“Not tonight, I’m afraid. Didn’t bring my glasses with me this evening. Blind as a bat up close.”

“I’m driving her home tonight,” said Gemma, as though to put Annie’s mind at rest. “Why don’t I help you?”

“If you don’t mind, that would be great,” said Annie.

Gemma, it turned out, was a natural. Her friendly disposition made her an excellent calmer of customers who might otherwise have huffed and puffed about the wait. Annie mused that if she were still at the Pomegranate, Gemma would be just the sort of person she would hire for front of house. She picked up how to use the till almost at once and could remember who ordered what without any problems at all. Annie was in no position to be paying someone to help her out but, equally, she would lose customers if the service was bad; word of mouth could make or break a small business.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she said: “Gemma, if I were to take someone on part-time, would you be interested? School hours only, of course, so you could drop off and pick up the kids . . .”

Gemma’s eyes instantly welled with tears, and she threw her arms around Annie, almost knocking the milk jug clean out of her hands.

“I’d love to! Just say the word.”

“It won’t be much”—that’s for damn sure—“but I’ll make sure your hourly rate is above the minimum wage . . .”

“Fine, fine, fine.” Gemma was waving her arms about. “Just let me know when I can start.”

“Brian won’t mind?” Annie asked. The couple had, after all, agreed that Gemma should be a full-time mum.

“He won’t mind at all, and if he does it won’t make any difference.” She looked at Annie, her eyes big and intense. “I need this. I need a job,” she said with barely controlled desperation.

“Then it’s yours,” said Annie. “Give me a few days to sort out the finances . . .” Sell my body, she thought, sell a kidney, maybe two.

“Honestly,” Gemma broke in. “Whenever you’re ready. Just say the word.”

And just like that, Annie had staff.

Chapter 59