{"id":1069,"date":"2012-09-11T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2012-09-11T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=1069"},"modified":"2012-09-10T22:54:23","modified_gmt":"2012-09-11T05:54:23","slug":"season-7-episode-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=1069","title":{"rendered":"Season 7, Episode 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It was all systems go at the little blue house in San Francisco recently inhabited by four Melbournites. Willow had been up since the crack of dawn stirring, whipping and mixing together all kinds of delicious ingredients. She could barely contain her excitement and it showed: the feast being prepared was fit for a king, queen and their entire extended family, in-laws included.<\/p>\n

Willow hummed to herself as she layered delicate slices of fresh stone fruit over flan bases filled with homemade custard. On the other side of the kitchen bench, Ana was carefully icing Willow-baked cupcakes and Mia was cutting up fruit for a luscious fresh fruit salad, to which Johnny was adding finely chopped mint. In the oven, several quiches – filled with mushroom, goats cheese, French ham and thick cream – were browning perfectly, the smells wafting across the kitchen and throughout the rest of the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid I tell you about the great idea that he came up with about how we\u2019re going to move to coffee carts around?\u201d Willow gushed breathlessly, as she carefully placed the final piece of peach down.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, only about six or seven times,\u201d Ana said good-naturedly. She shared a quick smile with Mia and Johnny, who were doing their best not to laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry,\u201d Willow said sheepishly. \u201cI\u2019m a bit excited I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited too,\u201d Mia said. \u201cWe finally get to meet your mystery business partner!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to love him,\u201d Willow said confidently. \u201cHe\u2019s smart and funny and, well, just\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerfect!\u201d they all chorused together.<\/p>\n

Willow blushed. \u201cI\u2019ve mentioned it before, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone would think you had a crush on him,\u201d Johnny teased.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s nothing like that,\u201d Willow said, exasperated. She knew they would all think that. \u201cWe just get each other. Professionally. We make a great team. He\u2019s more like a brother than anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder if he knows that,\u201d Johnny said, under his breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that?\u201d Willow said. \u201cI missed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d better get the table set,\u201d Mia said, changing the subject and giving Johnny a kick in the shins. There was no need to make Willow uncomfortable. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be here in about ten minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say I love<\/em> this guy,\u201d Ana grumbled. \u201cIn fact, he\u2019s not really ingratiating himself to me at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnny and Mia nodded as they eyed the feast in front of them, the food in exactly the same position as it had been two hours ago. They\u2019d waited for Fred, forgiving him being ten minutes late, then fifteen, then twenty, then thirty. After that, they were starting to get a bit antsy. Willow hadn\u2019t let them so much as have a piece of fruit, confident that he would arrive the second they started piling their plates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know where he could be,\u201d Willow said, a tiny frown creasing her forehead. \u201cHe knew it was today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t I just have one tiny cupcake?\u201d Ana begged. \u201cPlease? I\u2019ll pick the one with the worst icing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine,\u201d Willow relented, sighing. \u201cWe may as well eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

It turned out none of them had much of an appetite anyway and they half-heartedly picked at the goodies on the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s probably caught in traffic,\u201d Mia said kindly.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr maybe he\u2019s lost,\u201d Ana chipped in. \u201cAnd forgot his phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr been in an accident,\u201d said Willow suddenly. \u201cOh my god. What if he\u2019s been in an accident? Should I call the hospitals do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLets give it a bit longer,\u201d Johnny said calmly. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t panic just yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight. Right. Of course you\u2019re right.\u201d Willow picked up her phone and dialed Fred\u2019s number again. \u201cI\u2019ll just try calling him once more.\u201d But, the same as the other times, the phone rang out.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

When he still hadn\u2019t turned up another hour later, impatience had turned into collective anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better to know now,\u201d Ana said, drumming her fingers on the table. \u201cTrust me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKnow what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat he\u2019s flaky. You definitely don\u2019t want to be in business with someone like that<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow shook her head miserably. \u201cBut he\u2019s not flaky. I promise. He\u2019s a really good person. He\u2019d never do this to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana and Mia glanced at each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou haven\u2019t put any money in yet, have you?\u201d Ana said warily.<\/p>\n

Willow burst into tears. \u201cI did. I put money in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana gulped. \u201cErr\u2026 how much did you put in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of it,\u201d Willow wailed. \u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you can get it back, right?\u201d Mia said. \u201cJust call the bank and tell them not to release it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t,\u201d Willow said, tears rolling down her cheeks. \u201cThe business account is in his name. I couldn\u2019t open one yet because of the whole visa thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you gave some guy you don\u2019t know all your money?\u201d Ana was incredulous. Even she<\/em> would never be that dumb.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shocked silence that followed just made Willow cry harder. \u201cI\u2026 trusted\u2026 him,\u201d she managed to say between sobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know for sure what\u2019s happened,\u201d Johnny said. \u201cLets not panic.\u201d But even he had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Willow leaped up, brushing the tears off her face and rushing to the front door. The others jumped out of their seats too, following her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so sorry,\u201d Fred gushed when she opened the door. \u201cThere was an accident. A guy on a bike got hit, so I took him to hospital and I left my phone at home I think\u2026 well, let’s just say the whole thing took longer than I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

As if on cue, Fred\u2019s breast pocket started vibrating.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm\u2026 I think that\u2019s your phone,\u201d Ana said, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms across her chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have sworn I looked in my pockets,\u201d Fred said, disbelief etched on his face. \u201cI\u2019m doubly sorry now. I\u2019m late and<\/em> a complete idiot. You must all think I\u2019m a total floozy,\u201d he said, looking towards Willow\u2019s friends who were gathered in the hall.<\/p>\n

They looked at the floor, mumbling \u201cNot at all. Of course not.\u201d<\/p>\n

He fished a bottle of Dom Perignon out of his bag. \u201cAccept this as a token of my humblest apologies so I can somehow diminish my complete embarrassment. I promise I\u2019m not usually so unreliable.\u201d<\/p>\n

He seemed so sincere that they couldn\u2019t help but smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe forgive you,\u201d Ana said. \u201cNow let me put that on ice. I don\u2019t know about all of you, but I need a drink!\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow grinned, taking Fred by the arm. \u201cEveryone, this is Fred. My extremely generous, thoughtful and trustworthy<\/em> business partner.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was all systems go at the little blue house in San Francisco recently inhabited by four Melbournites. Willow had been up since the crack of dawn stirring, whipping and mixing together all kinds of delicious ingredients. She could barely contain her excitement and it showed: the feast being prepared was fit for a king, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[224],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1069"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1073,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions\/1073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}