29. Cora
CORA
“Iwant to try Horreb as well,” Jennifer said as we hurried through Midtown to make our restaurant reservation. “They have a spicy balangu that is apparently to die for.”
“Balangu?” I asked, weaving through the crowd of people crossing the street in the opposite direction.
“Basically steak filets seasoned with Afro-Caribbean spices.”
“Oh, that sounds good.” I checked my calendar as we paused for a red light at the next street.
NYC Restaurant Week ran until the end of August, and Jennifer and I were determined to squeeze in as many new places as possible.
I was mostly just happy to encourage Jennifer’s resurrected enthusiasm for food, seeing as she was still struggling at work.
I’d started to secretly suspect Jennifer was planning all these restaurant dates to keep me from wallowing after the breakup with Aiden—which I definitely wasn’t doing.
I was too busy to wallow.
“How’s next weekend looking for you?” I asked.
“I’m off Saturday. That work?
“Perfect.” I added Horreb to my calendar, creating a reminder to book a reservation.
“We also have to get the ramen at SushiSushi. And try that new wing place that just opened near us. According to the foodies, we can’t miss their Souped-up Caesar.”
“What the hell is that?”
“You know…like the drinks that come with an entire burger on top of the glass?”
I groaned. “That is such a gimmick!”
“I know!” Jennifer hooked her arm through mine, tugging me through the door of Porcini—a boutique Italian eatery. Inside, the restaurant was bathed in low light, with floral patterned wallpaper and artwork framed in gold. “But it looked amazing. We’re not gonna talk about the price, though.”
“Probably needs a whole burger to hide the fact that the drink isn’t actually that good. Have you been scrolling Snug?” I gave the hostess my name for the reservation, and she escorted us to our table.
“That’s where I started,” Jennifer said as we sat down. “Then I ended up on TikTok and didn’t surface for like three hours.”
I burst out laughing. “Been there, done that. Anyway, I’m happy to squeeze as much as we can out of restaurant week.”
“Which is why I love you.” We glanced at the menus quickly, but we’d already done our deep-dive online. Jennifer ordered the spaghetti alla carbonara, and I opted to try their cacio e pepe. “Also, I feel like I haven’t seen you in days,” she said once we’d ordered.
“I know. I’ve barely stopped during the transition.”
“How have things been since you left Elixir?”
I took a deep breath, the word fine on the tip of my tongue, but when I released the breath, nothing came out.
Jennifer hummed softly. Apparently, me saying nothing was enough to tell her plenty. “Are you sure turning down the offer from Ironwood Distilleries was the right move?”
Was it right for me? For my career? It was hard to see into the future, to know if I’d made the right call for the long run, but it really did feel like the best choice for me now.
“I think so,” I told her, running my finger around the condensation on my water glass.
“When I read through their contract proposal, the partnership didn’t feel like a good fit. ”
“At all?” Jennifer asked. “Or just for right now?”
I considered her question. Ironwood Distilleries had been interested in having me design a signature drink.
It was so similar to what I’d just done with Elixir that I would be repeating myself instead of moving forward.
I still wanted to promote products I believed in, but jumping from one company to the next while slapping my Masked Mixer brand on products didn’t sound fulfilling.
Maybe later on, I’d feel ready for that kind of partnership again.
“I guess I don’t know how I’ll feel in a few months or a year, but creating drinks for someone else just isn’t something I’m interested in right now.”
Our food arrived, and Jennifer twirled noodles onto her fork. “What’s your plan then?”
“I’m going to go back to my regular bartending gigs. I reached out to Mandie, my old bar manager, and she’s good with me coming back on full time. The students are all getting ready to go back to school, so they need staff.”
“Guess that worked out timing-wise.”
“Yeah. Other than that, I’m going to keep working on my Masked Mixer videos. I was also thinking I might look into taking a few classes at a community college.”
Jennifer frowned. “Really?”
“If I do want to open up my own speakeasy someday, I could probably use some business courses to learn things like accounting, bookkeeping…You know, all the non-alcohol related things.”
“That’s actually a great idea,” Jennifer said. She cleared her throat, and I could tell by the way she was looking at me that there was something more she wanted to say.
I tilted my head, frowning. “What?”
“Nothing bad, don’t go getting all defensive on me.” She laughed. “I’m really glad to see you moving on and taking the right steps in your career.”
“Mm-hmm, I’m waiting for the but.”
“Buuuuut…I also hope you won’t use this as an excuse to avoid relationships.”
My next bite of pasta went down hard. I coughed, clearing my throat, confused by her words.
When had I ever used work to avoid relationships?
“I was with Levi for fifteen years, and it was only a year after that fell apart that I got together with Aiden,” I pointed out.
“Does that sound like someone using work to avoid relationships?”
“Doesn’t it?” Jennifer said. “When you were with Levi, you two barely saw each other. You worked completely different schedules. Sure, you were with the guy a long time, but that’s not the same thing as being invested in the relationship.”
I sighed. “Sure, but isn’t that the way it goes?”
“What do you mean? The way what goes?”
“Love,” I said. “It doesn’t really last. For one reason or another, it all ends up falling apart in the end, and frankly, I’m sick of investing in relationships that are doomed to fail.
I don’t see anything wrong with investing in my career.
If I’m not meant for love, at least I can be happy with my job. ”
“That sounds a lot like an excuse,” Jennifer said. “Love can and does last, if you’re willing to put in the effort to keep it going.”
“Can it though? In any capacity?”
She frowned. “I’m not following.”
“You work so hard at your job, but I can tell it isn’t making you happy anymore.
You always look exhausted, you can’t wait for your days off, and I haven’t heard you sound excited about anything work-related in ages.
It seems to me like you’ve fallen out of love with cooking,” I pointed out as gently as I could.
“And that was something I never thought possible.”
For a second, she just stared at me. Then she started to laugh.
“You thought I stopped loving cooking?” she said through chuckles, shaking her head.
“That’s not it at all. I still love cooking—I just hate my job.
The new management at Eastfield sucks. They’re the reason I’m not having fun with it anymore. ”
I blinked, taken aback. That wasn’t what I’d expected her to say. “Wait, really?”
“They won’t let me try new things. They’re constantly trying to micromanage me while having half of my experience.
I’ve tried to stick it out, but I think I’ve reached my limit.
That’s why I’ve been asking around and looking for an opening somewhere else.
I want to keep cooking, Cora. I just have to find the right situation to let that love thrive. And I think you should do the same.”
“I am investing in what I love doing, just like I always have.”
“Okay, but when are you going to invest more in who you love being with?”
I rolled my eyes. “I think I’m done with dating for now.”
“There are other kinds of relationships, you know. You’re great at making work friends, but I’m the only one you ever kept in touch with when we stopped working together.”
“It’s hard when you’re a mixologist, with all the night shifts,” I defended myself. “When you keep weird hours, it’s tricky to find a good time to meet up with people.”
“It’s always hard to do a thing when you aren’t willing to put the work in,” Jennifer shot back, cutting me no slack whatsoever.
“If you want to have relationships in your life that last, make them a priority. Put in the time and effort. You really liked your coworkers at Elixir,” she reminded me.
“Have you reached out to any of them since you left?”
“I haven’t,” I admitted, and it made me feel a little guilty.
I twirled my fork through my pasta, not hungry anymore.
Jennifer was right. Just because Aiden and I hadn’t worked out didn’t mean I had to ditch Dot and Javeed and Chris.
Maybe it wasn’t necessary to close the book quite so hard when I moved on from one job to the next.
It would be nice to see the Elixir crew again.
I liked having a group to talk drinks with.
Maybe I could arrange to meet them outside the office—somewhere I wouldn’t risk running into Aiden.
AIDEN
I stopped dead in my tracks, my hand halfway to the front door of the Red Lion. A familiar sound echoed down the street—Cora’s laugh—and goosebumps spiraled up and down my arms as I snapped my head around.
I spotted her across the street, surrounded by her former team from the Elixir lab.
My breath stalled in my throat at the sight of her. It had been weeks, and I still hadn’t been able to shake the image of her walking out of my apartment.
Go inside, some part of me urged. Don’t do this to yourself.
Despite knowing that I should walk away, I lingered, my body frozen, my ears trained on the voices that drifted across the street.
I knew better than to eavesdrop on an ex-girlfriend.
I knew how this would look if Cora and the team spotted me.
But I couldn’t help myself. I just…I wanted to see her. To hear her voice.