The kitchen is bustling tonight. Kate needs to have all her orders out quickly to keep the customers happy.
"Okay, people, this is what I need for table fifteen. Two terrines, one Dover sole, and two lamb orders. Table seven, Carpaccio." Kate says as she places the order tickets by the Sous chefs. Once she finishes giving in the orders, she walks over to Rick, where he is working on a beef dish. She looks at the pot of sauce that is simmering next to him. She can smell what it is; it's just missing something. She can't put her finger on it, but maybe if she tastes it, she'll figure it out.
"Did you season this properly?" She asks as she pulls a spoon from her pocket.
"Yes, chef," Rick answers. Rick pulls a spoon from the drawer and dips it into the sauce. As he goes to let her taste his spoon, she already has her spoon in her mouth, cutting him off.
"It's okay." Kate dumps the spoon she used in the sink, and Rick tastes what he's made. He thinks she's crazy because he knows that it is outstanding.
The night goes on, and Kate can't help but notice that Rick is very friendly with Leah. He shares jokes with her and makes her laugh, and it seems she hangs on his every word. The evening rush is almost over, and Kate has often caught Rick spending most of his time around Leah. She's wondering why Leah finds him so attractive he's really nothing to write home about.
The night is winding down, and twelve dessert platters are being made. Kate has the completed ones lined up for pickup, and she's working on the twelfth. It's a creme brulee. She is caramelizing the top of the dessert and finishes checking her work.
Rick is also completing his last dessert while Kate works on a small piece of cheesecake. He needs the chocolate garnish for his dessert and turns to get it. Kate seems to have the same idea and reaches for it just as Rick does, but he gets it first.
"One second. One second. Pardon me." Rick asks.
"I need that," Kate says as he takes the strawberry garnish.
"And you'll get it right back," Rick promises. Seeing that she is standing right next to him, he decides to ask her something about her training in the field of cooking.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Do I have a choice?"
She seems very short with him, and he wonders why.
"Where did you learn to cook so well?"
"My mother."
"Seriously? I thought you were going to say you studied under Alain Passard at L'Arpege
or something."
"I did. But my mom was better and didn't throw plates at me."
He can tell she's frustrated because it is very crowded with two people trying to create where they work. He likes watching her work, and he watches when she retrieves a delicate crown made from caramel to put on her cheesecake. He's not hovering but close enough to crowd her a little. He watches as she picks up the delicate crown and places it above the cheesecake. Just as he's about to ask her a question about the placement of the crown, her finger brushes the top of it, and it collapses in pieces.
"Oh, God. I need more space!"
Kate picks up the cheesecake, tosses the delicate and now broken crown into the trash, and walks around Rick, making a beeline to the other side of the table where there's more room. Rick looks at her, knowing he is the only reason she moved to the other side of the table. She finishes the dessert, and it looks fantastic.
"Why are you so mad at me?" Rick asks her.
"I'm not mad at you," Kate replies.
"You're very mad." Rick counters.
Kate looks at Rick and decides to tell him why she's mad.
"Do you want to know why I'm mad?" She asks Rick, and all he does is nod his head.
"Look, I've worked very hard to get where I am. This is my kitchen, and I don't plan on letting you take it away from me."
Rick considers what she just told him, and he does not intend to do what she just said. So he lets that fact be known.
"What makes you think I want to take your kitchen away from you?"
By now, most of the kitchen staff had stopped what they were doing and were waiting for Kate's response.
"What else could you possibly want?" Kate finishes the dessert she was working on, slides it over to the pickup area, wipes her hands on her apron, and leaves the main kitchen.
Bernadette is reading from her script in the giant walk-in refrigerator. She needs to have her lines down for this part if she will get it.
"You treat me like a dog, Larry! I'm not a dog; I'm a human being, goddamit…."
Just as Bernadette was going to finish and say her next line, Kate opened the refrigerator door and walked in.
"I'm sorry. I'm just rehearsing for a part."
"Can you give me a minute, please, Bernadette?" Kate asks as she wipes her hands off on her apron. Bernadette makes a hasty exit, knowing that this is Kate's venting room. Kate closes her eyes and takes a very deep breath. She walks over to the vegetables, turns around, and leans up against the rack that holds them there. The door opens again before she can even relax, and Rick enters. She opens her eyes, and he walks right up to her. They are barely eight inches apart.
"Look, I don't need this job. I can work wherever I want. I want to work here because… It's an honor to cook with you. But I'd rather work somewhere I'm welcome. So if you want me to leave, just say the word."
Kate stood there looking at him and didn't reply at all. Just then, their eyes go to the new visitor entering the refrigerator. Someone else enters the party, and Paula asks,
"Can someone please tell me what's going on in here?"
"Well, Kate, aren't you going to tell her?" Rick asks.
Rick can see that Kate won't admit what he knows she wants. He unties his apron from his waist and hands it to Paula while keeping his eyes locked with Kate's, never once breaking contact.
He finally gives up, hoping she will tell him, but since she never does, he turns around and heads towards the refrigerator door.
"Wait a minute, where are you going?" Paula asks as she watches Rick walk away.
Over his shoulder, Rick says,
"I'm sorry Paula, you'll have to find somebody else."
Immediately, Paula is furious with Kate and lets her know about it. Rick opens the door and walks out of the refrigerator into the main kitchen.
"Kate, what have you done?" Paula demands.
Kate is on the fence about letting Rick stay, but she won't give in.
"I didn't do anything, Paula," Kate says as she picks up two creme brulees from the dessert rack across from the door.
Paula walks out of the refrigerator, knowing she won't get anything from her head chef. She catches Rick as he picks up his CD player from under the prep table. He already has his knives and utensils for cooking in his pouch under his arm. She steps up in front of him and says,
"Rick, please don't go; we need you." Paula pleads.
Rick stops preparing to leave and faces Paula as Kate walks out of the refrigerator. She's walking over to the prep table with the creme brules when he says,
"Well, Paula, I have to hear that from her."
"Damn it, this is my restaurant!" Paula shouts out.
Rick squares off in front of Paula and says,
"It might be your restaurant, Paula, but it's her kitchen." He says as he points to Kate.
"Without her, all this would be a pile of hot metal and dirty dishes, so… she decides."
Rick walks towards the kitchen exit, stops, and stands opposite Paula, looking at Kate, waiting for her to decide.
The entire time Rick talked to Paula, Kate had her back to the both of them. She turns around and looks at Rick, then at Paula, and finally at Leah, who can't believe Kate won't make this decision. She likes Rick, and he brings a specific energy to the kitchen. So, while she is still looking directly at Kate, she shakes her head yes so only Kate can see it.
"It seems like you've left me no choice," Kate says when she faces Rick.
Rick, always being difficult, says,
"So, do you want me to stay?"
As Kate reaches for the small propane torch to caramelize the creme brulee she's working on, she ignites it, adjusts the flame, and says,
"Didn't I just say that?" Kate says in a huff.
Rick looks at both women and then back to Kate and says,
"I need to hear those words."
Kate, who is just about to start caramelizing her dessert, looks at Rick and says,
"I want you to stay!"
Rick's smirk is priceless, but now he has to add insult to injury.
"I'd love to. I thought you'd never ask!"
Rick walks towards Kate on his way back to his prep table. Kate looks at him, knowing he thinks he won this round. Only then does she realize he's getting closer to saying something to her, and she braces herself for it. All he tells her is,
"You're on fire."
At first, she thinks he's complimenting her on her cooking abilities, but then she notices it getting extremely warm on her right thigh. She looks down and sees her apron on fire from the propane torch she is now holding down at her side. She quickly pulls off the burning apron, throws it on the floor, turns off the torch, and stomps out the apron. As he walks past her, she gives him a look that would kill.
Kate returns to the apartment, hoping that Zoe is well cared for. She unlocks the door and steps through it, and the first thing she smells is the odor of cigarettes. She removes her coat and scarf, hangs them both up, and walks to the dining room table. On it is a dessert dish filled with about eight cigarette butts sitting next to the fish sticks that have been there all night. All she can think is that the apartment stinks, and she will never have Charlotte babysit again. She takes the dessert dish, walks to the garbage disposal, and dumps the cigarette butts in. She doesn't hear Zoe at all.
She goes to the only place she would be. She opens the bedroom door and hears Zoe talking to herself.
"It's alright. If you are scared, come in and wake me up. I'll hold your hand. Especially you, Louie, because you're the littlest."
Kate has no idea who Zoe is talking to, but she can see a flashlight moving around under the bed. She walks over to the bed, kneels, and pulls up the dust ruffle that covers the bottom of the mattress.
"Zoe, hi."
Zoe looks out from under the bed and sees Kate.
"Hi."
"When did Charlotte leave?"
"I don't know. A while ago."
Kate tucks the dust ruffle in between the mattress and the box spring. She kneels, almost crouching, and looks inside Zoe's homemade play area. She is in awe at what she sees in front of her.
Kate gathers her thoughts and comes up with a possible solution if Zoe agrees.
"I have an idea. Why don't you come to the restaurant with me tomorrow night?"
Zoe rolls over onto her right side and looks at her aunt. She really would love to go to the restaurant.
Kate knows that this will be a good thing. She presses her fingers to her lips, kisses them, and then touches Zoe's forehead. She smooths over her hair and then pulls the dust ruffle down, putting it back in place. She watches as the flashlight moves around under the bed and then goes out.
A/N: My apologies for not responding to anyone's reviews (if I have not yet) but due to the fact that fanfiction hasn't gotten its act together yet, and notifications are not going out, I will be doing it manually versus automatically. I do appreciate all the reviews that are left don't feel that I don't.
P2P