“Be quiet, Gerard.” Ari was confused.
“Sorry,” Gerard said. “You say ‘what’ a lot. I need to figure out if you’re lacking in education or you don’t understand men.” Gerard ducked in time to save him from the pillow she lobbed at him.
“I think I missed something?” Conner raised a brow and looked for one to the other.
“Never mind. What is an expeditor? It sounds like a weekly cop show or something.”
“It’s a non-cooking role. I’ll organize the orders by table, garnish the dishes before the server takes them out to the dining room. I’m not a server. I guess you could say I’m one step above. To be fair to everyone, the tips are divided up at the end of the shift.”
Ari dished herself up another slice, for now, ignoring the calories. She’d dance an extra hour later while thinking of her next design. “I thought you said you loved to cook and you applied for an apprentice or something.”
Gerard stood by the fridge. “Who wants more beer?”
Ari hadn’t noticed him move. She must have been to intent on trying to figure out exactly what Conner’s new role would be with Johnny’s. It was one of her favorite places, when she could afford the high prices.
“I’m learning the menu, and the other duties. The sous chef is the assistant to the executive but she’s leaving to start her own restaurant in Virginia in a few months. I’ll start training with her a few days each week.”
“You’re going to be a sous chef at one of my favorite restaurants. Oh, Conner that’s wonderful,” Ari said.
“That is great,” Gerard added. “You’re probably working for chump change while you’re training I bet.” He pulled his gaze from the television, where the Yankees had finally pulled ahead by a run, to smile at Conner.
“Yes. Ari, are you okay with me staying until she leaves for Virginia? Until then I’m not going to make enough. But once I’m sous chef, I can get my own place.”
A few months? A lot longer than she’d planned. But his face held such hope and she’d told Darlene she wanted to help him. She let her attention turn to Gerard for a moment, his gaze intent on her, waiting to hear her answer. His expression encouraged her.
“As long as you help with food, in fact…” She tilted her head and then grinned. “…I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to practice some of Johnny’s signatures dishes.”
“Great idea, Ari.” Conner beamed back at her. “Your kitchen is a little small, but it has all the essentials.
“I hope I’m going to be invited to some of these practice sessions.” Gerard winked at Ari. “Hey come on let’s watch the game. Any bets that the Yanks are going to win?”
Conner settled himself further into his ratty chair, focused on the game and without glancing at the others, “Sure ask for a bet now when you’re up. If the Yanks win I’ll make dinner tomorrow night.”
“You’re on. Sunday is shopping day here at Chez Ari’s. Give me a list of things you need and I’ll pick them up in the morning.”
“Let me chip in too,” Gerard said.
“Sounds good, you cook Conner. Gerard and I will spring for the food. Besides you haven’t received anything but tips.” Ari pulled herself up to clear some of the plates, bottles and pizza off the table.
“Hey the game’s not over,” Gerard said. “Sit and we’ll clean together later.”
Ari turned to stare at Gerard. Had she heard correctly? But then Conner decided to add his two cents.
“Yeah, let us help after the game. If the Yanks win, and it looks like they will, I’ll take you guys up on you springing for the food. I’ll do a list later.” He winked at Ari. “I have to save my money for a place of my own so Ari will have Chez Ari’s to herself.”
She hadn’t moved for several innings the game had been too close. Ari stood and stretched hands toward the ceiling. The guys must have been as stiff because they followed her example.
Gerard bent to pick up the garbage she’d laid on the coffee table when he’d promised his help after. “Yankees win tonight. So Conner what’s for dinner tomorrow?”
“You’re just going to have to wait and see.” He grabbed the pizza box for the trash.
“If the Mets redeem themselves tomorrow night, I’ll cook next week sometime when we can all get together.” Gerard took the dishes and dropped them in the sink, rinsed and placed them in the dishwasher.
Ari raised a brow at all the help. Her brothers had never helped around the house like this. God knew her mother had tried everything.
“You two bet all you want after each game and whoever wins can cook. Just don’t look at me to join in, I’m not cooking.” Ari grabbed a damp paper towel to swipe down the counter.
“You won’t be missing anything.” Conner smirked in Gerard’s direction.
“Conner.” She glared, then turned to Gerard. “He had no trouble eating anything I made.”
“I didn’t want you to have gone to the trouble only to waste it.” His laughter made it hard for her to understand.
“Conner if you love to cook so damn much why haven’t you ever offered to make dinner until now.” She fisted her hands and dug them into her hips.
Conner stepped away as if putting as much distance as possible between them. “Because you acted like you wanted to take care of me.” His attitude was back to his carefree Spicoli. Ari’s hand actually itched to smack him. Unfortunately, he was right.
“What guy wouldn’t let you? Right?” Conner directed the question to Gerard, who had moved to stand by the entry table.
Gerard pulled the door opened and took a step out; he glanced over his shoulder, “Leave me out of your lovers’ quarrel, kids. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“What?” But her question slammed against the closed portal. She turned her attention to her roommate. “We are not lovers’.”
“Ah, you don’t need to tell me. We’ve never even slept together. Obviously your boyfriend thinks otherwise.”
“He’s not my boyfriend…”
“And he never will be if you don’t follow him and set him straight.” Conner turned to finish placing the rest of the utensils Gerard had left in the sink, into the washer.
“I don’t owe him any explanations.” Did she? Gerard was not her boyfriend and neither was Conner. “We did too sleep together.”
Conner straightened and regarded her for a moment. His expression she couldn’t read. Spicoli had left the building and in his place was the serious Conner.
“Arabella,” Conner said. She stiffened. He knew her full name? “When did we sleep together?” He scratched his head. “Do you mean the times I crashed in your bed? Trust me, Ari, we never had sex.”
Ari opened her mouth to disagree and it snapped shut when she realized he spoke the truth. She leaned her hip into the counter for support.
Her glance turned to him, “Why not? We have fun. We enjoy each other’s company even more now that everything’s out in the open.”
“And not once have you ever bothered to wonder why we slept in the same bed, but never actually did the deed, until now?” He slung an arm around her shoulder; his butt came to rest next to hers their hips touched. “Let me explain this in a way you can understand. You were never attracted to me that way. And I didn’t want you to think I was taking advantage.”
“You don’t find me attractive then?” She grinned at him. Funny how the knowledge made her feel better instead of worse. “Let me guess you like brunettes or redheads?”
“I don’t know. I kind of like the beach boy type.”
“I’m blonde. Isn’t that beachy? What’s wrong with me?”
He let his arm drop off her shoulders and stepped away so he could face her. She was still unable to read his expression, but a small grin barely curled the edges of his mouth.
“You’re not the beach boy type. Boy being the key word here.”
In confusion, her gaze dropped to the floor. She bit her lip in concentration. Obviously, she was missing something. Boy? What was he tal
king… Oh! Her head snapped up and she gaped at him.
“Close your mouth Ari you might attract flies.” Conner chuckled at his own joke. Leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “First dibs on the bathroom, I’ll leave a list for dinner on the counter. Night.”
Dear Diary;
Revelations
“Did you hear that, Bella? I never guessed Conner wasn’t into girls.” Ari’s words muffled through her shirt, and then her voice cleared as the fabric flew to the bed. “You just never know with some people.”
My side seams threatened to unravel, despite their zigzagging, in shock. How could any man, even though he wasn’t her soul mate, not love my bride? She was perfect, if messy.
Ari didn’t offer the answer to my question, instead she continued her dialogue as she prepared to work on her designs. I was coming to learn her process. She would strip down to almost nothing. Maybe it made her feel free.
“His Spicoli was all an act to cover his true self.” She walked to me and slanted her head to the side. “What do you think his mother did to him to cause such low self-esteem?”
I didn’t even know what that was, so I kept my shivered response to myself. The sound of the hall bathroom door opening signaled Conner had vacated the room. Ari left me to do whatever it was humans did in the restroom. I heard the water run, a bit of splashing, and then she returned to her room.
“How about a little blues tonight, Bella?” Ari picked up her iPod and adjusted the dial then returned it to its perch.
Music filled her room, her hips swayed to the rhythm. The topstitching on my bodice pulsed with each of her steps. Her feet carried her around the room with gyrating grace, up and over her bed, twirling so much it made me dizzy.
Her arms waved causing the air to stir my beads. Her eyes closed as if letting the music rule her steps. I was amazed she hadn’t fallen over anything.
Then she stopped a few inches from me. Her eyes drifted opened, but I knew she wasn’t seeing me, but one of her stories. As if to confirm my thoughts, she focused on me her face bloomed into a smile.
“Bella, I have it. Early Memphis, back when the blues were beginning to find its popularity.” She did a little jig completely different than the flowing steps from before. “An aged satin, yellowed to just the right ivory. I can find some beads with just a hint of blue.”
My train shimmied in response. This is what joy was. What Heidi had told all of us we’d feel when we found our soul mate. I still wasn’t sure what had happened with Conner earlier, but I had a sense that he wouldn’t stand in the way of Ari finding love. Hopefully, now, she’d see Gerard for what he was, her life partner.
Ari had her back to me, hunched over her drawing table busy on her new creation. Whatever Memphis was, there was her story. Someday, my Ari would make dresses every bit as special as me and Heidi’s ‘girls’. Wouldn’t Heidi be thrilled to know that I, Bella, was Ari’s inspiration?
“Bella, I need to get this sketch done before Monday, that way I can show Gertrude two designs, complete with the dress’s stories.” Her back straightened and she twisted around so she could look at me. “My dresses were uninspired until you. It’s as if fate brought the two of us together. For the first time, I have the guts to go to bat at Classic Manhattan to have a line of my designs.”
Go to bat? I wasn’t sure what that meant, but at least she realized that finding me wasn’t an accident.
Time ticked by as my bride sketched, every once in awhile she’d stand, stretch and gyrate around the room. I wished she’d dance with me, but when she stepped close to me, her eyes would light up with new ideas and she’d rush to her table.
I knew whatever design she worked on would be amazing.
Chapter Twenty-one
Coffee. The rich aroma wrapped around her and teased her senses awake. Her body felt as if a few drunken sailors had rolled her around the dock.
“Hey Ari, breakfast is ready.” Conner’s voice sounded as if it came through a tunnel, then the door opened and the whiff of the brew became stronger. “I figured you were up all night drawing on your dress, so I brought you a cup.”
She raised her head from where it hung over the edge of the bed. No wonder she was so stiff. She could barely see the mug Conner held through the strings of blonde that hung over her eyes.
“You’re my prince.” She struggled to a sitting position.
The first sip, rich and hot, seeped down her throat. “May I say again you’re a life-saver? Thank you, Conner.”
He dropped onto the bed next to her. “I promised to help Henry this morning but I’ll be home in time to start dinner.”
“I promise I’ll have all your stuff ready. Do you need me to do anything? Chop anything?”
He grinned, “Are you fishing to find out what I’m preparing?”
She hadn’t been, but it was a good idea. “Did it work?”
“Nope, you’ll just have to wait.”
“I can do some preparation without knowing what you’re making so let me know.” She crawled off the bed careful not to spill one drop of the precious black liquid. “I’m going to stop by the video store and pick up a DVD.”
“I thought we were watching the second game of the Subway series? If the Mets win, it’s Gerard’s turn to cook.”
“Oh right. Just remember don’t expect me to do any of the cooking. If I win a bet, we’ll do pizza.” Ari opened her closet to pull out a yellow sundress.
“Love pizza. See you later.”
The snap of the front door echoed a few minutes later. Ari showered in record time, she wanted to get the shopping out of the way. It would leave the afternoon free for her to put the finishing touches on her designs for the next day when she’d catch Gertrude first thing. The woman was a morning person.
Hope washed over her. She glanced at Bella. “We’re going to do this. I’m going to have a classic dress line. Their stories will be of epic love.”
Ari swore sunlight glimmered off the dresses beads in agreement. “You are magical Bella. If I happened to be in the marriage market you’d be the dress I’d pick.”
The satin seemed to tighten around the mannequin in disapproval. “Now Bella, I know you’re a wedding dress and you think every girl’s dream is to wear you and get married. But not this girl. Nope I have dreams and plans for my life. Maybe in the future. But right now I don’t have time for a man.”
This time Ari knew the dress moved because the dress dummy swayed. Her scalp crawled as if a thousand snakes were burrowing into her hair.
She forced a chuckle. The motion Bella made, unnerved her. “You are not going to change my mind. See you later. I’m off to the store.”
******
Ari was going to have a permanent slouch. If Gertrude agreed with her plan though, a hump would be worth it. She inhaled the tantalizing smells of dinner, then she realized Gerard had arrived. If she didn’t want to miss out, she better hurry.
She raced into the hall after freshening up from working all afternoon. And stopped. The table was set for a formal dinner complete with fresh sunflowers in the middle.
“Bouquet, complements of Gerard,” Conner said.
“Hey, it’s the least I could do. Ari, how much do I owe you for my half of the groceries?” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, then flipped it open.
“It wasn’t much. I’ll cover.” He couldn’t know how much she loved sunflowers. “The flowers are enough.”
“Sit, or you’ll ruin my creation.” Conner looked at his wrist. “The game starts in an hour. Dessert can be during the seventh inning stretch.”
“You made dessert too?” Ari pulled out her chair. “I’m going to have to dance extra tonight.”
Gerard skewed his head to the side, “Dance?”
“She brainstorms around her room, in the form of dancing. I’ve learned if I want to sleep, I use headphones.” With his last word, Conner pulled the cork out of the wine with a corkscrew. “I thought a nice bold red would pair
nicely.”
“You’re still not going to tell us what we’re having?” Gerard took the bottle from Conner to pour while Conner went to the counter for a platter.
“For appetizers, I have a variety of cheeses from soft goat to hard and crackers and sliced baguettes.” He placed the array on the table with a flourish. “As far as I’m concerned, the harder and stinkier makes the best flavored cheese.
Gerard spread some goat cheese onto some of the bread, and scooped some more onto his plate. “I agree if it smells like sweat socks, then you’ve got a winner.”
Ari swallowed, dirty stockings somehow didn’t sound too appetizing to her, but she’d try a bit of everything. She tentatively used her fork to slide a little slice of each cheese to her place. Conner rattled off the name of each as she did so. Not that she’d ever remember.
Much to her surprise she enjoyed all of them, some more than others. “And what are you having for the main course.”
“Coming right up.” Conner had his back to them, working on something. When he turned, the dish looked fabulous. “Here is your dinner. Beef tenderloin medallions with a roasted shallot and port reduction sauce. Also, we have new red potatoes a few fresh-from-the-garden baby carrots, in a butter garlic sauce.”
She’d guessed a few things he was going to make from the list, but hadn’t known how he would prepare it. They were certainly in for a treat.
Several minutes passed. The wine was gone and the plates empty. “I don’t think I can move to the couch to watch the game,” Gerard said echoing her thoughts.
“Conner you’re going to be a Sous Chef by next week at this rate. I can’t believe I’ve been buying prepared food to nuke when I could have been eating like a queen. Dinner was superb.”
“Thanks Conner,” Gerard said. “You go relax and find the game. Ari and I will clean up.” Gerard stood and cleared away the glasses, expecting Ari to help. Together they made short work of the clean up.
Three Weddings and a Dress Page 20
