by Simon Archer
“You look absolutely stunning, Rosie,” I complimented her. She smiled and looked at the ground.
“Thank you. You look very nice too,” she said in her tiny voice as her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.
“Here, why don’t you give this one to Ellie?” I handed her one of the bouquets.
“Really? That would be great!” Rosie took the bouquet from my arm and waited until I was on my way down the hallway before closing the door and following me.
I glanced in the kitchen as I passed, but it was empty. Same with the dining room. Finally, I entered the living room to find it full of formally dressed individuals mulling around. The girls had spent the day shopping and having a little boutique party at Belavi, and their efforts paid off. They were all gorgeous. Ellie stood out to me first. She had on a bright pastel yellow, mid-calf dress with a pleated skirt. Each pleat had a hot pink pinstripe down the crease, and there was matching trim around the plunging neckline. The dress fit perfectly and showed off her taut physique. The pleats made her round ass look even perkier than it normally did.
“Wow, Ellie, that is some dress,” I said as I walked toward her. She tipped her cheek towards me so I could kiss it.
“Thank you,” she replied. I looked around to find Bev, but I didn’t see her. Just when I was going to ask where she was, she walked into the living room from the hallway with the bedrooms off it. She was walking with Sally, the manager of the Army Surplus store.
“Bev! There you are! And look what you’ve managed to pick up along the way?” I joked, winking at Sally. She wasn’t wearing a dress, which didn’t surprise me, but I was curious what she was doing here.
“Hi, Clark,” Bev said as she rolled her eyes and looked over at Sally.
“Bev, you look gorgeous,” I told her sincerely. She was wearing a floor-length, lavender dress with sequins lining each of the seams. It was simple and elegant. I walked over to her and held out the bouquet.
“Are these for me?” She looked surprised.
“Yes, silly. They are for you,” I laughed. She took the flowers and looked them over.
“They are beautiful. Thank you.” She smiled and walked past me. “I’ll go get them into some water.” After she’d passed, I turned back to Sally.
“I don’t know if they’ll let you in without a dress, Sally.” I smiled at her innocently.
“Shut up, Clark,” Sally said as she whacked me on the arm. I couldn’t help but laugh at her feigned frustration. I leaned down and gave her a quick hug.
“It’s good to see you. What are you doing up here? Everything okay?” It wasn’t normal to just see Sally randomly.
“Everything is fine. I just wanted to tell Bev and Ellie congratulations. Theo told me about the award when he came to the store this morning,” Sally explained.
“That’s sweet of you,” I said, turning to put my arm around her shoulders. I walked her the rest of the way into the living room before letting go.
“You know me, all rainbows and sunshine.” Sally rolled her eyes sarcastically. “I actually need to be going now. It was good to see you all,” she announced to the room as she made her way towards the hallway leading to the front door.
“Thanks for your help at the store today, Sally,” Theo piped up as she walked out. She waved a hand over her head to acknowledge she had heard him, then was gone.
“Damn, she makes a quick exit, doesn’t she?” I asked Theo.
“Yeah, she’s not one for large social gatherings,” Theo chuckled. “Do you want a whiskey?” I was about to accept his offer when we heard a car honk outside.
“That must be Charlie. The whiskey will have to wait until we are at the benefit,” I replied. Theo stood up from his seat in the lounger and buttoned his tuxedo jacket.
“I’ll go get Bev and meet you and the girls out there.” Theo started toward the kitchen. I turned to Ellie and the girls.
“Are you beautiful ladies ready to go? Our ride is here.” I walked over and held my arm out to Ellie. “May I escort the cat girl of the evening?” Ellie smiled and took my arm. I glanced around the room to be certain we were all ready and noticed Rosie was missing. “Where’s Rosie?” Kennedi appeared on the side of me opposite Ellie.
“She’s in the kitchen with Bev, putting Ellie’s flowers in water. We’ll get them on the way out,” Kennedi told me.
“Sounds good, let’s go.” The four of us started down the hallway. We caught up with Theo, who was waiting for Bev in the kitchen. As soon as she and Rosie were satisfied that the flowers were taken care of, they joined the group of us, and we all went to meet Charlie, Leah, and Macy in the limo.
Five minutes later, the limo pulled out of the drive will all ten of us. I’d been in the Lindys’ limo before, but never with so many people. I suddenly felt like I was on my way to a party in Vegas. The closer we got to the venue where Ellie and Bev would be receiving their award, the more our group buzzed with excitement. The girls were primping and chatting amongst themselves while Charlie, Theo, and I enjoyed a scotch and watched with amusement. Theo started chuckling after a few minutes.
“Do you think there is a man on earth who understands how they can chat away like that for so long, nonstop?” He tipped his head toward the women. Even his wife was uncharacteristically participatory. Charlie leaned back in his seat and shook his head.
“Not a chance in hell. Leah and I have been together for what seems like forever, and I still don’t understand it. For the longest time, I thought she was the only one who squealed when she got excited about something. Then I met Kennedi… and Ellie… and so on.” He laughed as he gazed lovingly at his wife without her seeing.
I looked over at Kennedi and nodded in agreement. “I wasn’t fully aware of their ability to primp for hours. They prep to primp, they shop to primp, then they get ready and after-primp. It’s never-ending some days!”
“Ah, yes,” Theo started. “This is the way I look at it, though: I like cupcakes.” He must’ve seen the confused look on Charlie’s and my faces. He put his hand up toward us and said, “Now, just wait a minute, I’ll explain. I like cupcakes. Women are amazing cupcakes. Sometimes, however, cupcakes are even better with frosting. If a woman wants to take her time to frost herself, who am I to complain when I’m the one benefiting from her efforts?” Theo shrugged and sat back in his seat. Charlie and I looked at each other, both shocked at the complete sense Theo’s analogy made, and that it came from him.
“That’s rather enlightened of you, Theo.” Charlie reached over and slapped Theo on the shoulder. “I’m going to have to keep that in mind next time Leah has us running late while she is changing clothes for the eightieth time!” The three of us laughed together.
“Is it possible to go into sugar-shock from too much frosting, though?” I joked. “I have four cupcakes in my house that love to frost themselves daily.” Both Charlie and Theo put their hands up and started shaking their heads.
“You’re doubling down on a whole damn bakery, Clark,” Theo said through his laughter. The three of us went back to watching the females and puzzling about their dedication to primping. It was more entertaining than I’d like to admit, and we ended up watching them until we felt the limo slow to a stop. The girls instantly started looking out the windows to confirm that we were indeed where we were supposed to be. Then the excited chatter and squealing began. Charlie, Theo, and I had just enough time to exchange one more confused glance before Kevin, the Lindys’ driver, opened the limo door.
7
Somehow, we were all able to exit the limo and file into the event rather quickly. The awards committee had decided to make it an outside affair and had chosen to set up large white tents with walls made of see-through chiffon on the edge of the Ruby View golf course, one of Elko’s most prestigious ranges. The entrance was marked by an awning-covered, red-carpeted path that ended with doormen, dressed in matching black, red, and gold uniforms, waiting to open the doors to the dining and stage tent. Theo escorted
Bev down the carpet, and Ellie, Kennedi, and I followed. Kennedi had asked if she could escort Ellie with me. She’d been so excited at the possibility that I couldn’t tell her no. Behind us was the rest of our group, all beaming proudly to be on the Belavi’s special guest list.
Once inside, an usher immediately appeared to take us to our table before we really had a chance to check out our surroundings. He led us to the front of the tent, just short of the stage, and sat us at a large, round table. It was draped with a white linen tablecloth and had navy blue napkins folded neatly at each place setting. Silverware, water glasses, and wine glasses were all sparkling with the reflections from the rows of white twinkle lights that were strung across the ceiling above. Once we were seated, we finally had a chance to take a look around.
The tent sat nearly two hundred guests. As people filed in and were seated, catering staff, dressed in white from head to toe, rushed to take drink orders and leave menus. The decor inside the tent was simple and elegant. Other than the napkins, everything from the centerpieces to the chair covers were various shades of white.
Normally I wouldn’t be a fan of so much of one color, especially white, but as more people filed in wearing brightly colored gowns, the space ended up feeling more decorated than it actually was. Our table was directly in front of the stage but was set back far enough that we wouldn’t be straining our necks to see what was going on. There was faint instrumental music playing in the background from hidden speakers, and it seemed to encourage attendees to keep their voices down for some reason. The most breathtaking thing about the whole scene was the view beyond the chiffon walls. The tent overlooked the golf course, which was lit with decorative lanterns, no doubt placed specifically for that event. The lantern light shone off the dewy grass, and still water-hazard pools. The sky was pitch black except for the spattering of stars twinkling down.
Kennedi must have seen me admiring the stars because she slipped her hand into mine as we sat and leaned in so that I could feel her hot breath on my ear.
“We haven’t been out to stargaze in a while,” she reminded me quietly.
“Mmm, no, we have not. We’ll have to change that,” I turned my head slowly and touched her lips with mine. She pressed in against my kiss, then opened her eyes as we pulled apart. They were a green that I still hadn’t seen a true equivalent to in nature. She winked at me and then sat back in her seat, smiling. I glanced around the table. Charlie and Leah were to my left, while Kennedi and Ellie were to my right. The other girls, along with Theo and Bev, were across from me. Everyone was engrossed in their own conversations about the classiness of the event, or so I thought until my eyes reached Charlie. He was obviously waiting to get my attention.
“Feel like talking business for a minute?” he asked.
“Sure,” I told him, happy to have something to do other than look around the room.
“I’ve been looking over some things regarding our nano-glass product manufacturing plant,” he started. “With the rate at which Rosie is kicking out new products, we will be at capacity within the next four months. And, by ‘at capacity,’ I mean extended to our limits with initial orders, not ongoing product sales.” A furrow had made its way onto Charlie’s brow.
“Sounds like a decent problem to have, in a way,” I joked, trying to relieve some of his obvious stress.
“In a way, yes. For ongoing success, no,” Charlie whispered. He sat up a little straighter in his chair and looked me square in the eyes. “We need a second manufacturing plant.” He was completely still while he waited for my response.
“Funny that you should bring something like that up, Charlie,” I started. “I wanted to talk to you about building a lab for a few new things I’ve been mulling over. The lab would take a back seat to the plant, though. Those products are already selling.” I felt a twinge of disappointment that, even though I hadn’t seen the numbers yet, my lab would most likely have to wait. Leah turned her head toward us as though something had caught her attention.
“What kind of lab, Clark?” she wanted to know.
“It would be to make and test special upgrade features for our rebuilds that would have a biological component involved with them. I thought about contracting out, but Charlie and I have always had good luck keeping things in-house,” I answered. Leah raised an eyebrow.
“Well, we do know the owner of a chain of biolabs,” she suggested.
“Yes, Clint was the first person who popped into my mind. He was in the store and overheard Macy and me talking. He offered to give us information about bio labs if we needed it,” I said.
“I think you are on the right path with that line of thinking. I think Clint would be a great option to look at.” Leah smiled. She had found a kindred spirit in Clint and his desire to help CGs. I looked at Charlie, and the two of us looked back at Leah.
“There’s just one thing,” Charlie started. “You know we’d prefer to keep things in-house.” Leah nodded her head slowly.
“I realize that is how you’ve structured things in the past, and it has worked well. If it comes down to it, though, and outside information is needed, I would definitely go with Clark’s idea about Clint.” Leah’s voice had deepened like it only does when she talks about business strategy.
“Charlie, with the increased product sales, are you sure we couldn’t undertake both projects?” I had hope, even though I wasn’t counting on a ‘yes’ from him.
“I highly doubt it. I’d like to keep us in the black. We’d most likely need to take out a separate loan for a lab. Not my favorite idea. We can always double-check the numbers with Krysta.” Charlie leaned back and looked a little more relaxed.
“Let’s get set to do that,” I told Charlie. “I have a little something planned for Kennedi tomorrow, but how about the day after tomorrow?”
“That works for me. Belavi?” Charlie and I usually held our business meeting at Belavi or his penthouse.
“Yep, that’s perfect. Maybe Ellie will make us some of her turkey wrap appetizers!” I smiled at Ellie, who had turned to me when she heard her name. Leah chuckled a little.
“Now, you two,” she addressed both Charlie and I. “Enough business. It looks like they are about to get started on stage.” Sure enough, a pudgy gentleman in a classic black tuxedo was walking to the middle of the stage where a microphone was already set up.
“Yes, my love,” Charlie said to Leah.
Our entire table quieted down as the man on stage started to drone on about the awards-world of the food industry. Several awards were being presented that night, the most prestigious going to Belavi. It was interesting listening to someone else’s opinion of the restaurant that I’d watched Ellie and Bev build.
This room had no idea that the spark for Belavi’s creation was lit in a little farm-house kitchen during a chaotic time in the lives of the people who started it. They didn’t know that it was a man’s love for his wife that made him take a financial risk to come up with the initial investment. The crowd hadn’t seen the laughter, trials, experiments, joy, and heart that I was fortunate enough to witness while the restaurant was being designed, and the menus being developed. They didn’t know that the people sitting at our table were the ones who gave the thumbs up or thumbs down on all the recipes served here.
Lastly, nobody else could feel the pride I did when I looked at Ellie, Bev, and even Theo for all the accomplishments they’d made with the restaurant.
I was lost in my memories of Belavi’s history when music started playing from the stage. Ellie and Bev stood up, then headed up on to the stage. Soon, they were standing next to the pudgy man with a microphone. He introduced both of them and handed the mic to Ellie.
“Good evening,” she started. “I feel my main purpose here tonight is to accomplish one task, and to do it well. The task of introducing my reason for cooking.” Ellie turned to Bev and smiled. “Some people are taught the craft of cooking. Some are in this business for the money. Some want the recognition. None o
f those things apply to the person I want you to meet tonight.”
I looked around the room and saw everyone’s attention riveted on Ellie. She had a kind of commanding presence on the stage, and no one could take their eyes off her. I watched Bev as Ellie continued to speak. She wasn’t a ‘center of attention’ type person, and I could tell she wanted to run and hide away from all the praise Ellie was lavishing on her. Ellie turned and looked at Bev, then back at the crowded room again.
“This woman was the one who taught me that good food wasn’t just about eating something that tastes good.” Ellie’s voice grew more powerful with every word. “She taught me that eating was about connecting to others. It was about having a medium over which to bond with loved ones and create memories. Sometimes those memories last a lifetime. She taught me that the joy of eating starts before the first ingredient is selected. It starts with the desire to bring a smile to the faces of the people who will be eating your food. She taught me that INTENTION is just as important in cooking as the quality of the ingredients that make up your dish.”
Ellie paused and walked over to Bev, putting her arm around her shoulders. “Most importantly, however, this woman right here taught me that there is more joy in creating beauty, whether it be in the kitchen or at the dinner table, than there is in merely seeking it out.” The crowd was silent, but almost everyone was nodding their agreement. Then suddenly, Ellie flipped her hair back, stood tall, and dramatically put her hand on her hip. “That is why we are chefs, not food critics!”
It took a second for the crowd to realize she had made a joke, but when it did, the attendees raised the roof. The laughter and cheers were nearly deafening. Ellie waited for them to quiet down before continuing.
“I’m so honored to introduce my friend, my teacher, my mentor, Mrs. Beverly Cavanaugh.”
Ellie turned to Bev then. She leaned down and hugged her tight while the audience clapped and cheered. I thought I saw Bev’s eyes watering just a bit but knew she would never let a tear drop in front of all those people. Ellie let her go and watched with adoration as Bev took the microphone and stepped forward on the stage. She looked out over the room for a long moment, looked at Ellie, then looked back at the crowd.
