Mara opened the door with her elbow.
“Here. Take this.”
Tess had one hand on her bag handle. She let it go and caught the baking dish Mara was holding out. A tea towel covered each hot handle, but one was slipping, and the heat came through almost at once.
“Where?” Tess asked.
“Table. I need the oven clear.”
Tess stepped inside. Her tote slid from her shoulder as she tried to keep the dish level. Mara caught the handles of the bag and set it on the hall chair.
“Careful,” Tess said. A little sauce had run onto the edge of the towel.
“Ben, move those papers.” Mara pushed the kitchen door open wide with her foot. “It's freezing in here now. Tess, can I borrow your cardigan?”
“Yes. In the bag. The green—”
“Not there,” Ben said. “Left side. Hang on.”
He was reaching over the table, trying to collect loose cards without dropping the jar he had knocked over. Tess moved left. The towel shifted again.
“Ben, it's hot.”
“I know. One second.”
He pulled a cork mat out from under the papers and slapped it down. Tess lowered the dish onto it, then let go so quickly that the handles struck the table.
“Sorry.”
“No, that's fine.” He took the wet towel from her. “Did you burn yourself?”
She shook her hands. Her fingertips were red, but not blistered.
“Just hot.”
He turned on the cold tap. She put her fingers beneath it, and he began gathering the fallen cards from the floor.
“How did you manage all of this?” she asked.
“I laid them out, and then I remembered we eat here.”
Mara was in the hall, lifting the folded cardigan from the tote. Tess could see the green knit through the doorway. Mara took off her apron, hung it on the peg and stepped out of sight toward the bathroom. A moment later Tess heard the tap there.
Ben put a plate beside the dish.
“Can you rescue the rest? Under the chair.”
Tess dried her hands and bent down. A card had slid almost against the wall. She got it with the tip of her shoe and picked it up.
There were names here she didn't recognise. Some had pencil numbers on the back. One was hers.
“I thought the numbers were done,” she said.
“Mostly. Mara wanted to move two people.”
Mara came back wearing the cardigan, the cuffs pulled down to her wrists. She pushed one sleeve up and tested the baking dish with the side of her hand.
“Still warm. Good. Sit down.”
Tess passed her the cards. Mara put them on the counter and brought over a bowl of salad. Then she brushed Tess's shoulder with her fingertips.
“How was it?”
Tess felt herself smile before she could answer.
Mara's eyes widened. “Oh.”
“What?” Ben asked.
“Tess had coffee.”
“Tea,” Tess said.
“Fine. Tea.” Mara sat beside her. “Tell me later.”
Tess was grateful. She wanted the evening with Cal to remain a little while in the shape it had happened, without somebody asking whether they were back together. She could still feel the warmth of his hand.
Ben spooned food onto three plates and sat down. Tess took a bite. It was good, hot enough to make her wait between mouthfuls. She let the fork rest.
“I can do the cards tonight,” she said. “If you give me the names.”
“Half are done,” Ben said.
Mara swallowed. “Not the last table. We need to leave that.”
“That's what we were looking at.” He put down his fork. “We can't fit another table along the wall. They've sent the room measurement.”
“Then not along the wall.”
“Mara.”
Tess kept eating. She had discovered that if she offered help too early, sometimes it became her job to decide which of them should get what they wanted.
“We can put the two loose places on the end,” Ben said. “I've drawn it.”
“I don't want people stuck on the end.”
“They'll still have chairs.”
“That's not what I mean.”
Mara broke a piece of crust with her fork. It slipped and hit the edge of her plate. She took a breath.
“You keep finding a way to do everything with less.”
Ben glanced at Tess, then back at Mara. “We're trying to do it with what we have.”
“I know that.”
Tess looked at the cards on the counter. Her own name sat on top of the little pile.
“Could I be on the end?” she asked. “Then whoever else is there won't be alone.”
Mara turned to her. “You don't have to.”
“It's only a chair.”
“Yes,” Ben said. “That's all I've been saying.”
That made Mara go quiet. Tess hadn't meant to give him a point. She picked up the salad bowl and offered it to Mara first.
For a few minutes they ate without talking about tables. Ben went back for more. Mara put her foot against his under the table, and he looked up. Whatever passed between their faces was small and private. Tess watched the dish instead.
She had been kissed. She wanted to tell Mara about the bench, the way Cal had pulled her toward him when she tried to stand up. The smile kept coming back when she wasn't paying attention.
After they finished, Ben stacked the plates. Tess carried the salad to the counter and put the remaining cards neatly beside it. Mara was unbuttoning the cardigan.
“I'll give this back before I spill something on it.”
Tess reached for her tote on the hall chair.
At once she remembered.