Success On a Plate


Taking Shape
We opened on the fifteenth as planned. In the first week we had two guests. I flew out Henry, who'd done my mother's house to finish off the building work on the hotel. He was a good sort and I knew he'd be really helpful. So it proved. I'd warned him that Phil wasn't in good shape. It was with some delight that I found they'd bonded, because they both had attended the same secondary school in London. In fact they'd been in the same class, yet didn't remember each other. I began to think everything would turn out well for us all. By the beginning of the second week, Christmas week, we were absolutely full. I was cooking in the restaurant as well as dealing with all the day to day stuff. All our guests seemed happy and money was pouring into the coffers at the rate of 700 dollars a day. That, I knew would be enough to pay our way. Not enough to make money, the restaurant was the key to that. But then, I had plans for its success. On New Year's Eve, Richard Harvey came to stay.
The Winds of Change
I collected Richard and his entourage of three from the airport and told Richard what had transpired. He was delighted with what he saw when he got to the hotel. The place was buzzing with activity on the beach, the bar was in full swing and smiles lit the faces of everyone in sight. He was staying for two weeks. The first week was wonderful, so much so that as I walked down the beach with a friend I said," You know things are going so well, I wonder what is going to go wrong." I found out soon enough. Phil's attitude to me began to change. His demeanour became ugly whenever he spoke with me. He'd complain to me about the most trivial of things. Gradually news filtered through that he was upset I wasn't including him in my decisions. We spoke about it. He complained that I wasn't treating him as a partner. Explaining he hadn't been to see me to tell me he wanted back in, I asked him if that's what he wanted. He did, so I gave him his 49% as promised. he wanted fifty percent, which I told him I would only give him once we'd got the hotel in good running order, thereby allowing me to get back to my book. Within a day Harvey came to me and told me I'd been accused of undermining Phil to get my hands on the hotel. Of course I denied it, but the damage was done. Henry was demonstrating contempt for me, Richard didn't know what to believe. Harmony had been broken. The only way for me to convince everyone I hadn't done what I was accused of was to leave. On the fourteenth of January I flew back to London in tears. My dream of writing a book in tatters, my reputation similarly torn and nothing by way of a plan for the future.
Mr Angry
Back home, I talked with friends about my experience. Some said I should return to sort things out. Others told me to let it lie. I visited my brother Steve, a computer genius, and discussed it with him. He is seven years younger than I and had not long found the love of his life Karen. Her mother was living with them and claimed to be a Medium. She told me, with the aid of tarot cards, I had to go back and sort it out. Confused anger reigned, but deep down I knew I wouldn't be satisfied, until my reputation had been restored. After all, I'd been exonerated in the courts, so who were these people to sully my good name? After five weeks of tossing this way and that, I flew back to Antigua.
Law Suit
Only after threatening to sue Phil for slander did I get a meeting with him in Henry's presence. He didn't like being exposed, but agreed he'd made the accusations against me, claiming he'd honestly believed it. I thought we were going to reach a settlement until I suggested I should take the restaurant whilst Phil took the hotel. Henry blew a fuse. There was no going back as long as Henry remained, that was clear. I spent the next two months on the island writing and enjoying myself. Finally, on May the ninth, my birthday, I took the return flight to London, never to return.
Where Next ?
It was a chastened and depressed man who arrived back in England. The book was incomplete and I'd lost over twenty thousand dollars to boot. I thought I would never forgive Henry for doubting me. Back in my tiny home in Twickenham, I decided to take the summer to decide what to do next. There was work to be done on the house, which I did without enthusiasm. Injections took place every three weeks. Not that I kept a diary, I'd grown to know when they were due. The first "hot flush" meant an injection was necessary. In September, I called my brother who was now living in Bristol. He'd thought of becoming an Internet Provider and wanted me to join him in his venture. In the meantime, I'd been thinking.