First Class Menu

by Aj Harmon

  “You are an amazing woman, Lindsey. You’ll figure it out.”

  Lindsey grunted and finished her tea. How she’d figure it out was beyond her.

  *****

  Audrey Atherton was livid. When she’d called Lindsey to check on her progress with David, she didn’t expect Lindsey to tell her that David and Lou were an item. From a professional standpoint it was not acceptable. And she was going to let David know how she felt.

  He was standing in the gallery supervising the unpacking of two new pieces he’d had shipped from a gallery in Seattle. They were swapping some art for a few weeks and this was the last to arrive and be unpacked.

  “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” he asked as Audrey approached.

  “Uhuh,” she agreed, nodding. “I need to talk to you David.”

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  They walked away from the employees dealing with the crates and stood by the window looking out onto the busy Manhattan street.

  “You can’t be involved with Lou. First off, it’s unprofessional. You know we have a policy here at the Atherton. And it’s not just to protect the gallery. It’s to protect you too. And secondly, she’s too young for you David. I mean, anything over ten years is just too much. You need to break it off. And I’m saying this not just as your boss, but as your friend. She’s not right for you.”

  David didn’t respond immediately. He stood looking at Audrey with no expression on his face at all. She thought about saying more but his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned.

  “You would prefer I dated someone like Veronica?”

  Oooh, he’s mad, she thought.

  “You think I’m too old to have a young and attractive girl interested in me?” he continued.

  “David, that’s not it. I just…”

  “You want me to have someone in my life. You’ve told me a hundred times that I need to get out there and find someone. But only if that someone is of your choosing?”

  “No! I’m concerned that this won’t end well.”

  He laughed…loudly.

  He’s not mad?

  “Lou and I are NOT involved. I don’t know where you got that ridiculous idea from. I adore her, I do, but like a little sister. Your concern is unwarranted.”

  Relief flooded through Audrey and she visibly relaxed. “Well, that’s good to know.”

  “Seriously though, who on earth thinks we’re involved?”

  Audrey wouldn’t out Lindsey. “Just some little chatter here and there. I thought I’d talk to you directly.”

  “Well I appreciate that,” he smiled. “I’m not seeing anyone.” Audrey began to speak but David interrupted her. “And I’m not interested in being set up again, thank you.”

  “Of course not. I’ll mind my own business.”

  “That’ll be a first,” he chuckled.

  *****

  Maureen Lathem arrived at the gallery late Friday afternoon with Peter trudging behind her carrying a large box. He put it on the floor in the lobby and sat in an armchair slightly out of breath. David came hurrying in after the receptionist had buzzed him to let him know they were there.

  He kissed him mom on the cheek and sat next to his dad. “Sorry, dad. I had no idea it was going to be heavy. To be honest, I have no idea what it is,” he shrugged.

  “It’s a Kitchenaid mixer. Why did you ask for one if you don’t know what it is?” his mother was irritated.

  “Because Lindsey said I needed one.”

  “For your cooking lessons?” his dad asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh well then, that’s fine,” Maureen smiled. “You’ll learn all about it tomorrow then. Come on Peter. We have dinner reservations.”

  “It’s four-thirty!” laughed David.

  “This way we’re in and out before the loud mobs on a Friday night,” she explained.

  David kissed his mom goodbye and thanked his father for dragging the box in from the car. Then they headed off for dinner.

  *****

  Lindsey met David in front of the Chelsea Market and they began shopping. They bought eggs and cream and fresh fruit and Swiss chocolate, and several other items.

  “You’re going to dazzle your family,” she grinned as they took the bags and David flagged them a cab.

  Back at his apartment, David showed off his newest addition to the kitchen – a new bright red Kitchenaid mixer. He’d managed to pull it out of the box and wash all the pieces in warm, soapy water, just as the instructions had directed, but he had no idea how it all went together.

  Lindsey patiently showed him multiple times how the bowl clicked into the base and how the paddle, whisk and dough hook connected. Once he’d mastered the machine, it was time to make something.

  “I’m going to show you how to make pavlova,” Lindsey smiled. “It’s an Australian dessert that looks fancy and tastes amazing, but with the help of this contraption, it is really easy to make. Your family’s socks are gonna get blown off!” she winked.

  Once the two pavlovas, one white and one chocolate, were in the oven, David suggested they go grab lunch.

  “We can only be gone for ninety minutes max,” she said.

  “Come on,” he grabbed her hand. “We’re only going round the corner and we can bring it back here to eat.”

  “Okay,” Lindsey smiled. “Let’s go.”

  They only had to walk for about five minutes before they turned into a small store front that sold Indian food. If Lindsey hadn’t been brought inside she would have never guessed it was a restaurant. They each ordered from the menu on the wall and sat on the stools in the corner while they heard pots and pans clattering and voices barking out orders in the back room.

  “This place has sustained me for the last few years,” David grinned. “Great food and super cheap and really close to my apartment.”

  “So you eat here a lot?”

  “Not so much now. I’m learning to cook you know,” he winked.

  Lindsey smiled and lifted her nose to the smells wafting through the small area. “It smells great.”

  “You know, I lived with my parents ‘til I was thirty,” he admitted. “And mom took care of me. My brothers ragged me about it, but I think they were secretly jealous. Mom can be overwhelming at times but she knows how to take care of her men,” he laughed. “This was one of the first places I found after buying my apartment and they’ve fed me ever since.”

  Lindsey had once been eager to search out hole-in-the-wall places like this one and try the food from around the world. It used to inspire her. Recently though, she’d just returned to the same old familiar places. It was a treat to try some place new.

  The friendly woman, dressed in a traditional Indian Sari, brought a bag through and handed it to David.

  “I’m glad to see you Mr. Lathem,” she said in a thick accent. “Come back soon.”

  “Thank you,” he smiled and ushered Lindsey to the door. “I will,” he smiled over his shoulder.

  Back in his apartment, he got plates and forks and napkins while Lindsey checked the timer on the oven. “Still have forty-eight minutes,” she smiled.

  They sat down at the table and ate while they chatted about culinary school and David’s first few jobs.

  “That was delicious,” she said and stretched back in the chair. “And filling. I’m stuffed!”

  The buzzer on the oven went off and David turned off the oven but was careful not to open the door.

  “It’ll be perfectly fine in there all night,” Lindsey told him. “And tomorrow just whip up the cream and finish it like we talked about and you’ll be a hit!”

  “Thank you,” David said with sincerity in his voice. “You are changing my life.”

  “You’re welcome,” Lindsey smiled. You’ve already changed mine.

  *****

  Katy and Nic had stayed home from Mass on Sunday to make fried chicken.

  “I love cooking in Maureen’s kitchen,” Nic sighed. “She has so much room and ever
y gadget imaginable.”

  “Are you feeling cramped?” Katy asked.

  “We are thinking about buying a bigger apartment so I don’t get to feeling cramped. It’s not like back home in Norfolk where I had a whole house with a front yard and a back yard. I’m still getting used to it.”

  “I know,” Katy nodded. “It took me a little while too. I’m sure Matt has something bigger you can have.”

  Nic cringed. “See…I don’t want him to give it to us. I feel…well…I don’t want him to think that…”

  Katy chuckled. “Get used to being in a family with LOTS of money. That also took me a while to get used to. Matt and Mark will want to give it to you…not because they think you need charity but because they love you and they’d think nothing of it. Matt just wants to help people. And believe me, he can afford it.”

  Nic smiled. “I can’t believe I belong to this family. I am so lucky.”

  “No,” Katy shook her head as she closed the distance between them and pulled her into a hug. “We’re the lucky ones to have you.”

  “She’s mine! Back away!” Paul laughed as he walked into the kitchen and scooped Nic into his arms. “I’m the lucky one!”

  “Nope!” interrupted Mark. “I’m the lucky one.” He grabbed Katy by the back of her hair and bent her head backwards and kissed her soundly.

  “Really?” groaned Tim. “You guys are so whipped I’m surprised you can stand up straight.”

  He pulled a beer from the fridge and left as quickly as he’d arrived. The four of them laughed loudly and the two men kissed their wives again.

  David stood in the doorway watching his brothers. They were so in love with their women and he didn’t think any less of them for it. In fact, he thought it was nice. He hoped that one day he would have a better half too.

  *****

  Lindsey had been right. The family was blown away by dessert and Mark was the first to admit it.

  “You have proven again, David, that you are an enigma. You say you can’t make cereal but here you are having made this remarkable dessert. Hats off to you.”

  There wasn’t a crumb left on any of the plates. In fact, Ella, David’s three-year old niece had had three helpings of the crunchy meringue. He felt quite proud of himself.

  “Well, I have to admit that I had help. Lindsey is still teaching me and this is what we worked on yesterday.”

  “Marry her!” Peter chuckled.

  “I agree,” laughed Matt. “Anyone who can make this is a keeper.”

  As David hailed a cab after dinner, he was still feeling really pleased with his contribution to dinner. He was definitely starting to feel like he was learning some skills that would change his life. He was very grateful to Lindsey. He would need to come up with a way to say thank you.

  11.

  Rory Jeffers, Attorney at Law and David’s brother-in-law, had put Lou’s mind at ease and had consented to review all contracts and legal documents on her behalf. Lou and her father were so grateful that they wanted to take David and Rory to dinner, along with Rory’s husband and David’s brother, Andrew.

  So on Friday evening, Andrew and Rory dropped off their daughter, Isabelle, at Mark and Katy’s, and picked up David and drove to The Bourbon, a restaurant Mr. Borsten selected because he had read it was worth trying.

  They met Lou and her father inside and were seated quickly at the back of the restaurant over on the side where nobody would trip over Mr. Borsten’s wheelchair. Ice water was poured into crystal glasses and menus delivered. The waiter took their drink order and left them to peruse the list of tasty items.

  Lindsey stood in the doorway frozen mid step as she watched the table of five laugh and converse easily, David sitting next to Lou and looking very comfortable. Audrey had insisted that there was nothing between the two of them, but seeing them in a social setting like this did nothing to ease Lindsey’s mind.

  “Excuse me,” one of the waitresses said as she tried to push past her.

  “Sorry,” Lindsey frowned and stepped back into the kitchen, hidden from the eyes of the patrons. I should have gone to Aaron’s tonight, she thought.

  *****

  For starters they ordered fried mushrooms and mozzarella sticks. Then came the soup; Split Pea for Mr. Borsten and Andrew, and Clam Chowder for the others. During the salad course, Lou’s father had the group riveted as he told stories of the war and some of the near misses he had. For him, it was the snakes he was most afraid of, not the enemy. David shivered at the thought of crawling into his bed and finding a coiled snake at his feet.

  The Bourbon was known for their amazing steaks and all five of them ordered red meat by the pound. Andrew had already taken care of the bill, knowing that the Borstens, even though Lou had just sold several pieces of art, were not in a financial position to treat them all to a meal at this type of establishment. His entrée alone cost over forty dollars and he and Rory were more than capable of picking up the tab, which they’d done.

  The group toasted to Lou’s new-found success at supplying a swanky salon in Los Angeles with art and they toasted to continued success in the future. It was a celebration to be sure.

  *****

  Lindsey had ventured back to the kitchen doorway and watched them all clink their glasses together and sip the champagne David had ordered. She figured she should probably be a big girl and step out and say hello. Taking a deep breath she weaved her way through the diners to the table of five in the corner.

  “Our lives changed the day you came to visit us in the hospital,” Mr. Borsten was saying. “I never had a son, but if I could choose one, he’d be just like you, David.”

  David was smiling but he swung his head to look up as Lindsey approached. “Hello!” he exclaimed as he stood and she came to stand next to them.

  Lindsey smiled back and David made the introductions. She’d already met Lou, and Andrew and Rory remembered her from Paul and Nic’s wedding reception.

  “I don’t want to interrupt, I just wanted to say hello,” she smiled, feeling a tad uncomfortable.

  “Please join us,” Mr. Borsten offered.

  “Oh no, but thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you. Have a good evening.” And Lindsey made her escape and hurried back to the kitchen. She walked straight through to the back door and stepped out into the humid summer air.

  “He’s like a son?” she choked. “I’m an idiot!”

  *****

  It took every ounce of strength Lindsey had to get up on Saturday morning and make preparations for her cooking lesson with David. Today they were making beer can chicken and au gratin potatoes with a chocolate tart for dessert. She’d picked the chicken because it had been one of the first things Trudy had taught her to make.

  “The thing about cooking,” Trudy had said in her kitchen many, many times, “Is that if you’re going to spend all that time preparing something to eat, it should be full of flavor and full of love. If I didn’t love you, you’d just have been eating bologna sandwiches every day,” she teased.

  It had been Lindsey’s mantra all her professional life. Make it flavorful and make it with love. And this meal was going to be made with love. At least, she would be cooking with love.

  Armed with sacks of groceries, the doorman helped her into the elevator in David’s building. David had the door open waiting for her when she stopped at his apartment. He took the bags from her, ever the gentleman, and she followed him inside.

  They were cooking dinner this time. David had been to a Yankees game earlier in the day with his brothers. He’d just beaten Lindsey to his apartment. He helped her empty the grocery sacks and was happy to see the chicken.

  “You know, I love a good steak, but I’ll never turn down chicken,” he grinned.

  “Good,” Lindsey smiled. “This is one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever learn so you’ll probably make it a lot.”

  “Fine with me!”

  “We’re gonna start with dessert first though. It needs to set up in the
fridge for a bit.”

  David eagerly accepted his assignment of crushing the chocolate wafers to make the crust. He melted the chocolate in the double boiler, made out of a saucepan and a glass bowl on the stove, and he whipped the cream in his Kitchenaid like he’d been doing it forever. Lindsey watched as he stuck his tongue out every time he was concentrating hard. She found it adorable and had to keep from staring.

  She showed him how to use gelatin to make the chocolate mousse and David was genuinely fascinated with the science behind it. Lindsey told him everything she knew about it as they made the tart and placed the finished product in the refrigerator.

  “How did the pavlovas go?” she asked as they cleaned up their mess.

  “You called it,” he smirked. “They all think I’m amazing. And I even told them you helped me and they didn’t care,” he chuckled.

  “That’s great,” she laughed. “I’m very happy you were a hit.”

  “Oh, I was,” he reiterated. “Janie wants the recipe and Nic is sure she’ll be craving it for the rest of her pregnancy.”

  Lindsey laughed and turned to look at her pupil. “You are making fantastic progress. I’m certain you’ll be a great cook. And women love great cooks.”

  “Do they?” he asked.

  “Oh yeah. Nothing like a good home cooked meal to make a woman swoon.”

  “I thought that it was the way to a man’s heart…through his stomach.”

  “Well, it works both ways.”

  “So how come you’re not married then? I’d have thought the suitors would be kicking down your door.”

  “Suitors?” she laughed. “No. I’m too busy to have suitors. The only men I ever meet are in the restaurant business and I did that once and it didn’t work out so well so I’ve learned my lesson.”

  “You were married?”

  “Yeah…a long time ago. I was way too young and we were both way too busy for a relationship. We managed an amicable divorce which I’m grateful for. I still see him every now and then. He’s married now and has a couple of kids.”