39. Sean
SEAN
E van, Bri, Lowri, and I converge on our dinner table and find one of the six chairs is already occupied by a stately, gray-haired man. I can’t help laughing as he stands.
“What’s funny?” Lowri asks.
“It’s an inside joke from college. Play along, and I’ll explain later.”
“I can do that, but I’ll want all the details,” she says with a wink.
“Professor Simon, it’s been a long time,” I say, patting him on the back.
In a weathered, husky voice, the professor says, “It has been. Thank you for inviting me tonight. It’s such a pleasure to see you and Evan again.”
“We’re glad you could join us tonight. Have a seat. Evan and I will take the ones on either side.”
We have a round table for six, so I pull out the chair to my right for Lowri, and Bri takes the chair on the other side of my wife. We leave a chair between Evan and Bri for Cassie in case she joins us during the evening.
Evan and Bri know who’s hiding behind Professor Simon’s disguise but don’t know why he’s making an appearance tonight.
In contrast, Lowri knew I’ve been looking for Simon, but she doesn’t know who he really is.
It’s going to make for an interesting evening.
I hope the good professor has the answers he owes me.
“Excellent. Are you going to introduce me to the lovely lady next to you?” Prof. Simon asks.
“Forgive me. This is Lowri Upton. Lowri, meet Prof. Simon. Professor, I believe you know everyone else.”
They shake hands and everyone takes a seat.
“This is a wonderful surprise. Sean didn’t mention you would be here tonight,” Evan says.
“It was a last-minute decision. Enough about me, let’s talk about what’s important,” the professor says.
“What’s that?” Bri asks.
“Food, of course. Have you looked at the tasting menu for tonight? I can’t wait to try everything,” he says, holding up a printed card that lists each course.
As we’re discussing it, Cassie emerges from the kitchen and steps to the center of the room, wireless microphone in hand.
“Welcome. I’m Cassandra Edwards, better known as Cassie.
Thank you for joining us tonight. As you all know, I’m here as the result of a cooking competition.
The theme for one of the rounds of that contest was ‘Comfort with a Flair.’ At the time, my mind raced trying to figure out what that meant.
The theme could have different meanings to different people.
It could refer to comfort food with an unusual twist. Or it could be fancy preparation and plating of a traditional comfort food.
Neither of those seemed quite sufficient for the Grand Athena, which represents luxury in everything.
That led me to wonder if we were intended to create an upscale experience based on comfort food concepts.
Ultimately, I decided the goal was to deliver all three.
While I’m not sure that I completely accomplished that goal during the fast-paced competition, I hope we’ve achieved that special experience for you tonight. Please enjoy!”
The crowd breaks into applause, cheering as Cassie takes a bow and leaves the dining room. Paxton, aka Prof. Simon, uses that moment to learn toward me, whispering, “I have the information you want. Can we talk somewhere private after dinner?”
“We can go to my office when this is over.”
Before Paxton can say anything else, Emily approaches me. “Sean, the wine you requested will be brought down next.”
“Thanks for giving me the heads up, but you’re a guest tonight. You aren’t supposed to be looking after me.”
“When I ordered your wine for tonight, I told them to give me a heads up when the acrobats were ready to retrieve the bottles. That way, you and your guests wouldn’t miss it. But don’t worry, I’m definitely enjoying myself tonight. I’m with the group by the far window.”
“I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Now promise me that for the rest of the evening you’ll leave the work to everyone else.”
“I will. Thanks for including me tonight.”
As she’s about to leave, Emily does a double take when she notices the professor. She opens her mouth as if she’s going to say something. Instead, she scurries to her table. How odd.
Turning back to my mafia friend, he looks strangely sad as he watches Emily depart. “Sean, who was that woman?” he asks.
“That’s my assistant, Emily. Do you know her?”
“No. She reminds me of the only woman who ever broke my heart. Her name was Lee. Emily dresses conservatively and seems introverted unlike Lee. Otherwise, Emily could be Lee’s twin.”
“I guess it’s possible Emily has a twin. She’s doesn’t mention her family very often, but I believe she’s an only child.”
“It’s doubtful they’re related. It’s not important anyway. Lee hasn’t been in my life for a long time. So, back to the reason Emily stopped by. What was she saying about acrobats retrieving wine? Are we supposed to be watching something?”
“We are.” Catching everyone’s attention, I say, “I’ve ordered special wines from my collection for our table tonight. Emily informed me the acrobats are about to climb the silks to the top to retrieve the bottles for us. Now’s the time to watch.”
As we watch the acrobats use the silks to climb and descend the wine tower, I pull out my phone, quickly sending a text to the stage manager for the pyrobatics show.
We need to make sure that two riggers check these silks every night too.
We don’t need one to tear while an acrobat drops down the fabric with a wine bottle nestled in a holder strapped to their body.
Broken glass and a fall could be a lethal combination.
As we’re captivated by the flavors and plating of the food, we chat about a myriad of topics ranging from Evan and Cassie’s new charitable work to Bri’s tennis schedule for the next year. She’s particularly excited about Wimbledon. She may be given a wild card slot to compete in the tournament.
We’re finishing dessert when Cassie finally joins us at the table. I raise my glass for a toast. “To Chef Cassie and a wonderfully successful soft opening of Pinot & Pie. The Grand Athena and I are honored to have you as our guest chef this month. Cheers.”
“I can’t thank you enough. You’ll never know how much this means to me. Your faith in me is humbling,” Cassie says.
“It was easy. You earned it. Now, if you’ll excuse the professor and me, I’ve promised to show him photos in my office.”
I whisper in Lowri’s ear, “Take your time here with our friends. I’ll meet you in the apartment a little later. Simon has info for us, but he wants to meet in private.”
Now it’s time for answers.