Read Online Styling Wellywood: A fashionable romantic comedy (Wellywood Series Book 2) by Kate O'Keeffe - Free Book Online

then got into wholefood vegetarianism for a while, which counterbalanced things out nicely.
    Judging by the delec table aroma right now she’s entered a Southeast Asian phase of some description.
    “ It's going to be a Thai beef dish. I hope you like spice, dear. I made it a couple of weeks ago for Prue's Potluck Dinner for the Homeless and everyone absolutely raved about it,” she says with obvious pride.
    “ Now. You can help by measuring out a cup of jasmine rice from the pantry and soaking it for 10 minutes, please dear. Tell me all about your day. You met your first client, didn’t you?”
    I survey Mum's impeccably organized pantry and reach f or the jasmine rice container.
    “ It was so great, Mum. She's this woman in her forties whose husband's run off with some bimbo. She wanted us to create a new style for her so she can get out there and find true love again.” I look at Mum out of the corner of my eye, hoping I haven’t hit a nerve.
    Although Dad didn't leave her for another woman, Morning came on the scene relatively quickly after his move to Nelson and there was a fair bit of gossip around Karori at the time about it, which Mum was forced to weather.
    She raises her eyebrows but kee ps on expertly and relentlessly chopping.
    “ Not that I know why, I think she's totally great.” I put my hand on her shoulder, carefully steering clear of the knife.
    S he pulls away. “The rice isn't going to soak itself, Jessica.”
    “ Oh, right,” I reply.
    I measure out a cup of rice and pour it into a bowl of water, feeling self-conscious about my clumsy attempt at being a supportive daughter.
    Mum subscribes to a cast-iron upper lip approach to anything even vaguely resembling emotion. That ubiquitous motto 'keep calm and carry on' could have been written solely for her use.
    During her divorce from my Dad she didn't once cry in front of me, although I heard her qui etly sobbing in her bedroom one night when I stayed up later than usual. I'd asked her about it the following morning but she'd simply smiled brightly at me and said I must have been imagining things. Of course I knew I hadn’t.
    So I learnt from a relatively young age that she kept a pretty impenetrable wall ar ound her. The result being, although I love her, we don't have what you’d call a close mother-daughter relationship by any stretch of the imagination.
    “ Anyway,” I continue, giving in and deciding it's safer territory to talk about my day. “She seemed really happy with what we did by the time we left. Oh and Morgan took off half way through with no explanation. Totally weird.” She hadn't called to explain or even to see if I'd managed to get home, which is pretty low.
    “ As lovely as Morgan may be she’s always been a little overly self-absorbed, dear. I’ve known that from when you were teenagers. Now, strain the rice and pop it in a pot with two cups of water.”
    She adds the vegetables to the pan, stirs them into the sauce and replaces the lid. My mum isn’t keen to share her emotions but clearly quite comfortable with offering her opinions on others.
    “ No she's not!” I protect. “She was never a ‘Narci’, not like Brooke. Morgan's a sweetheart and I'm going to text her to make sure everything's all right.”
    Feeling incensed on Morgan’s behalf I walk out of the kitchen, grab my phone from my handbag and sit down. But there are no messages from Morgan, just one from Ben.
    G8 2 C U. Drink?
    I text back.
    Yes! 2nite?
    It’d be good to get out. My evenings back in Welly so far have comprised of dinner with Mum followed by an early night on the single sofa bed - that is when I’m not out having panic attacks at my cousin’s school musical.
    Hardly a rock ‘n roll lifestyle.
    I then text Morgan to ask if everything's all right with her and my phone rings almost instantly. It's Morgan.
    “ Hey babe, how did the rest of the session go?” she asks straight away.
    “ Good. Put some more outfits together with her