Read Online Dune Road by Jane Green - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jane Green
Tags: Fiction, Contemporary Women
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gallivanting around at all the top restaurants and bars; but then she met Harry, and although nothing happened with Harry until long after she was divorced, it made her realize there was more to life than loneliness, more to life than being an accessory wife.
She had no children with Joe, and there are times when she forgets she was married before, had any life different to the one she has now with Harry, whom she adores.
They are a family, partners and parents, with George and Carly, their six-year-old twins. Even though the stresses of life often get in the way, Alice still goes to bed, every night, snuggled into Harry’s shoulder, and wakes up every morning happy to be next to him, in this bed, with this life.
The income they have comes from Harry’s garden center—he bought out his boss when he retired a few years ago—and Alice’s private catering, but as soon as she came up with the idea for the restaurant, she knew it was right, knew it was exactly what this town needed.
For it was true, Highfield, despite being so close to New York, despite having more than its fair share of sophisticates, did not have a plethora of decent restaurants. Old-fashioned Italian (“Think Chicken Kiev Italian rather than Jamie Oliver Italian,” Harry would say), a few modern Mediterranean places that were fair but over-priced and never changed the menu, and of course the ubiquitous all-American burger joints that were usually filled with kids and people who simply weren’t interested in real food.
“I want something that uses local food, seasonal, preferably organic,” Alice said. “Things we can grow ourselves. I want a place that people can care about, where they know they’ll get great food, fairly priced, but if they just want a cappuccino, that’s fine too.”
“It should be something European,” Harry said. “A true French brasserie.”
“Yes, in the sense that it will serve food all day, but not necessarily French, just ... comfortable. Unpretentious. Somewhere that people can come because of the food, the price and the service.”
“Do you have any idea of the work involved in running a restaurant? ” Harry said.
“Well, no. Do you? ”
“Not really. I mean, I’ve worked as a waiter, but everyone says it’s a killer. You have to be there all the time otherwise everything goes pear-shaped pretty damn quickly.”
“I agree, it’s going to be hard, but wouldn’t it be wonderful? And we’d both be at the garden center, so at least we’d be together.”
“I think we need to do our research,” Harry said. “And take it very slowly.”
Now it’s the most popular place in town, a place where, this evening, Kit, Edie, Tracy and Charlie are sitting comfortably in the corner, refilling their glasses and clearly having a wonderful time.
“Who’s Jed? ” Edie asks Tracy, who is in the middle of a story.
“What? ”
“You just said Jed would do that too.”
“I did? ”
“Yup. Who is he? ”
There is a long pause.
“My first husband,” she says finally. Reluctantly.
“ First husband?” Kit and Charlie say in unison. “ What first husband? ”
“How many have you had? ”
Tracy flushes. “Only two. I can’t believe I never mentioned Jed before.”
“Neither can we! ” Kit laughs. “I think you’d better start at the beginning.”
Alice comes out of the kitchen and approaches the table to say hello, and Tracy shrieks with delight and stands up to give Alice a big hug.
“You know my friends,” Tracy says, and Alice says hello. She knows Kit and Charlie, has done a few yoga classes with them, but doesn’t know them well, and has never met Edie before.
“You emerged from the kitchen at just the right time,” Charlie says impishly. “We were just about to quiz Tracy on her first husband. We think she may have killed him off.”
“First husband? ” Alice raises an eyebrow. “You mean Richard Stonehill? ”
“Well—”
“That’s what we thought,” Charlie
She had no children with Joe, and there are times when she forgets she was married before, had any life different to the one she has now with Harry, whom she adores.
They are a family, partners and parents, with George and Carly, their six-year-old twins. Even though the stresses of life often get in the way, Alice still goes to bed, every night, snuggled into Harry’s shoulder, and wakes up every morning happy to be next to him, in this bed, with this life.
The income they have comes from Harry’s garden center—he bought out his boss when he retired a few years ago—and Alice’s private catering, but as soon as she came up with the idea for the restaurant, she knew it was right, knew it was exactly what this town needed.
For it was true, Highfield, despite being so close to New York, despite having more than its fair share of sophisticates, did not have a plethora of decent restaurants. Old-fashioned Italian (“Think Chicken Kiev Italian rather than Jamie Oliver Italian,” Harry would say), a few modern Mediterranean places that were fair but over-priced and never changed the menu, and of course the ubiquitous all-American burger joints that were usually filled with kids and people who simply weren’t interested in real food.
“I want something that uses local food, seasonal, preferably organic,” Alice said. “Things we can grow ourselves. I want a place that people can care about, where they know they’ll get great food, fairly priced, but if they just want a cappuccino, that’s fine too.”
“It should be something European,” Harry said. “A true French brasserie.”
“Yes, in the sense that it will serve food all day, but not necessarily French, just ... comfortable. Unpretentious. Somewhere that people can come because of the food, the price and the service.”
“Do you have any idea of the work involved in running a restaurant? ” Harry said.
“Well, no. Do you? ”
“Not really. I mean, I’ve worked as a waiter, but everyone says it’s a killer. You have to be there all the time otherwise everything goes pear-shaped pretty damn quickly.”
“I agree, it’s going to be hard, but wouldn’t it be wonderful? And we’d both be at the garden center, so at least we’d be together.”
“I think we need to do our research,” Harry said. “And take it very slowly.”
Now it’s the most popular place in town, a place where, this evening, Kit, Edie, Tracy and Charlie are sitting comfortably in the corner, refilling their glasses and clearly having a wonderful time.
“Who’s Jed? ” Edie asks Tracy, who is in the middle of a story.
“What? ”
“You just said Jed would do that too.”
“I did? ”
“Yup. Who is he? ”
There is a long pause.
“My first husband,” she says finally. Reluctantly.
“ First husband?” Kit and Charlie say in unison. “ What first husband? ”
“How many have you had? ”
Tracy flushes. “Only two. I can’t believe I never mentioned Jed before.”
“Neither can we! ” Kit laughs. “I think you’d better start at the beginning.”
Alice comes out of the kitchen and approaches the table to say hello, and Tracy shrieks with delight and stands up to give Alice a big hug.
“You know my friends,” Tracy says, and Alice says hello. She knows Kit and Charlie, has done a few yoga classes with them, but doesn’t know them well, and has never met Edie before.
“You emerged from the kitchen at just the right time,” Charlie says impishly. “We were just about to quiz Tracy on her first husband. We think she may have killed him off.”
“First husband? ” Alice raises an eyebrow. “You mean Richard Stonehill? ”
“Well—”
“That’s what we thought,” Charlie