Daisy and Kate by Meredith Appleyard

Author:Meredith Appleyard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd
Published: 2023-08-08T00:00:00+00:00

32

Kate

Valma and Evelyn were sitting with me in the breakfast nook. We were having coffee and discussing the women’s and children’s hospital fundraiser. It was four weeks away. Valma had offered to do the scones before I asked and Evelyn the jelly cakes. Evelyn would be away on a holiday in sunny Queensland but she’d make and freeze them before she went. They agreed that their contributions plus my slices, mini quiches and assorted sandwiches would suffice. Until Valma said, ‘Should I ask Lorraine Sheriff to do several of her sponge rolls?’

‘You think there won’t be enough food with what we’ve planned? It’s only morning tea.’ This from me.

‘Tickets are twenty-five dollars,’ Valma said. ‘Granted it’s a fundraiser, but you know how people are: they want value for money. And we know the ones who’ll be very vocal if they don’t think they’re getting their money’s worth. And then there are those who’ll make it their breakfast and their lunch.’

‘What if you offered a glass of bubbly along with morning tea?’ Evelyn said, directing the question to me.

‘At ten thirty in the morning!’ Valma’s eyes bulged.

Evelyn didn’t miss a beat. ‘You’d only need half-a-dozen bottles, and Reece would happily donate them. A mix of pink and white.’

‘But alcohol, for morning tea?’

‘Valma, you just said you want them to get value for money. I guarantee there will be no complaints about value if we offer a glass of bubbles in the ticket price.’

‘It’d save you asking Lorraine for sponge rolls,’ I said. ‘And I wouldn’t have to put out cake forks.’ Personally, I’d rather bubbles over Lorraine Sheriff’s jam- and cream-filled sponge rolls any day.

‘But you’d need champagne glasses,’ Valma said triumphantly. ‘Where would you get those?’

‘We have dozens of the things. We use them for cellar door.’

Valma blinked several times and sat back in her seat.

‘And thirty-five people aren’t going to get rolling drunk on six bottles of sparkling wine.’

Had Evelyn really needed to press the point any further? To me, Valma seemed convinced—or resigned.

‘Would anyone like another coffee?’ I said, cheerfully.

‘Not for me, thanks, Kate.’ Valma slid out of the booth. ‘I’ll be on my way. No need to see me out.’

I did, all the same.

‘I promise there’ll be no long-life milk,’ I said to her on the way through, hoping to get a smile. No such luck.

‘I can’t be sure what Gaye and Maureen will have to say about serving wine at morning tea,’ she said. ‘And I will have to mention it to them, seeing as how they’re organising the tickets.’

‘What if we gave guests the option of having orange juice with the bubbly?’

Valma’s countenance brightened. ‘I suppose that could work. Please don’t think I’m being a wowser, Kate. It’s just—’

‘You don’t have to explain, Valma. I’ll make sure there’s orange juice.’

Valma trekked off down the driveway to her little buzz-box parked on the street. It was a dreary day. There’d been a sprinkle of rain earlier. I closed the front door and went back to the kitchen.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.