Chapter 2

A few moments later Kai appeared from inside.

“Dad said could you start putting the snacks and stuff onto the table.” He told her “I’ve got to watch the BBQ.” With that, he trotted over to the pit and continued with the task started by Noah.

Elia headed to the kitchen and started taking out the various bowls of food from the fridge. Most of which reflected the rich mix of cultures that she’d grown up with. She often joked that it was fortunate that she was a dancer. Brought up on both Rice & peas, and Rice & beans, beef patties, and frijoles, tortillas and, stamp & go, her dancing certainly helped to keep her in trim shape. She was, however, she was also active outside of work. With a camera and pretty surroundings she could walk for miles, cycling was another enjoyable pass time, she couldn’t drive so it was very useful too. She also enjoyed rollerblading and even more so ice skating, she couldn’t do any fancy moves by any means but loved the feel of dashing around the rink at top speed.

Many of her favourite foods were here today, all of which complemented the jerk, fajita and plain meats what were all waiting to be cooked. Top of the list of Elia’s favourite though were the frijoles refritos or refried beans which were being kept in the oven to help them keep temperature, warm frijoles were a must in her eyes unless they were only being used for dipping. It had become almost expected that the family would put on a BBQ, usually twice a year. Friends and neighbours seemed to enjoy the various flavours they put on offer. Rita had cooked most of it herself, she was a great cook and Elia would frequently stop by to ask for her tortillas. Although Elia enjoyed cooking and was very good at it in her own right she still hadn’t perfected her tortillas. Jazmin, on the other hand, was less fond of cooking. She was a decent cook when she had to be but was happy to let her younger sister take over. Elia finished laying out the table which was just inside the door to keep it all out of the sun, and any bugs! With the table nicely filled up, she made her way back out to the BBQ pit

“Need help with anything else?” She offered after she’d reached her brother.

“Nah, this ain’t ready yet.” He told her. “Oh, wait actually, yeah can you grab a couple of trays from the fridge? That way I can just wack em on, these ain’t far off I don’t think”

“No probs!” She replied with a smile. And made her way inside. There she pulled out three different trays of meats to cook.

“Elia!”

She turned around surprised at the familiar voice and suddenly found herself enveloped in an enthusiastic hug

“I’m so glad to see you again! How are you? You look so great, you’ve gone red with your hair, it’s nice. Very crazy!”

“Billy!” Elia was stunned as she looked up at the young man. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I had to!” He exclaimed. “I rode with my friends, or mes amis as we say in France!” He grinned and nodded towards the front door. Elia looked across, the door was wide open and her dad was leaning on the window of a smart looking car while talking to two figures sat inside it.

Madam Catherine encouraged it as well” He continued, “she said it’ll be good for me to catch up with old friends! She’s a great boss I’m enjoying every moment!”

Elia smiled thinly. She could already tell he was the same old Billy Collins, physically though it was a different story. Gone was the short afro, they had been replaced by a closer and more neater cut. Also transformed was his wardrobe, she had no doubt Catherine had been behind that too, he appeared quite professional looking. Elia first came to know him when he was employed at the studio where her dad also worked. He had always made it plain how fond he was of Elia and would often come up with an excuse to stop by and see her. The feeling, however, was not mutual but her endless attempts at gentle hints never seemed to get through to him. Yet he was also very eager to climb the ladder, he started out assisting her dad but then eventually jumped at the chance to work with Catherine more directly as her personal assistant. He then moved to the south of France to live on the grounds of her main property.

“I’m glad you seem to like it so much.” She told him politely.

“I do, and Madame Catherine said I’m allowed to have visitors any time so if you ever want to visit and see La Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur you only need to ask.”

“See la what?”

“La Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.” He repeated with a smile. “It’s where I live, it’s the name we give to the southern coast of France, you’d call it the Riviera. La Provence, that’s the Provence. Alpes, that’s the Alps and Côte d’Azur which simply translates into English as the blue coast. I think my French has come on a great deal this past year and a half, don’t you think? With Catherine’s help of course!”

“I’m afraid I haven’t the foggiest.” she told him with a shrug. “Jaz is the French speaker in the family, not me!”