Table for Two

by Brandy Bruce

  “And you said yes?” Leo pressed.

  “I told him anywhere but Romano’s, now that my brother’s in charge,” Isa said with a giggle.

  “Oh, yeah?” Leo grabbed an apron from the counter and threw it at her.

  “All right, all right. More cooking, less talking,” Leo’s mother instructed as she entered the kitchen. She kissed Gabriel’s cheek and then began to set the table, singing softly in Italian as she worked. Once the four of them were seated together, Gabriel prayed over the food.

  After the teasing and laughter that always accompanied a Romano family meal faded, Gabriel grew serious.

  “Leo, I’ve been thinking.”

  Leo wiped his mouth and pushed aside his plate, giving his dad his full attention.

  “I think I may have been wrong to assume you wanted both restaurants. I feel I pushed you into the second restaurant, and then I left you to shoulder the responsibility of both.”

  “That wasn’t your choice, Dad,” Leo reminded him. “You couldn’t physically work anymore. It was time for you to retire.”

  “That is true. But...now I’m saying that maybe we should consider selling one of the restaurants. And if you want to sell the Franklin restaurant, you have my full support.”

  “Sell Romano’s?” Isa echoed in alarm. One look from Leo’s mother and Isa quieted.

  “Yes,” Gabriel said firmly. “It’s just a business, Isa.”

  “No, it’s not,” Leo argued. And in that moment, Leo knew that he was right, that Romano’s meant as much to him as he knew it meant to his father. Selling Romano’s would be like letting go of his dad.

  Leo’s breathing restricted at the ever-present knowledge that the day to release his father was slowly coming. And his heart made the final decision: he would not let go of his father’s life’s work.

  “It’s more than that to all of us, Dad. Romano’s is a part of me, too. I don’t want to sell. It’s been difficult—finding my footing, so to speak. But I know it will get easier. I can do this.” Saying the words—defending the restaurant—brought Leo a sense of relief. He was keeping the restaurants—both of them. It was an absolute decision.

  “I know you can, Leo,” Gabriel said with both pride and sadness. “But you don’t have to, son, and that’s what I want you to understand.”

  The table fell silent. Leo saw the deep concern etched on Gabriel’s face.

  “I know I don’t have to, Dad. But I choose to.”

  Gabriel took his wife’s hand in his. “Are you sure about this?”

  Leo didn’t even have to think about it. “I’m sure. Maybe for the first time since I assumed responsibility for the restaurants—I’m sure.”

  “Thank you, son.”

  Leo’s mother and Isa were both wiping their eyes and sniffling. But Leo felt lighter; the weight of his ominous decision gone.

  “Well.” His father cleared his throat. “There’s one more thing.”

  Even Leo’s mother looked surprised. “Gabriel?” she asked.

  “It may not be of any interest to anyone, but I was thinking we should make some sort of announcement that I have officially retired and Leonardo Romano is now both head chef and owner of both Romano’s locations.”

  “Like a press statement?” Isa asked. Gabriel nodded.

  “I also want a party,” he said bluntly and Leo, his mother, and Isa all laughed at once.

  “I’m serious!” Gabriel protested. Leo subdued his laughter.

  “Okay, Dad. We’ll plan a ‘celebrate retirement’ party. Do you want to have it here at the house?”

  Gabriel shook his head. “No, we’ll have it at the restaurant. Your mother and I will compose the guest list—mostly family, but there are some close friends that I’d like to include, as well. It will be a time to celebrate and reflect, to thank God for what He’s done and to pray He gives you wisdom, Leo, as you take this new step.”

  Leo nodded. A party was an excellent idea.

  “I want to have the party soon. I want to celebrate while I still feel strong enough to take part in the festivities. We all know my health is declining. Your mother and I have already discussed the need for extra help here at the house. It’s time for us to really accept what’s going on here and proceed accordingly.”

  “What do you mean, Dad?” Isa asked.

  “He means that we’re going to be making a few changes around here. We’ll be redoing the bathrooms so that they’re more accommodating for your dad. We’re going to make some modifications to the kitchen, as well. We’ll be having a maid come twice a week to help with the household chores,” Leo’s mother informed them.

  “God has been so gracious to me,” Gabriel said emphatically. “But though the medications have helped so far and the symptoms have been measured, I can feel things progressing. The tremors are more frequent. More days than not, I feel very weak.”

  The brokenness on Isa’s face at their father’s admission moved Leo to place an arm around her shoulders for support.

  “We’ll have a party whenever you want, Dad,” Leo agreed.

  “I’ll help with the planning. I’m sure we can pull this together quickly,” Isa added.

  “We’ll need a little time. Tony and his family will want to come from Los Angeles,” Leo’s mother acknowledged. “We’ll look at the calendar and let you know, Leo. As for the announcement—”

  “Oh, yes,” Gabriel interjected. “There’s someone very specific I’d like to talk with about that.”

  Leo raised his eyebrows. “And who is that?”

  Gabriel crossed his arms, letting everyone at the table know his decision was not up for negotiation.

  “Mandy Seymour.”

  Chapter 12

  Mandy hung up the phone, still in shock over the fact that Gabriel Romano had called and asked her to be the one to announce his retirement via Denver Lifestyle magazine. Ann would be elated, of course. Mandy knew without a doubt that the magazine would run the story.

  But to ask her now? After Leo had made the decision to cool their relationship... Mandy wondered how he was feeling about his father’s decision to involve her. Would he be annoyed? Glad? It doesn’t matter. It’s a privilege to be the one to do this for Gabriel, regardless of Leo.

  Sitting at her office desk, Mandy felt compelled to bow her head and pray. She could almost hear Ashley telling her to turn the entire situation over to God. And her friend would be right. In fact, Mandy felt compelled to pray about anything and everything these days.

  The moment her prayer ended, a chime announced that she’d received an email. Mandy opened her inbox.

  Dear Ms. Seymour,

  I’m a representative of the Take Me There travel network. You might be familiar with our website and TV show. To be honest, I’ve enjoyed reading your column for several years. Your recent review for Heaven-Sent B and B stood out to me, making me wonder whether you’d be interested in doing more reviews with a travel angle. Your reputation as an excellent food critic is indisputable.

  We’d love to see you expand your reviews outside of the Colorado area. For example, there’s a celebrity-owned restaurant opening in New York in two months—if you partnered with Take Me There, we’d love to fly you to New York and have you write a critique for us. I would be pleased to work with you on a permanent basis. Or freelance, if you prefer.

  If you are at all interested, please call me at (800) 555-3491.

  I look forward to hearing from you,

  Bernice St. James

  Representative

  Take Me There

  Mandy reread the email three times before even blinking. Of course she’d heard of Take Me There. She loved watching their reality show where travel guides visited everything from restaurants to resorts and decided whether to recommend the pl
aces.

  Mandy instantly pulled up the website.

  I could be a columnist for Take Me There! I could write reviews for restaurants all over the world!

  Mandy’s pulse raced and she was so excited she could barely breathe. The moment the clock turned five, Mandy rushed to the elevator. In her haste, she stumbled through the elevator doorway, colliding with a complete stranger.

  “Hey!” the young man in a suit said, trying to right Mandy and release her hold on him.

  “Oh, gosh. I’m sorry. I’m just in a hurry.”

  He frowned and gave her a curt nod. When the doors opened, Mandy tried to contain her enthusiasm and move more slowly.

  “By the way,” the man said with a smirk. “Did you know your shirt is inside out?”

  “What?” Mandy stopped in her tracks and checked her sweater.

  Inside out.

  She’d have to worry about it later. Mandy picked up her speed, reached her car and drove straight to Ashley’s. She was sitting in the driveway, her car idling, when Ashley drove up.

  “What on earth? Mandy, what’s going on here?” Ashley unlocked the door to her town house and Mandy followed her in, explaining everything so quickly that she had to gasp to catch her breath.

  “You’re goin’ a mile a minute, girl. Slow down.” Ashley dropped her purse and shoulder bag on the floor and motioned for Mandy to follow her to the kitchen. “I’m glad you’re here. You can help me get this place ready for Bible study in an hour.”

  “Sure, I can— What?” Mandy paused. Ashley snapped her head from side to side and placed her hands on her hips.

  “Don’t you dare pretend you forgot. The singles group is meeting here for Bible study in an hour. This was planned a month ago and you said you’d come.”

  “Um...I did forget but that doesn’t matter. I’m here. I’ll help. Now read this.” Mandy pulled up the email on her phone and shoved it into Ashley’s hands. As she read, Ashley’s eyes grew wider and wider. She sat down on a bar stool.

  “Oh, Mandy. Wow!”

  Mandy nodded. “I know. I can’t believe it.”

  “Are you going to call this woman?”

  “I think I should at least talk to her, see what they’re offering and find out what they would expect of me. I mean, I’m not unhappy at Denver Lifestyle, but this could be an amazing opportunity.”

  “You’d be traveling a lot.”

  “I know! Seeing wonderful places, trying incredible foods, meeting new people—”

  “What about Leo?”

  It was Mandy’s turn to place her hands on her hips. “Ashley! Leo is the one who has made it clear he’s not ready for a relationship. I’m not putting my life on hold in the hope that he might change his mind eventually!”

  “Okay, okay. Of course not.”

  Mandy’s thoughts were flying but they jolted to a sudden stop. “I’ve got something else to tell you.”

  “About Leo?”

  “About Gabriel.” Mandy shared her news about Gabriel asking her to write an announcement for him.

  “Well, now. Isn’t that interesting? I was right. We haven’t heard the last from Leo.”

  Mandy ignored Ashley’s mischievous grin. “In case you weren’t listening, Gabriel’s the one I’m hearing from.”

  Ashley brushed that off with hardly an acknowledgment. “If you don’t mind, pull out that vegetable tray from the fridge. Can you whip up some dip for the veggies, Miss Popular Food Expert? And did you know your sweater is inside out?”

  * * *

  Tuesday afternoon, Leo rubbed his temples and popped an aspirin in his mouth for the killer headache he’d been trying to ignore. He’d spent the morning talking over scheduling changes with his chefs at the Fifteenth Street restaurant. After meeting with Jeremy, whom he’d decided to name as his head chef, and Margo, Jeremy’s new sous chef, he drove to the Franklin restaurant to meet with Adam and Crey and Gloria, a new addition to the team.

  “So you want to keep cooking?” Adam clarified after Leo laid out his plan for a new schedule.

  “At the Fifteenth Street location, yes,” Leo told him. “But you’ve been handling the kitchen here for at least five years, Adam. I fully intend to keep that arrangement as long as it works for both of us. Of course, I’ll help when needed. My father informs me that Renée has been an excellent manager for a year now. She’ll continue in that role, but again, I’ll be here as needed, and Renée will report to me.

  “I’ll be cooking only a few nights a month at the other restaurant. Jeremy will be running the kitchen the majority of the time. I’m realizing that I can’t cook five nights a week and effectively be the administrator for both restaurants. I’ll also be interviewing for a new manager for the Fifteenth Street location, but for now, Angelina will step in when I need more help.”

  The buzzing of Leo’s cell phone drew his attention to the clock and he realized the meeting had run over.

  “That’s all for now. Thanks so much for meeting with me,” Leo said, standing up and reaching out to shake hands with his chefs. Once they had left he looked down to check the missed call.

  Mom.

  A stab of fear came over him. He called her back immediately.

  “Mom? Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine. I just wanted to place an order to go,” his mother said lightheartedly.

  “Mom, we’re not even open yet.”

  “Oh, dear. Well, then I want to invite you to dinner.”

  Leo chuckled and looked down at his watch. “I’m not scheduled to cook tonight, so if it’s an early dinner, I can stop by for a little while.”

  “Would you?”

  “Of course. I’ll be over soon.”

  Afternoon traffic slowed Leo more than he had planned. But after having such positive meetings with his staff that morning, even the traffic could not dampen his mood. Leo jingled his keys in his pocket and let himself in the house, calling out to his mother that he had arrived.

  He hadn’t reached the kitchen, nor his parents, when there was a rap at the front door. Leo whirled back around to answer the door.

  Mandy Seymour stood on the front porch, a surprised look on her face.

  “Leo?”

  “Mandy?”

  An uncomfortable look crossed her face, and for a moment Leo felt dismayed, knowing that it was he who caused it.

  “Your mother invited me for dinner. I’m supposed to meet with your father. I need to talk with him before I write the announcement.”

  Mom, you are unbelievable. You planned this all along.

  “Oh. Come in, please.” Leo held open the door as Mandy walked inside.

  She didn’t quite meet his eyes as she said, “I had no idea you were coming over.”

  He smiled, hoping to put her at ease. “I think my invitation was more of a last-minute decision on my mother’s part.”

  “I see.” The corners of her mouth turned upward. “Something smells delicious,” Mandy commented. Leo recognized the scent of roast chicken. They walked together down the corridor to the kitchen. Just walking next to Mandy reminded Leo of how much he’d missed her. He wondered if it would be a bad idea to tell her so.

  Probably.

  As they entered the kitchen, his mother’s face lit up at the sight of the two of them together.

  “Mandy! I’m so happy to see you, my dear. Leonardo, your father’s upstairs. Will you help him come down?”

  Nice to see you, too, Mom!

  Leo was clearly not the guest of honor. He obediently went upstairs, looking for his father.

  “Dad?” he called out.

  “I’m in the study, Leo.”

  Leo walked in as his father attempted to stand up, a grimace on his face. Leo rushed to his side.
>
  “Rough day?” he asked sympathetically, reaching around his father’s waist and pulling him up. His father only sighed in reply.

  “I think I’ve been set up by Mom,” Leo continued. That brought a smile to his father’s face.

  “Mandy’s here, then.”

  “She is.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re disappointed by that, because I won’t believe it.”

  Leo took slow steps, guiding his father to the top of the stairs. “No, I’m not. But it only makes things more difficult.”

  His dad huffed. “You are the one who is making things more difficult, Leonardo. We all think so. Women like Mandy Seymour don’t come along every day, you know.”

  Leo couldn’t have been annoyed even if he’d tried. The fact that Mandy was downstairs talking to his mother filled him with a happiness he’d been denying himself. For her sake, yes. But still, he wouldn’t refute his father’s words.

  Over a plate of roast chicken and red potatoes and carrots—one of his mother’s specialties—Leo joined Mandy in listening to his father share with her details of his life, his career, his accomplishments and even his illness.

  Leo listened, but his gaze kept wandering to Mandy.

  She’s beautiful. In every way, she is absolutely beautiful.

  With an inward chuckle, he remembered his initial assertion that Mandy seemed scatterbrained. Seeing her now, he realized that she was the complete opposite. He loved the easy, friendly way she interacted with his family—and everyone around her for that matter. He respected and admired her confidence in her work and her obvious capability as a successful professional. Maybe most of all, he appreciated how he felt when he was with her.

  But even with all Mandy’s attractive qualities, Leo knew Mandy’s insecurities ran deep. He frowned.

  Why can’t she see herself as I see her? As God sees her?

  His thoughts drifted to the night he kissed her. He had barely slept that night, distressed by how strong his feelings were, terrified of what that meant—that he could be hurt all over again.