by Alix Kelso
She headed for the office door, but stopped and turned back to Laura. “Before I open this door, I want to make sure the staff haven’t organised some foolish shindig out there for me.”
“We haven’t, you asked us not to.”
“And I meant it. We had our farewell party and it was wonderful. I’ve said goodbye to the regular customers. But when I leave this place for the last time, I want to see it as it always is, as it always has been – busy and bustling. It’s important that I remember it that way.”
“We know that’s what you want, and we know why you want it.”
And when Natalie opened the office door and stepped into the restaurant and saw that it was indeed just as it always was – busy and bustling – relief swept through her. Although she wanted to move on, that didn’t mean there was no emotion connected with doing it, and she knew she couldn’t bear a huge scene as she stepped through Valentino’s doors.
Still, there were fond waves as she passed through – a kiss from Paul, and another from Tanya, who rushed from the kitchen to embrace her. The new owner, Ruby Leighton, waited at the coffee machine and offered her own waves goodbye and kind words of farewell. Ruby’s generous spirit boded well for the future of Valentino’s, Natalie thought.
When she reached the door, she turned and looked around the restaurant one last time. A thousand memories flew through her head. And although she knew it was just her imagination, for a fleeting moment she felt Angelo’s hand brush against hers.
Finally she turned and opened the door and stepped outside.
“Well,” she said, sliding the boxes she’d carried into the back of her car before adding the ones that Laura had brought. She stood back and looked up at Valentino’s. “Well, okay.”
Laura smiled at her from the pavement, and Natalie saw tears in the young woman’s eyes.
“Good luck, Natalie,” Laura said. “Thanks for being a good friend. Thanks for everything.”
“I hope you will go and live a wonderful life, Laura,” she said, taking her into her arms. “You deserve it.”
Natalie kissed her cheek and gave her arm one final squeeze.
“Happy travelling,” Laura said. “Send me postcards.”
“Will do. Now off you go before I cry and make a fool of myself.”
As Natalie walked around to the driver’s door, she glanced over at The Crooked Thistle.
Keith stood in the doorway. He raised his hand and waved. Natalie paused, waved back, and smiled.
And then got into her car and drove off towards the new life that she hoped was waiting for her out there.
Back inside Valentino’s, Laura found Ruby Leighton dabbing at her eyes beside the coffee machine.
“It’s so sad to see Natalie leave. I know you must be upset right now Laura, but I wonder if we could have a quick chat?”
“Of course.”
Laura followed her into the empty office and remembered the day when Natalie had called her in and broken the news about her plans to sell the restaurant. She’d been crushed at the news. Now, as she once more sat down in preparation for a talk with the boss, she thought about how much had changed in her life, and how quickly.
“Now, Laura,” Ruby said. “You are a wonderful waitress, everybody says so. But I want more from you than that, which is why I’m offering you the job of assistant manager. The hours are longer, but you’ll get a thirty per cent raise to account for the new responsibilities. I’m sure you must have lots of great ideas about what we can do to make this place even better than it already is, and I want to hear them. So what do you think?”
She looked at Ruby, who was gazing expectantly across the table. She had no doubt that the woman would be a good boss, and that Valentino’s was in safe hands.
Smiling, Laura drew in a deep breath. “That’s a wonderful offer, thank you. But I can’t accept it.”
Ruby’s smile began to waver. “You’re playing hardball. I suppose I can look again at the figures, see if I can increase the raise a little more, and—”
But Laura shook her head. “The offer’s fantastic, that’s not the problem. I’ve decided it’s time for me to move on.”
Ruby stared. “You’re leaving?”
She nodded. “And I hope you don’t mind, but another waitress wants to pick up my hours, which means I don’t have to work my notice, if that’s okay.”
Leaning back in her chair, Ruby studied her. “Natalie spoke very highly of you, Laura. I’ll be sorry to lose you. Have you found a job somewhere else?”
“Not another job, no. But it’s time to finish something I’ve put off for too long.”
“And this thing you’ve put off, it’s important, is it?”
“Yes, very important.”
“Well in that case, I’m disappointed, but I understand.”
Laura rose and pulled off her apron.
“You’re leaving already?” Ruby asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Natalie left today and I ought to leave too, before I lose my nerve and back out of doing this thing.”
Ruby scrutinised her, long and hard. Laura thought she saw recognition in her expression, and not for the first time she wondered what had brought the woman to Valentino’s. There was a story there, she thought, and she was sorry she wouldn’t be around to hear it.
“Well in that case, of course you should go,” Ruby said, smiling. “I hope you’ll come back sometime and have coffee and tell us how you’re doing and what you’re up to?”
“Count on it,” she said.
Once she’d left the office, Laura, like Natalie before her, looked around Valentino’s, taking it all in. Ten years she’d spent in this place and now she was leaving. She felt the moment deep inside her.
“Waitress!”
Looking up, she saw Mr Davidson at a nearby table, pouting over a sandwich. Smiling, she walked over.
“This sandwich is disgusting!” Mr Davidson said, gesturing at it. “I said no tomato, and yet they’ve put tomato in it! I said no mustard, and yet they’ve put mustard in it! What are you going to do about this?”
Laura stared. Then smiled. Finally, she leaned down and planted a huge kiss on Mr Davidson’s cheek. His expression turned from angry to stunned, before finally melting into a huge smile.
But Laura didn’t see it. She was already gone.
Chapter 24
A few weeks later and summer was just a memory, replaced with the crisp scents of turning leaves and the chilled air of late September.
Bruce pulled into a free parking spot and turned off the car engine. From the passenger seat, Laura craned out of the windscreen and watched the hordes outside moving across the campus.
“Excited?” Bruce asked.
“Excited and nervous. They all look so young. I’ll never fit in.”
“Is that why you’re here? To fit in?”
“No, but still. I’m geriatric compared to this lot.”
“Get used to it. Once you’re qualified and teaching secondary school, you’re going to look completely ancient.”
“Thanks.”
Laughing, he squeezed her hand. “You’re going to love it.”
Laura pulled her backpack from the floor and checked one more time that she had everything she needed. Laptop. Pens and pencils. Notepads. Timetable set up on her phone. Campus map folded in her pocket.
“It doesn’t feel like ten years since I last did this,” she said. “Time can be funny, I guess. I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I?”
“You are absolutely doing the right thing. Given how many history textbooks you’ve read these past weeks, you could probably pass the exam right now.”
Staring out the window – at the university, the students, and the journey she was about to begin – Laura shook her head in wonder.
“I never thought I’d do this. I never thought I’d go back and finish what I started.”
Bruce reached over and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart. It tak
es guts to do what you’re doing.”
She smiled and squeezed his hand.
“And I don’t want to upset you on your first day, but I want to say ... well, I want to say that your parents would’ve been proud of you too.”
She felt a lump come to her throat. “Yeah.”
“And if it turns out university isn’t for you after all, I could always use a labourer over at the pub. We’re pulling up floorboards next week.”
“That sounds like a good reason for me to get to the library and start working.”
He shrugged. “Worth a try.”
She smiled and looked back out at the busy campus. It felt like everything was finally falling into place.
Glancing at her watch, she opened the car door. “Okay, wish me luck.”
“Good luck. But you don’t need it. Everything’s going to be amazing.”
Leaning over, she kissed him and thought: Everything already is amazing.
After Bruce drove off, Laura pulled her backpack over her shoulder and started walking towards her lecture theatre.
And towards the future and whatever it might hold.
THE READER’S CLUB
Join my Reader’s Club and I’ll send you a FREE Fairhill novella – A Little Romance – written exclusively for members. It’s a lovely story to curl up with and I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Reader’s Club members also receive my newsletter every two weeks, including all the latest Fairhill gossip as well as bits and pieces about the books I’m working on and what I get up to when I’m not hunched over the keyboard tapping out stories. They’re also the first to hear about future book release dates and special offers.
It’s completely free to sign up, I’ll never spam you, and you can opt out anytime. And don’t worry, I won’t constantly bombard you with emails asking you to buy my books - I hate that too.
I do hope you’ll join my Reader’s Club and claim your FREE copy of the exclusive Fairhill novella A Little Romance.
Sign up at my website: www.alixkelso.com
DID YOU ENJOY THIS BOOK? PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW
I’m a new independent author, just starting out. This is very exciting! But I don’t have the deep pockets of the big publishers or the ability to buy lots of advertising to promote my book (the petty cash fund barely covers tea bags right now).
Reviews from people who have enjoyed my book are incredibly important for finding new readers who might also like my stories. Every review really makes a big difference in helping me to continue publishing. And so I’d be hugely grateful if you’d consider leaving a review either at the online store where you purchased this book or at Goodreads if you prefer. Your review doesn’t have to be long – just a few words saying why you liked it will be enough.
Thank you!
A MESSAGE FROM ALIX
The Perfect Moment began as a story about Laura and Bruce and how they found their way to happily-ever-after. But the characters of Natalie and Keith quickly resisted my attempts to ‘use’ them just to advance the main story, and I soon found myself drawn into their lives too.
Yet Natalie and Keith don’t find their own resolutions at the end of the book. No matter how hard I tried to force them together, they were having none of it. After many sleepless nights, I decided to trust what the characters were trying to tell me. And I quickly realised that maybe I wasn’t writing just one story, but a series of them. And that’s how Fairhill was born.
And so the good news is that Keith’s story will continue in the second Fairhill novel I’m working on right now, and Natalie’s story will continue in the third novel. So if you want to know how things turn out for them, don’t forget to join my Reader’s Club and be the first to hear news about future release dates.
Finally, a word about Fairhill – it’s an entirely fictional area of Glasgow that I dreamt up. Its essence can be found throughout the different parts of the real city, but because Fairhill is fictional I can mess around with the neighbourhood features to suit myself and the stories.
A few readers have asked how I came up with the name ‘Fairhill’. In Glasgow, there are many areas with the -hill suffix, such as Govanhill and Maryhill. As for the ‘Fair’ part – well, the Glasgow Fair is a two-week holiday period in July that’s been observed in the city for centuries. Until relatively recently, most businesses and trades would close down entirely for the Fair Fortnight, and many still do. As a kid I always found the idea of the Fair Fortnight magical, with its promise of the travelling fairgrounds which would arrive, yet another tradition that also has a long history in the city. And of course ‘fair’ also means lovely and bonny, which seemed perfect; after all in Gaelic, Glasgow means ‘dear green place.’
Alix Kelso - Glasgow, 20 February 2019.
About the Author
Alix Kelso is the author of the Fairhill novel series. She’s happiest with her nose in a book and may lash out dangerously if disturbed while reading. Having previously worked as a shop assistant, waitress, hospital cleaner and dishwasher, she eventually became a university lecturer. Although she enjoyed the academic world of teaching and researching and helping her students, she always loved writing stories in her spare time and finally decided to pursue her dream of publishing a novel and becoming a full time writer.
Alix lives in her home city of Glasgow with her husband and their rescue dog. She enjoys pottering in the kitchen, walking in Glasgow’s many lovely parks, and is a firm believer in the therapeutic benefits of a long lunch with a big glass of wine.
You can find out more about Alix and her books on her website: www.alixkelso.com
