Chapter 7 #2
I attempted to speak in a normal manner a couple of times, but in the end what came out of my mouth was a loud growl that sort of sounded like, “What are you talking about?”
As I walked up to him, my body tense, I hoped I didn’t look as pissed as I felt.
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure I follow.” I made a conscious effort to unclench my fists and relax my shoulders, because this dude looked like he had the Ithaca PD on speed dial.
I spoke in the most cordial tone I could manage.
“I have copies of everything I submitted to your office, and my season vendor pass. It’s all in my truck, I can go grab it. ”
The man looked even more put out and started glaring behind him like he was looking for the person responsible for all this.
“Oh, you do? That’s funny.” He stared back at his clipboard and looked up again.
“The copy for your approval must have been misplaced then. If you have the original it would certainly help. I apologize for the inconvenience; this is very unusual.”
As he said that, he turned around again, looking even more annoyed.
I huffed and went to the truck to get the papers.
I thought this Farmers’ Market was supposed to be organized. I had to apply for a spot almost a year ago. What was this bullshit about them losing my papers?
As I walked back to the man with all my documents in hand, I was glad for my control freak ways and hoped this was a fluke, because I did not have time for this. Not to mention that not being able to do the market over the summer and fall would essentially destroy my plans for the next six months.
I handed over my copies and the pass which clearly read “Season Vendor” with the year and the name of the business.
“Is this what you need?” I said, unable to keep frustration out of my voice. “I mean, I talked with Jim yesterday and he confirmed I was good to go, so I’m not really sure what the issue is.”
The man looked at my stuff, sighed heavily and handed them over.
“I’m so sorry about this, Mr. Vasquez. Everything’s in order, you can carry on setting up.
” He gestured in the direction of the truck.
“I will make a note on your file and try to look through our documents and see if I can locate your original application. If I can’t find it, I’ll just make a copy of what you have.
Hope you have a great first day.” He shook my hand and gave me another mortified look before walking off like he was about to go ream out whoever made him come over here to look like an asshole.
This was the second time in two weeks someone had come to my business and hassled me about whether I had my shit in order.
I really hoped this was a coincidence and had nothing to do with the woman from the first day, but I was not na?ve enough to completely rule it out.
I sighed and turned back to see Ari and Yin looking spooked.
I was still pissed but had way too much to do to dwell on the last five minutes.
So I did what I always did: I got to work.
“What’s good, A?” I asked Ari as he hustled back into the stall and quickly started putting on his apron.
“There are twenty people in line, and we’ve served almost a hundred! It’s not even noon yet!”
Ari was obsessively tracking how many people we served since yesterday. It was Sunday, our second day in the market, and sales were ridiculous.
Yesterday we sold out of everything and today was looking the same. People were loving the food and the concept and wanted to know where we’d be during the week.
I was feeling good and absolutely not sweating that so far Jude was a no-show at the market.
Nope, I was focused on selling burritos.
“M’ijo, we need two more Marleys with the chicken, one with Jerk tofu and another batch of the yucca fritters,” my mom yelled from the front.
“Ta’ bien, Mamí” I shot back, pointing to guys. “Yin is finishing up the fritters for this order. We’ll start another one in a minute.”
My mom was kicking ass taking orders, and my sis was rocking getting them ready and chatting up customers with Ari. In the rear Yin and I were like two machines getting the food ready. We deep-fried pork belly, grilled chicken, and rolled burritos nonstop.
As I worked I could hear Ari just a few feet away at the counter answering some questions for a client in his lilting soft voice.
“Yes, the Manno is our burrito inspired by Haitian cuisine. It comes with Djon Djon rice, which is made with black mushrooms. Griot, pork belly cubes marinated in bitter orange and oregano, which is braised and then deep fried. It also comes with Pikliz, our homemade Haitian spicy slaw, avocado slices, and yucca straws. It’s my favorite one, although they’re all delicious! ”
“Oh, I think I’ll have that one,” the client said excitedly. “And I’ll take one Lupe, too, and the yucca fritters, they look so good. What’s the sauce?”
“The sauce is a mojo aioli, it’s very nice and tangy. I can give it to you on the side if you like.”
“Perfect, thanks so much. I’m so excited for this, I’ve never had Haitian food before!”
Music to my ears.
The day moved fast, but by two in the afternoon things were slowing down, and it was my turn to man the counter while my mom and sister took a break and walked around the market. I was grabbing a bottle of cold water for myself when I saw Jude walking up to the stall with some guy.
I tried to act cool and not let my desperation show too much, but damn he looked good today.
He was wearing red chinos and a tight navy t-shirt.
His hair messy, like he hadn’t bothered with it this morning.
It was all I could do not to walk up to him and drag him home so we could finish what we’d started by my car.
I knew this was not exactly keeping with my “no distractions” plan, but fuck it.
I stood up with a grin as he walked up to the stall.
I looked him up and down with appreciation, sniffed and flexed my shoulders.
I was being a scumbag, this was a fact, but I wanted to clue in the fucker with him that he had competition.
Before Jude or I could get a word in, the guy extended his hand and introduced himself.
“Hi, I’m Raj, and I was brought here under false pretenses,” he said as he flashed me a smile. Jude sputtered behind him, getting redder by the second.
I fake-laughed as I gave him a firm handshake. “Oh, yeah? How’s that?”
I could be friendly. Nobody needed to get their head snatched off, yet. I glanced over at Jude who looked like he was bracing for whatever this dude was going to say. I noticed he was looking at the guy more like an exasperated older brother than a boyfriend, and I relaxed a little bit.
“Well, I thought we were coming here to check out a new food stand. I was not informed there would be amenities.” The last line he delivered with a pointed stare in the vicinity of my biceps.
I laughed for real this time. This kid was funny.
“Well, we aim to please here. It’s good to see you again, Jude.
” I threw in a wink. That first day at the truck I’d noticed those got me a reaction every time.
“You ready to try something new? We have the Lavoe today, our Puerto Rican burrito. Have you ever tried guandules?” Jude still looked a little unsure, but he came up closer. Was I coming on too strong?
Probably. Fuck.
“Looks like you’ve sold out of some stuff already,” he said, while still looking at the board. “That’s really great, Nesto.” His voice was so earnest, like me selling a bunch of pork and chicken burritos completely made his day.
“Thanks, we’ve had a good first weekend.” That blond hair and shy smile combo was going to be the end of me. I could not stop staring at him.
“I’ll try the Lavoe,” he said with a nod. “I’ve had pigeon peas at Carmen’s and really like them.”
From next to him Raj quipped, “I’ll have that, too, with the tofu instead of pork, though.” I gave the order to Ari and leaned over the counter to flirt a little more with Jude, while Raj chatted up Yin on the other side.
“So, how’s your weekend going? You’re looking fresh. I like that shirt.” I was shameless, but hey, nobody needed to know I’d been driving by his house with my car windows down all week.
He looked at his chest like he’d barely noticed what he had on before turning those gorgeous blue eyes on me.
“Oh, I’m good. Raj’s here visiting from the city for the weekend, so we’ve been doing the rounds.
Wine tasting yesterday, market today. He leaves this afternoon, so we had to pack it in.
” He blushed and then flattened his mouth.
“Sorry I’ve been MIA; work has been crazy.
Our grant writer is a total nightmare, and I needed to work with her all week getting my proposal for the board ready. ”
I shook my head wanting to reassure him. “No problem, I know how it is. Things have been busy for me, too, as you can see.” I extended my hand toward Ari and Yin. “I even hired new people.”
He looked at them and smiled. “Looks like they’re working out well.”
“They are. Listen,” I said, leaning in a bit more. “I’m glad you came by. I was meaning to stop in by the library this week to ask if you wanted to get a drink tonight.”
His eyes widened a bit, and he looked like he was about to say yes, but then he scrunched his face and shook his head.
Dammit.
“Actually, I’m going to Carmen’s for dinner.” At least he sounded kind of bummed out. “It’s sort of an ongoing thing. I eat with them every Sunday.” I was disappointed but didn’t want to get pushy. I got the feeling the Sunday dinner invitation at Carmen’s was a big deal to Jude.
I didn’t need to guilt him because I was a scrub who had nothing going on other than stuffing burritos and hanging out with my mom and sixteen-year-old sister.
“No worries. Maybe another time, then?” I said, while focusing on getting their order packed, not wanting him to see my disappointment at his refusal, the intensity of it surprising me. After I made sure everything was in the bag, I handed it over, trying for a smile.