Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
J ill came in Wednesday night expecting an easy night.
She’d worked the night before as well with Emma, and Mandy had filled both of them in on Paul’s conversation with Zach.
She said he’d been on his best behavior on Tuesday, and they were hopeful that he’d taken Paul’s words to heart and wouldn’t have any further issues.
Both Emma and Paul were off tonight, and Zach was covering the evening shift. Emma had mentioned that she and Paul were going to go see a movie and grab some pizza. It sounded like a date to Jill, and she was thrilled for both of them, but Emma had assured her it was no such thing.
“We’re just friends. That’s all I’m capable of with anyone right now.
I’m not even thinking about dating. Paul’s easy to be with, and it’s comfortable.
Besides you and Mandy, I don’t really have any friends here.
I’ve lost touch with my friends from high school.
Most of them couldn’t wait to move off-island. ”
Jill had just nodded. “Same with me. I lost touch years ago. Mandy mentioned having some of her friends over for an appetizer party soon, on a night when we’re all free. She thought it might be a good way to reconnect with some of the people we knew who are still on the island.”
“Oh, that would be fun.”
“Let me know if the movie is any good,” Jill had said, then walked out the door to head to Mimi’s Place. Emma had laughed and promised that she would.
Mandy was already gone for the day, and Gary was at the front desk when Jill had arrived. Gina was behind the bar and had restocked everything; she smiled when she saw Jill.
“I think you should have everything you need. Zach just told me the specials for tonight. He made Bolognese and lobster Fra Diavolo. You can smell the sauces when you go into the kitchen. I just went in, and my stomach is growling now.”
Jill smiled. “They both sound good. I haven’t had Fra Diavolo in ages. It’s usually pretty spicy, right?”
Gina nodded. “It actually means Brother Devil, and the sauce is made with tomatoes, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes or Calabrian chili peppers, and other spices. It usually has quite a kick. You might want to have a taste in case anyone asks about the spice level.”
“Good idea. My stomach is growling a bit at the thought of it. I love spicy dishes.”
“Go ahead and try it. I can cover the bar for a few minutes. I’m not in any rush to get home.”
“Thanks, Gina. I’ll be quick.”
Jill went into the kitchen and saw Zach behind the line, stirring one of two big pots of sauces.
He looked a bit more unkempt than usual.
His hair was tangled and badly in need of a cut, and his five-o’clock shadow was darker than usual.
He also had deep shadows under his eyes and looked like he’d had a terrible night’s sleep.
But he actually smiled when he saw her, and his face brightened a bit.
“Hey, Zach. Gina just told me tonight’s specials, and they sound great. Could you please give me a small taste of both?” She’d decided to sample the Bolognese too as she loved the way Paul made it and was curious if Zach’s version was as good.
Zach handed her two small plates, and she went off to a quiet area by the desserts where she wouldn’t be in the way.
She tried the Bolognese first. It was very good and tasted just like Paul’s version, which was a relief.
She knew they’d had an issue with that sauce before when Zach made it his way.
She tried the lobster Fra Diavolo next, and while the lobster was delicious and cooked perfectly, she was a little concerned about the sauce.
She knew it was a spicy dish, and she normally loved that and could handle a high heat level.
But this was positively fiery. It was almost too hot to eat.
She took a deep breath. She was tempted to say something to Zach but decided to talk to Gary instead.
She knew the message might be received better from Gary than from her.
And she wanted Gary’s opinion first. She saved a good bite for him to try and walked out to the front desk.
Gary was writing in the reservations book and looked up when he saw her.
“Is that one of tonight’s specials?” he asked.
“It’s the lobster Fra Diavolo. I saved you a bite. I’d like your opinion of it.”
Gary raised an eyebrow. “Okay.” She handed him a fresh fork and set the plate down.
He speared a chunk of lobster, pasta, and sauce and popped it in his mouth.
A moment later, his eyes watered, and he reached for his glass of water and took a sip.
“Wow. That heat level is off the charts.” He frowned.
“I think it might be a bit much for our clientele.”
Jill nodded. “That’s what I thought too.
I know it’s a popular dish, but if it goes out like this, I know we’ll have a high number of returns or just unhappy customers who won’t say anything but won’t keep eating it either.
And might not come back. I know that sounds dramatic, but Mandy told me about the two ladies earlier this week.
All it takes is one bad experience for a lot of people. ”
Gary nodded. “I’ll go talk to him. He should be able to dial the heat level back by adding more tomatoes.”
“Thanks, Gary.”
The night proceeded uneventfully. Gary spoke to Zach, and he said he would dilute the spice. Still, Jill worried when a young couple at the bar decided to order it. She cautioned them that it might still be very spicy.
“Oh, we don’t mind spice. We love Thai food and get it at the highest spice level,” the young woman assured her.
So Jill took their order, and they loved it.
“This spice level is just perfect. It’s so good.” They raved about the dish, and Jill relaxed a bit.
The restaurant was unusually busy for a Wednesday night, and the kitchen got backed up.
Jill knew that sometimes happened in the best of kitchens, and she just apologized and told customers their food would be a bit longer.
She was waiting for another order of the Fra Diavolo for a young guy who was dining solo at the bar.
She went into the kitchen when her buzzer went off that her food was ready.
And she was surprised at the chaos behind the line.
Zach was sweating—there were beads of perspiration across his brow, and he wiped at them with the back of his hand before he reached for a sauté pan full of lobster Fra Diavolo and poured it over a waiting bowl of pasta.
He slammed the bowl onto the line and hollered Jill’s name.
Jill was standing behind Stacy and Betty, who were also waiting for their food.
“I’m right here!” Jill said.
Zach scowled at them as Jill reached for the plate of food. She watched as Zach grabbed a nearby water bottle and took a long swig. She assumed it was water and didn’t think much of it. It got hot in kitchens, especially when they got busy unexpectedly.
Jill brought the Fra Diavolo out and set it on the bar in front of her customer. “Here you go. I apologize for the wait. Can I get you another drink? This one’s on me.”
“Sure, I’ll take another IPA. Thank you.”
Jill poured the draft beer and set it down in front of him. He’d just taken a bite of the pasta, and a funny look went across his face. Jill tensed. She knew what was coming.
“How is it?”
The man reached for his fresh beer and downed half of it in one long swallow. He pushed the plate away. “I’m sorry. I like spicy food and was excited to try this as it’s a special. But that is not edible. It’s like pure fire.”
“I’m so sorry. I can see if he can tone it down some. Or I could get you something else?”
“If he can make that half as spicy, I’ll give it another shot. But I’m not sure that’s possible.” He reached for his beer and took another sip, then bit into a buttered roll. Jill knew the bread would help calm the fire.
“I’ll be right back.”
She went into the kitchen, dreading the conversation she needed to have. Zach didn’t seem in the best of moods, to put it mildly.
The kitchen was a bit quieter though. The mad rush had died down, and Zach was leaning against the counter, drinking from his water bottle.
He looked up when Jill came in holding the barely touched plate of food. His eyes darkened, and he waited for her to speak.
“Is there anything you can do to dial the spice down on this? My customer can’t eat it. And he says he loves this dish normally, so he knew it would be spicy.”
“Give it to me.” His words were clipped and low.
Jill handed him the plate of food, and he dumped it into a sauté pan.
He poured some of the sauce off and opened a can of pureed tomatoes and dumped it in the pan, added a shake of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and stirred the lobster around for a few minutes.
He then took a spoon and dipped it into the sauce and tasted it.
Then he poured it over fresh pasta and slid the plate back to Jill.
“Thanks.” She looked at Zach curiously. “I thought you’d already adjusted the sauce?”
“I did. We sold a lot of it though and were low on the sauce, so I made a new batch. I guess it was spicier. My bad.” He reached for his water bottle and took another swig.
“Okay, thanks, Zach. I think it’s slowing down now.”
Zach nodded and turned his back to her to check something on the stove.
Jill returned to the bar with the pasta and set it down. “He said the spice level should be way down. Hopefully.”
The man took a small piece of lobster and pasta and tentatively took a bite and then nodded. “Much better, thank you.”
The bar was still pretty busy, and Jill turned her attention to her other customers.
Several of them were finishing up, and after they paid and left, the bar emptied out quickly.
She’d refilled her lobster pasta man’s beer, which was almost gone when she brought the food back to him.
She noticed that he seemed done eating, and while all the pasta was gone, there was still quite a bit of lobster left.
Which was unusual—usually it was the other way around, and no one left much lobster.
“Was the lobster okay?” She wondered if it was still too spicy and he just hadn’t said anything.
“The spice level was fine. But the lobster toughened up. The chef must have kept it on the stove while he adjusted the sauce.”
“He did. I’m so sorry. I’ll take it off your bill.” She looked at him curiously. “Do you cook?” He’d sounded like he knew his way around a kitchen.
He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been working as a sous-chef for the past five years at the Blinds. It was recently sold though and is under new management. Feels like a different place now. I’m thinking about maybe looking for something in Boston.”
Jill was impressed. The Blinds was one of the best restaurants on Nantucket.
Their service and food were exceptional.
“Are you anxious to get off-island?” She knew a lot of Nantucket natives were.
She had been. Nantucket was lovely, but it was very different from living in a big city like Boston or New York where there were so many more opportunities.
“Not really, no. I worked in Boston for a few years after graduating from culinary school, and while the experience was great, I missed Nantucket. When an opportunity opened up at the Blinds, I jumped at the chance to move home.”
Jill remembered that Paul had mentioned possibly wanting to add a sous-chef soon. She knew he’d been hoping that Zach might make sense for it. But she had her doubts about that.
“I can pass your info on to our head chef in case something opens up here if you might want to hear about it?” Maybe Mimi’s Place wasn’t fancy enough for him after working at the Blinds.
But his face lit up. “Could you? My name is Jared Hawthorne.” He jotted his phone number down. “I’d love to work here. I’ve been coming to Mimi’s Place for years. It’s where my family always came for special occasions.”
Jared’s green eyes lit up as he spoke about his love for the restaurant. There was a warmth about him that was a stark contrast to Zach. She picked up the scrap of paper and stuck it in her pocket.
“I’ll give this to Paul, our head chef. I can’t guarantee anything, but hopefully he’ll be in touch if he decides to add a new sous-chef.”
Once the bar cleared out and the last customer left the restaurant, the kitchen and waitstaff gathered at the bar for their after-shift drink.
Zach ordered his usual Tanqueray and tonic and set the water bottle he’d been sipping on earlier next to his drink.
As usual, he drank quickly and didn’t say more than a few words to his coworkers, mostly just nodding now and then as they chattered excitedly.
When he finished his drink, he left, and it wasn’t until he was gone that Jill realized he’d left his water bottle on the bar.
She grabbed it and took it into the kitchen to leave it on the line for him.
She knew he was in the next morning. She stumbled over a wet rag that had fallen onto the floor, and when she bent over to pick it up, some liquid splashed out of the water bottle, and she caught a whiff of a familiar scent.
Jill opened the top of the bottle, and the smell grew stronger.
There was a half inch of liquid left at the bottom, and it wasn’t water. Gin had a distinctive smell.
Had Zach really been drinking all night?
He hadn’t come out to the bar at all, so if he was drinking gin, he’d brought it in.
She walked by the huge trash bin at the back of the restaurant.
The line cooks hadn’t taken the trash out yet.
They usually did that on their way out for the evening, dropping it in the dumpster in the parking lot.
Jill leaned over to get a good look at the mound of trash.
She wasn’t about to go digging through the trash, and she didn’t have to.
An empty fifth of Tanqueray was tucked along the side of the trash can, peeking out from under a cardboard egg carton.
She wondered if it was an isolated incident or a regular thing.
Thinking back, Zach always had his water bottle on the line.
And she’d always assumed it was water. Maybe it was.
She couldn’t imagine he’d be day drinking too.
She wasn’t sure what to do other than to fill in her sisters and Paul and Gary on what she’d discovered.