Title: A Night In India
Author: Pinkcat456
Ratings: K+
Spoilers: None
Description: Jess and Chef Bernard are at it again. This time they treat the ARC diners to a night in India
Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval or the characters. I did make up Bernie though.
Author's note: This continues the Feeding the Arc series, specifically, Japanese Night. You might want to read the original Feeding the ARC story and the sequel Japanese Night first.
I have never eaten Indian food, so I know nothing. Once again I turned to the internet to try and fake it. If you love this cuisine, or are of the Indian heritage please let me know if I've made any major errors, and certainly let me know if anything is in anyway offensive. I loved the research. It was fun. I went to this site:
I got confused and thought the belly dance was from India. After some web research I found an appropriate substitute- a folk dance. There are so many regions in India that there are different dances across the country. Jess decides to do an Indian-like dance, which is what I try to portray. Of course, now I have to do more research, because I have GOT to make Jess belly dance for Becker. It is a must!
Part One of Three
"It's official, the 'ARC around the world' series continues," announced Jess strolling into the break room.
"What?" asked Abby.
Becker groaned. "She's been pestering Lester for another international canteen night."
"Brilliant," said Connor. "Japanese Night was a total blast."
"Connor," said Abby. "You don't remember Japanese Night. No one but Bernie and his staff and me remembers Japanese Night."
"That sake was certainly potent," said Jess.
"I remember a lot of it, Abby," said Connor, "I remember the awesome duet you and I did to Sonny and Cher. I also remember the grilled fish. It was brilliant."
"Yes, the food was wonderful," said Jess.
Becker said, "Some of the singing was good—Jess for instance."
Jess blushed. "Oh, thank you," she said. "We won't have to worry about drinking this time. India isn't known for its alcohol."
"What?" asked Connor. "No booze? Where's the fun in that?"
"Sorry," she said and started to giggle. "A sari is what I'll be wearing. I'm going to be in a beautiful, custom-made, flowing, long sari."
"Long? Did you say a long sari, Jess?" asked Becker in alarm. "Where's the fun in that?"
Jess rolled her eyes. "I'm off to the canteen to plan the menu with Bernie," she said, walking out of the the break room.
Connor and Becker frowned. "This sounds boring," said Connor.
"Really. I can't imagine Jess completely covered. I am depressed."
Abby just shook her head at the frowning men.
Chef Bernard Rice had just gotten word of the special night. Bernie had to remind himself how much he liked Jess Parker. She had a lot of ideas. So her ideas involved more work for him and his team. He had no choice, Lester had approved. So what if Bernie knew little about Indian cuisine? So what if what he did know made him dread the extra hours marinating lamb, soaking lentils, making curries, and ordering special spices?
Bernie tried to be positive. Extra work meant overtime pay for the canteen employees, including him. It gave him a chance to make dishes he never got to make. He'd be learning about another cuisine and culture. It would be fun. Yes, fun.
"I like Miss Parker," he repeated to himself. "I like Miss Parker."
Jess hummed happily as she searched the internet for ideas on how to decorate the canteen. She had ordered her special sari outfit, and some extra cloth in vibrant reds, oranges, greens, and golds to drape in the canteen. She'd also use specially embroidered fabric in those same rich colors as tablecloths.
She found some Buddha statues which were rather large, so she decided to put them in the corners of the canteen. Smaller statues of the Hindu gods Vishnu, Shiva, and Krishna would be placed along with some small elephants on the tables.
She then worked on entertainment. The karaoke had been a hit, and she wanted to have something just as fun for the night in India. She remembered watching a show about Hindu women having henna tattoos before their wedding. So, a little research and a few phone calls, and there was a henna artist booked for the night. She then found a dance studio that had Indian dancers for hire. They taught classes too.
The day of the special canteen night, Jess left the control room early to decorate the canteen. This time, however, she had help.
"The idea of you on a ladder hanging long pieces of cloth is truly frightening," said Becker.
"Are you inferring that I'm not graceful?" asked Jess, watching Becker climb the ladder. She hung onto the other end of a rich, bright red cloth.
"No, not at all. I'm coming right out and saying you are not graceful."
"You are going to be apologizing for that remark."
"Oh, are you referring to the top secret entertainment that you won't divulge to anyone?"
"Yes," she said as she backed up, carrying the fabric to the end of the wall. "That looks good," she said, and Becker hammered the cloth in.
"After this one, there's only three more," she said with a smile.
Becker climbed down, and moved the ladder. "The things I do to keep you safe," he said with a grin.
"You are my hero," she said batting her lashes.
Becker laughed. They hung the rest of the fabric. Becker moved the Buddha statues into place because they were kind of heavy, while Jess put the tablecloths on.
"I can't believe Lester approved the money for all this. What do you do with it all after?" asked Becker.
"Oh, some goes into storage. Take the decorations for Japanese Night. The cherry blossom trees and bamboo plants were living, so they decorate some of the offices and labs now."
"Still, it's a lot of money on jun...stuff, Jess," he said, as she frowned at him.
"It's for morale, Becker," she said, placing Krishna on a table. She held up a small elephant figurine and said, "This is more then 'stuff,' it sets up ambiance."
Becker raised his eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He helped put the rest of the gods and elephants in place.
Jess backed up and looked over the canteen. "Well, that pretty much does it. I'm going to go change," she said.
"So, this outfit," he said, as she turned back around, "I know you said it was going to be long, but it isn't is it? It is short, right? Not that I care, one way or the other."
"Really?" said Jess, not buying that for a second. "You'll just have to wait and see," she said, walking away.
End of Part One
