The Kookaburra Creek Café

by Sandie Docker

  This wasn’t how she’d thought it would end. She’d often imagined that they would run into each other, in Sydney probably, on some crowded street, quite by accident. They’d stop and get coffee, catch up. There was a time once, in her imaginings, that they’d go to dinner and end up back at his place, in each other’s arms. Sometimes she’d tell him all about Tammy. Sometimes she wouldn’t. Sometimes in her daydreams they’d simply meet on that crowded street in Sydney and smile and go their separate ways.

  But it wasn’t to be. Now all that was left were memories.

  Footsteps sounded behind her and she turned to see Joey and Shadow walking towards her.

  ‘Quiet day?’ Joey lowered himself beside her, and Shadow put his head in Alice’s lap. ‘What’s that?’ Joey looked at the bundle of postcards beside Alice.

  ‘I had a visitor. Dean’s passed away.’

  Joey stared at her with wide eyes.

  ‘He never knew about Tammy.’

  ‘Oh, Alice.’ He wrapped his thick arms around her. He traced his fingers through her hair as she told him about Louise’s visit.

  So, this is what I’ve learned in my seventeen years.

  The older the ties that bind us, the harder they are to break. And sometimes they don’t break at all. I suppose that’s not really an issue for me seeing as I don’t have any old ties. But I don’t know if old ties are a good or bad thing. Sometimes, it seems they can get in the way of new ties. New ties have the potential to become old ties and can maybe be just as strong, if we only let them. Maybe this is something I’ll have the chance to find out now.

  The older you are, the slower you are at getting your life together. But you do eventually get there. I suppose it can’t be easy sorting through that much baggage, so I figure I’m going to sort through mine now. Leave it behind so I’m not, like, forty and ancient before I pull it together and almost miss pulling it together because I’m so old.

  Kookaburra Creek isn’t that bad a place to be stuck in. I mean, if you have to be stuck somewhere, it might as well be in a place where people actually give a damn, right?

  Kookaburra Creek, 2018

  lice was woken by a swift pillow to the head.

  ‘We can’t be late today,’ Becca sang.

  It was the morning of the great birthday-party-slash-café-reopening.

  ‘I’m coming,’ Alice muttered from beneath the covers. ‘And ouch.’

  Before they headed downstairs Becca stopped Alice. ‘I got you something.’ She handed Alice a small box wrapped in green ribbon. ‘I know it’s not exactly what you’re missing, but maybe . . .’ She shrugged. ‘Well, new beginnings and all.’

  Alice opened the gift.

  ‘Oh, Becca.’ She pulled the girl into a tight hug. ‘I can’t believe you remembered.’

  She looked at the salt and pepper shakers – a tiny gnome boy in blue overalls and a gnome girl in a spotted red dress. ‘Sonia and Bruce.’ She sighed.

  ‘Who?’ Becca pulled a face.

  ‘My parents.’ Alice shrugged. ‘The gnome-collecting started with them. Dad gave mum her first one and then she just kept on collecting them.’

  ‘Right. Well, as I said, not quite the same, but . . . oh don’t you go getting all soppy on me!’ Becca started to walk away when she saw tears well up in Alice’s eyes.

  ‘Sorry, no. Shall we?’ They headed down to the café.

  Standing in the middle of the dining room, Alice smiled and placed the salt and pepper shakers Becca had just given her on the very centre table of the café. They would eventually build up their collection again. In time. Betty had already declared she’d definitely bring something back from Portugal when she went next month. Wouldn’t come home without a pair, in fact.

  Alice knew the birthday-party-slash-café-reopening was never going to be a quiet affair but, even in her wildest imaginings, she could never have foreseen just how grand Hattie’s plans would get. The plans had kept Alice so busy for the better part of a week, she’d hardly had time to stop. Placing orders, arranging deliveries, tweaking menus, organising extra staff, pre-baking. Alice was exhausted before the day even began.

  Freddy arrived on cue and saluted Alice. ‘Where do you want me, boss?’

  ‘Back here,’ Becca answered from the kitchen. ‘I’ve got your apron ready.’

  Alice arranged into tiers the cupcakes she’d stayed up till midnight baking: key lime pie, chocolate chilli and the ever popular chocolate fudge.

  ‘The cavalry is here.’ Hattie entered the café with a flourish, with Carson in his civvies close behind.

  ‘Ready for duty, love.’ He saluted.

  ‘Put me to use,’ Hattie demanded. ‘No point standing around gathering dust.’

  Alice gave Hattie a pen and pad and ran through the table numbers. It was her fault, after all, that the day was going to be so darn big. Her and her flyers and her insistence that the Herald most certainly would be interested in a follow-up story about the café’s rebuild.

  She wanted to cancel the whole thing once she knew the Herald was coming, but Becca wouldn’t let her. She would stay in the kitchen, make sure she wasn’t in any photos, and Hattie had convinced the paper to give her final approval, so Becca felt it would be safe. Besides, it would prove to him she wasn’t there, if photos without her in them were published in the papers. And if that wasn’t enough, well, she had all of them to watch out for her.

  ‘Where do you want these?’ Joey entered, carrying a large basket of breads and rolls and pastries in one hand, saluting with the other.

  ‘Thank God,’ Alice sighed. ‘Back there, Joey. Freddy’s waiting for you.’

  ‘Breathe.’ Joey smiled, putting his basket down and taking Alice’s hands.

  ‘I’m sorry this week’s been crazy,’ she said.

  ‘Breathe, Alice.’

  She did as she was told.

  ‘Assuming we get through today, we’ll have plenty of time just for us.’ He kissed her softly, gently and took his bread into the kitchen.

  Big wheels crunched the gravel road outside and Alice shook her head as the first of many buses arrived.

  What had Hattie got her into?

  ‘Showtime.’ Hattie sashayed into position.

  The borrowed tables on the grass below the deck were just enough to cater to the extra customers and Alice made a mental note to thank the reverend for their loan. Mental notes seemed to be the order of the day for Alice. Reimburse Claudine for the flowers on every table. Buy Mrs Harris a gift for stepping in and clearing tables when asked, give Becca a pay rise. If only she had a few moments free to make the notes on actual paper.

  Flashes of light from cameras and phones came in fits and starts, one person’s photo prompting others to follow, then nothing for a while, before another storm of light. Photos in front of the new sign that hung on chains on the front porch, photos in front of the cupcakes on display, group selfies, selfies with Alice.

  Carrying out what felt like her thousandth beetroot burger, Alice noticed Joey, who was serving tables on the deck. Mental note, buy Joey a massive thank-you present for today.

  Enjoying every moment of her party, Hattie mingled through the crowd as only Hattie could, making everyone feel like their being there was the reason she was so happy. The red stripe in her hair was the exact shade of the roses sprinkled over the chiffon scarf around her neck and she was glowing with the attention.

  In the corner of the café sat the real reason for Hattie’s joy. Genevieve had a blanket across her knees, and Betty was fussing about, making sure she was comfortable. Alice thought that perhaps the smallest light of recognition flickered in Genevieve’s eyes every time Hattie wafted past her.

  With the sun low in the sky, soft voices floated through the evening air. The long table on the deck was covered in glasses, some half full, some empty, some toppled over spilling sticky liquid onto the white tablecloths. The crowds had finally left and only those closest to Alice and Hattie remained. The reverend was chattin
g quietly with Betty at one end of the table. Fiona was sitting with her mother at the other, enduring Mrs Harris’s loud laments about her daughter leaving town to sit the bar, the abject gloating barely disguised. Fiona smiled at Alice and she smiled back. Hattie was trying to convince Sergeant Carson to pursue acting properly because looks like his shouldn’t go to waste, even at his age. While Carson blushed, Clive snored quietly next to him, chin on his chest.

  Becca’s head was resting on Freddy’s shoulder and Alice could see from the rise and fall of her chest she wasn’t far off sleep. Freddy smiled down at her, playing with the stray hair that fell across her forehead. Mental note, take those two to Sydney for a weekend.

  Alice kissed Joey and squeezed his shoulder as she got up and took the empty bottles of wine into the kitchen.

  From beneath the bench she pulled out the charcoaled remains of Sylvia. The firefighters had found her wedged between the steel bench and splashback after the fire, the metal having protected her somewhat from the flames. Only Sylvia’s eyes remained un-scorched, though, and Alice had placed her on a piece of cardboard in the hope of hanging her on the wall again. But the paper was so badly damaged, to touch it was to crumble its brittle edges.

  ‘We did it,’ Alice said, smiling at her old friend. ‘The chocolate chilli Joey suggested was a hit and I’ve got orders for the chocolate fudge that will keep me busy till next Christmas.’

  On the wall where Sylvia once hung was now a photo of Tammy and Joey walking beside Kookaburra Creek, hand in hand.

  Carefully Alice picked up the cardboard backing Sylvia rested on, opened the back door and carried her to the creek. ‘Thank you.’ She knelt down and placed Sylvia in the gently flowing water at her feet. ‘For everything.’

  ‘Did she ever talk back?’ Hattie’s voice made Alice jump and swivel around.

  ‘How long have you been standing there?’

  ‘Long enough,’ she said with a grin.

  ‘Everyone’s starting to head off.’ Becca joined them by the water’s edge.

  Hattie smiled. ‘Time to go home.’

  The three women linked arms and took the few steps back to the café together.

  Alice smiled. Home. Kookaburra Creek, her café, Hattie, Joey, Becca. Funny how ‘home’ could sneak up on you like that, a place where you never meant to stay, with people you never meant to love.

  Sylvia’s Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

  Makes 24

  1¾ cups caster sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla paste

  180g butter 3 eggs

  200g dark chocolate ⅔ cup water

  2 cups self-raising flour 24 × 1cm squares of dark chocolate

  ½ cup cocoa

  Preheat oven to 180°C. Line cupcake tins with cupcake cases.

  Place 200g chocolate, sugar and butter into a heat-proof bowl. Heat in microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring between, until chocolate is melted.

  Place remaining ingredients into bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on low and gradually add melted chocolate mixture. Increase speed to medium and beat until combined.

  Spoon into prepared cupcake tin. Push a square of dark chocolate into the centre of each cupcake.

  Bake till cooked – when top of cupcake is lightly pressed and cake springs back (approx. 15 mins).

  Cool.

  Top with chocolate frosting, piped in a swirl.

  Chocolate Frosting

  125g butter, soft 4 tablespoons milk

  2½ cups icing sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla paste

  ½ cup cocoa

  Place all ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until combined, fluffy and lighter in colour.

  Strawberry and White Chocolate Cupcakes

  Makes 20

  1 punnet of strawberries ¾ cup milk

  180g butter, soft ½ cup grated white chocolate

  1 teaspoon vanilla paste 1 tablespoon cornflour

  1 cup caster sugar 20 × 1 cm squares of white chocolate

  3 eggs

  2 cups self-raising flour

  Preheat oven to 180°C. Line cupcake tin with cupcake cases.

  Cut strawberries up into chunks and lay on a piece of paper towel to remove excess moisture.

  Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in flour, milk and grated white chocolate. Place strawberries in a bowl and stir together with cornflour. Fold into cake batter.

  Spoon into prepared cupcake tins. Push a square of white chocolate into the centre of each cupcake.

  Bake till cooked – when top of cupcake is lightly pressed and cake springs back (approx. 15 mins).

  Cool.

  Top with cream cheese and berry frosting.

  Strawberry Coulis

  4–5 strawberries ¼ cup caster sugar

  Make strawberry coulis by cutting up strawberries and placing them in a cup or jar with caster sugar and set aside to macerate. Once strawberries and sugar have become liquid, blitz with hand blender.

  Cream Cheese and Berry Frosting

  30g butter, soft strawberry coulis

  250g cream cheese ¼ cup grated white chocolate

  500g icing sugar

  Beat butter, cream cheese and icing sugar until fluffy. Drizzle strawberry coulis down the sides of a piping bag, then fill piping bag with cream cheese. Pipe onto cupcakes in a swirl. Sprinkle white chocolate over top.

  Lemon and Rosemary Cupcakes

  Makes 18

  1 cup caster sugar zest and juice of 1 lemon

  180g butter, soft 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

  3 eggs ¼ cup lemon curd or lemon butter

  2½ cups self-raising flour

  ¾ cup milk

  Preheat oven to 180°C. Line cupcake tin with cupcake cases.

  Beat butter and sugar till fluffy and light in colour. Beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in flour and milk. Add rosemary, lemon zest and juice and mix well.

  Spoon into prepared cupcake tins and bake till cooked – when top of cupcake is lightly pressed and cake springs back (approx. 18 mins).

  Cool.

  Using an apple corer, take out the middle of each cupcake (approx. 1½ cm deep) and fill with lemon curd/butter.

  Top cupcakes with piped lemon Italian meringue.

  Lemon Italian Meringue

  3 egg whites ¼ cup water

  1 cup of caster sugar 2 teaspoons lemon zest

  Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

  In the meantime make sugar syrup – place sugar and water into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Stir often. Once sugar is dissolved, bring to boil without stirring. Boil for approx. 2 mins, or until soft ball state is reached (when a teaspoon of syrup is dropped into chilled water you can form it into a soft ball between your thumb and finger).

  With beater running, add sugar syrup to egg whites in a slow stream. Add lemon zest. Continue beating till meringue is cooled. This does take some time.

  Fill piping bag with meringue and pipe onto cupcakes.

  Choc-Hazelnut and Frangelico Cupcakes

  Makes 20

  180g butter, soft 1 cup water

  1 teaspoon vanilla paste ½ cup cocoa powder

  ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup hazelnut meal

  ½ cup caster sugar 4 tablespoons Frangelico

  2 cups self-raising flour 20 Ferrero Rocher chocolates

  3 eggs

  Preheat oven to 180°C. Line cupcake tin with cupcake cases.

  Place butter, vanilla, sugars, flour, eggs and water into bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy. Divide batter evenly into two bowls. Into one bowl add cocoa and mix well. Into other bowl add hazelnut meal and Frangelico and mix well.

  Fill each cupcake case with half chocolate batter and half hazelnut batter. Bake till cooked – when top of cupcake is lightly pressed and cake springs back (approx. 18 mins).

  Cool.

  Top with whipped ganache and a Ferrero Rocher chocolate.

  Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache

/>   400g dark chocolate, broken into pieces ½ cup cream

  3 tablespoons Frangelico

  Place chocolate and cream into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in

  20-second bursts, stirring between, until chocolate begins to melt. Remove from microwave and stir the chocolate and cream until all chocolate is melted and combined with the cream. Stir in Frangelico. Leave to cool. Once thickened, but not set, place into bowl of electric beater and beat until lighter in colour and holding its shape.

  Pipe onto cupcakes and top with Ferrero Rocher.

  Lime and Coconut Cupcakes

  Makes 18

  180g butter, soft ¾ cup milk

  ½ cup brown sugar zest and juice of 4 limes

  ½ cup caster sugar 2 cups of toasted shredded coconut

  1 teaspoon vanilla paste ¼ cup lime curd

  3 eggs

  2 cups flour

  Preheat oven to 180°C. Line cupcake tin with cupcake cases.

  To toast coconut, line a baking tray with grease-proof paper and spread coconut out evenly. Place in oven until coconut begins to turn brown. Remove and place in bowl to cool.

  Beat butter, sugars and vanilla paste until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in flour, milk, zest and juice. Fold in 1½ cups of toasted coconut. Reserve ½ cup of coconut.