by Kris Bryant
“What do you think, Ki?”
“I love it. It’s so much bigger than it looks.” I look around and see so much potential. “I’m so proud of you. When do you think you will have this up and running?”
“Well, we’re still working things out with the bank. I have the key from the realtor and technically, I shouldn’t be in here, but I’m too excited to just wait around for the money. Oh my, God. I forgot to congratulate you on the scholarship. I’m so happy for you.” She is genuine. I tell her Taryn said she came in second during the meal and she laughs with delight. “I’m so happy I beat him at something. Too bad you’re leaving though. I’m going to miss you.” She shows me around the place and I’m impressed with the ovens and kitchen space. The menu she has planned is very sweet and I encourage her to branch out and cook quiches and stuffed pastries with egg, sausage, and cheese. She looks at me like I’m crazy. “I bake. I’m a baker. The other stuff scares me.”
“Maybe when you get comfortable you’ll branch out more.” I gather up my bags and wait for her to lock up. “I’m so excited for you. Do you have a name yet?”
“Not yet. I’m still thinking about it. I don’t want it to be Mary’s Something. My parents are pushing for my name to be in it, but sometimes that’s not the best idea. Hopefully, I will think of it before we sign the papers.” I wish her luck and head home. I’m so jealous of Mary. Yes, I’m going to cook at a world famous cooking school, but Mary is living her dream.
Chapter Twenty-seven
I can’t believe I’m doing this. I don’t know if I’m scared or excited or one step away from a major panic attack. My knee bounces frantically up and down. I wipe my palms on my pants for the fifth time. I hate waiting.
“I’m sorry, Ki. He said he would be here soon. Can I get you anything to drink?” Linda, Dr. Wright’s assistant, has always been very nice to the students. Why she works for that asshat, I’ll never know. Maybe she balances out his evilness.
“I’m fine, Linda. Thank you.” I’m thinking of heading to one of the kitchens to fix lunch because I wasn’t hungry when I got here two hours ago, but I am now. I thumb through the same magazine that has been resting in my lap. This time, I play the game where I pick one thing on each page that I can’t live without. My sister and I used to do that with the large department store catalogs that my grandmother had out on her coffee table.
“Ki, I’m sorry I’ve kept you waiting so long.” Dr. Wright enters the office all smiles. I see a ketchup stain on his tie and I can’t help myself. Besides, I’ve graduated.
“I trust lunch was yummy.” I point to his tie and he has the decency to blush.
“Yes, and it ran late. Come into my office,” he says. I follow him inside and make myself comfortable on the couch. He has a stack of papers in the guest chair and there isn’t anywhere else to sit. “I have several forms for you to fill out. Are you ready for your trip to Italy?”
“Well, that’s what I want to talk about. I worked hard to get that scholarship and beat out all of my classmates. I’m honored to have it, but I want to turn it down and give it to Scott McDonnell.” Dr. Wright’s eyes bug out.
“You want to give up your scholarship?” I nod. “Do you know how hard other students worked to try to get this opportunity and you just want to throw it away?” He’s starting to upset me.
“First of all, I didn’t take it away from anybody. I earned it. You know that better than anybody else. I worked hard and won it fair and square. I didn’t resort to cheating like Scott did.” I hold up my hand to stop him when he actually tries to defend him. “He’s an ass and should have been kicked out for what he did, but you had your reasons for keeping him. Just don’t try to convince me. We both know the truth.” I don’t know where my tenacity is coming from, but I’m going with it. “A bigger and better opportunity has come up for me and I plan on taking advantage of it. It’s why I went to culinary school in the first place. If I default on the scholarship, is it transferrable to the runner-up?”
“I believe it is. I just hope Mr. McDonnell can accept it days after the fact,” he says. I look at him like he’s crazy.
“We both know he’s at his parents’ restaurant prepping stew or something. I’m sure he will jump at the opportunity.” We stare at each other until it becomes uncomfortable. “Well, I guess that’s all I have. Thank you for understanding.” Like he had a choice. I stand and he surprises me by shaking my hand.
“You’ve been a great student, Ki. It’s been a pleasure watching you grow into an amazing chef. I look forward to hearing about you in the culinary world.” I thank him and leave his office.
I feel lighter with every step that takes me away from Kirkwood Academy. The entire experience was great, but the last semester really changed me, as a chef and as a woman. Taryn pushed us all to improve on what we knew and taught us how to focus under pressure. It was the perfect ending to a long journey.
Chapter Twenty-eight
“Ki! Where are you?” I hear my front door open and peek out of my bedroom to see Taryn standing in the hallway looking for me. She does not look happy. I really should lock my front door.
“I’m back here. I’ll be right out.” I need to find a T-shirt. I’m sure she just found out I turned down the scholarship. Apparently, she isn’t as happy about it as I am. She’s in my room within a few seconds, her face flushed.
“What did you do?” she asks.
I hold my shirt up to my chest, covering myself from her and her anger. “Hi, Taryn. Come in. Would you like something to drink?”
“Don’t play with me, Ki. Why did you turn down the scholarship? That was everything to you. How could you just walk away from such a fantastic opportunity?” I wasn’t expecting her to jump into my arms and confess her undying love for me, but I certainly didn’t think she would be this upset.
“A better opportunity came up.”
“What are you talking about?” she asks. I slip on my shirt and walk over to her. Everything about her body language tells me to tread lightly.
“I need to show you something. Will you take a ride with me?”
“Only if you tell me what the hell is going on.”
“How about you come with me and then I’ll tell you what the hell is going on.” I’m starting to get pissed. She’s scolding me like a child. She unclenches her fists and her shoulders slump.
“I just hope you have a really good explanation.”
“I understand your concern, but I think you can trust me by now,” I say. She nods then reaches out to me. I walk into her hug. She holds me and kisses my head.
“I do trust you.”
I pull away and stare at her. “Then let me finish getting dressed and I’ll show you what I’m talking about.” She sits on the bed and patiently waits for me to slip into my shorts and find my sandals. I walk over to her and kiss her softly. “Let’s go.”
“What are we doing here?” she asks as we approach the River Plaza.
“It will all make sense in a few minutes.” My heart is pumping and I can hear it throb in my ears. We walk past all of the aisles until we hit the row of restaurants at the far end, near downtown. I point to Mary’s cafe. “See that? Mary and I are opening up a café down here. I gave up the scholarship because my dream is to have my own restaurant. Yes, Italy would be great, but this is really what I want.” She walks up to the storefront and looks inside. “Do you want to go in? I have a key.”
“I can’t believe you did this. This is fantastic. Let’s go inside.” I’m giddy as I unlock the door. I think she’s even more excited than I am. “Whose idea was this?” Her smile is sincere and I know I made the right decision.
“Mary was going to have her parents as partners and open a bakery, but I thought it might be nice if the bakery was actually a café and we offered more than just sweets. We’re still working out the menu, but we’ll have different types of quiche, panini, and other non-sweet items. We’re thinking six in the morning until two in the afternoo
n. Hopefully, we can hire people to help, but for now it will just be us and maybe her little sister if we need a cashier.”
Taryn wraps her arms around me and squeezes me. “I’m so proud of you. This is absolutely perfect. And I’m proud of Mary, too, for really going for it. Honestly, I didn’t think she had it in her.”
“It was a surprise to me, too, but Mary has her act together. She knew at the beginning of the semester that she didn’t have much of a chance to win the scholarship so she went looking for her dream and found it.”
“Ki, not to be nosy, but how can you afford this?”
“Well, culinary school is expensive, but not as expensive as law school. The rest of my trust fund covered the costs and we’ll get a business loan for supplies. We won’t have a lot of debt. Hopefully, we can pay it off quickly. We just need to get the word out when we open the café.”
“Oh, I’m sure the institute would promote it. Two scholarship contenders join forces to open a restaurant right after graduation. It’s brilliant,” she says. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this genuinely happy before. I can’t help but beam with her.
“You think so? That would be great for business right away. I’m sure J.D. is crushing on me after my chicken mole blew
his mind. He might even make it mandatory for his students to go.”
Taryn laughs. “J.D. isn’t the only one crushing on you.”
“Who else? Scott? Nah. Thankfully, he will be gone.” She slips her arms around my waist. “Maybe Mr. Stewart. He’s always looked at me appreciatively.” Taryn squeezes my waist.
“Oh, really?” She lifts her eyebrow at me.
“And then there’s Mary.” I’m rewarded with a tickling that has me squealing. She stops the torture, and pulls me closer to her, my T-shirt crumpled in her fists.
“There better not be Mary.” Her voice is a playful growl. “At least not that way. You’re mine.” We both stop and stare at one another. I’m no longer giggling.
“I’m yours, huh?” I say. My voice sounds quiet and low.
“I don’t know what you want, but I know I would like to continue our relationship. I enjoy our time together and now we won’t have to hide when we are out in public.” Do I want this? Is she crazy? How could she not know that I am head over heels for her.
“Maybe we could still keep this up.” I try to be uninterested, but my heart is tumbling inside my chest, anxious to latch onto any words of encouragement. I realize she is dead serious so I sober up quickly. I lean up and kiss her lips. “I definitely want to keep this up. I think you are a beautiful woman inside and out and I can’t wait to cook with you, and spend weekends together, and go to movies, and hold hands, and go for long walks, and do all the things that people who are together do.” I don’t want to call her a girlfriend yet, but hopefully she knows that I’m committed to her and only her. I decide to clarify quickly. “It’s only you. No one else.” She rewards me with a slow, meaningful kiss. I sigh against her.
“As unbelievably selfish as this sounds, I’m glad you aren’t leaving,” she says.
“I am, too.” We spend a good thirty minutes inside the café looking at the place, studying the ovens and layout of the small dining area. There’s probably room for six round tables and a small bar area that will either be a place for self-serving coffee or chairs for additional seating. “Mary is going to have so many different types of cheesecakes, pastries and muffins. People will be able to order in advance. The ovens can handle several cakes and pies at once so hopefully we can keep up.”
“Have you told anybody about this yet?” she asks.
Holy Christ, I forgot to tell my mom! She still thinks I’m going to Italy. That conversation is going to be another heartbreaker for her. I set a mental reminder to visit her tomorrow before word gets out and she hears it from somebody else.
“Not really. I mentioned to Jessie that I had an idea, but she doesn’t know that I actually went through with it. I really wanted to tell you first since you have been an inspiration to me and have been incredibly supportive.” I’m embarrassed that I’m sappy and completely surprised when I see Taryn wipe away a tear. I’ve never seen her crack before. “I can’t imagine leaving you and Olivia now. Don’t you see how perfect this is? I get the girl and the dream job. I know this is probably too soon, but Taryn, I love you.” Great, now I’m starting to cry. She’s crying even harder. We’re a complete mess. “Do you remember when we were on our bike ride? That was the exact moment I realized I loved you. I’ve never been in love before and I had a panic attack because my feelings were so strong and I didn’t know how to get them out.” Taryn is clutching me, not saying a word. Now she’s starting to scare me. “Please tell me you feel the same way. Tell me that I didn’t just make a complete ass of myself.” She laughs before she looks at me.
“Ki, I love you, too. So very much. I wanted to tell you that weekend, too, but I thought that it would be selfish for me to say it. I want you to have the Italian cooking school experience, but I’m so much happier with this choice.” She kisses me soundly, passionately, telling me everything I need to feel in that one kiss. It leaves me breathless.
“Say it again.”
“I love you.” She pulls me close again. I start shaking in her arms.
“I’ll never get tired of hearing that from you or saying it to you.”
She presses her forehead against mine. “I know.”
Epilogue
“Can you believe the turnout?” Mary asks. We look at one another. I’m trying not to be overwhelmed right now, but it’s hard when there’s about twenty people inside the café and another thirty waiting to come in. So much for standing back and being the renowned chefs. We dive in to help Mary’s sister and cousin take orders, fill orders, and give change. I look up and see Taryn and Olivia in the doorway. I wink at her and motion for her to come in the back.
“Hi, babe. I’d ask how it’s going, but I can see it’s going well.” She kisses my cheek and Olivia gives me a quick hug. It’s been two months since we’ve confessed our love and I feel invincible. Our relationship is perfect. My lease on my apartment is up in a month and Taryn asked me to move in with them until we can find a place together. “I have a feeling it’s going to be busier this weekend. Dr. Wright told the entire academy to visit and see what two successful chefs can do with certificates from Kirkwood.” I roll my eyes and she laughs. “Hey, free press is good press.”
I nod. “Free tastes help, too.” I point outside where Mary’s parents have set up tables with samples for the patrons of the River Plaza. My mom is here, too, bragging more than helping, but bringing us business. When she found out I turned down the scholarship, she was surprisingly supportive. I don’t think she wanted me gone that long. When she found out it was to open a café she cried, but this time tears of joy. She might even be happier than if I got my law degree. At least now she can bring her friends here and boast about her daughter having her own café.
“And they’re delicious. Right, Olivia?” Taryn asks.
“I love the strawberry rolls,” she says.
“You didn’t try the quiche?” Olivia wrinkles her nose up at me. “Well, one day you’ll love quiche.” She shakes her head at me. I roll my eyes at her. She laughs.
“I’m proud of you, love. The place looks great. Ideal location, perfect family environment. You’ll do well here. And the sign looks great,” Taryn says.
“I’m glad we finally came up with a name. It was easier than we thought it would be.” The name of our pride and joy, our dream come true sits in red porcelain letters above the door: Taste.
About the Author
Kris Bryant grew up a military brat living in several different countries before her family settled down in the Midwest when she was twelve. Books were her only form of entertainment overseas, and she read anything and everything within her reach. Reading eventually turned into writing when she decided she didn’t like the way some of the novels ended and wanted to give th
e characters she fell in love with the ending she thought they so deserved.
Earning a B.A. in English from the University of Missouri, Kris focused more on poetry, and after some encouragement from her girlfriend, decided to tackle her own book.
Kris can be contacted at [email protected]
Website: http://www.krisbryant.net
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