Chapter 16
chapter sixteen
nesto
We were selling a lot of burritos. The festival so far was proving to be a great place to get our name out there. It was mid-afternoon and the line had been about forty people deep since eleven a.m. People were coming by, loving our food and then bringing friends.
Jude had been a star all day, too, talking up customers and keeping the guys entertained up front with insanely bad Spanish jokes.
Seeing him with my friends, working together to push my business, made me so damn happy.
I was staring at him with what I knew could only be described as a dopey grin on my face when I noticed my mom watching him, too.
She gestured for me to come over and whispered with a smile tugging at her lips. “Your gringito seems to be doing a pretty good job of selling your food, Ernesto. And I liked how indignant he was on your behalf when we were talking to Easton before. He cares a lot about you, m’ijo.”
I nodded, still looking at Jude. “I know, Mamí, I like him, too.” I kept my eyes on him and as I got closer I heard him give the woman information about the Marley.
“This is our Jamaican burrito, you get either jerk chicken or jerk fish, peas and rice, picklin, which is a spicy pickled slaw, and yucca straws. It’s pretty fantastic and you can get it with a side of the scotch bonnet jam. I like to just put a little bit on each bite.”
“How do you make the fish?”
“The fish is dipped in a Red Stripe and Jerk batter.” When he said it, he actually rolled his eyes in apparent ecstasy, which was pretty damn distracting. “It’s phenomenal.”
The woman moaned. “It sounds amazing. Tell me about the dessert. What’s in the majarete?”
He beamed at her before answering. “It’s one of my favorites! Majarete is a Dominican sweet, it’s like a pudding made of sweet corn. OuNYe’s is topped with a passion fruit glaze that’s torched, so it’s a bit like a br?lée. I highly recommend it.”
“Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’ll take one, an order of the tostones, and the Marley with the fish. I’ll have the dessert first; it sounds so good I need to taste it now.”
Jude winked at her, then leaned over and whispered, “I won’t tell if you don’t.” When he passed her the little cup, she practically tore the lid off.
I kept doing my thing, with my eye on Jude, impressed by how much he already knew about my food. The more staying here became a solid possibility, the more I wanted Jude to be part of the picture long-term.
His presence in my life kept changing the script.
After a few minutes I saw the woman come back to talk to Jude. “Oh my god. This is amazing,” she cried and held up the majarete. “I need to know how this pudding is made.”
Jude smiled at her and said, “I knew you’d love it.” Then he started looking around until he spotted me and crooked his finger.
If he only knew how tightly wrapped around that finger I was already.
“Hey, Nesto, come over here, someone wants to know about the majarete recipe.” I walked over and smiled at the woman.
“Are you enjoying it?” She nodded enthusiastically, looking like she was about to propose to the pudding cup.
“It’s delicious. I’ve never had anything quite like this. I’ve had Dominican food a ton. I live in Washington Heights and there are great spots all over, but usually they have flan or tres leches. I’ve never even seen this before.”
“Yes, flan and tres leches are more widely used in Latin restaurants, but neither of them are actually Dominican. Majarete is a traditional dessert in DR and Puerto Rico. But it’s the kind of thing you usually eat at home, not so much in restaurants,” I explained while she gobbled up another spoonful of the creamy custard.
“I like to use my desserts as a bit of a nostalgia experiment. Make things those of us from the islands haven’t had since we were kids, but with a bit of a contemporary twist, which is where the glaze comes in. ”
She was completely focused on what I was saying, so I kept going. “And for those who are trying it for the first time, it’s a good way to be introduced to food that is part of our heritage.”
She nodded. “I love that. I could tell from the name, the menu, and the whole vibe of the place that you’ve put a lot of thought into your food; the smells from your stand attracted me as soon as I stepped on the festival grounds.
I’m excited to try the rest. By the way, Jude has done a great job of telling me about the recipes and the inspiration for the food. ”
Jude blushed, and I squeezed his shoulder. “He’s amazing.”
The lady was looking at us like we were the cutest thing she’d ever seen when Juanpa handed over the bag with her order. “Thanks so much. Do you have a card by any chance? I’m in the area a lot and would love your information.”
Jude was already on the case, passing her one of our palm cards. She tucked it in her pocket and waved goodbye.
I leaned over and kissed Jude on the cheek. “I had no idea you were so passionate about my food.”
He rolled his eyes as he got ready to tend to another customer. “It’s not like I can say it’s bad! Now shoo, I need to get back to work.”
“That’s not the face of a man who sold almost three hundred burritos in eight hours,” Jude chastised as he walked toward me with Milo and Patrice in tow.
I smiled at them as they got closer. “I was just thinking Mr. Sheridan never showed up, that’s all,” I said as I pulled Jude’s hand, bringing him closer. Milo rolled his eyes at me as he did something on his phone.
“Nesto, it’ll happen. You did so much business.
You know how hard it is to get that much attention when there are so many other vendors.
Yet this place was swarming with people all day.
” He walked over and tugged on my ear as he usually did when he thought I was being particularly dense.
“The buzz is building, but you have to be patient, pa.”
“He’ll be here tomorrow,” Jude said with certainty. “Sheridan is known for having a good eye for business and yours is a sure bet.”
“Did you just get off the phone with him or something?” I teased.
Patrice smiled at us and nodded in agreement. “These things take time, and they’re definitely looking positive.” He clapped my shoulder, his eyes serious. “I have faith in you, Nes, but you know that no matter what happens, we’ll be here to hold you down. New York City will always be your home.”
As he said that I felt Jude stiffen, then immediately loosen his body, like he realized I had noticed it.
Fuck.
I was grateful for my friends and their support, but Patrice’s timing was not the best.
I shook my head and squeezed Jude tight, before letting him go. “Never mind, I’m just getting jittery because I’m tired as fuck, and I still have at least five more hours of work before I can get to bed.”
Jude turned around and looked up at me with a determined expression.
“I can help you.” He was trying to smile, but his eyes looked sad.
“Looks like Ari and Yin have the cleanup covered and the truck is ready to go. Your mom said she’d pick up more drinks tomorrow, so the only thing left is the food prep.
I can drive my car home, take a quick shower and then walk over to the kitchen; it’s like a ten-minute walk. ”
I shook my head, feeling like shit about how much he’d done for me already. Because what was I to him? I couldn’t even guarantee I’d be around in a couple of months.
“Nah. You’ve already done too much. You guys can head home, and I’ll finish up at the kitchen.” My hands twitched to grab him again.
Milo rolled his eyes. “Of course, we’ll come and help.
That’s why we’re here; besides what do Patrice and Juanpa have to do other than troll Grindr and Tinder?
” Patrice ignored him, walking to the car, and Juanpa was too busy on the other side of the tent—apparently giving some girl his number—to care.
Camilo pointed at J. “Once the man whore over there is done putting numbers into his phone we’re heading out. We’ll stop at our hotel for a bit and then go to the kitchen. We were there with Nurys this morning, so we’re good with the code for the door.”
I really was a lucky bastard. “Okay, man. I’ll see you there then.”
Juanpa and Milo left as Jude and I worked out our next move. “Nesto, I’ll come and help. That way you can finish sooner and get some sleep. You’re going to be dead tomorrow if you go to bed at three a.m.”
“Are you sure? You must be exhausted. You’ve already done so much, and I know how stressed out you were for your board meeting all week.”
He looked so cute when he tried to act annoyed at me. “Yes, I’m sure. Come on, let’s finish here so we can get moving.”
Jude was like that, steady and reliable. He’d made this first month here so much better, and never asked me for anything, just gave and gave.
I felt his hand tighten around mine. “So, are we going?”
I smiled at him, trying to chase away my rambling thoughts. For once trying not to bring all my baggage with me. “If you’re sure, but only if we can go back to your place and hang out a little bit after. I need to unwind tonight even if it’s twenty minutes.”
He smiled and kissed me. “Sure, you’re always welcome at my place. We’ll get the food ready and then you can come over.”
“Maybe I should be a good neighbor and pay you back for all your hard work with a back rub.”
He let out a husky chuckle at my leering and rolled his eyes. “I won’t turn down a back rub, but I’d say that’s above and beyond neighborly etiquette.” We’d blurred the lines of this friendship to a point that I was afraid I was going to start getting hard just from hearing the word neighbor.
Did that stop me?
No, it did not.
I kept leering at him and made a show of rubbing his shoulders, my mouth against his ear. “I can do a lot more than your back.”
He squirmed a bit. “Nesto, there are still a few people around.” The smile on his face was not exactly discouraging, so I nipped his ear, then licked where my teeth had been.
He shivered and leaned into my touch for a moment before moving away. As he walked to his car, he called back, “We don’t have time for games, Ernesto Vasquez. You’ve got food to make, and I need a back rub, all within the next three hours.”
I laughed and ran to catch up with him. I really hoped that I could make this plan work: this truck, this town, and what I’d started with Jude.