Chapter 3 #2
The table fell eerily quiet as her parents began to eat again and Lily groaned when her stomach gurgled.
She was still hungry and the smells weren’t helping.
Hesitantly, she picked up her own fork and poked at the food in front of her.
It looked good but there was something inside of her that balked at the idea of putting it in her mouth and she knew it was the memory of all of those burned grilled cheese sandwiches and other dishes she’d been fed by Myles back in high school.
She’d have to put that behind her, behind them, if they were really going to work together so she cut off a bite and shoved it into her mouth before she could second guess herself.
And to her horror, her father was right.
It was good. It was cooked just the way she liked it and the seasoning was spot on to how it had always tasted.
It wasn’t that Myles had reinvented the wheel or anything but he had managed to recreate the meal that her father had cooked for her a hundred times over the years.
She supposed at the very least it meant he could follow a recipe.
Slowly, she picked at her meal and ignored the looks her parents shot her from their side of the table.
They managed to make small talk about the town, as if they hadn’t altered her entire reality tonight.
And when they were done with their meal, nobody asked her how it was, which was good because she didn’t want to admit out loud that it hadn’t been half bad.
Not yet. Her father offered her a lemon tart from the plate a different member of the kitchen staff had brought out but since she was still covered in the last batch she shook him off.
“You’ll come back to the house now, right?” Her mother prompted as they stood.
“Yeah, of course. My bags in the car.”
“Good. We can talk more about how long you’re staying in the morning after you get some rest.” Her father put a hand on her back to guide her towards the door.
She snorted, “I look that bad huh?”
“You look tired, honey. That’s all.” Her mother brushed a stray tendril of hair off her shoulder the same way she’d been doing since Lily was a little girl and despite the comment on her appearance she warmed at the way her parents cocooned her between them as they moved towards the door as a group, a unit, them against the world just like it had always been.
“Hey! Hold up a sec…” The deep male voice from behind them made her jump on instinct, and she turned to see Myles speed walking across the restaurant towards them.
He looked harried but at least he’d been able to take off his apron so he wasn’t still covered in lemon tart, unlike her.
His hair was standing up at odd angles, as if he’d been running his hands through it.
Lily purposefully shoved her own hands into her pockets to fight the urge to reach out and smooth it down for him.
She opened her mouth, prepared to tell him that she was in no mood to hear whatever it was he’d come to say but his attention wasn’t on her… and that shouldn’t have annoyed her so much.
“Alan. Can I get a minute before you head out?” Myles motioned to the side, out of the way of the front door.
Lily was so surprised to hear him call her father by his first name that she automatically moved right along with her parents.
When she’d been dating Myles, her father had made it clear that he was to be called Mr. Montcrief.
But obviously they’d grown close since Myles had become his prized chef and that annoyed her even more.
“Of course, what do you need?”
“I wanted to let you know I received a phone call just a little while ago from Mercy Hospital.”
“Oh no…” Her mother put a hand on Lily’s arm in a protective gesture.
“Is it your mom?” Lily asked before she had time to even consider if it was any of her business.
Myles glanced at her then, “No, but thank you for asking. She’s actually doing well lately. It isn’t about her.”
“I’m glad.” She pulled her gaze from him.
“It’s the crew that was supposed to come in for the overnight shift and help me get everything prepared for tomorrow. Apparently they decided they should spend their day off in Bricktown for that fall festival thing and they were involved in a car accident trying to get back this evening.”
“Is everyone okay?” Her father asked before Lily could and Myles nodded.
“They’re a little banged up. Concussions, a few broken bones, but they’ll be okay.”
“Thank God.” Her mother whispered.
“They were lucky it wasn’t worse from the sounds of it but unfortunately for us that doesn’t help us tonight. They aren’t going to make it in so I’ll be on my own but I’ll do my best to get everything in order for tomorrow's rush.”
“Can you keep the current crew on to help? I don’t mind paying the overtime.” Her father frowned.
“No, sir. Jay has his kid for the holiday and Kim’s driving out to visit her daughter and son-in-law in the morning. I’d hate to ask them to stay and honestly the others would be in the way more than they’d be helpful. I can handle it. I just wanted to make you aware of the situation.”
“Well if you’re staying on overnight, the least I can do is stay and help you.” Her father offered and her mother all but hissed.
“Alan, no, you can’t pull an all-nighter. Not at your age.”
“I’ve done it before and I can do it again, Dana.”
“No.” Lily cut off the argument in a voice loud enough that all three of them turned to her. She shook her head, “If someone is staying to help it should be me.”
“What? No. Nobody needs to stay. That’s what I was saying.” Myles frowned.
“But you need help.” She countered. “You’re doing last minute prep for the biggest day of the year. You’ll be here all night if you try to do it alone.”
“Which is fine by me because that’s my job. You’re just home to visit your parents for the holiday.”
“Lily, honey, you don’t have to do this.” Her mother tried but she was more determined with every moment that passed.
This was her chance. She would show her parents that she could do this and they’d have to let her take over the restaurant. Her father had said she’d have to work with Myles so why not start now and prove she could handle him from day one?
“Your mother’s right. You only just got home and you don’t even know the menu.”
She narrowed her eyes at her fathers easy dismissal, “I know the menu better than anyone. I’ve made it with you every Thanksgiving for most of my life, Dad.”
“Well, it has changed some.” Myles inserted and she glared at him.
“I can handle it.”
“But Lil…” her father started again but she cut him off.
“As we’ve discussed already, this is a family restaurant and I’m the only member of our family who can stay and help keep things on track.
” She made sure she met her fathers eyes when she stressed the word family.
She lowered her voice again, just for her father, “Let me do this, Dad. Let me prove to you that I can make this work.”
She waited as her parents exchanged a look and she expected more argument so she was surprised when her father only nodded.
“Good. That’s settled then.” She turned back to Myles before he could argue any more and possibly change her parents' minds. “I’ll run to the house and get changed into something not covered in lemon tart and then I’ll come back here and we can get to work. It shouldn’t take long.”
He looked annoyed but ultimately he could only shrug, “I’ll be waiting.”
And if those words sent a shiver down her spine, nobody had to know it but her.