PESTO

AN EXTRACT FROM SOON-TO-BE-PUBLISHED "A FAMILY AFFAIR"

See how Santie and Janet do it ...

‘I’m making a lettuce and tomato salad, and some a couple sticks of celery. Shall I add a handful of these new taugé sprouts, and a few olives? Sound okay? And perhaps an asparagus and ham baguette?' asked Janet Twycross.

There was no reply from Santie. Just another scowl.

'It’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes.’

‘I’ll rustle up some pesto quickly.’ Santie walked out into the herb garden, shrugging her shoulders, trying to relax as she picked a large handful of sprigs ofyoung basil leaves.

‘Your mum taught you a lot of cooking, didn’t she? Even in those few short years,’ said Janet as Santie washed the basil. Santie nodded, saying nothing. Taking a heavy knife from the drawer, she drew it a few times over a steel, and started angrily chopping a few garlic cloves and half of the basil.

‘Watch your fingers! Mm, smells good,’ said Janet, trying to ease the atmosphere. Bit by bit Santie added more leaves until she had a whole spectrum of chopped sizes. Hunting in the cupboard she found a bottle of raw pine nuts, adding a small handful, cutting steadily. The salad finished, Janet rummaged in the cupboard for a grater. She grated a fresh cup of Parmesan cheese, which she added bit by bit to Santie’s mix, as she chopped, followed by a little sea salt. Santie squeezed the finely chopped ingredients fiercely into a small cake, which she then slid from the heavy wooden board to a small bowl. Janet added a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Working quietly together, there was a palpable lessening of the tension.

After cleaning away the mess, Santie brought Janet a glass of red wine as she was preparing the mixed plate of salads with the small bowl of pesto in the centre.

‘Thanks, Santie, but I won’t tonight.’ She gave her friend a warm smile and reached out and squeezed her shoulder, but Santie was not impressed. She poured the wine angrily down the sink, and stomped out of the kitchen. It was the first really angry scene they had since they had met. Janet nibbled miserably at the salad and didn’t see Santie again that evening.

The call from Dr Tomlinson came through next morning on the office phone. ‘I’ll call you back in two minutes, Doctor.’ Janet picked up her mobile and walked out towards the street, giving her head a little shake as Santie made to follow. ‘Good morning, Doctor, thank you for your call. I’m sorry but I wanted to hear what you had to say in private. What’s the news?’

‘You are in fact pregnant, I’m afraid, Miss Twycross. I have ...'

To go from PESTO to Chapter one of A FAMILY AFFAIR

Drinking water ...

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