“Thanks, that would be grand. It’s kind of hard to tell with Denny. Sometimes he won’t settle at night but makes it up in the morning. Other times, he’s up at four-thirty. Every day’s a surprise with a twenty-month-old.” She hoped she didn’t sound as weary as she felt as she set him back down in his temporary bedroom.
“We’ll see in the morning, then. There’ll be other days, if not.” Joey moved toward the door. “I’m going to leave you to get settled. I need to do a few things on the boat, but Kasia’s invited us over for dinner. How about I drop back to pick you up at seven?” They frowned. “Is that too late for Denny?”
“It is a little. But this isn’t a regular day. Perhaps he’ll be okay.”
“I’ll bring you home as soon as you need to.”
“Thanks Joey, we’ll manage.” She waved them off and turned to look at her surroundings. She couldn’t get too settled here. Joey had given up their home.
She stuck her head around the bedroom door to see Denny sprawled out on the bed, snoring softly. She tucked some pillows around him and left him to sleep in the hope he’d be better behaved later.
She dropped into a chair in the conservatory that had a view of the small quay where Joey was getting onboard Queen Maedbh. They disappeared into the wheelhouse and Marianne wondered about the generosity it took to give virtual strangers free run of your house.
Joey was an enigma. When she’d first met them, she’d assumed they were just a quiet, awkward fisher who spent their days alone and had never learned any social skills. But Joey had turned out to be a confident negotiator when it came to prices, and they had demonstrated a real interest in how their catch was used in Marianne’s dishes. She wondered how much of their income the closure of Batiya had cost them. She was probablythe last person they wanted to help out. Yet, when she’d asked, they’d been there for her.
One thing she’d never noticed before now was how attractive Joey was. Sure, they could do with a proper haircut and some lessons in dressing without the inclusion of wool, but their bright blue eyes were dazzling in their tanned face. And did she really see something in their gaze that was more than friendship or concern? Their frequent hugs gave Marianne the impression of a solid, muscular body, and she wondered what they looked like under all the work gear.
Her thoughts skidded to a halt. She would not be going there. She was still embroiled in her messy, ultimately disappointing marriage. But it had been so long since anyone had shown any interest in her, it wasn’t surprising she yearned for it. She and Amira hadn’t returned to physical intimacy after Denny, and that seemed like such a long time ago now. She laughed at her own morose thoughts and pushed herself out of the chair.
Joey’s room was compact, but comfortable. The mattress was much newer than the old metal bed frame it sat on. She sat down on the firm surface and unzipped her holdall, staring in at what was left of her belongings.
She needed a plan. She and Denny would run out of clean clothes in a few days. What was she doing hanging around here when she should be salvaging her career? But the thought of that made her sick. When had it all become about Michelin stars and awards, and bloody social media? She had become a chef because she loved to create. Nearly a week without cooking was probably the longest she’d gone in her adult life. Even when Denny was born, she’d been back in the kitchen overseeing operations after a few days.
She wandered into Joey’s tiny kitchen and checked out the facilities. There was a limit to how much you could fit into a space this small, but Joey clearly spent some time in the kitchen.She pulled out a drawer and inspected the knives. They were old but sharp.
A sound behind her made her start and she dropped a knife noisily into the drawer as she turned. Joey stood in the doorway. “I’m so sorry, I should’ve knocked. Here I am telling you to treat the place as your own and then I come barging in.”
“It’s all good. This is your house.” She closed the drawer. “Can I cook for you sometime? To say thank you?”
Joey was still standing awkwardly at the door. “Here? I don’t think it’d work.”
“Why not? This place is kitted out like you enjoy cooking.”
“I do.” Their expression brightened and they strode over to the big glass doors in the conservatory. “In the summer, I mostly cook out here.”
They swung open the door, and Marianne followed. A whole outdoor kitchen had been set up on the deck, complete with a stone pizza oven, fire pit with a grill, a gas hob, and a preparation space with a refrigerator underneath.
“This is beautiful.” She looked around at the comfortable outdoor furniture, and a giant hammock to the side of the deck.
“It’s still too cold for eating outside yet, but that’s where I sit in winter and watch the sunrise.” They nodded toward the hammock.
“I’d love to cook for you out here.” Marianne sat down on a chair and put her feet up.
Joey perched on the arm of a chair and looked at her. “It’s more like a camping kind of cooking. It’s not what you’re used to.”
“I love to make food, Joey. It’s my way of expressing myself. The equipment is less important than the process.” Already, she imagined being out here in the summer, grilling Joey’s catch, while Denny played on the deck.
What am I thinking?She was here for a break from real life, not to start a new one.
“Let’s go to the Waterside tonight, and I’ll leave you some lobsters off tomorrow. If you want to cook, that’d be grand, but no pressure. You need a rest.”
“I’m not a resting kind of person. I need something to occupy me.”
“Have you looked for any jobs? Do you know where you might want to go? England, maybe?”
“Oh, no, I don’t want to leave Ireland. I want Denny to grow up here.” She hadn’t even considered leaving the country.
“Then you need to make some serious inquiries. There just aren’t that many good restaurants around and those there are mostly have very established chefs.”
