9AshThe Font of Teriyaki
Ash
The Font of Teriyaki
If Tommy was still here, then the party was safe.
That was a judgmental thought, and Ash didn’t like having it.
It implied that Julia Dorsey’s parties would turn into a debauched drug-fest. Which was ridiculous—most people had the discretion to keep the drugs out of sight.
But the later the evening got, the less discretion there was.
Emma had generally mocked him for being so prudish about drugs, but with his family history and ADHD, Ash didn’t really think casual drug use was in his skill set.
It was all or nothing for him, and having watched his mother struggle with alcohol, he picked nothing.
He wasn’t sure what Harper’s feelings about drugs were, but he probably ought to leave before one of them felt uncomfortable.
He drifted apart from the conversation and headed around the pool toward Harper.
Julia had dotted the roof garden with a multitude of heat lamps.
She’d been popular during Covid for her outdoor parties, and she revived them in Fall.
The biting October air was bearable with enough bodies and heat lamps.
“Asher Valkyrie!”
“Robbie Callum,” said Ash, mimicking the tone. The barrel- chested finance bro had gone to the UW with Ash and seemed to think that made them friends. Ash thought it made them unfortunate acquaintances.
“Let’s catch up later! I hear you’ve got some interesting packages.”
Ash waved acknowledgment and kept walking, hoping the blonde Robbie was talking to would keep him distracted. He reached Harper’s side of the pool and was pleased to see that she and Tommy looked relaxed and happy.
“Oh, yes,” said Harper confidently as he approached. “Teriyaki is really a very American dish.”
“No, it isn’t,” Ash blurted out before Tommy could respond.
“Yes, it is,” said Harper, without looking perturbed.
“Ooh, is this another Smoak and Ash fight?” demanded Colin Kwayana, turning away from his cluster of friends, a grin lighting up his umber face. “Please say yes.”
“We don’t fight,” said Harper, looking perplexed.
It was their eighth fight in the last two weeks.
Ash had discovered that he liked fighting with Harper, mostly because she had no clue they were fighting.
She just stated facts and stuck with them until he came around to her point of view.
This made him think he was probably wrong about now, but he would enjoy finding out.
“Well, we might be fighting,” said Ash. “Are you sticking with the argument that teriyaki is American?”
“Yes,” said Harper simply.
“Well, then it’s on, Smoak, because, to put it plainly, nuh-uh.”
Ash folded his arms and tried to look confident.
Harper laughed, probably because she knew he was about as serious as a donut.
She had her hair up in a bun tonight, and a pair of blue earrings dangled against her neck with a tantalizing sparkle that made him want to bat at them like a cat.
Or maybe just take them away so he could kiss her neck right there.
He kept calling her Smoak like that would make him keep his distance from her, but it wasn’t working.
Ash looked around, hoping his thoughts weren’t obvious, and realized that the circle of finance guys was looking nervous at this public display of disagreement.
Only Tommy and Colin looked like they were finding the friction hilarious.
But Tommy seemed increasingly pro-Harper with every party, and Colin had been on Harper’s side the moment he met her.
“Yes,” said Harper, “it’s American fusion, and what everyone thinks of as teriyaki is from Seattle.”
“With only straight white male confidence to back me up, I declare you to be wrong,” said Ash. Colin let out a bark of laughter, and Tommy snorted into his seltzer water.
“OK, no Googling,” said Tommy, “but show of hands, who agrees with Smoak that Teriyaki is an American invention?”
“What are the reasons again?” asked Colin—leaning over to stage whisper at Harper.
“They aren’t reasons,” said Harper. “They’re facts. Teriyaki sauce as we know it was invented in Hawaii and then adjusted and popularized by a chef in Seattle during the seventies. Teriyaki is a Japanese-American fusion dish. I researched Seattle before I moved here.”
“Research wins. Voting with Harper,” said Colin promptly and raised his hand. More hands followed.
“And it’s a fact that teriyaki is a Japanese grilled meat dish that is hundreds of years old,” said Ash.
“Show of hands for Ash,” said Tommy, and a solid number of hands shot up. “OK, phones out, search commences on go. Three, two, one, go!”
Ash grabbed for his phone, but saw the disconnect alert pop up. “Did we all just crash the wi-fi?” he asked, laughing and giving up on searching.
“Yes! Now shut up! I’m on 5G and closing in!” said Colin.
Ash checked Harper’s face. She was looking slightly puzzled and a little concerned.
He suspected that she had just now noticed that they were arguing.
Ash theorized that Harper was a little neurodivergent but didn’t know it.
She was awfully good at masking, but the way she missed social cues and found some sensory situations overwhelming ticked a lot of the boxes for being on the spectrum.
Ash wasn’t sure if he should bring it up.
If she were really his girlfriend, he would have found a quiet time to open the discussion.
“The grilling style is Japanese,” someone yelled.
But Harper wasn’t his girlfriend.
He had to remember that. Harper was his friend.
He supposed that once she got her feet under her and made normal friends at work, she probably wouldn’t want to continue being at his beck and call for every social event.
And some rando guy bringing up her Harper Moments and suggesting that maybe they were caused by some extra neuro-spiciness might not be what she wanted.
“But traditionally for fish,” said Colin. “Americans switched to chicken and beef. And the sauce recipe…”
And right now, Ash was enjoying the hell out of being Harper’s pretend boyfriend.
“Sauce is Hawaiian!” yelled someone at the back.
Harper made his endless string of networking events not just bearable but fun.
“Adjusted and popularized in Seattle!” yelled Colin, pumping the fist without his phone.
“Japanese-American fusion,” said Harper with a beatific smile.
Ash couldn’t help himself. He leaned over and kissed Harper’s cheek. “You win,” he said, laughing.
“I didn’t mean to make a thing of it,” she said, blushing and smiling at him. “I just like to be factually accurate.”
“Whatever,” said Tommy, laughing. “It’s good for him. Ash needs someone to keep him on his toes.”
“Plus, the Smoak and Ash roadshow is always funny,” said Colin.
“Well, honestly,” said Harper earnestly, “I thought this was an excellent example of what will happen to cell service in a disaster. All of you should consider what check-in plans and policies your companies have in place in the event of an emergency.”
“Harper!” protested Colin. “I’m not thinking about natural disasters at a party. Keep your emergency management advice to yourself.”
“OK, but disasters can happen anywhere.”
“Uh-huh. Have you convinced Ash to do any emergency preparedness?” demanded Colin.
“Yes,” said Ash. “I’ve got my IT guy going over the checklist that Harper gave me, and I’m even stocking up at home because I don’t want to rely on Harper’s canned food in the event of an earthquake.” Harper looked confused. “You invest in too many beans.”
Colin burst out laughing. “He’s right. You need to diversify. Lentils, peas, other legumes. Don’t let your portfolio get bogged down in one sector. And how are you managing your growth? Do you stack in a pyramid or go for boxes? Do you need an investment strategist?”
“Slow your roll, Kwayana,” said Ash sternly as Harper chuckled. “I’ll take care of the stocking strategies.”
“Yeah, I bet you do,” said Colin.
“Darlings!” trilled Julia from the top deck that jutted out over the pool. “The dessert is coming out, and so is the bourbon. Dancing starts now!”
The crowd drifted toward the cabana where the food and drinks were located.
“And that’s my cue,” said Tommy, leaning over to kiss Harper’s cheek and hug Ash. “I’ll go excavate Marvin from whatever spot they’re hiding the cigar smokers and then depart.”
“I’m not sure dessert is a sign of the devil,” said Harper.
“Trust me, honey,” said Tommy. “I can read all the signs.”
He hugged Ash again and then disappeared into the crowd.
“The devil?” asked Ash, and Harper shrugged, looking embarrassed.
“There were some girls in the bathroom… snorting something. I’m not cool enough to know what. I told Tommy, and he said it was his general philosophy to leave these parties a half hour before the devil walks in but that he’d probably left it late tonight.”
“Are you feeling uncomfortable?” asked Ash. “We can leave. I was going to try to leave early anyway. These parties can get a little off-kilter.”
“Well, I’d like to leave early, but I also want dessert.”
“Dessert, and then we dash,” said Ash.
“And maybe a dance?” asked Harper, looking hopeful.
“Oh, absolutely. My sprinkler and robot are unparalleled.”
But somehow, one dance turned into three. The DJ was hitting just the right old-school groove for the crowd, and Harper shimmied closer as Ash felt a faint sprinkle of rain.
“I’m not sure dessert was a sign of the devil,” he said, pulling her closer. Her body bounced to the rhythm against him. “But we might want to consider getting out of here before it pours on us.”
Harper tilted her face up to the sky, and raindrops caught in her dark lashes. Ash held her closer, loving the contrast between the heat of her body and the cool of the night air.
“All right,” she said breathlessly. “Maybe we should go.”
“Yeah,” said Ash, but he didn’t immediately move. He wanted to keep holding on to her. “Back to my place.”
“OK,” agreed Harper.
Ash kept his arm around Harper as they wound their way through the crowd of people toward the exit.
“Ash!” bellowed Robbie Callum, and Ash winced. “Where you going? The Jell-O shots are coming out!”
“We were just leaving,” said Ash through clenched teeth.
“You want Jell-O shots, don’t you?” demanded Robbie, getting far too close to Harper. “You have a nice ass. I bet Ash has a great time with you.”
Ash was about to step in between them when Harper, her expression still perfectly pleasant, lifted her arm and pointed to the other side of the pool.
“Oh, look, an eagle!” said Harper.
“What? Where?” Robbie spun around toward the pool, following Harper’s pointing finger. Harper began to walk away as Robbie took a step.
As if his brain was on fast-forward, Ash realized that Robbie was about to step into the pool gutter, but it wasn’t until his hand was in motion that Ash realized that Robbie would be getting completely soaked.
It only took the slightest of nudges between Robbie’s shoulder blades to send him tumbling into the pool.
Robbie yelled and floundered, and Ash pulled Harper quickly toward the exit and into the elevator.
“You pushed him into the pool,” whispered Harper as the elevator descended, but she didn’t let go of his hand.
“I’m not bad. I just have poor impulse control,” said Ash, staring straight ahead. Harper didn’t respond and he finally stole a look at Harper’s damp face. “Oh, look, an eagle?”
Harper let out a giggle like she couldn’t keep it in anymore, her shoulders shaking, and Ash joined her.
The elevator opened, and they got out, still chuckling. It had taken Ash multiple visits to Julia’s to remember that there was an escalator down to the valet parking. Escalators were such an un-Seattle-like mode of transportation.
“OK, would it be weird if we got teriyaki?” asked Harper, trying to straighten the tangled fringe on her shawl. She was damp and her hair was escaping in tendrils around her face. She looked as though she’d blown in from outside like an exotic flower blossom.
Ash was about to reply when he saw Emma coming up the escalator toward him in a shimmery dress. As always, she had a burnished golden glow to her. Polished was a word that had been invented to describe Emma.
Ash froze. He had no idea how to respond.
“Asher, darling,” Emma called up to him. “Where are you going?”
He supposed he should have expected her to make an appearance somewhere. She put the social in socialite. A true extrovert, Emma’s insistence on staying for hours at an event was one of the things he did not miss. Although, this was a late arrival even for her.
“Don’t tell me you’re leaving!” Emma laughed. “Did Julia hire that horrible DJ again? Wait for me at the bottom, and I’ll join you. You can take me someplace expensive.”
Then Emma’s face froze, and Ash realized she must have caught sight of Harper. She opened her mouth, and Ash realized she was about to say something spiteful. Anger finally kicked him into action—he would not let her hurt Harper.
“Sorry,” said Ash. “We’re going someplace cheap. You wouldn’t feel comfortable.”
“Bye, Emma,” said Harper sweetly, and their escalators carried them in opposite directions, leaving Emma glaring after them in mute fury.