Kate is once again in her therapist's office, trying hard not to think of talking about Rick. But it's a losing battle.
"He never does the right thing," Kate tells her therapist as she gets off the couch and picks up her coat.
"In what way?" Her therapist asks.
"In every way. He never does the right thing at the right time…" Kate tells him as she puts on her coat.
"Kate, life is unpredictable."
Kate watches her therapist with an odd look as she finishes buttoning up her coat and wrapping the scarf around her neck. She picks up her purse, throws it over her shoulder, and says to him,
"Not in my kitchen, it's not."
Kate walks past her therapist, who sits in a comfortable chair. Just as she's walking past him, he says,
"I'm sure you'll be able to prevent the worst."
Kate comes to a dead stop about two feet from his chair. He had swiveled to face her when he made his comment.
"The worst?" Kate asks in a questioning tone.
Her therapist looks up at her and says,
"That you'll be able to tolerate him."
"What is this, some new type of therapy? Insult the client?"
The therapist looks up at her with a grin on his face and says,
"Only the finest therapists use it." When he finishes his statement, he swivels the chair back to face the windows and away from Kate.
She thinks about what he had just said and then dismisses it as quickly as it came into her head. He can't be right.
Kate stands outside at Zoe's school, telling her to have a great day. Once Zoe sees her friends, she is off to talk with them on the way into the school. Kate tells Zoe she'll see her after school, and Zoe waves back.
The principal was standing on a stairway at the top step, and she saw Kate and remembered that she had to have a couple of words with her.
"Kate, do you have a couple of minutes?" The principal asks over the loud voices of children coming into the school.
"Sure." She says.
Kate climbs the stairway to the foyer of the school. Once at the top step, the principal asks her to follow her inside. The walk is short, seeing that her office is right inside the school entrance. They both take seats, and Kate sits there wondering what could have happened with Zoe.
"Kate, I've been talking with some teachers and getting reports from others that Zoe has been sleeping in class. A lot."
The principal waits for a beat to see Kate's reaction, and when she finds that it's sincere and it looks like she doesn't know about it, she continues.
"Do you know what her excuse is?"
"No."
"She tells her class that it is her late-night workout. Then she tells her friends that she's working as a kitchen assistant in your restaurant to earn her room and board.
"I see."
"If I thought Zoe was working late at a restaurant, I would have to contact Child Protective Services."
"That won't be necessary," Kate says with worry on her face.
"Oh Kate, I know that. It's better for the child when they're cared for by their relatives. I'd hate to see Zoe end up in foster care after all she's been through. I know it's hard on her, and you're doing the best you can, but I'm confident you will address this with her, and there'll be no reason to go that far. I'll check in with you and Zoe to ensure things run smoothly."
Kate got up, knowing that their little impromptu meeting was over. She reached the door and thought about what the principal told her. She knew Zoe had an active imagination, but she couldn't believe she would go so far as to say to her classmates what she had just heard.
Zoe and Kate walked through the park to their apartment after she picked her up from school. As Kate walked on the sidewalk, Zoe had taken to walking on the park benches. She didn't know how to start this conversation, so she let Zoe tell her about her day. When there was a lull in their conversation, she brought up what she had learned from the principal.
"Zoe, we need to talk about something."
Zoe stopped and turned to face her, still standing on the bench. Kate thought the height difference would be ideal to tell her about her decision.
"You won't be able to come to the restaurant with me anymore."
Zoe looks down away from Kate, trying to figure out why, so she asks.
"Why not?"
"Because I think that they will take you from me. And I don't want that, Zoe." Kate answers honestly.
"But I like going to the restaurant."
"I know, I know you do, but I can't take the risk of losing you. It's just not right for a little girl your age to be up so late. And getting up early in the mornings sometimes."
Kate can see that Zoe is about to become very upset. She can see the tears forming in her eyes, and her heart breaks when she hears what she says next.
"You don't want me there!"
"No, Zoe, it's not that. You need to get a good night's rest. You don't want them to take you away from me, do you?"
"Who cares! You didn't want me anyway."
Before Kate can do anything, she jumps off the bench and takes off running. Kate thought she would just run to the end of the park benches and stop, but when she didn't stop running, she yelled her name.
"ZOE! ZOE!"
Before Kate could realize what was happening and give chase, Zoe was almost at the park exit. When she ran out across the sidewalk, her heart almost stopped beating. When Kate reached the sidewalk where Zoe had already been across, she shouted her name again. And as she did, Zoe darted across the street, nearly getting hit by a New York City Taxi. Luckily, she made it to the other side of the street without getting hit, but Kate, who had run after her, was stopped by a taxi that hit its brakes to stop in time before hitting Zoe and the car in front of him when he swerved. There was almost a near collision with a car behind the cab, so Kate had to wait until that car had passed her before she could start running again. When she did, she took off at full speed.
Her longer legs gave her an advantage over Zoe's smaller ones. She could catch up to Zoe rather quickly, and when she did, she grabbed the back of her jacket and stopped her in the middle of the sidewalk. Kate kneeled to be on Zoe's level. This way, she would be able to explain to her what she meant. Zoe fought to get away.
"Zoe, stop it!"
"Let me go, let me go!" Zoe yelled. " I want my mom, not you."
Kate let go of Zoe as if she was being burned. She knew she was hurting, but she never expected to hear these words come out of her mouth. Zoe turned and ran the rest of the way down the street, crying as she went.
Kate was relieved when she remembered that inside the lobby and under the umbrella stand/coat rack, she had left the spare key to the apartment in case she ever got locked out. She had told Zoe of its location, and when she checked to see if it was there, she noticed it was missing. So that took a load off her mind, knowing that Zoe was upstairs in the apartment.
She climbs the stairs to the apartment and unlocks the door, thankful that Zoe had locked it behind her. He decided to give her some time to gather her thoughts, and maybe she would go in and talk to her later, but for now, she started getting dinner ready.
She didn't know what to feel. She missed her mom and felt lost without her. Sure, her aunt Kate took her in, but she needed a lot of help raising a kid. Zoe flips the next page in her photo album. She looked at the picture when she and her mom visited the Shedd Aquarium. It was probably one of the best days of her life. They had seen all sorts of sea creatures, but her favorite were the giant sea turtles. She flips to the next page, and within the album fold is a peacock feather whose mate was the one she lost in the car accident that took her mom. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she remembered the last moments with her mother.
She hears a knock on her door, and her aunt asks if she can come in.
"Zoe, can I come in?" Kate asks as she opens the door.
"No. Go away."
"Zoe, please, I'm sorry."
Kate reluctantly turns and leaves, closing the door behind her. She thought Zoe might have calmed down a little, but it seemed she was wrong. She does want to be there for her and to teach her everything her mother could have taught her, but maybe she went far by letting her come to work with her.
The dinner that she was halfway through making ends up being thrown away. She has to go to work and has no one to watch Zoe. Then she has an idea.
She leaves her apartment and descends the stairs down to Sean's apartment. She can hear his boys doing what seems like kicking a soccer ball around inside the apartment. She hesitates to knock at first but realizes she has no choice. Gathering her courage, she knocks on the door lightly.
She hears small footsteps running to the door and then a sudden collision with the door. Michael pulls open the door, and Kate can only smile at seeing his twin brother Josh push him out of the way. They're both dressed in soccer uniforms for the school they play with.
"Hi guys, is your dad here?"
Before she can say anything else, both boys are clamoring to get their father to come to the front door, almost knocking each other over in the process.
Sean comes to the door and sees Kate looking anxiously at him.
"Hello, Kate. How are you?"Sean asks in his Scottish brogue.
"I'm good Sean. Could you do me a favor?
"Sure. What do you need?"
"I need to go to work and have no one to watch Zoe. We had a little fight, and now she's not speaking to me." Kate explains.
"Kate, it's no problem. Does she want to come down, or do you want me to look in on her?"
"I'd appreciate you checking on her from time to time."
"Did she have anything to eat yet, Kate?"
"She's fine. I left something out that she can fix for herself if she gets hungry."
"Do you have a key?" Sean asks.
Kate reaches into her pocket, pulls out the key to her apartment, and hands it to Sean. Just then, one of the boys kicks the soccer ball down the hall, hitting Sean right in the butt.
"Come on, guys! Take it in the other room." He warns the twin boys.
Just as Kate is about to turn and leave, Sean asks sincerely.
"Kate, how are you doing?"
"To be honest with you, Sean, this is all so new to me. It seems that everything I do for her is the wrong thing."
"I know what might help." Sean disappears behind the door, but Kate can still see the lower half of his body as he leans to his left. It's probably where his kitchen counter is. He pulls out a business card and hands it to her.
"Call this number. Her name is Anna, and she is a godsend with kids. She helped me so much after my divorce. I would still be trying to figure it out if she didn't. I'm sure she would be happy to watch Zoe anytime you need." Sean tells her.
"Thank you," Kate says as she looks back down at the business card he gave her.
"It's no problem."
The lunch rush was finishing up when she got there.
Rick was putting the final touches on his tasting menu for tonight's dinner offerings. She walked into the restaurant and nodded to Paula as she passed her. Rick looked up and gave her a warm smile.
She still wasn't much on eating an early dinner, so she returned to her kitchen to prepare for tonight's dinner. They had more offerings of seafood on the menu than usual: trout almondine, Oysters Rockefeller, sauteed shrimp over whole grain brown rice, and lobster.
Rick had finished up in the main dining room and returned to help her with the prep work. She noticed as she was cleaning the tables, paying less attention to him, that he was carrying his tablet. From it, he swiped up on the device, looking for something particular. Then he started reading aloud.
"Ms. Beckett introduces bits of truffle in an endive salad that accompanied a lightly steamed and wondrously silken halibut fillet. It was highlighted by the gorgeous aria of her saffron-infused emulsion."
"This guy can't decide if you're a cook or a composer."
Rick continues to read the review.
"The artistry of her signature quail with truffles made it clear that she brought in a great sous-chef to complement her distinctive style."
Rick stood there waiting for her with his arms folded across his chest to process what he had told her. Without fail, after only ten seconds of his completion of the review in the latest issue of Bon Appétit Magazine, she looked up at him, finally putting together what he said in the last paragraph.
"It says that about the sous chef part?"
He can do nothing but smile. He made up the last part of the article, hoping to get a rise out of her, and it has worked.
"Nope, just seeing if you were paying attention."
Kate continues to wipe down the counter where she works. Rick watches as she gets more labor-intensive, cleaning minuscule spots that are not even dirty. He thinks she is doing it on purpose, but when she stops cleaning, she looks at him.
"You look like you need a drink."
"I never drink it work."
The day she had been a very long one. But everyone was doing their part to make the day a little easier. When the dinner rush is over and everything is cleaned up, Kate turns around and sees she is alone. She finished wiping up the table, and then she had just finished making her last dish when Rick came up in front of her.
He took the portable radio and pressed play, and the CD came to life. Flooding from the speakers was Pavarotti. She doesn't necessarily enjoy opera, but this song that was playing was very long, and she knew it.
Rick removed the portable CD player and put it on the bottom shelf out of the way. He walked over to the warmer, where he pulled out one plate with an assortment of bread and a tasting menu from tonight's dinner. The second he placed it on the table between them, her mouth started to water, and her stomach started to grumble. He pulled out two wine glasses and decanted a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon. He sat on the wheeled stool across from her after she took her seat. They started talking about experiences that they have had during their cooking career. Before she knew it, about an hour and a half had passed. She simply loved talking to him about cooking. Then Rick looked up at her and said,
"Tell me something else you don't do."
Kate looked at him and didn't reply.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you don't eat dessert, you don't drink it work, next you going to tell me that you don't date guys who sing opera."
"I don't date guys who sing opera."
At what she said, Rick deflated a little, but then he saw the little twinkle in her eye and the smirk of her mouth with a smile trying to break free, and he knew she was only teasing him.
"Yes, you might not, but I don't believe you."
Her mind went elsewhere when they finished the sampling platter. They finished their glasses of wine and had two in total. Kate felt a little light-headed, never one to be drinking after working a long shift. This is why she never realized it was raining when they left. Rick gallantly told her he was taking her home and wouldn't take no for an answer. When they pulled up to Kate's apartment, she quickly removed her compact umbrella before Rick got to the door.
"I got it." She told him.
"No, I got it," Rick said, trying to take the umbrella from her to shield her from the rain.
They clumsily reach Kate's lobby and start climbing the staircase, where Kate is a bit shaky, taking each step very carefully.
"So I've got one for you. What are the three secrets of French cuisine?"Kate said a little too loudly for the stairwell they were climbing up the stairs. Her voice echoed off of every wall.
This was a no-brainer for Rick.
"Oh, come on. Everybody knows that."
"Oh, yeah? So, what are they, smarty-pants?"
"Butter, butter, and more butter."
"You're good. You know, you didn't have to do this. It's not like I'm drunk or anything."
Just as Kate fumbled for her keys to open the front door to her apartment, the door swung open rather quickly. Kate is taken by surprise when she sees Sean standing there.
"Sean. Hi."
"Rick, this is Sean. He lives downstairs. Sean, this is Rick. We cook together." For some strange reason, when Kate explained who Rick was to Sean, it felt like she was being caught out on a date beyond her curfew with her new boyfriend, and her father was the one judging her.
"How are you?" Rick said as he extended his hand for a quick handshake.
Sean shook his hand and said,
"You obviously don't live in the building."
Seeing that this was beyond awkward, she decided to jump in and change the subject.
"How was Zoe?"
"Sound asleep. She's a great kid." Sean said as he kept eyeing up Rick.
"Have a good night," he finally said, slipping between them and bumping Rick backward a little.
"Thanks, Sean."
"Yeah, he's so sweet. He was just keeping an eye on Zoe For me while I was at the restaurant. He's just a sweet, nice guy. I couldn't wish for a better neighbor. Yeah, he's always so…"
Before Kate could do anything, Rick placed his finger on her lips to stop her from talking. Only a split second later, his finger fell from her lips, and his lips replaced his finger.
A/N: This is a bonus chapter for Thanksgiving, so please enjoy it! The title of this chapter has a bit of history to it for me. When I was younger, on Thanksgiving, my mother and father sat me and my sisters down in front of the television, and we watched the March of the Wooden Soldiers while they got Thanksgiving dinner ready. It starred Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and up until my parents passed away, we watched it religiously every Thanksgiving. I'm not too sure if they even show it anymore, but if you can find it, it was the kind of movie that kept the kid's attention so that their parents could prepare dinner. Looking back on it now, it's kind of corny, but we were kids then. What did we know? Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it, and I hope you and your families will be safe this holiday.
