‘Hello,’ Cathy said, breathless as he pulled away.
‘Hello,’ Matthias replied with a warm smile. ‘Well, this is new, isn’t it?’
‘What?’
‘I sort of feel as if you’re on a date with both me and Tansy.’
‘So do I,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Like I’m on approval and if she doesn’t like me she can send me back.’
‘Not on my watch she can’t,’ he said. ‘This is as much about her making an effort as you – don’t think otherwise.’
Cathy didn’t believe that for a moment; Tansy – as far as Cathy could tell – had never heard of the word compromise. You either played her way or you didn’t play. It was a cycle that needed to be broken and there was no way the stick method was going to work so it would have to be the carrot. That was what today was about – carrots and lots of them. Or one big one, if you really wanted to stretch the analogy.
Matthias took a bag from her and winced. ‘What the hell is in here? It weighs a ton!’
She laughed. ‘It’s not that heavy.’
‘I wouldn’t have fancied carrying it on the bus. If you’d told me you were dragging so much over here I’d have insisted on picking you up.’
‘I didn’t know I was bringing this much; I got a bit carried away. I looked in the cupboards and it just felt as if I needed everything.’
‘Well, I hope she appreciates the effort,’ he said, and Cathy didn’t have to ask who he meant.
‘I got her this too…’ Cathy opened one of her bags and showed him a glossy hardback book.
He offered a silent question.
‘A present,’ she said. ‘A recipe book of her own. I thought she might prefer something put together by a real cook so she could bake when she feels like, here. When I’m not here, I mean.’
‘You are a real cook!’ he said with a chuckle.
‘Oh, you know what I mean.’
‘So that’s not yours then?’
‘God no!’ she said, laughing. ‘Mine looks nothing like this!’
He kissed her lightly. ‘That’s such a kind thing to do; I’ll bet it cost a fortune. It’s just the sort of thing I’m learning to expect from you – I think she’ll love it.’
‘I hope so,’ Cathy said.
‘Come on through,’ he said, pots clanking in the bag he was carrying as he continued down the hallway. ‘She’s upstairs; I’ll call her down.’
As Cathy unpacked her bags Tansy came in. She was wearing leggings and a slouchy sweatshirt, and her usual harsh make-up and tight ponytail were missing. With her hair tied in a loose plait over one shoulder and her face bare she looked a lot younger. Pretty, actually, Cathy thought; if she’d only drop the permanent look of confrontation she’d be prettier still.
‘Hi,’ Cathy said.
‘Hi.’ Tansy took a seat at the table and watched for a moment as Cathy got things out of her bags. ‘What’s all that?’ she asked finally.
‘Stuff I thought we might need. There are a few things I have twice at home and don’t need. You could keep them here… In case you decide to do a lot more baking. I don’t think your uncle has much of this.’
‘I have none of it,’ Matthias said, turning round from where he was filling the kettle. ‘You’re lucky to find a spoon and bowl for your breakfast around here.’
‘Oh,’ Tansy said, and although she didn’t offer any thanks, Cathy thought she detected just the tiniest softening of her expression.
‘I got you this, too,’ Cathy continued, pulling the professional cookery book from her bag now. She pushed it across the table to Tansy, catching a smile from Matthias as she glanced up.
‘What is it?’ Tansy asked, making no move to pick it up.
‘What does it look like?’ Matthias said.
He leaned back against the worktop and folded his arms, regarding them both with a pleased look. Cathy wondered if he thought this was progress. He’d know better than her, of course, but if this was progress, it was going to be slow and painful because Tansy hardly looked thrilled with her gift.
‘Thanks,’ she said in a toneless voice. She twisted round to look at Matthias and caught a slip in his smile, and, perhaps for him more than anyone else, she eventually took up the book and thumbed through its pages.
‘Do you like it?’ Matthias asked.
‘Yeah.’ Tansy put the book down again. ‘It’s good.’
‘I brought mine with me too,’ Cathy said. ‘It’s obviously rubbish compared to that but we can look through it if you decide you’d rather do something you’ve tried at cookery club before. Or we can go through the new one and have a go at something in there.’
‘I don’t mind,’ Tansy said. ‘Whatever.’
‘Right…’ Cathy threw an uncertain look at Matthias as he stood behind Tansy. He shrugged. ‘Maybe you want to look through the new one for a bit? There’s no rush to start anything. I could chat to your uncle for a while.’
‘What do you think we should make, Matt?’ Tansy said, twisting to look at him again. ‘You choose and you can eat it.’
‘All of it?’ he asked with a grin. ‘How greedy do you think I am?’
‘Well,’ she said, the ghost of a genuine smile now, ‘you ate all that carrot cake.’
‘I did not!’ he said, laughing.
‘Almost all of it,’ Tansy said.
‘Did you like it?’ Cathy asked.
‘It was amazing,’ he said warmly. ‘Best carrot cake I’ve ever had.’
‘Shall we make that again then?’ Tansy asked with the vaguest hint of enthusiasm – nothing crazy but certainly more than Cathy had ever witnessed.
‘That sounds good to me,’ Cathy said.
‘Shall we use your recipe?’ Tansy asked.
Cathy got her own exercise book out and looked for the page. ‘Will you have all these ingredients in?’
‘I might have some left over from when I brought the stuff to cookery club,’ Tansy said, getting up to look in the cupboards. One by one she brought the ingredients to the table as Cathy read them out.
‘Maybe there’s not quite enough brown sugar there,’ Cathy said, looking them over when they’d finished. ‘We might want a bit more dried fruit too.’
‘I could go foraging,’ Matthias said. ‘Make a list for me – make it very clear because I don’t know the first thing about cake ingredients and anything could come back with me. You two can make a start while I’m gone.’
The prospect of time alone with Tansy hardly filled Cathy with glee, but she realised that this was probably the best solution. Matthias had his car and he could be at the shops and back far quicker than she could walk it. Besides, the point of this visit (apart from the fact that any excuse to see Matthias was one she’d grab willingly) was for Cathy to get to know Tansy better and to get her to open up a bit. Being left alone with her could go one of two ways, but she hoped that if she handled it right, it would go the good way and not the bad.
‘Tansy… would you like to check the recipe and write down what your uncle needs to get? I think your handwriting might be a lot better than mine.’