Minding Frankie - Maeve Binchy [119]
“It will be fine,” she said, suddenly feeling defensive.
“If you want cheapo pasta, a bottle of plonk and a couple of Italians bunching up their fingers to kiss them and say ‘bella signora’ …”
“They’re nice there.” Why she was being protective towards this little trattoria, she didn’t know.
“Yeah and we’re nice in Anton’s too, so why didn’t you and the social worker choose us?”
“Be real, Anton. A Friday night! And anyway, it was her shout. She chose Ennio’s.”
He looked like a small boy who had been crossed. “I’d have given you early-bird rates all night.”
“I know that, she didn’t. See you.”
“Are you coming round later? It’s Teddy’s birthday too and we’re having a few drinks after closing time.”
“Oh, no, we’ll be hitting the clubs by then.” She remembered Noel’s expression. It was worth it to see the look of surprise and irritation on Anton’s face.
· · ·
Noel set the table at Chestnut Court. Lisa had left the salad in the fridge covered in cling wrap and his chicken-and-ginger dish was under foil and ready to put in the oven for twenty-five minutes. The potatoes were in a saucepan.
Frankie had been delivered to Declan and Fiona’s: she was going to have a sleepover.
“Dada,” she said as he waved her good-bye, and his heart turned over as it always did when she smiled at him. Now he was in the apartment waiting for a woman to come to supper, like someone normal would do.
Lisa had looked very well as she set out to the birthday celebration. It was so comforting to know that Anton was jealous, that he really thought she would go to a nightclub.
At Ennio’s the host was waiting for them.
“Che belle signore!” he said, giving them each a small bunch of violets. Exactly as Anton had said he would. “Marco, vieni qui, una tavola per queste due bellissime signore.”
The son of the house bustled towards them and dusted chairs. Moira and Lisa thanked him profusely.
Lisa spotted that Maud was working there that night, and Marco saw Lisa recognize her.
“I think you know my friend and colleague Maud,” he said proudly.
“Yes, indeed I do. Lovely girl,” Lisa said. “And this is Moira Tierney, who chose the restaurant for her birthday celebration.”
“Moira Tierney …,” Marco repeated the words fearfully. “Maud has mentioned your name to me.” Written all over his face was the fact that the mention had perhaps not been the most cordial, but he struggled to remember his job of welcoming guests and handed them the menus.
They began choosing their food. If Moira said once that the markup on the food was enormous, she must have said it a dozen times.
“Imagine charging that for garlic bread!” she gasped, as if astonished.
“We don’t have to have garlic bread,” Lisa said.
“No, no, we’ll have everything we want. It’s a celebration,” Moira said in a sepulchral voice.
“Indeed it is.” Lisa was bright and positive. This looked like it would be a long night.
Emily went to Dr. Hat’s house to check that he had his curry ready for his friend Michael. She wanted to show him that he should have a dish of sliced bananas and a little bowl of coconut as well.
To her surprise the table was set for three.
“Will his wife be with him?” Emily asked, surprised. Only Michael had been mentioned up to now.
“No, Michael never married. Another crusty old bachelor,” Dr. Hat said.
“So who is the third person?”
“I was rather hoping that you would join us,” he said hesitantly.
Paddy Carroll and his wife, Molly, were going to a butchers’ dinner. It took place every year; the wives dressed up and it was held in a smart hotel. It was an occasion where Paddy Carroll had been known to over-imbibe, so Declan would drive them there and a taxi would be ordered to take them home.
Fiona waved them off as they left in a flurry, then she sat down with a big mug of tea to watch over the two little ones crawling around the floor before she had to settle them in their cribs. They were both a bit restless this evening and she was going to have to separate them if they were going to go to sleep. She was wondering if she might possibly be pregnant again. If she was,