Page 47 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

‘I’ll do it,’ said Skye, picking up the heavy tray. ‘You have a sit-down. You deserve a break.’

‘Thanks.’ Liz sank onto a chair. ‘I will.’

By the time everyone who wanted dessert had been served, Liz had fallen asleep. Skye felt guilty waking her, but they still had work to do.

‘Liz!’ Skye shook her shoulders.

‘Wha—?’ Liz’s head jerked up and she took a moment to focus. Her eyes were bloodshot. Poor thing; she looked exhausted. ‘Just resting my eyes.’

‘Get Liz out here,’ cried Angel from the garden, ‘we want to give her a round of applause for her amazing food.’

‘Come outside and take a bow!’ Ele added and someone else whistled.

There was a bit of drool on Liz’s chin. Skye handed her a tissue. ‘Time to greet your fans.’

‘Really?’ Liz’s eyes sparkled. Or, rather, one of them did, the other one was still having a job to open properly.

‘Yes, really,’ Skye assured her. ‘Everyone has been asking me for recipes.’

‘I’ve had such fun today, I was really nervous, but there was no need. Liz stumbled a little as she stood up.’

‘Whoops. Not tipsy are you?’ Skye teased. The smile dropped from her face as she caught a whiff of alcohol on Liz’s breath. Oh no. Oh no. ‘Bloody hell, Liz.’

‘Of course not! I’m a profesh-niol,’ Liz replied haughtily and flounced out of the kitchen.

Skye hurried after her. OK, maybe Liz had had a couple of drinks. But there was no need to panic. Skye could cover for her and finish the clearing away. All she had to do was make sure Liz didn’t get her hands on any more booze.

Leaving Liz to chat with some of the guests, nursing a glass of water, Skye collected the dirty plates and glasses and took the leftover food to the kitchen. She worked as fast as she could, keeping one eye on Liz at all times. Most people were on their feet now, chatting in groups; a few more had joined in the dancing at the bottom of the garden.

‘Normally there’d be fried egg in the rice, but with it being vegan I had to make a few substitutions,’ Liz was saying. She was propped against the table, sloshing her water around as she spoke.

‘And this curry … the flavours are mwah!’ Angel kissed her fingertips. ‘So much more intense than mine. What’s your secret?’

‘Skye and I devised the recipe between us’ said Liz, flushed with success. ‘Adapted it from beef rendang. Without the beef, of course.’

‘You’re a genius,’ said Marta.

‘You must have a drink, Liz!’ said Noah, topping up everyone’s glass with wine. ‘Chef’s prerogative, after all that hard work.’

‘Well, if you insist.’ Liz promptly tipped out the rest of her water on the grass and held the glass out for Noah to pour into.

Skye dashed outside. ‘We’ve got to drive back, remember,’ she said, aiming for a light tone.

‘Oh, live a little. A small one won’t hurt,’ Liz said, accepting a drink. ‘And you’re insured to drive the van, so don’t worry about that.’

‘Cheers!’ Ele chinked her glass against Liz’s. ‘You were saying, about your recipe?’

‘Yes, sorry, my brain’s gone,’ Liz giggled. ‘So, it’s vegetables, coconut milk, then I made my own curry paste, of course. Oyster sauce, lemon grass and—’

Skye froze. Had Liz just said …

‘Oyster sauce …?’ Angel looked at the others and frowned.

Liz nodded. ‘Gives it that lovely umami. Great word umami. Uuu-mah-mi. What?’

She lurched to one side with shock as Skye flung herself out onto the patio, squeezed in next to Liz and put a tight arm around her shoulders. ‘The original recipe has oyster sauce. But we substituted it for something else didn’t we, Liz?’

Liz looked blank. ‘Er. Did we?’