“Hmm. Where was it prepared?”
“In my restaurant, but—”
“Well, it’s obvious what happened. Somehow, your chicken was contaminated with seafood. It doesn’t take much. Sometimes just touching the source of your allergen is enough to induce a reaction. I’m making you an appointment with an allergist. I’ll also prescribe you an epinephrine kit. Until we’re certain of the source, it’s better to be safe. From now on, have that kit close to you at all times.” He was turning away when he stopped and added, “And by the way, unless you’re willing to risk your life, I suggest you stop serving seafood at your restaurant.”
Stop serving seafood? That was crazy. How in the world was I supposed to keep working at Skinny’s—or any restaurant, for that matter—and not serve seafood?
chasing stray dogs and
rescuing damsels in distress
The nurse was a pleasant middle-aged lady with a reassuring smile. Even her voice was calming. Her movements, however, were as quick and sure as her smile. As she worked, I had no doubt of her abilities. At the moment, much to my relief, she was putting the epinephrine kit back in its box.
“Don’t worry about a thing, dear.” She patted my arm and placed the kit on my bed tray. “If the time comes that you need to use the kit, believe me, you won’t hesitate. Just remember to keep it at hand.”
“I guess it beats choking to death,” I replied, my voice raw.
She chuckled. “That’s right. As for the swelling,” she said, poking the skin of my cheeks, much the way I’d been taught to test bread dough before baking it, “hmm. I don’t think it’ll be completely gone until tomorrow.”
“Great. I must look like the Elephant Man.”
“Not that bad, dear,” she assured me. “I’m sure you’ve looked better, but at least you’re alive.”
As she walked off, I noticed Mitchell waiting in the doorway, his brows knitted with worry lines. Shit. What was he doing here? The nurse marched straight toward him. I couldn’t make out what she was telling him but before I knew it, he was striding over wearing a huge smile. Shit!
The doctor’s words came back to me. Good thing your friend brought you in when he did. That could only mean…
Mitchell reached my bedside, and I attempted a smile. “You saved my life, didn’t you?”
“I sure did,” he said.
“Oh, God!” I groaned, realizing how I must have looked, being hysterical both times he had come to my rescue.
He grinned. “You don’t have to call me God. Just call me Mitch.” He became serious. “You really had me scared. I wasn’t sure you’d make it.”
“Thank you,” I managed, weakly.
He shrugged, and the glint in his eyes sent my heart racing. “Let’s just say that my mission in life is chasing stray dogs and rescuing damsels in distress.”
“I’m so sorry. You must think I—” I stopped. “Jackie! Is she…”
“Don’t worry. I made sure your door was closed. Jackie’s fine.”
“Thank goodness.”
“As for what I think, don’t worry. You make a guy feel needed. Every time I turn around, it seems you’re in trouble.” He placed his hand on mine, and my heart flip-flopped. “I’m just happy I happened to look out the window, otherwise…”
“I can’t thank you enough,” I said. “If it weren’t for you, I…”
“You know what I think?” He looked down at his feet and seemed shy for the first time. “I think it might be nice for us to spend some time together, without it being some kind of emergency.”
I was stunned. Did that mean he was going to ask me out? “I should be inviting you,” I heard myself say before he could utter another word. “You did save my life, after all. I’m having some people over for dinner two weeks from now. I’d love for you to join us.” That hadn’t sounded too eager, had it? On the other hand, a couple of weeks was pretty far away. I hoped he didn’t think I was brushing him off.
“I’d be delighted,” he replied, and I realized I’d been holding my breath.
“Can I ask you a question?” I waited for him to nod. “What do you do? You spend a lot of time at home.”
The twinkle in his eyes was back. “I can imagine what you’ve been thinking.” Now his tone was teasing. “I noticed that you ignored me when I first moved in. You thought I was a lazy, good-for-nothing bum, didn’t you? Either that or you thought I was under house arrest with an ankle bracelet.”
As usual, the heat rose in my face. Now I wasn’t only a swollen monstrosity, but a beet-red one at that. “No, I’m just curious,” I replied, but he laughed. I guess that lie was pretty obvious.
“I’m a biographer,” he said. “I’m writing a book about famous Torontonians.”
“You’re a writer,” I exclaimed. “Well, that explains it.”
Before he could say anything more, the good-looking young doctor was back. “So, how are we doing here?” He picked up my wrist and checked my pulse.
“I’m still alive.” I brought a hand to my throat. “And my voice is getting better.”
“You’ll be as good as new in no time.” He moved over to the other side of the bed and wrapped a blood-pressure cuff around my arm. “Did the nurse teach you how to use the EpiPen?” He pointed to the kit on the table. I nodded. He read my pressure and removed the cuff. “Good. Make sure you have it with you at all times.” He scribbled on my chart. “Well, looks to me like you’ll be fine. You have a few papers to sign, but that’s it. You’re free to leave whenever you’re ready.”
On the drive home, Mitchell did most of the talking. “Have there been any developments with your boyfriend’s murder?”
I swallowed, feeling uncomfortable with him describing Rob as my boyfriend. “None. The police aren’t rushing to find other suspects. Aren’t you worried, accepting a dinner invitation from a woman who might be a murderer?” I asked with a chuckle that sounded like a crow.
“Hardly.” He smiled. “You’re just a tiny thing. I could overcome you like that.” And to demonstrate, he snapped his fingers.
Me? Tiny? I could love this man.
“Seriously, how are you dealing with everything?” he asked.
I sighed. “I have some good days and some not-so-good ones. All in all, I guess I’m doing fine.”
“I wish I could help somehow.”
“The worst part is that until the police solve the case, I’m likely to remain their number-one suspect.”
Silence filled the car and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. A few minutes later he pulled up in front of the house. Before I could open the door, he was already out and halfway around the car. “Do you want me to come in?” he asked, following me up the walk.
“No, I’m fine.” I pushed open the front door, which had been left unlocked for—I checked my watch—nearly five hours. I shivered. “Thank you so much for—” I paused, “—well, everything.”
He nodded and studied me. There I went, blushing again. Suddenly, Jackie was running over to greet me with a frantic yap, yap, yap, which I interpreted as “Where have you been?” I picked her up.
“Call me if you need anything.” Mitchell said, hopping over the railing that divided our joined stoops.
“I will. I promise.”
He turned to unlock his own door, and I found myself checking him out. Hmm. He does have a nice butt. I closed the door behind me and carried Jackie to the mudroom.
“Be honest with me, Jackie. Just how bad do I look?” She stared at me, horrified.
When I looked in the mirror five minutes later, all that was missing were blood and bruises—otherwise, I looked exactly like Rocky after the fight. I shuddered to think that Mitchell had actually seen me like this. I couldn’t go out in public and especially not to the restaurant. I’d sca
re the customers away. I didn’t even want Toni to see me. I picked up the phone and pressed the speed dial for Skinny’s.
The moment Toni heard my voice she became anxious. “What’s wrong? You sound like you have a cold.”
“Well, there’s nothing to worry about anymore. By tomorrow morning I’ll feel perfectly fine.”
“What do you mean you’ll feel better in the morning? What’s wrong?”
I told her what happened. As much as I tried to make light of it, Toni was dismayed.
“I’m coming right over,” she said, hanging up before I could talk her out of it.
Sure enough, soon Toni was at my door. I let her in, hiding behind my hands, which she pulled aside—in her eyes I saw shock, immediately followed by amusement. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. It’s just…your lips look like they’re on steroids.”
“Not funny.”
Her laugh was infectious, and soon I was laughing, too—a short, weak laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. She regained her composure, then launched into ten minutes of “Poor you. You could have died. Why didn’t you call me? Maybe Skinny’s should stop serving seafood entirely.”
At last she calmed down and in no time took over. She let Jackie out for her pee-pee, made me a cup of tea, got me cold compresses for my face and reassured me that I still looked gorgeous. Yeah, right. Even though I knew that last one was an out-and-out lie, it helped me feel better nonetheless. I followed Toni’s advice and crawled into bed. Within seconds, I was in a deep dreamless sleep.
When I next opened my eyes, it was morning. The sun was streaming in, and joy of joys, when I walked my fingers over my face, it felt normal. The swelling was gone.
“Good morning.” I looked up to see Toni, still wearing yesterday’s clothes. She set a cup of coffee on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed.
“You stayed all night? You didn’t have to do that.”
She dismissed it with a shrug. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever wake up. It’s ten o’clock.”
“Oh, no, poor Jackie.” I struggled to sit up.
“Don’t worry. I already took her for a walk.” As an afterthought, she added, “That little thing sure has a mind of her own. She wouldn’t let me take her anywhere but to the park.”
“You didn’t happen to run into Kim with her Yorkie, by any chance?”
She looked at me blankly. “No, does Kim have a Yorkie? I had no idea.”
I harrumphed. “She does—just got one recently. Maybe I’m imagining things, but I swear, I think she got her dog only so she has something in common with me. And of course, her dog is a male and Jackie has a crush on him.”
“You are nuts, you know that, don’t you?” It did sound crazy. “Maybe she just wants to be friends.”
I shrugged. “Anyhow, whenever Jackie sees Kim’s dog, she completely ignores me. Even liver treats won’t make her come. I think she’s in love.”
“Jackie, Jackie, Jackie,” Toni said, shaking her head. “You and I are going to have a talk about men.” She continued in mock-serious tone. “A woman doesn’t know what real happiness is until she’s married. And by then it’s too late.”
“Speaking of men and marriage, how are things with you and Steven?”
“Things with Steven?” She gave me a blank look. “Nothing worth talking about, really.” A small smile peeked out of the corners of her mouth.
“By the way, I ran into your neighbor.” She changed the subject, as she did whenever I asked about Steven. “He wanted to know how you’re feeling today. He said he drove you to the hospital?” She watched for my reaction as she added with a purr, “You know how you should show your gratitude to a sexy guy like him?”
“Stop it, Toni!” I exclaimed. Then, in an even tone, I told her about inviting him to dinner.
“You invited him for a date with half a dozen other people, two weeks from now? What kind of a thank-you is that?”
“I thought that was nice of me.”
“Sweetheart, I’m sure he doesn’t want you to be nice. Don’t you know that when a girl is good, she’s good, but when she’s naughty, she’s so much better? You should practice being naughty once in a while. You’ll have way more fun.”
I chortled. “You have a point.”
“All right, time for you to get up. Or are you planning to play invalid all day?”
I sighed and threw back the covers. “So much for being pampered.”
“By the way, Janice Bradley called last night. She said something about wanting to thank you for tea. When Jake told her you were sick, she was very concerned. She offered to come over after her shift.”
“That’s so nice of her. I’ll call her in a little while.”
“I can do that for you. Should I ask her to come?”
“No, I’m fine now. Besides, I have a great nurse right here.”
“Hah! More like Nurse Ratched, if you ask me.”
I hopped out of bed. “Okay, I’m up, I’m up. Save your electroshock treatment for the next victim.”
* * *
After my shower, I found Toni in the kitchen, cleaning out my fridge. The floor around her was covered with an assortment of jars—mayo, Dijon mustard, ketchup, even the milk carton was getting ditched.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I got rid of everything that was opened.”
“So much for milk in my coffee.”
“You had an unopened carton. I kept that one. I know I might be going overboard here, but until we figure out what caused your allergic reaction, you shouldn’t take any chances.”
“I agree. But if I ever have another reaction, I can inject myself. They gave me my own epinephrine kit.”
She grimaced. “Oh, gross.”
“My sentiments exactly. But it beats going through that panic again.”
As she left a bit later, I assured her that I’d come in to work in a few hours.
“Only if you’re up to it. And in the meantime, stay away from shellfish.” She kissed me goodbye and dashed off.
* * *
I was on my way to Skinny’s when I saw Jake darting through traffic to greet me. And right there, in the middle of Queen Street, he threw his arms around me in a bear hug. When he pulled away, I was touched to see tears in his eyes.
“I can’t believe what happened. It’s so awful! You almost died!”
“If we stay here, we’ll both die,” I retorted as a car honked its horn.
We dashed back to the safety of the sidewalk.
“From the fuss you’re making, you’d think I’m Lazarus raised from the dead. Don’t worry. I’m perfectly fine.” Admittedly, I was still a bit shaky. All this life-and-death drama was hard on the nerves.
“Toni told me to keep all seafood away from you,” he said. “So I set new rules in the kitchen. Everyone has to use the meat counter strictly for the seafood preparation. You are not to go near that one. The other counter is now for meat. We can prep everything else on the assembly counter. The same goes for chopping blocks and wooden spoons. Oh, and you’re not allowed anywhere near the walk-in refrigerator.”
“In other words, Jake, you’re turning this into a kosher kitchen?”
He laughed. “Sounds that way, doesn’t it? Don’t ever tell my mother, not even as a joke. She’d die if she thought her nice Catholic boy was turning Jewish.” He winked at me. “There’s a lot about me I don’t tell my mother.”
As I closed the door behind us, Marley appeared from the kitchen. “Someone’s on the phone for you, Nicky.” He handed it over to me.
“Nicky, how are you feeling?”
I immediately recognized Janice’s voice.
“I’m fine. Toni told me that you offered to come by. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad you didn’t. I didn’t wa
nt anyone to see me looking like the Creature from the Blue Lagoon.”
“What happened? Toni said you ate something. Was it food poisoning?”
“It was an allergic reaction, it seems. But I have no idea to what. As far as I know, the only allergy I have is to oysters, but I was having chicken when it started.”
“Were there any nuts in the recipe?”
“No, not at all.”
“You’ve got to get yourself tested. Have the leftovers analyzed.”
“Too late. Toni got rid of practically everything I had in my fridge.”
“Did the hospital give you a list of foods to avoid?”
“Yes, and they gave me an epinephrine kit.”
“Oh, good. Now promise you’ll call me if you don’t feel well,” she said. “Actually, I might drop in on you anyway. Make sure you’re all right.”
As I hung up, I couldn’t help but think how lucky I was that so many people cared about my well-being. When Toni came in, I told her about all the steps Jake had taken to make the kitchen safe for me. “Have you noticed that he’s been taking on a lot of responsibility on his own?”
“I know. He’s been supervising the food orders, too. And yesterday, he took charge when I left. He even did the books and prepared the deposits.”
“He’d be a great manager, don’t you think?”
“Between Jake and Charles, we hardly have to be here anymore. We could take time off,” she said with a growing smile. “As long as we can keep this place afloat, that is.”
In the kitchen, I noticed a folded newspaper on the prep table. I picked it up and scanned it briefly. Much to my relief, there was no mention of Rob’s murder. The papers rarely published articles about the murders anymore. For weeks I’d lived in fear that the papers would link my name to the restaurant, but that had never happened. If it had, there’d be no need to create a new menu. We’d be out of business.
Life could always be worse.
I set the paper aside and went to the pantry for tomato paste for the next recipe I wanted to create. I was rummaging through the cans when I came across a small glass bottle that looked like… I picked it up. It was a bottle of oyster juice. My heart went into overdrive. Could my allergic reaction have been purposely induced? I was staring at the bottle in my hands, when Toni appeared at my side.
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