Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
J ared spoke to Paul and happily accepted the sous-chef role.
The understanding was that he’d start covering lunches like Zach had done, and when Jason returned, Jared would switch to mostly nights as Paul’s right-hand guy.
Paul didn’t have anyone in the sous-chef role.
He had several cooks who were solid line cooks, but none of them had the training that Jared did or the experience at a restaurant like the Blinds.
Jared gave his two weeks’ notice at the Blinds, and he was an immediate hit and a breath of fresh air at Mimi’s Place after Zach.
The kitchen staff and the servers loved him equally.
Jared was kind and calm and approachable.
He didn’t mind when people made mistakes or asked questions, and his cooking was top notch.
He also understood the importance of consistency, and his Bolognese tasted identical to Paul’s.
Jared also added his own innovative twist to the daily specials that were a huge hit.
His sautéed scallops with a lobster and corn risotto sold out faster than anyone expected.
And Jared cooked scallops perfectly, just the way their clientele liked them.
Paul felt very fortunate that Jared had stopped in for dinner the night that Jill was behind the bar and that she’d talked to him and gotten his number. As it turned out, Jason was not cleared to return when he met with his doctor. He wasn’t fully healed and needed another three weeks.
But Jared didn’t mind staying on for a few more weeks of lunch duty. He was happy to pick up shifts as needed and fill in anywhere.
Paul had heard from Zach too. He’d sent Paul a quick text message asking him to send his last check to the rehab treatment center on Cape Cod, where he’d be staying for the next month. Paul happily agreed and wished him luck with his recovery.
Over the next few weeks, Emma and her sisters settled into a regular routine at the restaurant.
Jill flew back to New York every other Thursday night to work Fridays in the office and spend her weekends with Billy.
Billy flew to Nantucket on the alternate weekends.
Emma was happy for her that things seemed to be going so well.
Emma was also glad that she and Mandy had each other for support; it was a strange time for both of them with the shocks to their marriages.
Emma was moving on a little faster than Mandy because, unlike Cory, who said he wanted to save his marriage, Emma’s was irretrievably broken.
It was a blessing for both sisters to have Mimi’s Place to focus on.
Emma regularly posted her photographs and Paul’s specials on the Facebook page, and their customers expected it now and looked forward to checking out the daily posts.
Mandy was busy handling an upcoming wedding, and Emma was impressed with how detail-oriented and organized her sister was.
Mandy had a knack for managing events, and she really seemed to enjoy doing them.
Big events like weddings stressed Emma out a little, especially dealing with anxious brides and their mothers.
But Mandy effectively calmed everyone down and guided them toward making the necessary decisions.
Emma and Paul had been spending time together more and more too.
He had become a good friend, and both she and Mandy found it helpful to talk to him.
He assured them that going through a separation or divorce was never easy but that eventually things would get better.
Sometimes, she sensed a glimmer of interest from Paul, and when she did, she usually avoided him for a few days.
She didn’t want to lead him on, and she wasn’t looking to start anything up with anyone at the moment.
The thought of dating, of starting over with someone new, was not appealing in the least. Emma didn’t think she even knew how to date.
She’d been with Peter since her college days and had never really been on her own.
She was enjoying answering only to herself and coming and going as she liked.
She was also enjoying spending more time on her photography.
When the weather was good and she wasn’t working at Mimi’s Place, she was usually out and about, snapping pictures.
Some of her sunset pictures had turned out especially well, and Jill had suggested she hang a few of them on the dining room walls along with the other consigned artwork.
She felt funny doing that at first, but Mandy insisted too, so she put her favorite photo up.
It was a lighthouse in a swirl of fog as a pink sky peeked through clouds.
She was pleasantly surprised when it sold two weeks later.
She replaced it with a pretty shot of knockout roses along a white fence in Siasconset, and that sold quickly too.
Paul was on his way over soon. It was Thursday night, his night off, and Jill was midflight to New York.
It was Emma’s birthday, and Mandy had asked in front of Paul that afternoon about her plans for the evening.
As soon as he heard that it was her birthday, he insisted on taking her out.
He invited Mandy too, but she said that she wanted to wait for Jill to come back on Sunday and maybe they’d take Emma out then if that worked.
It worked fine for Emma; she’d never been one for making much of a fuss about her own birthday.
It was more fun for her to celebrate other people’s birthdays since she had never liked being the center of attention.
The plan was that Paul was going to come over and cook dinner, and then they’d go out to hear some music afterward.
At six sharp, she heard his truck pull up outside, and a moment later, he walked through the door holding a big cardboard box full of food and a bottle of wine.
He set the box on the kitchen counter and bent down to say hello to Izzy, who had run right over to him.
Izzy was madly in love with Paul, and whenever he came over, she ignored Emma and Jill and gave Paul all her attention.
“She is a smitten kitten when it comes to you,” Emma said and laughed.
Paul grinned as he started unpacking his box and putting items on the island. “She’s a smart one.”
Emma watched, curious as Paul set one cooked lobster, a container of scallops, a bag of shrimp, bottles of ketchup and horseradish, a head of broccoli, garlic, two big potatoes, a lemon, and a box of Ritz crackers.
“What are we having? Can I do anything to help?”
“I thought I’d make us a seafood casserole and shrimp cocktail to start, with sautéed broccoli and roasted potatoes.
You could open the wine and pour us a glass.
” He handed her a bottle of Bread and Butter Chardonnay, her favorite brand, and she found her opener and poured them each a glass.
She watched as he worked in the kitchen and made everything look easy.
He took the lobster meat out of the shell and chopped it up, then added it to a casserole dish along with the scallops.
He topped it with crushed Ritz crackers, a bit of butter, and a squeeze of lemon, then added a splash of the chardonnay and threw it in the oven, along with the sliced potatoes to roast. Once he had the broccoli in a pan on the stove, he mixed the ketchup and horseradish together for a cocktail sauce and brought it to the table, and they snacked on plump shrimp and sipped their wine.
“Peter called earlier to wish me a happy birthday,” Emma said as she dunked a shrimp in the spicy cocktail sauce.
“He gave me the update that Tom has been accepted to culinary school. He’s really going to chase his dream of being a chef.
” She’d been a little surprised to hear it.
Tom had a really good, well-paying job. She hadn’t thought he was serious about changing careers.
But Paul seemed to approve. “Good for him. We only go around once. Might as well do what makes you happy.”
“That’s true. And you love it,” she said.
Paul reached for his wineglass. “I do. I can’t imagine doing anything else. Do you think you’ll go back to teaching eventually?”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t think so. I enjoyed it, but I don’t really miss it. I want to see if I can do more with the photography, and I like the fast pace of the restaurant. It has a different feel when you’re an owner. It matters more. I feel like we have more impact now.”
“We definitely do,” Paul agreed. “And it’s satisfying when the things we try work out—like with the new menu.”
Emma smiled. “The menu has been a hit. Turns out just about everyone loves luxurious comfort food.”
“What’s not to love?” Paul grinned as he checked on the casserole, pulled it out of the oven, and set it on the stove to cool. The crumb topping was golden brown, and the casserole was bubbling. It smelled amazing. He made plates for them while Emma topped off their wineglasses.
“I feel very lucky,” Emma said, taking a bite. “This is delicious, Paul. Thank you.”
She noticed a hint of pink rising on his cheeks.
“My pleasure. I’m glad you like it.”
“You know, I was a little nervous when I heard that my grandmother left the restaurant to you too,” she admitted. “I wasn’t sure how it would be working together. But it’s been really great. I’m so glad we’re friends again.”
Paul nodded in agreement. “We always gotten along great. It was always easy being with you. We like the same things, mostly.”
She laughed, thinking of the one thing they didn’t agree on.
“Do you still like that awful hard rock music?” When they were dating, Paul always tried to get her to go with him to see some of his favorite bands like Black Sabbath, Metallica, and Iron Maiden.
She went once, and that was enough. It wasn’t her thing, but she knew he loved it.
“What’s not to love?” He laughed.
“Ugh.”
“Well, no worries. The band playing tonight at the Gaslight is more your speed. Soft rock and country.”
Emma smiled at that and stood to clear their plates. But Paul wasn’t done yet.
“I hope you saved room for dessert?”
“What is it?”
Paul pulled a pastry bag out of his big box along with two empty cannoli pastry shells.
He piped the sweet ricotta filling into each of them, dipped the ends into a container of chocolate shavings, and handed one to Emma.
Cannoli were her absolute favorite dessert.
She took a nibble, savoring the sweet cream with the slight hint of anise flavor.
“I think I want a coffee. Do you want one?” She stood to make a small cup to have with the dessert.
“I’m good. I’m still finishing my wine.”
When they finished eating, Emma got up and stretched. “That was so good, and I’m completely stuffed now. Do you mind if we walk into town? I need to work some of this off.”
“I could use a walk too.”
They finished cleaning up in the kitchen and then made their way down Main Street and to the Gaslight to hear some music.
The Gaslight had live bands regularly, and this one was very good.
It didn’t take long before people were up dancing.
Emma had no interest in dancing, but it was fun to people watch.
She and Paul both ordered wine, and she ordered a glass of water too.
Emma caught Paul glancing her way a few times with a funny look on his face, and she had the sense again that he was hoping they might rekindle some kind of relationship.
If she was in that frame of mind, where she was looking to date again, Paul would be a good candidate.
She knew that. They were compatible. She liked spending time with him, and there had always been an attraction there.
She just wasn’t ready to consider a relationship with anyone.
She’d told Paul that early on, and he hadn’t pushed, which she appreciated.
She knew there was always the risk that someone else might come along and she’d miss the opportunity to see if it could work out, but it was a risk she had to take.
She just wasn’t ready to date anyone. But she loved spending time with Paul as a friend.
Hopefully, for now at least, that would be enough for him.