Carol ran in with an order for a strange little man in the corner who had changed his mind, and now wanted a different main dish. Theresa realised she should have tried to tell Carol, then and there, that she was leaving. But instead, she presented the new dish, saying nothing.

She knew Carol would want her to stay and also knew that she could brook no argument, or waste time while the others tried to persuade her.

So Theresa made up her mind that she would break it to the others only as she walked out of the door, for then it would be too late, and she didn’t want to deal with their sympathy and suggestions.

She was certain they could manage without her. (And although actually she doubted the truth of that, she tried to suppress all her qualms on this subject.)

Because Theresa knew that she really had no choice.

She had to go to her family.

SEVEN

When Sally had presented the fuel bill for the boat’s trip to Villefranche and back, Carol had seen her point. This meant that, unless a massive order came in for a ship moored nearby, the Shore-to-Ship project was effectively shelved. If anyone phoned with a small order, Carol would simply tell them that they had just missed the boat, literally.

But Sally was still on for picking up and making deliveries in the van.

As she unfastened her seat belt, back from a mid-morning early-lunch delivery, she watched the paltry gang of diners shuffling into La Mosaïque and taking their seats. They had the air of holidaymakers, French ones today, perhaps from Paris or the north.

Following them inside, she fiddled with her phone, all the while thinking about her bizarre meetings with Eggy and Phoo. She couldn’t believe that people held on to those petty grievances for so long. But then she too was still nurturing the pain from the intimidation they had inflicted, and still was, deep inside, rather frightened of them, as though she was a mere child and they were serious adults. Those two chance encounters had left her feeling pretty nervous about driving the van around. She certainly did not want to bump into them a third time.

Just as the first orders started being served, Theresa arrived in the dining room and made her startling announcement, telling the whole group that she was leaving, with immediate effect, and that she did not know when she would return. Despite her initial shock on Theresa’s behalf, Sally felt sure that the fourteen-year-old she had met last year would be off somewhere having a laugh with her friends, not imagining how this might scare her family. While Theresa was away, Sally would be secretly pleased to take her place, thereby retiring from the world of deliveries to hide in the kitchen. This would enable her to remain out of sight while still making her contribution to the team.

Thus, with no qualms, she volunteered. Carol, she suggested, could take on the deliveries, if and when they came, and in the meantime, at this low level of custom, the dining room and welcome desk could be easily served by William and Benjamin.