She is startled awake, well, not startled, but alerted by someone clanging something together. Then she hears,
"Pancake time." Then, there was more clanging louder still.
"Pancake time." And yet more clanging.
Then the clanging stops. Rick cautiously pushes Zoe's bedroom door open and looks to see if she woke up by him banging the whisk in the pot. It didn't work because she was still asleep. So he walks into the bedroom, banging the whisk against the pot one last time, and plops down beside her.
Zoe, who is slow to move, turns on her right side and stares at him with her head propped on her hand.
"Pancake time. Where's my sous chef?"
At first, she was confused. Rick had nothing on his feet, and his hair looked like it was all over the place. She's not stupid, so he probably spent the night with her aunt, which she was so happy about because she likes Rick. She thinks that they make a great couple.
"Pancakes?" Zoe asks.
"Mmm hmm. Do you want to help me?"
Zoe loves to help, so she threw off the comforter and put on a hoodie, and together, they walked back into the kitchen. Rick made the batter and put just enough for one pancake in the pan each. They both waited until they saw bubbles popping on the opposite side of the pancake and then Rick told her to flip it over. She watched as he flipped his, and then she attempted the same thing. The pancake flew through the air, flipped over, and landed perfectly back on the pan. She was amazed that she could do it.
"That was amazing, Zoe!
"You should open your own restaurant. You can call it Zoe's."
"Nah, I'll call it Rick and Zoe's."
His praise caused her to break out in a big smile. Once Rick finished the pancake, he put it on a plate and poured more batter into her pan. At this time, she realized her aunt was awake; her hair was just like Rick's, and she was barefoot. She wore her casual jeans and a loose-fitting sweater.
Kate just sat at the kitchen table, watching the two cook breakfast. But when she heard Zoe title her new restaurant Rick and Zoe's, she had to say something.
"Excuse me, I did squeeze the orange juice by hand you know."
Just then, Zoe walked up with the completed plate of about eight pancakes and placed it on the table. Then she said,
"Okay, I will call it Rick, Kate, and Zoe's restaurant."
"I like the ring of that," Kate tells them.
With all the pancakes finished, Zoe sits opposite her aunt, and Rick walks in with the coffee pot and places it on the pad on the table. He leans down to kiss Kate, and before he can connect, she puts his hand on his cheek, whispering,
"Not in front of Zoe."
Rick, who wanted to kiss Kate, straightens up, turns to face Zoe, and tells her,
"Zoe, I am now going to kiss your aunt."
Rick waits a second, and then Zoe says as she puts her head in her hands, covering her eyes,
"This is so embarrassing."
Rick moves close to Kate and kisses her deeply. When they break from the kiss, Rick sits in the middle of the table with Kate to his right and Zoe to his left. Kate wants to know what he is thinking about their working relationship now that they are together, so she asks him.
"So, how are we gonna work together now?"
"We'll do what we always did. You tell me what to do…" Rick waited a second before finishing his statement to get a rise out of her.
"...and I'll go behind your back and do whatever I want."
Zoe let out a small giggle and smile.
Rick looked at her with that look that let her know there would be no such agreement between them and that he would honor her wishes in the kitchen.
The romance they had started during the last week has intensified. Rick had been more than a lover to her; he had been her best friend, but there was still something in her mind that wouldn't let her commit to him one hundred percent. She did not doubt that Rick was not the man she had met a month and a half ago. He had stopped all his antics in the kitchen (well, not stopped, but just eased up a lot on them, putting her more at ease), and she was becoming more comfortable with what they were quickly becoming. This is further than she had ever been in any relationship before. Sure, the man she was with for two years was a slow progression, but with Rick, she thinks she could dive in with both feet, not wanting to look back.
It was a Saturday, and Rick decided to take the morning and do something fun. Since the support staff would prepare everything for the reservations that were on file for tonight, this gave them some extra time to roam about Lower Manhattan. They were walking around close to the restaurant, and Rick put Zoe on his shoulders.
Once he did, they just walked. About an hour later, they found themselves in Chinatown, and Kate wanted to share something with him that she had never shared with anyone. Rick sees them coming close to the open market section of Chinatown. There, store owners display all their goods for sale. The stock boys are busily loading products on the sidewalk shelves for people to select from. Cases and cases of vegetables not usually seen in other parts of the city are for sale here.
Kate extends her hand to Rick, and he readily takes it. Once their hands are joined together, she guides him down the street.
"Come on, there is something I want to show you."
Kate looks back and sees that he is conflicted about why they would be coming to this part of Chinatown. Kate pulls up mid-block to a vegetable stand operated by the Hung Lee company. She still had his hand when she walked up to the cashier, asking for something he couldn't quite make out. The cashier says she has it, but if she touches it, she buys it. Kate acknowledges the fact and walks inside the shop. She approaches a refrigerated open case while Rick picks up some parsley that has seen better days. Kate goes to the top shelf and pulls down a leafy plant, pulls off a leaf, and gives it to Zoe for her to smell. Then she takes one more leaf from the stalk, crushes it in her hand, and places it under Rick's nose. He is inundated by the aroma he is smelling, and he knows that smell; he just can't place it. It's then when Zoe says,
"That smells good."
Kate was about to remove her hand from under his nose, and he grabbed her wrist to stop her, taking one last inhale of the leaf.
"Where do I know this smell from?" He asks Kate.
Kate stands there waiting for him to put it together, and it doesn't take him long. Ten seconds after she lets him smell the leafy plant, he says,
"Your saffron sauce!"
She nods innocently, knowing that he got it.
"I thought there were no more secrets between us," Rick said snarkily.
Kate just shrugged her shoulders, and then Rick kissed her. From the cashier, she heard,
"You touch…"
"I know, I buy!"
She stole one more kiss from Rick and then turned to pay for her purchase.
The following week went by, and they worked together very well. They also enjoyed their off time from the restaurant. They were able to go biking in Manhattan on a bicycle built for three, but Rick did most of the pushing up hills instead of pedaling because the girls couldn't make it up. Then, they had the opportunity to go to a photo booth. The faces they made in the pictures were goofy. In one, Zoe had her tongue sticking out with her eyes barely open, Kate had her fingers above Rick's head as if a pair of antennas were popping out of his head, and Rick had made moose ears with his hands. She has never had this much fun in her life.
It was Friday night, and they were walking home from a movie, something that they all enjoyed. As they came to the block where Kate's apartment was, a man was doing sidewalk art two buildings away from theirs. All three of them stopped and observed him working. He was holding a still picture of Anna from the movie Frozen, and he had captured the exact picture on the concrete sidewalk he was drawing on with pastel chalk. Zoe stood there and watched him work and was amazed at what he had done. Rick and Kate look on as he works. They stayed there for about five minutes when he completed the picture and looked up, asking what they thought. They all said it was amazing.
Everyone could tell something was going on with Rick and Kate. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Ever since they had sat down to eat lunch that consisted of today's specials, they were making eyes at each other. It was as if it was a different Kate spitting here than the Kate from two weeks ago.
"Today, for our entree special, we are offering a Hudson Valley free-range duck over a butternut-squash puree that is served with patty pan squash and blood orange and finished with a mushroom sauce made up of a" Berdenette pauses to recall the rest of the meal description from her memory and continues when she has it. "Oh, a variety of wild mushrooms from the cognac region of France."
Paula, who had been out in the dining room, returned to the side room, where they ate most of their meals. She carried what looked to be two tiny Chinese food containers in her hands. She walked up to the end of the table where Kate and Rick sat and stretched across Rick, showing Kate the containers.
"What do you think, Kate? Rick came up with the idea of sending small desserts home with the customers. It's so obvious!"
"So…. obvious," Kate said as Paula walked away. But she wasn't finished.
"Oh, and by the way, Rick, I love the wines you picked to go with the new menu." And then she was gone for good out back into the dining room.
Rick, watching Paula walk away, tried to tell her,
"Well, you'll have to talk with Kate about that." But Paula was already gone before he could finish the sentence.
He knew it was terrible before turning his head to look at her. He could see the look on the faces of the people who were sitting at the table trying to eat. When he did look at her, being stabbed by daggers would have been a more pleasant experience. Deciding to take some of the heat off of himself, Rick asked John to describe the next meal for tonight's dinner special.
"John, tell us about the asparagus dish," Rick asks dryly, hoping that Kate will be calmer later.
"We're also serving as a side, ah, sorry, I mean an appetizer with asparagus and cippolini onions, and it has a side of sliced watermelon radishes."
The kitchen was operating at a fevered pace.
There needed to be more work to do for what was going on. He and Kate were trying to keep up with the orders coming in. Everyone in New York City had decided to go out to eat. This could be good because Kate was occupied with working versus being mad at him.
"Table five is coming up in two seconds, Chef."
Rich finished putting the garnish on the last meal for table eight. He then turned behind him to pick up table fives order to go over it once more and add anything that needed to be added.
Paula then walked into the kitchen and directly up to Rick.
"Rick, the couple at table eight wants to say hello." She said very proudly. When Rick never said anything, she looked at both of them.
"They're drooling over the sea bass." She continued, hoping to get a response.
Rick knew he was skating on thin ice tonight, so he deferred everything.
"Kate's responsible for all the food," he says without looking up from what he was doing.
"She hates leaving the kitchen." Paula countered.
The minute that Paula said that he knew the shit was going to hit the fan. It took a little longer than he thought.
"Interesting. What else can you tell us about her?" Kate said sarcastically, looking up from what she was working on.
Paula about had it. She was at the point where she would fire both of them if they didn't get their acts together.
"You know what? I'm not going to get into this right now. I don't care who goes out there. But if it is you, do me a favor and try not to stab anyone who complains!" Paula said, staring directly at Kate.
Rick, of course, was trying to keep his head down, and the second Kate turned to look at him, his defense was,
"Don't look at me."
Then Kate lost her cool entirely, and very sternly, she said,
"You. Me. In there. Now." Pointing to the walk-in refrigerator.
Rick knew he was a goner the second she started talking through her gritted teeth. He reluctantly walked from behind the counter as she had walked into the refrigerator.
He didn't have to wait long for the confrontation to rear its ugly head.
"So Rick, what's the story here?" Kate asks, hoping for an honest answer.
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Rick, I turn my back for a couple of days, and it's Rick the wine, Rick the customers, Rick the boxes…"
Before Kate could finish her sentence, Rick blurted out,
"She offered me your job." He stood there with his hands on his hips, waiting for her to respond.
When she did, she responded as if he had punched her in the stomach. Very quietly, she said,
"What?"
Rick just stood there looking at her, waiting for her to explode. It didn't take long.
"I can't believe this. Why didn't you tell me? We've had a great couple of days together, and then you dump this in my lap?"
"Kate, I was going to tell you. I didn't want to upset you." He said to her retreating form. She had turned her back on him only to turn right around to face him and say,
"I can't believe this. I knew I couldn't trust you. The moment I met you, I knew it."
"You know what your problem is, Kate? The truth is you can't trust anybody." He said, getting right back in her face.
"Oh, is that right?" Kate got in.
Rick, not having any of it, fires back.
"You've never trusted anyone in your entire life Kate!" Rick said as his voice started to rise as his anger became a little out of hand.
"Why should I when this happens? Why didn't you have the guts to run your own kitchen, Rick? Instead of coming over here and taking over mine.
"Is that what you really think? That I would march in here and take over your kitchen? Take something away that you love so dearly? Because if it is, you don't know me at all."
"That's exactly what I think Rick."
Rick took a step back as if he had been stabbed in the gut with a knife and been sliced open. She had him all wrong. He stood there for a second or two before he moved his hands behind his back and untied his apron. He folded it neatly and held it in his hands. After a very long staring contest, he spoke.
"You know Kate, it's okay to let people in sometimes. Maybe one day you'll figure that out." Rick places his apron in her hand and heads for the door. Before he can reach the door handle, she's putting her hand on his arm.
"You don't understand, Rick, this is my life. I spent practically ten years building this. This is who I am."
Rick shrugs her hand off his arm, looks her straight in the eye, and tells her,
"No, Kate. This isn't who you are. It's only a small part of you. I hope that someday you'll see that. Goodbye."
He walked out of the refrigerator and left Kate standing there speechless.