BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Dedication
  4. Dedication2
  5. 1994
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 2006
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 2018
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. Acknowledgements

There was chutney in the fridge. One of their friends from the meeting had started making chutney as a hobby, to try and fill the long hours left by not drinking. They put a spoonful on the side of each of the plates and at least it wasn’t all earth-toned anymore. The chutney was orange but less autumnal. They both took a deep breath and picked up two plates each and carried them through to the table.

‘Fuck,’ Dell and Heidi said under their breath. It was the first thing they’d agreed on all night. As expected, they turned from each other to Greta and Peggy, who started to eat with fake gusto. Savouring every bite.

‘Fuck.’ Dell and Heidi indicated at the plates and the contents to Greta and Peggy.

Greta and Peggy nodded and made ‘Mm’ noises, like, ‘I know, great, eh? Aren’t we the lucky ones?’

Dell got up. ‘Fuck this.’ She left the plate on the table and walked out of the room. Heidi stood up and getting her jacket off the back of the dining chair followed Dell. The front door shut.

Greta and Peggy ate in silence. If you worked around the raw bits of potato, the outside was okay. It was both a blessing and a curse that they’d cut the potatoes so thick. It was why they hadn’t cooked, but it also meant there was more surface area for the cooked, crisp bits to be peeled off. The broccoli was fine. Everyone used to eat broccoli this way. It was boiled rather than steamed. It was soft, almost like soup. Did people make broccoli soup? That might be a nice thing to have on a Saturday afternoon – with scones. Did people make scones at home? Greta and Peggy chatted happily. As they were doing the dishes, they realised they had time to walk down to the meeting in town. It was a bit colder out, but it would be okay if they wrapped up tight. It had been a good day, really. They checked that all the electrical things were off in the house and put on a hat each and a jacket. Greta wore the denim one, so Peggy picked up the duffel coat off the floor. It was probably too warm for the night, but it would be okay, they weren’t walking far. They walked down the road hand in hand, talking about how good the Workbridge appointment had been. How big the moon was. How nice it was to be walking sober in the evening and knowing they’d be home soon and inside and in bed, and to wake up the next morning and know where they were going and be able to make it there without drama. They wondered if the shop had been busy. If anything new had come in.

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