Chapter 9

“Sure,” Ally answers nervously, “What can I do for you?”

“I cannot be on the phone for too long.” Meg sounds stressed and afraid. “Something about the dish you prepared triggered some secret in this family. I cannot figure out what exactly is going on but they want answers that I cannot give them. Tell me what is so special about this dish.”

There is a sense of urgency in Meg’s voice that makes Ally uncomfortable. Maybe it is the mention of the dish that makes her uncomfortable. She knew it was not good when the dish left the kitchen.

“Meg. I told you that dish was not meant for you. It is a top-secret recipe. I promised never to write it down or to share it with anyone. It takes days to prepare and it took me almost six years to perfect it. It is a very intricate dish. Please tell me what is going on?” Ally tells Meg quickly.

“I do not know what is going on. I have gathered that this dish is somehow connected to Eunice and it is the main reason why she picked me to be Eric’s bride. For some reason this has angered Eric to the point where he is downright the rudest man I have ever met. She wants to tests me to prepare the dish in front of her. I cannot do it. I have a suspicion that this family gets rid of problems rather than solve them.” Meg sounds even more nervous now.

“No, you will not be able to do it. She taught it to me for years. I am quite sure there are only two people in the world that can make that dish.” Ally tells Meg quietly. “What do you mean they get rid of problems?”

“Fine. This wasn’t a great help but at least now I know where I stand with you. I will sort it out myself. Forget that I even called.” Meg says angrily and ends the call.

Ally stares out in front of her for a few seconds. Memories of her childhood floods her mind. She used to spend a lot of time with Eunice. Had she known that Eunice was the famous chef Meg told her about, she would never have made that dish in the first place.

Ally tries to gather her thoughts. It is very late and she needs to get to work tomorrow. She has the afternoon off. She will try to contact Meg again in the afternoon. Ally takes a shower and heads to bed. She has trouble falling asleep. The conversation with Meg keeps repeating in her mind.

It is already well into early morning when she finally falls asleep. She only sleeps for about two hours before she needs to get up and go to work.

The moment she wakes, thoughts of the previous night’s conversation plague her mind. Meg was chosen as Eric’s bride based on the dish she prepared. This means that Eunice thought that Meg was Ally. Ally cannot help but think about the time she spent with Eric. If he did not show up to her apartment telling her not to see him again, she was sure they would have ended up together anyway. The only thing she can think of that turned him was the old man with his disapproving look.

Ally grabs her phone and searches for Eric again. She searches for family ties and find a picture of Eric graduating Chef school with honours. His parents are standing next to him in the picture. They look proud. The elderly man Ally saw that morning was most definitely Eric’s father. His mother is Eunice. The thought of Eunice makes Ally’s heart twist. She did not keep contact with her after school. She was so busy studying. When she returned to the restaurant after her studies, it was closed. She asked around but it seems that it was moved and the name changed. Ally did not put in a lot of effort to find it. She was busy getting her life together and helping Meg make something of herself.

Ally heaves a heavy sigh and gets out of bed.

Why was Eric’s father disapproving of Ally? Did he remember that Ally was the young girl that spent so much time with Eunice?

Ally decides that she will go visit Eunice that afternoon when she has time off from work. She will go and tell Eunice the truth. Not to be the one who marries Eric but to be truthful towards Eunice. She is after all the reason why Ally got to make something of her life.

The morning at work is incredibly busy. There are a lot of things that need to be done and Mr Doubell is constantly checking in with Ally to confirm details on the plan she pulled up. When it is finally afternoon and Ally gets to hang up her apron, she is fairly exhausted. She knows she needs to get a good night’s rest tonight or she will not make it through the rest of the week.

Ally tells Ralph that she is leaving before she goes. Ralph has a grim expression on his face.

“Everything okay?” Ally asks earnestly.

“Yeah. Just got news of the next tragedy to hit the Symons family.” Ralph tells her before quickly turning to head to a waiter that needs his attention.

Ally thinks about it for a moment. It must be the restaurant closing. Or maybe the press got word of Erics blindness.

Ally leaves the kitchen and heads to her car. She slips into the driver’s seat and pulls out her phone. While dialling Meg’s number, she already can feel that Meg will not answer. The phone rings a few times before it automatically ends in the unanswered tone. Ally wonders if she can call Eric’s number, but then decides that, ‘do not come to my restaurant’ probably also means ‘do not call me again.’

Ally runs the few errands that she intended to that afternoon before deciding to go to where Meg said the lunch was held. She drives up to the street where the mansion was located. In front of the large wrought iron gates, are two security guards standing on either side of the entrance. The gates are open but Ally is sure nobody dares to just drive through the open gates.

She stops outside and one of the security guards walk up to her window.

“Good day, ma’am” He greets her as politely as a stone-faced security guard possibly could.

“Good day.  I would like to see Mrs Eunice Symons.” Ally says politely.

The security guard flashes a look at the other security guard who then quickly shakes his head.

“You will not be able to see her today, ma’am” he tells her without any more explanation.

Ally wonders if she should even bother to ask why she cannot but decides that this man will not tell her more than he already has.

“Could I then see Megan Craig?” Ally tries again.

“Miss Craig would not be able to see any visitors today, ma’am.” The security guard tells Ally again without offering more of an explanation. Ally can feel herself becoming frustrated. She contemplated asking for Eric but decided against it. If she was not able to see Meg, the chances of seeing Eric would be close to zero.

“Should I try to come back tomorrow?” Ally asks, a little sarcasm seeping into her tone.

“No, ma’am.” The man answers. Ally looks at him in disbelief. Clearly he has very strict orders not to let anyone in or to give out any information.

Ally bids them goodbye and turns her car around. She takes the route back to her apartment. The heavy city traffic makes it impossible to drive at a fast pace. She is stuck going as slow as possible.

It is already dark when she arrives at her apartment. She takes her packages out of her car and head up to the floor where her apartment is. After putting her packages down on the one sofa she walks to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.

Ally takes a seat at the island counter with her cup of coffee before taking out her phone. She checks if she has any messages from Meg. Nothing.

She dials Megs number again. No answer. Ally feels frustrated with not being able to reach Meg or Eunice. She takes a sip of her coffee and then decides to see what the internet has to offer. Surely there must be something about the wedding, or anything of value.

She opens her browser and searches the Symons family. Sure enough, news of Eric’s blindness has come to light. Mostly speculations on how he lost his eyesight. Ally found four different stories with four different reasons. She mutters to herself that you cannot really trust the internet when an article with Eunice’s name catches her eye.

WORLD RENOWNED CHEF DIES IN TRAGIC ACCIDENT AT HOME.