"Up on your left, just pull over by the staircase. Stop, stop here, please," Kate instructs the cabbie as he stops.
Before she leaves the cab, she asks the driver to wait for her. She exits the cab and frantically searches the staircase where Zoe should be and sees nothing. She looks to her left and sees the coat she was looking for. Kate sees Zoe sitting on the opposite staircase, thinking she looks alone and afraid. She timidly walks forward towards her, trying to figure out what to say since she was not there to pick her up after school on time.
"Oh, Zoe. I'm so sorry."
"You forgot me." She says.
"It's not what you think."
"You. Forgot. Me!"
"I didn't do it on purpose. Leah had her baby."
"But you still forgot me."
Kate stands there looking at her, knowing that she has forgotten her. So she tells her.
"Yes, I forgot you. I'm so sorry." Kate says.
Zoe looks away, focusing on the cars in the street, purposely not looking at her Aunt.
"Come on, Zoe, let's go home." Kate chides.
It's cold out, and Kate can't stand around in the cold, so she makes her feelings known.
"Come on, Zoe, it's freezing out here!"
Zoe sits on the stairs, being the petulant child that she is. Kate has had enough.
"ZOE, move it!"
Zoe got up, slung her book bag on her shoulder, and shuffled toward the taxi without even looking at Kate. Once they were in the car, the driver returned them to the apartment.
They both went to the apartment, not speaking to each other. They both headed to their respective bedrooms, and ten seconds later, both doors slammed in unison and anger. Kate is angry that she forgot to pick up Zoe, and Zoe is furious that her Aunt forgot her.
Kate's temper doesn't last long, and five minutes after slamming the door, she opens it, walks across the hallway to Zoe's bedroom door, and knocks on it gently.
"Zoe?"
Not hearing a response, she opens the door and steps in. What she sees breaks her heart. Zoe is curled up in a little ball on her bed, weeping. She doesn't know where to begin, so she starts with the obvious.
"Zoe, I'm so sorry. I blew it. I know I'm doing everything wrong, but I'm trying my best and promise I will do better."
Still waiting for a response from Zoe, Kate tries something else.
"Zoe, why don't you think of something I can do to make it up to you?"
That gets Zoe's attention. She rolls back toward Kate and puts her head on her right hand, propping it up.
"You mean like a wish?" she says, wiping her cheek clear of the tears that ran down it.
"Yeah, something like that. You wish for something, and I try and make it happen, and in return, you forgive me."
Kate waits for Zoe to say something. When she sits up a little straighter, Kate keeps her hopes up.
"And I can save it for later?" Zoe asks.
"Sure," Kate replies.
Kate turns to leave to start dinner, and as she's walking out, Zoe calls her name.
"Kate…"
Kate turns around and looks at her niece. She is wondering what's going through her head now.
"You're not doing everything wrong," Zoe says as she sits straighter on her bed.
Kate made dinner, they both ate, and they both turned in early for the night.
Kate had been taking Zoe to work on the weekends and after school. There was the occasional early visit to the fish market, but if Zoe wasn't at school, she was at the restaurant.
Saturday was a little busy at the restaurant. But not that busy that Zoe could help more.
It had been hectic, and Kate was preparing a meal that involved the truffles she had purchased earlier in the week. She gave Zoe the job of cleaning the green beans and putting them in a bowl. She selected three black truffles and placed them on the cutting board next to Zoe's work area. She picked up one, and with the zester, she added just enough to give it her signature touch. She placed half of the truffle she was using on the cutting board back where it was and slid the meal forward for pickup. She returned to the oven to get a second meal, requiring more truffles. Once she retrieved the meals, she placed them on the counter and went to reach for the truffles, only to find out that they were not there. She looks frantically all over and can't find them.
Zoe had been doing an excellent job cleaning the green beans. She watches as her Aunt picks up what looks like a rock, shaves some of it off on one of her meals, and puts it back down. Zoe picks up the rock and smells it. It smells terrible, so she dumps it with the other rocks in the garbage. She throws out the green beans that didn't make the cut because they were too small. When her Aunt returns to the table, she sees her looking frantically for something and wonders what she wants.
Kate turns to Zoe and asks if she has seen the truffles on the cutting board. She pointed to the garbage pail when asked if she meant the rocks. Zoe's eyes widened when she saw her Aunt pick up the rocks, clean them off, and then put them back on the table. She then picks up a small toolbox. Once she opened the toolbox, she could see it was filled with rice, and her eyes just looked up at her Aunt, wondering what she would do with the rocks. It wasn't until after she had put the truffles back into her box that her Aunt explained that they weren't rocks but truffles. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why anybody would eat something like that.
Watching the entire event unfold before him, Rick couldn't help but laugh at both of them. It was something funny to see.
Rick had taken a shine to Zoe, often telling her stories about how and what he cooked. She would listen intensely as he told her about his time in Italy when he was cooking and other places that he had gone to to learn how to feed his passion for cooking. He had given her the responsibility of picking out the best potatoes for mashing and baking. Often, she would pick out the ones he needed for the meal he was preparing, and she was pretty spot on in her selection.
It became a big thing to feed Zoe at that night's early dinner menu conversations. Rick had always gone with pasta because it was filling and somewhat nutritional. One thing led to another, and Zoe passed out what Rick had made that day. Kate refused to eat at these meetings because it slowed her down towards the beginning of the dinner rush. But today, when Zoe passed out the last dish, she was left holding one for her Aunt. She gave it to her, and she tried to pass it on, but everyone had one, so Zoe tapped her on the shoulder and gave it back to her. Kate looked up from her crossword puzzle and put the dish before her. With the temptation too strong, she picked up a fork and picked up a fork full of pasta. When she put it in her mouth, her eyes closed, and she chewed vigorously, enjoying the taste assaulting her taste buds. When she opened her eyes, she looked again at Rick; all he did was smile and nod.
Saturday, Kate decided to get out and get some fresh air with Zoe. She had often passed by a park that was a very happy place for her. She thought walking to the park and relaxing on a park bench while Zoe played on some equipment was a good idea. When she told Zoe of her plan, she agreed.
The park was pretty close to the apartment. A fifteen-minute walk at most. They spent at least two hours there just chilling out. After a fun day totaling just under five hours at the park, Kate tells Zoe it's time to leave. On the way out of the park, they passed a group of people doing Tai Chi. Kate takes the sidewalk that snakes through the park and brings them out on the other side, closer to her apartment. Zoe, being the kid she is, decides to walk on the park benches next to Kate, stepping over the armrests every eight feet. She's ready to catch her if she falls, but she's made it without tripping.
"Kate"
"What is it, Zoe?" Kate answers.
"You're not working tomorrow, are you?"
"Nope."
"And Nick's not working tomorrow either, is he?"
"The restaurant is closed tomorrow. It's Sunday. Why?"
Zoe stops walking on the park benches and motions for Kate to come closer. She puts her hand up and whispers conspiratorially into Kate's ear. Once she is finished whispering, Kate steps back.
"Why's that?"
"It's my wish."
Kate was a little leery at first. To pull off Zoe's wish, she would have to enlist the help of Rick. And it's one thing Kate didn't want to do, but she owed her niece, so that's where they stand. Getting to the restaurant early, she sees Rick walking into the kitchen. He picks up his apron and starts tying it around his waist. She thinks to herself that this is a good time as any.
"Rick, can I talk to you?" Kate starts.
"Sure. What's up?"
Kate told Rick about Zoe's wish and what it required. He looked at her skeptically, but then she continued.
"First, I want you to know it was Zoe's idea, not mine."
"Why did I know that?"
"She says she prefers Italian."
Rick knows that this could be an opportunity to see Kate being more relaxed at home and asks,
"Your kitchen or mine?"
"Wouldn't it be easier to do it here?"
He gives her a look that would be his best; we can't do it here look… and it works.
"Fine, we'll use mine." Kate agrees.
"But my kitchen's fully equipped."
"Perfect. Let's say noon. I'll do the shopping."
Kate watches from their apartment window as Zoe walks back and forth on the sidewalk in front of the apartment building. She smiles, watching her pace. It started to snow lightly about thirty minutes ago, and now it's accumulating. Kate goes downstairs to the lobby, opens the door, and asks Zoe,
"Aren't you cold?"
She had just turned away from her and was walking towards the corner store when she yelled out,
"He's late!"
Just as she comes to a stop to turn around, she mutters,
"Men!"
Zoe eventually returns inside. She has other things to do before he arrives. She braids her hair in the bathroom, knowing it will only get in the way of what they have planned for this afternoon.
The buzzer sounds for the lobby door, and Zoe bolts from the bathroom shouting,
"I'll get it."
She runs for the door as Kate goes to the intercom to activate the door buzzer to let him in. She hears,
"Help!"
She can't help but crack a small smile at his childishness.
Zoe opens the door wide, not knowing what to expect. When she doesn't see him, she starts down the stairs, asking him if he needs help. Rick comes up the stairs. She hears him say, "Hey you!" as he approaches the top floor. A short time later, Rick is trudging up the final step of the staircase, his arms packed with groceries and cooking utensils.
Zoe sees that some of the bags look like they will slip out from under his arm.
"Do you need a hand?"
"Nope. I got it."
Kate sees him walk in and looks up, noticing he is struggling. She wants to go to help, but Zoe gives her a stern look not to interfere.
"Where's the kitchen?"
"It's this way," Zoe says as she heads that way as she takes the pizza pans from his hand.
Rick looks up from where he's going and sees Kate watching him. He thinks that she is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. He gives a greeting that lets her know she is still in charge.
"Hi, chef. Got the goodies!" Rick wastes no time catching up with Zoe and enters the kitchen. Zoe, who had been over-anxious, dropped both pizza pans and made a loud noise- so loud that it startled Kate from what she was reading on the dining room table. But after she heard Zoe laugh, she knew everything was fine, so she went to the kitchen to find out what they were doing.
What she saw in her kitchen looked to her like organized chaos. Zoe had placed the pizza pans back on the table, the source of the noise she had heard earlier.
After Rick had placed everything that needed to be refrigerated in the refrigerator, he removed his coat and scarf and hung them on the back of the kitchen chair. He looked over to Zoe and saw her standing there patiently waiting for him to tell her what to do.
"Okay, sous chef, please put on your apron," Rick said as Zoe made her way to where the aprons were hanging off the hook on the wall.
Rick watches as Zoe puts on an apron and ties it behind her. He looks around and doesn't see her pants anywhere, so she must have them hidden. Then he asks,
"Do you have a cast iron pan?"
Hate looks at him as if he's on a different planet.
"Of course, I have a cast iron pan." She moves from the doorway into the kitchen and retrieves the pan. She moves to the kitchen table opposite where his coat is hanging and peeks into a brown paper bag. Just as she's about to look into his Tupperware, he walks over and tells her,
"Ah, no, no no no, no! Please don't touch my Tupperware. Tonight, Zoe and I make dinner. And only Zoe and I." Rick quickly takes the Tupperware container and adds it to the pile in the refrigerator.
"But I could help." Kate pleads.
"You could, but it's my wish," Zoe explains.
Zoe takes her Aunt's hand and moves her into the hallway, shooing her away. Kate starts to walk away reluctantly but turns around and looks at her niece. She is still making the hand motion to go away. Kate nods to ensure she wants this, and Zoe nods in the affirmative.