CHAPTER 4 - PLOTTING, TASTING AND TESTING

LAFF - WEDNESDAY LUNCHTIME

MICHAEL

Miley is cosied up with Kiki at a corner table, heads together whispering and giggling. Occasionally, they look over at me and I glare back.

“You heard the diner is going to reopen next weekend?” A twink tells his friend. “Can't wait! It’s a soft one so half off! And they are looking for wait staff. I might apply, but it might interfere with my social life.”

Emmett and Ted come in then join Miley and Kiki. Emmett is still cross with me after what happened with the new owner. I sigh and realise that I have to actually apologise… Then I have an idea, remembering something Brian said. I decide to make myself the most attractive option and start to think of some people, who would be perfect for them to meet!

KINNETIC

BRIAN’S OFFICE

BRIAN

“Hey Sonny Boy, great timing! Just got back into my office. How’d you do on your test?” I dump my suit bag and stretch out on the sofa. “Good. Uh yeah, I’ll be in the office on Friday afternoon. Why do I get to share in the tasting?” I smile at his enthusiasm. I am so proud of him for his determination to do this. “Do I get to find out...okay, it’s a secret. Got it. Alright, speak to you later, love you too.” I sigh and look across at my desk. “Fuck this! Let’s see what Bucky has been up to in my absence.” I mumble and grab my stuff and go to find my bestie.

LIBERTY FINE DINING - THURSDAY MID-MORNING

MOLLY

“Kiki, that is incredible!” I look at her 50s style dress with a dark purple netting underneath and matching purple and black pumps. “Justin!” I shout and he comes out of the kitchen with a frown. I raise my eyebrows but he gives me a small smile of reassurance, which tells me he doesn’t have a headache. “This is Kiki and her new dress. And Kiki, this is Justin, my brother.”

“Hi.” He smiles wider at her and then clicks his tongue. “And this is Hero.”

“Oh, what a darling boy!” She beams and hunkers down to his level and Hero tilts his head, giving a slight thump of his tail.

“Oh, I like that colour.” Justin smiles. “So a woman as beautiful as you can only be our hostess. Isn’t that right, Molly?”

“Host…” Kiki stammers.

“Yes. We most certainly need a hostess. I’m the baker and Justin is the chef.” I explain. “And with your history and knowledge of the Avenue, it’s a no brainer.”

“Wow, I mean, just wow!” She wipes away a flood of tears.

I hand her a napkin with a smile. “Is that your way of saying ‘yes, I accept your offer to be the hostess for Liberty Fine Dining?’”

“Absolutely!” She smiles. “Oh it’s tasting day tomorrow, isn’t it?”

“Yes and you have to be here.” Justin orders. “You know Emmett, right?”

“Everyone knows Emmett!” She laughs. “Don’t worry, honey. Your food and that cute smile will have him onside in no time flat!” She carefully puts her dress away. “Oh, a quick question: do you want me to sit in on the interview process for the wait staff?”

“Yes, that would be great! Thank you!” I squeal in relief. “You can weed out the idiots.”

“When do you start interviewing?”

“Monday and Tuesday with the final selection on Wednesday. Training will be on Thursday and Friday.”

“Wow, those are some business heads on those shoulders! See you tomorrow, darlings!”

THE LOFT - EVENING

BEN

“How the fuck is that checkmate?!” I demand, staring at the board.

“It just is, so suck it up, Buck!” He laughs, stretching out to his full length.

“Tired?”

“A bit.” He murmurs.

“This is why you need a bathtub in here. You could soothe away those aches and pains.”

“Mmm.” He replies.

“Get it off your chest.” I order.

He sighs. “Lindsay. I could be reading too much into it but…”

“No, you’re not. You do not, as a decent human being, tell anyone, especially your own child that they are getting fat! It’s fucking horrible! Effy is a sweetheart; she needs nurturing, not undue criticism. And when she turned away from Amy... I just wanted to throttle that shrew! She’s a six year old, who’s deaf. She is not going to understand why you did what you did, only that you did it!”

“What’s that?” He points at a the pack I was reading when he got in before he sucked me into a chess marathon.

“Oh yeah, I want to talk to you about this. There’s going to be a school opening for inner city youth in Shadyside and they need a business partner.” He screws up his face. “Read it before you diss it. It’s run by a family and yeah, they’re cunt-try. But they’ve got a centre in New York, San Francisco and other places in Cali…” He takes it from me and starts to flick through. “So…”

“Promising nothing. But scope it out and we go from there?”

“Great. Now come on shower and then bed. You look done in!”

“You gotta a date?”

“Yeah, with a chess tutorial website. There is no way that was a fucking checkmate!” I gripe.

He gets up and ruffles my hair. “Of course, it wasn’t...night!”

FUKOWSKI GARAGES - FRIDAY AFTERNOON

OFFICE

NORM

She’s got that smug look going on! She’s raised a valid argument, but I hate that she’s going there with the sole intention of cramping their fun.

“So we will see you later then. I’ll take the Mercedes, I think. Bye now.” She flicks her hair as she closes the office door.

“Bye.” I mutter and think back to our previous conversation.

Start of flashback

She glares at me. “I can’t believe you are objecting to me going to support my children. I’ve not seen where he’s going to be working.”

I roll my eyes. “While that’s true, you don’t actually want him to be working, remember? Besides, you don’t have to go today. He doesn’t start work until next weekend.”

“Well, I’ve changed my mind about him working. Brian raised a valid point; there’s nothing wrong with working and...”

“I raised that point, not Brian. And your change of heart has nothing at all to do with the pile of admin that you don’t want to do, now would it?”

She narrows her eyes at me. “No, Norman it doesn’t…”

End of flashback

Well Mrs Peterson-Fukowski, two can play that game! I smirk to myself then grab my phone to place a call.

JUSTIN

I am so nervous! These last few days of testing and tweaking have been good. I still can’t believe we have this place, considering where we were a few years ago.

“Molly!” I call out impatiently and she comes in carrying a plate of mini fondant fancies. “How many of those can I have?” I eye them keenly.

“All of them!” She grins.

“Oh, thank god!” I put two of them in my mouth and sigh contentedly.

“We’re all set, right?” She asks. “You got the take out box that Emmy wanted? Justin! Slow down; I’m not going to take them away. I made them for you!”

“Sorry. Just nervous, I guess. How long do we have?”

“A couple of hours. It will be fine. You and I both know how good you are.” She gives me a huge hug. “I am going to check the florentines...and no, you cannot help before you ask!”

OUTSIDE GUS’S SCHOOL

GUS

Oh that is not a happy face on Effy. I guess Norm called her, too.

“You heard, huh?” I give her a squeeze.

“About mom coming to the tasting? Yep.”

“Do you know why?!” I grouse.

“He said she’s being supportive of your job choice, but reckons she doesn’t want to do the invoices. I’m going to get her to take me ho...”

“What for…?”

“She’s going to ruin it for me, with her little jokes. Any time I am around food, she gets that look on her face.”

“You are coming!” I tell her, firmly. “And if mom starts, I’m sure your boyfriend will sort her out.”

“Gus, I don’t have a boyfriend. I doubt I ever will.” She sighs sadly.

“Effy, you are only 12. You’ve got plenty of time for that, but there’s nothing wrong with a little practice…” I smile and turn her around. She gasps when she spots Ben. “Ma’am, your carriage awaits.”

“Gus?” She looks back at me for an explanation.

“When Norm called, I called my dad and Ben was happy to be your plus one. Now let’s go.”

LIBERTY FINE DINING - AN HOUR LATER

EMMETT

Okay, he is as sweet as my Aunt Lula’s apple pie and as beautiful as all get out! If he cooks as good as he looks, this place will be packed to the rafters! I look round the dining room and it’s an intimate space, seating only for 20 people. “Perfect.” I murmur and then head to the diner part of this fine establishment and chuckle.

“What’s wrong?” Justin looks worried.

“Nothing, sweetie. Just that Debs, who was the mother of Liberty Avenue, would love this. A lot of people miss her and she would love you two to death.” He breaks into a smile. “And she would call you Sunshine!”

“Oh wouldn’t she, though.” Kiki chimes in. “Seriously, when this place opens, we have to send her a picture. I mean, can we send her a picture?!”

“Yes.” Molly laughs and gives Kiki a hug of reassurance.

“Oh, that’s what I meant to say. Now, what about the wine list? May I have a look at that?” I peruse it carefully and something is not quite right. “Let me just call someone; won’t be long.” As I step outside and wait for Vic to answer, I spot Gus, Effy and Ben coming down the street and wave at them. “Hey Vic, what are you doing right now? Can you come down to the diner? You can, great! See you in a few.” As I head back in I see Lindsay, making her way down the street, but she doesn’t see me as she’s on the phone. “Lock the door..quick!”

Molly rushes to do as I tell her. “What’s going on?”

“An uninvited guest! Now my darlings, I need one of you to harness that inner WASP I know you have and act accordingly when she arrives. Okay?” They both nod.

“Emmy. That’s disgraceful...funny, but disgraceful.” Ben laughs.

“What? What’s happening?” Gus asks, frowning.

“Watch and learn little darling, watch and learn. And you two in the kitchen quick!” I order Gus and Effy. I smile as Vic and Lindsay arrive at the same time and Vic waves through the window.

“Who is she and why am I being a WASP?” Molly asks.

“She’s our mother and we don’t really want her here.” Effy explains, slightly shamefaced.

“Then here, she will not be. Stay back there.” Molly grins and heads to open the door. “Hi there, you must be Vic? I’m Molly, come in, come in. Oh and you are, ma’am?”

“I’m here for the tasting. There’s no need for such formality, please call me Lindsay. I’m the mother of Gus and Edna-Fanny.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly do that. I was brought up to be respectful to my elders, ma’am. I’m Molly, and I bought this establishment with my brother, Justin. But unfortunately, this is for staff only. Proprietary reasons, as a woman of your longstanding business acumen would appreciate, I’m sure.”

“Long...but Emmett and Ben are there and also Vic…” She bridles.

“Yes, like I said staff only. But as for Ben, he’s our delivery boy for the day. Now if you would excuse me...”

“What about Edna-Fanny? Is she your delivery person, too?” She asks tightly.

“No. After Ben makes the delivery, they are going to be having an ASL session. Now really, I must go. You’re more than welcome to come back and collect Gus, in about 3 hours.” She smiles sweetly and firmly shuts the door. She turns back to us. “That what you had in mind?”

“Yes!” I chuckle and laugh harder at the outraged expression on Lindsay’s face as she looks through the window. And then have to turn my back to it as Molly walks over and pulls the blinds down!

VIC

“Right, shall we begin?” Molly asks, eyes twinkling. “And if she asks when you get home, your phones were on silent...as they would be if you were in school...”

“So what am I here for?” I ask, shaking my head at the audacity of Molly.

“Here. The wine list looks a bit off. Cast your expert eye over it, will you?” Ems hands it over then Justin and Molly give me a tour. After I check out the food menu, I shake my head. “Okay, I would source more New World wines for this menu…”

“Oh, we don’t have much experience with wines, apart from drinking. We just got the ones we spotted on other restaurants’ websites.” Justin worries at his lip.

“You are bringing a completely different concept of dining to this area, especially, so the wines need to match them. When do you open?”

“Soft opening next weekend and then opening properly the following Tuesday for the diner, 24/7, but the fine dining area will open for 3 days from Thursday evening.” He replies, his brow creasing with worry.

“This is why I called Vic. He was a sommelier in New York for years and can give you some guidance.” Ems explains and two pairs of big blue eyes lock pleadingly on me.

“Alright since I’m not doing anything, except watching trash TV. Give me your contact details and we start to tomorrow, okay?” I get kissed on both cheeks in response.

“Now can we taste the food?” Gus pleads.

“Yes. And Ben I need you to do me a favour... Take that, that and oh that to Kocky...what’s that smile for? I smell gossip...dish!”

“No. Sorry Ems, this one stays with me until the right time, but you are going to like it when it gets out.” Ben tells him mysteriously. “Now come on, Effy. Let’s go...um, I think we will go out the back way!”

BEN

As we drive to Kinnetic, I marvel at the small world we live in. When I got in and was introduced to Justin, I could not believe it! I can’t wait to impart that bit of news.

“You want to wait in the car, Effy? I’m just going to drop this off and come straight back. Then we can go back to the diner or…”

“Can we do some ASL instead please?” She asks hopefully and I get a megawatt smile when I nod.

“Want to come with? You get to see Uncle Brian…” She almost forgets to undo her seatbelt.

BRIAN’S OFFICE

“Hey, what you guys doing here?” Brian grins in relief and pushes the papers aside. “Wait, what the fu...hell is that smell? It smells so good!”

“I have been charged with delivering this by Ems, but I’m not telling you where it’s from. Nor will you get it from Effy.” I wink at her and she nods firmly.

“Oh okay, be mean like that.” He takes the box off her and peers cautiously inside. “Wow, that looks great! Am I supposed to eat all of that?!” Effy peers in the box then looks at me and I smile. “They are the biggest chicken wings I have ever seen. Oh Christ, what is that meat ladened thing...I can feel my arteries protesting! Oh well, at least there’s a salad, I suppose.”

“When you have quite finished queening! Could you share it out so we can eat!” I order, but he searches in the box. “Now what are you looking for?! The food is getting cold!” I am getting exasperated and hungry!

“Napkins, cutlery...I am wearing a Zenga suit.”

“Let me get them for you Uncle Brian!” Effy runs out to the break room and is back with the necessary things. “Shall we sit over by the sofa?”

“Yep. Now come on before your Uncle Ben passes out with starvation!” Kocky teases me.

Ten minutes later, there is no sound in the office but our content groaning as we eat the food. “Want to sleep on the landing, Bucky?” He asks, narrowing his eyes and I shake my head frowning. “Put the turkey wing down and that won’t be an issue…”

“They are really good, aren’t they! Now what do you think of the salad?” I put the wing down and he moves it to his plate.

“I could have those on a regular basis. Now that sandwich, is definitely a once a month followed by a good hard session thing. I’m trying to figure out what the meat is…”

“Can I tell him?” Effy pleads and again, I get the smile when I nod. “It’s a duck confit reuben.”

“Oh...I was thinking goose. So good!” He sits back and rolls his eyes, handing me the wing in annoyance. I knew he would do that once he found out what was in the sandwich. “What are you guys up to now?”

“ASL.” I reply, noting his pout as I suck the bones clean.

“Did you drive?” I nod. “Want to use one of our meeting rooms? I’ve got a couple of hours of work to do here, then we can drop off our princess before we go home.”

“Done.”

“I’ll go find a room, Uncle Brian! Then I’ll come and help clear.”

“You are such a sweetheart, Effy.” I tell her and she goes pink with pride. As the door closes behind her, I turn to him with a self-satisfied smirk.

“What?”

“You know your 12 o’cock blonde?” He nods. “Turns out he can cook as good as he looks.”

“You’re fucking with me? You’d better not be fucking with me!”

“Nope. I was as stunned as you are!” I stand up and watch Effy start to skip back down the corridor with a tray. “Oh and Justin looks even better from the back. As Ems said, his ass looks as sweet as two candy apples and…”

“Ready, Uncle Ben?” Effy comes in.

“Yeah!” I laugh as he signs fucker at me and follow her out.

LINDSAY AND NORM’S HOUSE - EVENING

LOUNGE

NORM

She is still pouting about the uppity little madam, who refused her entry into the establishment. She has a good mind to forbid Gus from working there, but when I pointed out that she wouldn’t be being very supportive like she claimed, she soon abandoned that idea! Gus has not stopped raving about the food and she was further aggrieved when she found out that Kiki is going to be the hostess and Vic the sommelier.

“Norman, are you listening?” She cavills.

“Yeth dear.” I reply and watch her eyes widen.

“So you agree with me then?”

Immediately, I am wary. “About what?”

“Going to the restaurant for Gus’s first day…”

“Um, he’s going to be nervous enough. Perhaps not on his first day…” I reason.

“But then it’s a whole week... No, I’ve decided we’re going to do this! Don’t tell him though. I want it to be a surprise!” She smiles and heads to the kitchen.

“Oh fuck!” I grumble and reach for my phone the 2nd time today to stop her exacting revenge by using Gus as her unwitting vessel!

“Brian, it’s Norm...what are you doing next Saturday?”