Chapter 18
BECK
By the dinner rush, we were a well-oiled machine.
Aside from a little grill fiasco and me nearly torching my eyebrows trying to fix it, everything ran smooth.
We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day, and clearly the festival gods were looking down on us.
Stationed directly across from a fresh-cut fries stand, after chatting with the owner during setup, we were working together to send customers over and vice versa.
Even better? The company. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face since this morning’s drive. Mae wasn’t pissed off at me for clocking her ex. And that ex was firmly in the past-tense category.
If you’re not “going there,” why does it matter, anyway?
“Earth to Beck?”
I turned from the grill to focus on Mae.
“Got ’em coming right up,” I said as the customer on the other side of the table watched me.
“Add another burger to that order,” she said.
“On it.”
“And don’t forget—”
“The jalapenos,” I finished. “Have ’em right here.”
A new customer walked up. Cute redhead in cutoff shorts who ordered two smashburgers with extra cheese. “You come with that?” she called over to me.
Mae waited for my response. Her eyebrows lifted in amusement, but something flickered in her eyes… barely there, but I caught it.
I smiled, kept my eyes on Mae.
“Sorry. Already spoken for.”
Mae snorted. “By who?”
“Depends on who’s asking.”
If my response confused Mae, the redhead was even more bemused but got the hint. I had more let-down lines than a tap on dollar beer night.
Wouldn’t need one if Mae was mine.
A dangerous thought.
Miraculously, as the dinner crowd began to die down, we had a break in customers. Mae wiped the table and made her way over to me.
“This is so much fun. Do you know how many people asked about the bar?”
“Lots, I hope. Come here.”
Without hesitation, she took a step toward me. I reached up, wiping powdered sugar from her cheek. “You’re supposed to serve your fancy French pastries. Not wear them.”
Her skin was so smooth. I imagined cupping that cheek with my hand, just before I kissed her. Turning away from temptation, I used the break to clean my grill.
“I was a little worried about them.” She sat on the folding chair beside me. I think it was the first time either of us had used it all day.
“Why?”
“I love them, and knew they’d keep well, but wasn’t sure if they’d fly with burgers and stuffed peppers.”
“Your dad always thought bringing your talents to O’Malley’s would work. Give the guy some credit for knowing his customers.”
“I guess. But it’s different out here.” She gestured to the crowded tents and food trucks surrounding us.
With a clear view of the lake and dusk beginning to let the multitude of white bulb lights do their thing, the Flavor Fest could only be classified as a success.
We were far enough away from the makeshift stand that the music wasn’t overly loud.
“Different than it would be, serving it in the pub, you mean?”
“Yeah,” she said, getting up as a young teen couple approached.
“Only one way to find out. Let’s get them on the menu as a special.”
“Excuse me.”
I looked up to find a reporter and her cameraman standing in front of me.
“My name is Krista Loomer with FLR News. Mind if we shoot a live feed from your booth?”
“Hell no. Just give us a sec to fulfill this order,” I said, cooking up two burgers. “Mae, want to take these and say hello to the local news?”
The next few minutes were a flurry of camera checks and Mae quickly re-braiding her hair.
I could watch her do that all day, her fingers nimbly flying through the golden strands like she’d done it a million times before, because she had.
Predictably, she applied lip gloss—Mae was addicted to it and kept them everywhere she went—looking as fresh as if we’d just started serving.
“So are you guys the owners?” she asked.
Mae and I exchanged a glance, smiling at each other.
“Husband and wife?”
“No.” Mae explained our situation while I contemplated the idea. We’d be good together, Mae and me. No doubt. Marriage wasn’t something that excited me, but with Mae? All bets were off.
“Okay, ready?” the reporter asked, making a motion for the cameraman to begin rolling.
“Good evening, Finger Lakes! Krista Loomer here, coming to you live from the heart of Flavor Fest where the grills are hot, the pastries are sweet, and the local talent is even hotter. I’m standing in front of the O’Malley’s Pub tent.
Organizers tell me this stand is a late addition but we’ve noticed it’s been drawing major crowds all day.
Serving up handcrafted smashburgers, jalapeno poppers, and…
get this. French pastries that have festivalgoers telling us it’s their favorite dessert here. ”
I’d wondered why she’d chosen our tent, since we weren’t local, and couldn’t be happier at the reason.
“I’m here with one of the masterminds behind the menu, O’Malley’s manager Beckham Claymont.”
Beckham, nice. Mae could barely contain a grin. I should have paid more attention as she talked to the reporter. “Mr. Claymont, can you tell us what inspired this delicious pairing?”
“The smashburgers and jalapeno poppers were no-brainers. The three most popular things at O’Malley’s are our ice-cold beers and those two menu items. But the tarte tatin was Miss O’Malley’s idea.
She received the Jacques Delacroix Culinary Arts Grant at the Culinary Institute of America and just returned from studying under the world’s most famous pastry chefs in France. I’ll let her tell you about it.”
The reporter moved her microphone to Mae, who talked about tarte tatin and why she loved it.
Mae was a natural on camera, as photogenic on video as she was in pictures.
Fact was, Mae had very few bad qualities, aside from being more self-sacrificing than she should.
For the life of me I couldn’t understand how her ex could fumble this woman.
He really was the stupidest fuck in the world.
“Luckily for all of you,” the reporter concluded with a smile, “there’s still one more day to check it out.
The festival opens its gates at eleven tomorrow, so come taste for yourself what’s drawing such a crowd.
That’s it from Flavor Fest. Now let’s head over to Brett for a look at your Sunday weather. ”
With that, the camera light went out as the reporter shook both of our hands. “Thanks so much, you guys were great. I’ll have to get down to Cedar Falls to check out that menu in person.”
“We look forward to it,” Mae said as the reporter and cameraman walked away.
“You were perfect,” I started. “Except—”
Mae broke down in laughter before I could finish.
“Real funny. Next time we get interviewed on live TV, I’ll be sure to mention your first culinary attempt—feeding brownies to the neighborhood.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, look, customers.”
Mae frowned before stomping off, apparently not amused, just because the brownies were so undercooked her “customers” needed a spoon to eat them.
Shooting me a glare that was undermined by the corner of her lips lifting ever so slightly, we finished out the day serving mostly desserts. By the time we packed up and jumped in the truck, I was exhausted. Thankfully our B&B was less than a ten-minute drive from the grounds.
“I brought a bottle of wine. Know it’s not your favorite, but I can’t drink it all by myself.”
“If that’s an invite to your bedroom, Mae, the answer is yes. I’ll drink Jeppson’s Malort if you’re leaving the adjoining door to our rooms open for me.”
I’d never uttered a truer statement despite the fact that Mae took it as a joke.
“How do you know we have adjoining rooms?”
“Asked for them specifically.”
“Why? And the real question is why would they give them to you?”
“Said we were coming for the festival and didn’t want to walk far between rooms.”
Mae snorted. “You mean you didn’t trust me not to wander off?”
“No, I didn’t trust me not to knock on your door.”
“You’re impossible.”
Over the years, we’d had hundreds of similar conversations. The thing was, over time, they lost their effect. Mae always thought I was joking because she’d made her stance on us getting together crystal clear.
I almost lost Pia trying to figure shit out. Don’t make the same mistake.
Grow the fuck up, get your shit together and show Mae there’s more to you than some smooth lines and a halfway decent pour.
Except, I wasn’t joking. Less now than ever before.