Alex walked into the large kitchen. With its eight-seater dining table, the freshly painted white walls made it look even brighter under the spotlights and the warmth of the oven made it feel homely. ‘What’s this feast? Is this your present from the pink ladies?’
‘You make them sound like the girls from Grease. I presume you’re their dark-haired Danny Zuko from the T-Birds, eh?’ Jokingly, Maggie waved her serving spoon at him as though to hit him, but burst out laughing.
He laughed. ‘I think we need a celebration night.’ Waving a bottle of red wine in the air and searching through the drawers for a corkscrew, he grinned. ‘This place is just about finished. All we need is a restock of alcohol, a tidy up and your name above the door, Maggie. Then we can begin our new life. But tonight, let’s just be a family and drink this red wine. Dante, even you can have half a small glass. Tonight is for us.’ Reaching in the cupboard, Alex took out four wine glasses. As they sat around the table, Alex raised his glass. ‘To the Silva family and new beginnings.’ Each of them raised their glasses in return.
‘To new beginnings!’ they chorused.
The next day, Maggie walked down the street towards Emma’s and Olivia’s houses, clean earthenware dish in hand. As she approached the gate, Olivia’s door seemed to open instantly, as though she had seen Maggie approaching from the window. She ran to greet her.
‘Thank you so much Olivia, your lasagne was absolutely lovely.’
‘You’re so welcome Maggie.’ Opening the door a little wider, Olivia invited her in for a coffee. Maggie sensed that this was for another interrogation and, given the long day she had in front of her, declined. ‘Another time. We’re busy finishing up the place. Now the workmen have gone, it all needs a good sweep and a tidy.’ Maggie felt slightly embarrassed and a fraud. These people she was now rubbing shoulders with had earnt their suburban houses in Kent through hard work. Most of them would have been born and bred in the area and had never known anything else. Whereas the Silva family came from a very different background. ‘I do hope you’ll come to the opening of the pub tomorrow evening, though. The restaurant is opening at the weekend, but it would be nice if a few of the neighbours could pop in to say hello. Maybe you could spread the word. All drinks are two for one. A happy hour for a grand opening, you might say.’ Maggie blushed.
‘Oh, I most definitely will spread the word. Everyone is dying to meet you!’
Maggie waved goodbye and made her way back to the pub.
‘Right my beautiful girls, there is a man downstairs and this calls for an official ceremony. I’ve dragged Dante out of that pit of his and he’s coming too. Shift your arses!’
Curiously, Maggie and Deana, who were sitting in the lounge, looked up at Alex and started to stand up as he ushered them towards the staircase. ‘Who is it, Alex? What’s going on?’
‘All will be revealed Mrs Silva.’
Tentatively, Maggie and Deana looked at each other and followed Alex down the stairs, closely followed by Dante. Nothing impressed him, so this must be good.
Once downstairs, Alex put a makeshift blindfold over Maggie’s eyes, intriguing her even more and making her giggle. Guiding her by the hand, he led her to the front of the pub where Maggie could hear banging. Standing behind her, Alex took the blindfold off. ‘Ta-da!’ he shouted.
Maggie blinked and looked up at a workman stood on a ladder, hammer in hand. She could see that he was putting her name up on the front door as licensee of the pub. Letting out a huge gasp, Maggie turned and hugged Alex excitedly. ‘Oh my God Alex, it’s happening, it’s really happening!’ Tears streamed down her face as she held out her arms to Deana and Dante for a group hug.
‘There you go Maggie, it’s all yours. Margaret Silva: licensee.’ Alex beamed.
A pang of guilt hit Maggie. ‘Are you okay with this? It should be your name up there, or at least both our names.’
‘We both know that’s never going to happen. There’s no way I would ever get a licence. You’re the official breadwinner and that’s okay with me. I like the idea of being a kept man. Crikey, you’re a bloke’s dream. Good-looking woman, owns a pub and a tigress beneath the duvet. What else does a man want?’
‘It’s ours Alex, we’re together in this. Mentally, I see your name up there with mine. We’re a family. The Blacksmith pub and restaurant will be known as the Silva pub and restaurant in no time, believe me. Everyone will say, let’s pop down to Silva’s for a drink.’ She smiled and nestled herself under his arm as she looked up at her name plate in all of its blazing glory.
As they both looked up at the sign, they cast a glance towards each other. ‘Any regrets, Alex?’ she asked. ‘Our name is there in black and white for the world to see.’ Maggie’s stomach churned as she ran her tongue across her lips to moisten them. They both knew this would happen, but to see their family name emblazoned above the door almost felt like putting a target on their heads all over again. ‘Are you worried?’
‘It’s the path we’ve chosen, Maggie love, and if nothing else, we could use it on our headstones.’ He laughed, trying to make light of the situation. They were both pensive, but he was the man of the house and had to take it on the chin – for the sake of the family. He could see she was happy and sad all at the same time.
Glaring at him, she shook her head. ‘Don’t say that Alex, it’s not funny. But it’s done now, so we might as well put an advert in the daily rag. The Silvas live here,’ she shouted. ‘Are you ready for this? We can’t change our minds again. We’re officially on our own.’
‘We’ve always been on our own. Now we, no, you, Maggie,’ Alex corrected himself, ‘have to make the brewery pleased that you’re working for them. This is a blank page for your future.’
‘I’m excited but nervous at the same time, if you know what I mean.’
Alex squeezed her shoulder. ‘I do love, but you’re going to make this place a gold mine. Come on, you can pull me a pint.’ Pulling her to his side, he kissed her.
While she hugged him, she cast an upward glance at the sign again. Had they made the right decision? Or had they been too hasty? Only time would tell.
3 OPENING NIGHT
‘Mum, do you really need that much bunting? Aeroplanes will think it’s semaphore signalling!’
‘You want to see what Deana is doing to the beer garden – that’s even worse!’ Totally exasperated by the number of flags Maggie was putting out to advertise the pub’s grand opening, Alex beckoned Dante to follow him around the side of the pub, where the boy’s jaw dropped.
‘Oh my God, it’s winter wonderland!’
Astonished, Alex and Dante looked on as Deana threaded Christmas lights around wooden poles in the beer garden.
Wobbling on her ladder with a string of wire and bulbs in her arms, she shouted, ‘It would be nice if you two stopped moaning and helped!’
‘Why?’ Alex laughed. ‘You look like you’re doing okay on your own.’
Dante grinned as he looked up at his dad, who gave him a cheeky wink.
‘Come on son, let’s leave the ladies to it. Even if we try to help, we’ll get it wrong.’
‘You can write on the chalk board for me Dante,’ shouted Maggie. ‘Happy hour 7-8 p.m. Two drinks for the price of one.’
Frowning, Alex walked around the corner towards Maggie, who was fighting with more gaily coloured bunting around the windows of the pub. ‘Has the brewery agreed to this Maggie? Won’t everyone just piss off by 8 p.m.?’
‘Yes, they have agreed to it; I’m not totally stupid, you know. And they won’t piss off at 8 p.m. They will carry on drinking, just to get the gossip and get to know us. You’ll see. Believe me, we’re going to be rammed.’
‘Maggie, it’s a street, with a couple of other adjoining streets. It’s not the West End.’
‘True, but these local pubs have regulars who like to think of the place as their own watering hole. Plus, when the restaurant is open properly, it will save them cooking. Good wholesome food, nothing too adventurous for now. Let’s see what the supply and demand is. Pubs like these are always full. People can drink and walk home without spending a fortune on cabs.’
Alex realised she had a point. Putting his arm around Dante’s shoulders, he decided to leave them to it and headed back inside. ‘You sort the chalk board out, while I put the kettle on.’ Suddenly a thought came to him. ‘I hear you’re starting school next week; are you nervous?’
‘A little,’ Dante replied. ‘There have been quite a few new schools lately, but we never put down roots to make friends.’ Dante took off his black rimmed glasses and started to clean them with his T-shirt, avoiding his dad’s stare.
‘It won’t be for much longer son,’ Alex sighed. ‘This time, things will be different.’
‘Is that why you’ve made a point of keeping our surname?’ Dante asked.
Alex let out a huge sigh. ‘Yes, I’m fed up of losing my identity. If people want to find me, it doesn’t matter what we call ourselves. It makes no difference in the world. But, if I am going to die, I will die in my own name.’
‘What about us, Dad? Have you thought of that? What would we do without you?’
‘You’d manage, but I don’t intend to go anywhere. Now go and get that chalk board written for your mother, or she’ll kill us both!’
But it was as though a knife had been twisted in Alex’s guts, hearing his son’s fears. All he could do was try and protect his family and hopefully this nightmare would be over soon.
