Free Heat in the Kitchen by Sarah Fredricks Page B

her up he'd put his beer stinking, cigarette filled breath over her mouth. Instinctively, she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth - the memory of his vile taste so strong.
    She squeezed her eyes shut and forced her memories beyond that holiday. She'd been back at school two weeks when Mr Brown, the headmaster, had asked to see her. She hadn't been as successful as she'd hoped at hiding what had gone on at home. Her school work had deteriorated and she'd isolated herself from her friends. Mr Brown had had a way of teasing out a child's troubles and it had all eventually poured out of her. Things had moved quickly after that. The police had been called in and she'd been examined. The 'boyfriend' had been arrested but eventually released with no charge when her mother had accused Ella of lying to cover up being with a boy. She'd done a convincing job of persuading the police that Ella was promiscuous. She'd set off a train of events that had altered the rest of her school days. As promised, the 'boyfriend' had turfed them out of his house. Out of spite her mother had removed her from her school and sent her to the local state school. She'd never had a good relationship with her mother but from then on it had been even more strained. Her young sisters had blamed her for losing the roof over their heads and they'd never been affectionate to her since either.
    The only gesture that had got her through the next four years, until she'd escaped to the Royal College of Music to study, had been from Mr Brown. He'd allowed her to go to his house to continue learning and playing the piano. She'd since tried to pay him back for the music tuition he'd paid for but he'd refused it. So she regularly sent him tickets to her concerts instead.
    *
    The phone startled her. She must have nodded off in the chair.
    'Hi Ella, how'd the wedding go?'
    'Tess.'
    'Yeah. You sound disappointed. Who were you expecting?'
    'What? No-one!' Ella hoped Tess hadn't picked up on how quickly she'd denied expecting someone else. For a split second she'd hoped it would be Matt. He'd checked last night that she'd got home safely and that her hand was okay, so realistically she'd known it wouldn't be him.
    'Hmm, you're hiding something!' Tess sing-song'd. She sounded far too bright and breezy on a Sunday lunchtime for Ella to cope with.
    'No, erm, the wedding went well. Penny looked lovely.'
    Tess sighed. 'Ella, I don't mean the wedding itself, well I'm glad she looked lovely, but I want to know about my brother.' Ella wondered how Tess could possibly know she'd been kissed, a few times, by Matt.
    'Ella, what's with you today? Oh, I haven't got you out of bed have I? You weren't doing… with Matt, were you?'
    'No! No. Sorry. I'm just tired. Must be the stress of the last couple of days.' She didn't know what Tess would think of her involvement with Matt. Not that they were involved. She probably wouldn't see him again, despite what he'd said. She couldn't imagine that he mixed with women who blew hot and cold as she had done.
    'Hello - Ella? Did Matt help you, or was he horrible? Not that he's normally horrible. He really is a lovely person. Well, except when he goes all possessive about his professional kitchen. Oh, and when he goes all 'big brother' on me….'
    Ella smiled. Tess and Matt were so much alike when they were on a roll. She paused to make sure Tess was finished.
    'Matt was great Tess. He was a real help getting everything prepared and he created some fantastic dishes. It was all so much more than I could have hoped for. He even had some of his team come and finish off and set up the venue. They all did a great job.'
    'I knew he wouldn't be able to resist. Sounds like he delivered Two's Company's first class standard. He's not charging though, is he? No. He wouldn't.'
    Having a conversation with Tess was sometimes so easy - she didn't wait for responses.
    'He charged the same price Bianca was going to charge.'
    'And what about that loser sister of