A/N: Thanks for reading and for your comments. I'm glad a few of you have given it a chance. This story deals with dark subject matter, but it has its lighter moments as well. I hope you enjoy it. Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight, I'd be SMeyer. I'm definitely not.
[Sidenote: I've taken literary license regarding a few geographical elements and setting up Queen's Way in Bayonne. I hope you'll still play along.]
…
2. Jasper
On a Monday in May, one year after he'd been released, Jasper called his Parole Officer for the last time before he took the subway to Manhattan's The Culinary Institute in the building of The Learning Annex. He was set to graduate in six weeks and he was actually proud of himself. He'd saved the pittance he'd made in prison to attend along with the money he made at the diner. Having to take the ferry and subway every day didn't make him want it any less. It only made him more determined to show his mother he could be the man she wanted him to be.
He worked hard at school, learning the finer points of preparing cuisine, which was vastly different than being a short-order cook as he was back in Bayonne. He had dreams that someday he'd be more than the ex-felon, lowlife son of a mother who loved him beyond reason. It was his second chance, and he was going to ride it for everything it offered.
When he took the subway to Hudson and grabbed the ferry home, he smiled as he held the box of croissant he'd made that afternoon at school. He wanted his mother to help him use them in a different way. She was a wizard at never wasting anything, and he hoped to follow in her footsteps.
"Momma?" he called when he got home that afternoon after school. He had time before he needed to get a nap before work that night.
"I'm in the kitchen, Jasper," she responded.
He dropped his messenger bag that held his knives and his personal recipes he'd perfected at school. His knives were nothing like his classmates, but he'd worked hard to buy them and they meant everything to him. He'd learned from Lottie Whitlock there was no handout in life. You worked to get yourself ahead, and Jasper was determined to get himself ahead and take care of his mother. She'd been there for him through thick and thin, accepting him when he told her he was gay as a teen, and her support hadn't wavered at all over the years.
He walked into the kitchen and dropped the box on the counter. "You're gonna teach me Grandma's bread puddin' recipe, Momma. I made fresh croissant today, and with your custard, it'll be one for the books," he told her as he opened the box. When she didn't protest, which she always did when asked her to relinquish recipes, he turned to see her holding an envelope in her hands. There was a bouquet of mixed flowers on the table, and he was definitely curious.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"A handsome man in a fancy suit stopped by an hour ago and dropped off this letter and those flowers. He asked for you, Jasper," she told him as she turned to look at him. "I love you, son, and I'll support you through anything; you know that. Is there anything I need to hear, Jasper?"
He truly hated she had to question him, but with the way he'd fucked up his life, she had every right to ask the question. "Momma, I've been clean as a whistle. Open the envelope and let's see what this business is all about, okay?"
She smiled at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. This is your private business. I trust you, Jasper."
She handed him the envelope and started to leave the room. He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Momma, I have nothin' to hide from you. Let's read it together then we'll get to that recipe," he teased. She laughed, which made his heart happy.
He opened the envelope and placed the letter on the table between the two of them. He was shocked at what he read.
Dear Mr. Whitlock,
We'd like to offer you the opportunity to interview for a job with a potential restaurant opportunity in Brooklyn. The name and specialty cuisine has yet to be decided because we'd like the chef to be involved in the planning…from the menu to the décor. You were brought to our attention as a candidate for a position.
If you're interested, please contact Bella Swan at the number listed at the bottom of this letter to set up a time for your interview.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
E. A. Cullen
Cullen Enterprises
Jasper looked at his mother and smiled, trying to mirror her happy smile. "That's nice." Inside he knew it was likely a form letter that every student at TCI received during their last semester of studies. He gave it no thought at all.
"Who is this Cullen Enterprises, Jasper?" his mother asked.
He took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to shake the aggravation of someone providing his mother false hope for his career. He still had to work the late shift at the diner. "They're a big company that also owns four restaurants in Manhattan. They're all very successful, and I have absolutely no delusions they heard about me personally and want to hire me for their new restaurant. My name's on a mailing list from the school, so that's why I got this letter. Anyway, I'm sure after they do a background check on me, the opportunity will evaporate. Nobody but your friend Maggie would hire an ex-con, so no need to worry. We'll be fine," he told Lottie.
She took his hand and pulled him from the table. "Don't go into this with that kind of attitude, Jasper. I'll teach you Momma's custard for the bread pudding, and if you use those fancy pastries as the base, there's no way they'd ever turn you away.
Jasper kissed his mother's forehead as the two of them went to work. He loved being in the kitchen with his mother, and he didn't mind when she chastised him for not being properly attentive to the double boiler where he was melting the chocolate to drizzle on top of the dish. When it was scorched enough they had to throw it out, they both laughed. If nothing else, he'd enjoy the bread pudding without the chocolate. His mother had substituted a cinnamon sugar drizzle which made the dessert far too exquisite to toss away.
…
A week later, Jasper still hadn't called Cullen Enterprises because he thought the whole thing was just too good to be true. He went about his business just as any other aspiring chef would do in the late spring on the cusp of summer's fresh bounty. He cooked the menu items at the diner, adding a little flare when he could because the drunken, midnight crowd didn't mind a little deviation from the norm, and he attended his classes at school during the day.
He was in the kitchen painting butter on the pan of biscuits he'd made when he heard a sexy laugh. He went to the window after he put the biscuits into the oven and he looked out, seeing an extremely attractive man sitting at the counter, laughing with Alice who was pouring the blonde man a cup of coffee.
"He's extremely skeptical, and he really has every right to be because fairy tales don't come true in Bayonne. We're the other side of the river from the bright lights, but we learn to survive. He has his own demons, so don't expect him to be too impressed," Jasper heard Alice tell the very handsome man with the brightest blue-green eyes he'd ever seen.
He set the timer and walked out from the kitchen, feeling extremely embarrassed for the way he was dressed. Old, holey jeans and t-shirts were all he could afford, and the diner didn't really require more than that. The man sitting at the counter was dressed in a beautiful, well-fitted suit even Jasper knew was expensive. The whole package reeked of money, and he had no idea why the man was on Queen's Way in the shitty little 'Queen's Way Diner'.
"Oh, Jasper, this is Carlisle Cullen. Carlisle, this is our chef de cuisine, Jasper Whitlock." Jasper had told Alice about the cryptic letter, and she'd encouraged him to contact the company, but he hadn't because he'd believed it to be a sad joke. Seeing the man sitting at the counter in the diner was a little startling.
"Is there something I can do for you?" Jasper asked. He saw the green tie with white stripes which complimented the man's eyes, and he smiled. The stranger was very handsome, and if Jasper was judging right, he was between thirty-five and forty, though he wore it very well.
"As a matter of fact, Mr. Whitlock, I'm here to find out why you never called my assistant, Bella Swan, to set up an appointment to come in for an interview. I thought the letter was clear," Mr. Cullen stated.
Jasper pulled the long sleeves of his shirt down over some of his scars and glanced at Alice. She grabbed a cup for him and poured him a coffee, pointing to the stool. "Sit. Listen."
Jasper smiled at her and winked as she shoved a cream canister at him and walked away with a knowing smile. After doctoring his coffee, he turned to Carlisle Cullen. "How'd you ever hear about me? I thought it was a form letter you sent out because you know someone at The Learning Annex or at The Culinary Institute and got the mailing list of upcoming graduates."
"Oh, I know people at both institutions, and I respect both of them, but I had someone I trust very much give me a glowing recommendation of a meal you served here a week ago. He came in here because he got mugged outside the club down the street while he was looking for my teenage son, Riley. You cooked something for Edward, my little brother," Carlisle explained.
Jasper heard Alice gasp, and for a moment, he didn't know why but then he remembered the handsome man who'd had the shit beaten out of him. He remembered the two of them taking care of him and after he'd eaten, he'd disappeared having turned down the money Jasper had offered him.
"Oh, Mr. Cullen, is he okay? We wanted to call an ambulance, but he was insistent we not," Alice defended.
Carlisle laughed and took her hand and gave her a wide grin, Jasper observed. "Alice, please. Edward's fine. My seventeen-year old son procured himself a fake ID and got himself to Queen's Way. When his friend, Leah, told Edward where he was, my brother struck out to look for him without notifying me. They both showed up at my home in the wee hours the next morning a little worse for wear, but ultimately fine. Edward, however, hasn't shut up about the food he ate here, so," he turned to look at Jasper and smiled, "how about you show me what you can do."
Jasper, never one to back away from a challenge, smirked at him. "You'll have to be specific, Mr. Cullen. Where would you like me to show you what I can do because I'm pretty fucking amazing in several rooms." Cockiness was his cover. He never liked feeling intimidated by people, and Carlisle Cullen was someone who could intimidate him.
He saw Carlisle chuckle as he reached up and loosened his tie. "Can we start in the kitchen and move on from there?"
"Any allergies or things you don't like, boss?" Jasper asked.
"No allergies and I hate bitter greens. Other than that? I'm fine," Carlisle responded. Jasper nodded and went back to the kitchen.
He looked at the things available and decided to make his mother's staple, chicken and waffles. When Liam came in and frowned at him, Jasper laughed. "Yeah, it's good to see you too, ya prick. I'm makin' breakfast for my friend, so don't let me get in your way," he snapped.
After the two of the figured out how to work around each other, Jasper made the coating for his chicken before he deboned the damn thing, tossing the carcass into a large stock pot with veg to make chicken stock for Liam, which wasn't unusual for him. He liked Liam, so he helped out when he could because the man was a fantastic cook and made the best chicken and dumpling stew Jasper had ever tasted.
He worked at making the dish as best as he could, frying a thigh to taste before he took the chicken and waffles out to Carlisle. He set the plate in front of the man and smiled. "Bon Appetite!"
He returned to the kitchen and cleaned up his mess, grabbing a few orders off the wheel to help Liam because he'd really taken over the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later, Angela walked up to the window. "Jasper, that guy left something for you. Liam, where the hell are my scrambles with hash browns, you lazy bastard?"
"Fuck you," Liam responded as he turned to smile at Jasper. "Kiddo, thanks for the help." Jasper nodded as he deposited his apron in the cloth bin for the laundry.
He walked out of the kitchen to see Carlisle Cullen was gone. He walked behind the counter to get a cup of coffee before he went home to work out at the Y down the street, finding the envelope Angela had mentioned on the back counter with his name on the outside.
He poured his coffee and walked to a booth in the back, opening the envelope to see a business card giving Carlisle's information. He flipped it around to see a surprising note.
The most amazing food I've ever eaten. I'm intrigued, Jasper. Please call me. Carlisle
Jasper put the card in his back pocket and ambled out the front door, saying goodbye to Angela. Later that morning when he got home, his mother was already at work, having left him a note that she loved him. He went to bed in his childhood room, and set his alarm for nine so he could get to school by ten. He was close to graduating, and it was his desire to successfully complete the school. He'd obtained his GED while in prison, and a degree at some sort of a higher learning institution would make him a productive member of society, or so he hoped. He wanted something to measure as a success because he didn't want to be labeled a felon his whole life. He was more of a man than the label.
…
[E/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you'll stick around. ML]
