Page 101 of Tailwind

A long, thin wooden table took up the right side of the room, lengthening to the open back patio that gave a view of the ocean. On the left the kitchen wrapped around a centre island where Theo’s father, Alesso, was preparing dinner.

Every surface was covered with food and cooking equipment. Alesso was still pulling more out of the cupboards.

The leftmost wall hosted a large hearth. Pops, Theo’s grandfather, was where he always had been – standing over the fire-fuelled stoves he refused to replace with a modern arcanite cooker. One big pot simmered in the centre, surrounded by half a dozen smaller ones.

My mouth watered – he was making his stew. I could see the deep red colour beyond the lip of the pot, the best smell in the world coming to life as he stirred and added more ‘secret ingredients’ he never shared or wrote down.

‘Lena is here!’ Ophelia called out.

Alesso and Pops both turned to us as Ophelia headed for the hearth. Pops’ face creased into a smile, deepening his wrinkles. I still didn’t know his name. From the day we’d met he’d insisted I call him Pops just like everyone else. Even Cam.

The two of them broke out into cries of greetings, coming over to see me, pat me on the head and offer hugs.

‘You’ve grown!’ Alesso held me by the shoulders and appraised me.

‘Not enough!’ said Pops. ‘I hope you’re staying for dinner.’

‘What’s the commotion?’ The wry comment broke through the warm greetings.

Pops and Alesso separated, revealing Theo walking in from the patio. Our eyes met and I took a lot of joy in seeing his widen.

‘Lena is home. We’ve been waiting for years! Of course there’s a commotion.’ Alesso pulled me into a bear hug, his thick arms blocking my view.

Theo slunk past us. I narrowed my eyes at him as much as I could while in Alesso’s embrace.

I was released from the hug and deposited at the kitchen island. I washed my hands in the sink and lingered, trusting that someone would give me a job soon enough.

‘Pops, how long till dinner?’ Theo asked, too casual to be genuine.

‘Less time if you stop being so lazy and actually help.’ There it was. The complaint that was really an invitation to join in. Except there was only a short list of approved ways to help, none of which involved approaching the pot of stew on the stove.

Theo pulled up next to me and took over a bowl of dough.

‘You showed up,’ he said, under his breath.

‘You invited me,’ I answered.

Nothing but a sidelong glance in return as he divided the dough between us. I scattered flour on the countertop and two rolling pins were handed over by Alesso. In sync we pulled pieces of dough, rolled them and sent them on to Ophelia who had the stir-fried filling.

I was prepared to work in a comfortable rhythm, listening to the chatter of the kitchen as the shock of my arrival dissipated. I wasn’t so lucky though.

‘Lena.’ Ophelia fixed her eyes on me from across the countertop. Any number of questions could be following that stern look. ‘You know you could have visited anyway, don’t you?’

‘Ma, I told you she’s—’

She cut Theo off. ‘Oh, Lena. You look just like my big-mouth son. I thought you were pale with long hair, but no, you seem to have turned into a rude boy who interrupts his mother!’

He shut his mouth.

‘Honestly, it’s been a bit, uh …’ I searched for the right words. Ophelia looked at me earnestly, the smile lines around her eyes now permanent.

‘Don’t blame Lena. It’s my fault that she’s not been around.’ Theo had interrupted me, but for the first time I didn’t mind. It was also the first time he’d admitted it was his fault.

My hands stopped rolling the dough, as frozen as the rest of me, unsure what to do.

Alesso tossed a towel harmlessly at Theo as Ophelia and Pops talked over one another.

‘We know it’s your fault, son. We saw the race.’