days off, the first proper break she’d had since Easter.
The
restaurant would close on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and would not reopen
fully until the following Tuesday.
On
Christmas day the pub was closed, on Boxing Day the pub was open but the
restaurant wasn’t and on Saturday and Sunday there would only be bar food, hot
and cold sandwiches and such, so Lorraine was leaving the girls in charge while
she, Hannah and the children were off to Abbeyvale to spend Christmas with
their mum, Irene.
It
was the first time in four years they would all be together.
Lorraine
and Hannah had been prevented by their abusive stepfather from contacting her,
but Irene had finally had enough after 9 years of being used as a punch bag and
hit him in the face with an iron and broke his jaw.
Lorraine
was so looking forward to spending time with her mum, and having a family
Christmas all under one roof, but most of all she was looking forward to no
cooking, but she would however miss the strawberry haired slip of mischief Tegan
and her sparky presence.
On
the afternoon of Christmas Eve the pub was still open but there weren’t many
customers left but those that were made enough noise for a crowd.
The
kitchen was cleaned down and pristine and Cally had just finished putting the
clean cutlery back in the trays in the dining room.
“Anything
else you want me to do?” she asked Lorraine
“No
you get off home now” she replied and gave her a hug and kiss “Happy Christmas
lovely”
“Happy
Christmas” she said in response and Lorraine went back into the kitchen.
Tegan was stood up on a chair writing up Saturday’s
menu.
“Oy what about me you ginger bint” she shouted
“I’m auburn” she shouted back and went over a picked
Tegan off the chair and got her in a bear hug.
“I
give in, I give in” she said laughing loudly
“Now
give me a kiss” demanded Cally
After
exchanging kisses Cally then deposited her back on the chair.
“Happy
Christmas Cal” she called as her friend walked away
Lorraine
came out of the kitchen and Tegan was still stood on the chair in front of the menu board.
“Haven’t you finished that yet?” she said
“Just” she replied and crouched down ready to jump
down
“Can you give me a hand” she asked
“Ok” Lorraine said and walked over to her
With Lorraine’s height and Tegan crouching they were
roughly the same height and as she reached the little elf on the chair Tegan
moved towards her and stole a long lingering kiss which lingered long because
Lorraine reciprocated.
“Oh
I didn’t even know that was on the menu” Lorraine said
“It’s
a new addition” and kissed her again
“Is
it a Christmas special or will I be able to have it anytime of the year?”
“Whenever
you fancy it” Tegan replied and then Lorraine lifted her down to terra firma
and kissed her again.
