by MJ Post
“So was I,” Alia said. “Once. I was really angry when I woke up in the morning and angry when I went to bed at night. I’m not perfect, Madame.”
“Only Allah is perfect,” said the judge. “Chef Lee. You have impressed me consistently. As the show’s youngest competitor, specialized in a cuisine that is generally thought to be an acquired taste, you have served to me dishes with elegance and complexity well beyond your years. I noted with great interest how, the first time you prepared food for our crew — that perfect meal of kimbap in the morning — you won over half a dozen meat-and-potatoes men who doubted you. I knew then that you would win many hearts. No one has ever grown up before my very eyes quite as you have. Additionally, it will serve you well to know that your experiences here have been of great interest to the film editors who have been working behind the scenes on the thousands of hours of recordings we have. You are their favorite competitor, both for your beauty and for your fire.”
Did that sound like the speech for the winner? Kacie wondered.
“You are a young woman I would be proud to call my friend, Chef Lee,” said Nina. “You are welcome to appear at the door of my home at any time, either to visit, or to seek my help in your hour of need. Please forgive me. Strike three. Congratulations, Chef Kamara. You are the winner of the first season of Chef Showdown.”
Alia stumbled. Kacie grabbed and hugged her around the chest and steadied her on her feet.
“Thank you,” Alia whispered. “Thank you, thank you. I promise to do all I can to make you proud.”
“And cut,” Shelley said. “Chef Lee, let’s go to the lounge.”
Kacie’s stomach was boiling with acid and tea as the director led her across the studio. Shelley’s arm was around her shoulders. Toby was sitting inside.
“I lost,” Kacie told him as he rose.
“Shit,” he said.
“No, it’s okay,” Kacie said.
“She deserves it, sure,” said Toby.
They looked at each other as Vince fussed with the camera.
Kacie settled down into the chair. Toby stood with his hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry you didn’t win, Toby. You deserved it, too,” she said.
“Oh, that’s okay,” he said. “Un clou chasse l'autre. Life goes on.”
“Un clou chasse l'autre,” Kacie clumsily repeated. “I have you. You have me. We have great futures.”
Toby nodded. “We sure do.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The New Yorker Hotel
“I can’t believe it,” Toby said. They were standing side by side in the parking area by the security station at the base of the TKN headquarters. Their bags, his duffel and Kacie’s wheeled luggage, were behind them. “Feels like it’s been forever. I haven’t been free to move around since day one. Greatest city in the world, right?”
“Yeah,” Kacie said. “Do you want to go home with me, dump your stuff there? Or at your truck, or your sister’s?”
“I should go check on the truck. Do you want to go with me, or go home and meet later?”
There was a concern in her eyes that he couldn’t understand. “I’ll go with you.”
Toby fished Sal’s business card out of his wallet and dialed. There were about a hundred text messages on his phone, but he’d check them later. While they waited for the Uber driver to arrive, Kacie called her restaurant and had a lengthy conversation with her cousin and her sous chef Clementine.
Toby stood looking in the street for signs of Sal’s car as Kacie spoke in a mixture of English and Korean, to her mother he thought, until a touch on his shoulder made him turn. There was Eloise, her two pink carry-ons behind her, giving him a slightly teary look. “I hope you keep in touch,” she said. “I mean, professionally.”
“Yeah, sure, I will.”
“I want to introduce my brother Marcus to your sister. Could we make that happen, you think?”
“I’ll talk to Lillian about it.”
Eloise leaned in, and he gave her a one-handed hug and a peck on the cheek. “I’m sorry,” he told her.
“Yeah, it’s okay.” Eloise let go, switched her attention to Kacie, who lowered the phone and accepted her handshake. “The best woman won,” she told Kacie.
“That’s gracious of you.”
“No, I have too much of a past. I forget sometimes that there are still people left who have nothing to apologize for. Keep in touch.”
“Sure,” said Kacie.
Eloise grabbed her carry-ons and, their wheels rattling, walked out to the curb and signaled. A yellow cab pulled up immediately. She turned, smiled gently with her eyebrow raised, pointed both open hands at her blond hair, and climbed in. The driver loaded her luggage, and soon she was gone.
“My mom said we should come there for lunch,” said Kacie. “I told her tomorrow. You want to cook, or you want me to?”
“I’d be honored,” Toby said. He’d already met Kacie’s father and felt some mixture of liking and respect for him. Her mother would be tougher to win over, he thought. He was planning to make love to Kacie that night; he suspected her mother would sense something had changed, and hoped that change wouldn’t turn Mrs. Lee against him.
Toby didn’t have Lillian’s office number; it was probably in the text messages. He scrolled through them, skipping over the ones from his parents and Boris till he found the one he wanted, and called directly to his sister’s office extension.
“Hey, Dark,” she said. “They gave your phone back, yay!”
“We’re all done. The show’s over. We’re waiting for our Uber.”
“You won, right?”
“I’m not supposed to say about that. They want suspense for all the viewers, and that includes family.”
“Oh, darn. Okay, I won’t push you. How’s Kacie?”
“She’s here. We’re waiting for a cab.”
“You’re together?”
“We’re together.”
“That’s great! Let me talk to her.”
Toby checked that Kacie was off her own phone, then handed her his. “Lillian.”
Kacie looked at him curiously before taking the phone. Frustratingly, Toby could only hear one end of the conversation. “Hello? Yeah, hi, nice to meet you. Yeah, I know who you are. Uh huh, we are. Yeah, we should, but not tonight. I think tonight we just need some sleep. No, I think we’ll get a hotel room. Toby, you’re not going to your sister’s apartment tonight, are you?”
Toby shook his head, pointed to Kacie, then to himself.
“Yeah, we’re just going to hang out alone tonight, but I do want to meet you soon.”
Alia was now exiting with her own luggage. A Chrysler Town Car had pulled up by the curb. Alia loaded two bags into it, then turned and approached them. “You two come eat at Community Kitchen sometime this week,” she said. “That’s my mom, by the way.” She gestured. A gray-haired black woman waved from the driver’s seat of the town car. “Just call ahead and tell Madge you’re my friends and I said to put you at chef’s table.”
“You’re going to Cleveland soon?” Toby asked. “To see Louie?”
“I have to get the restaurant back in order. I think they’ve been slacking, if you know what I mean. So, after that.”
“We’ll come in a couple of days, like you said, and we’ll bring my sister. Is that cool?”
“I’d love to meet her,” said Alia.
“Hey, congratulations again.”
“Thanks, but it hardly even feels real yet. Okay, my mom is waiting. See you in a few days.”
Kacie finally finished up the call and handed the phone back to Toby. “Strong chick,” was the only comment.
“We’re going to Alia’s sometime this week. I’ll make Lillian join us. Oh, there’s Sal.”
Salvatore’s Honda pulled into the parking lot entrance. He jumped out of the vehicle and loaded their luggage with huge energy. “Hey, you guys sharing a ride?” he asked. “You want a city tour?”
“Not to
day,” Toby said. “We’re going to the parking lot where you first picked me up, then from there you can help us find a hotel.”
“Sure. I’ll make some calls at the red lights. Any particular hotel? I know the concierge at the New Yorker.”
“Sounds fine.”
As they settled into the Honda’s back set, Kacie said, “That’s expensive.”
“It’s just one night. I want tonight to be special.”
Kacie touched his hand. “Me, too. First thing after breakfast tomorrow, we’ll go look in at Koryo Burger, then to my mother for lunch, and then Chinatown for dinner. Sounds good?”
“Sensational.”
“Hey, you guys together?” asked Salvatore.
“Sure are,” said Toby.
He read through all of his text messages during the ride, all, that is, except those from his parents. He called Boris, left a message saying he’d be free to meet the day after tomorrow.
“You had my dad call your sister,” Kacie said. “They had lunch at Momosan with her roommate.”
“Oh? Great.”
“What did you say to my dad? He went from being cold and scary to being a sweet old softie.”
“I just told him I was serious about you and I would treat you right. My guess is he was a sweet old softie all along.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Toby’s step van was covered with a layer of grime and dust. Some was from the road, but most had accumulated in the two weeks it had been parked. After starting the engine and letting it run a while to charge the battery, he paid a few hundred cash to the lot attendant to keep his space for another week; he’d have to find a cheaper place to park it, though, and asked Kacie for a suggestion.
“Not in my neighborhood. All the lots are too small. Maybe in Long Island City. There’s lots of truck parking there. Hey, great design.”
They walked around inside. Toby repacked his duffel with fresh clothes and some documents he expected to need. Kacie examined his equipment. “This is pretty cool. I wish there could be time for us to drive around and cook together in here, but I really need to catch up at Koryo Burger soon. My sous chef Clementine’s a good pro, but the place needs my TLC.”
“Should we go there next?”
“No, tomorrow’s soon enough.”
No longer focused on packing, Toby realized they were alone, and in private, and closed the distance between them. He took her in his arms, linked his hands behind her back. He moved in closer, saw her close her eyes, and kissed her delicately on the lips, two, three times. “It’s so strange,” he said. “I got used to holding back, but here we are.”
“Yeah, it’s dusty, though. Let’s go ahead to the hotel. We need to stop off at a CVS, of course.”
Salvatore got a lucky spot on a crowded block not far from the hotel, and Kacie led Toby in a drugstore with a red logo. “I’ll go get some water, and you get the other stuff.”
Toby quickly found an overhead sign marked ‘Family Planning’ and bought several boxes of condoms. Although he despised junk food, as most chefs do, he still bought some snacks -- fruit leather, pea crisps -- so they would not have to leave the room.
Salvatore drove them to the hotel and reminded Toby that he could have a free city tour in exchange for a meal for himself and his girlfriend. Once the Honda had merged into traffic, Toby followed Kacie into the hotel lobby.
The Wyndham New Yorker Hotel was over forty stories high, had its name in red lettering, and gave a view of the Empire State Building – which Toby had been looking forward to staring at. The hotel’s high-ceilinged lobby had an observation balcony all around, a huge 1930’s-looking chandelier, and a lattice ceiling. Its bicolor marble floor was polished to a fine sheen.
Salvatore’s friend had pulled strings to make them a reservation. Toby gave his credit card to pay for room and incidentals, and they went to the elevator. He had shoved the bag of condoms into his duffel, but the white plastic of the bag was caught in the zipper and rattled.
“This is it,” Toby said.
“This is it, country boy,” said Kacie.
“I respect you,” he said.
“I get that, yeah.”
“I’m not holding back once we get started.”
The elevator dinged.
“Me, either.”
Toby pushed the button for their floor.
“You’re scared?”
“I’m not scared anymore,” she said. “But we should take showers first.”
The elevator opened. An elderly couple got on and pushed the button for a different floor. Both wore enormous rosy smiles.
“You guys look happy,” Toby said.
“Our son’s getting married,” the old woman said.
“It’s his first time getting married,” the old man said.
The elevator stopped. Kacie and Toby got off.
“The two of you look happy, too,” said the old woman.
“It’s my first time getting laid,” Kacie told the couple. The door shut.
Toby giggled, then let his duffel fall and bent over double. “I bet they weren’t expecting to hear that.”
“Well, they have a son, so they must have had a first time together, right?”
Toby lifted his duffel again. “We could shower together, you know.”
“Yeah, after. I just need to get my act together a little.”
The key-card let them into a thirtieth-floor room with two queen beds, their coverlets beige and brown, with black padding on the wall as a headboard. Two small windows offered spectacular sunny views of the city. Toby set his duffel down on the bed further from the door and unzipped it. Kacie threw her smaller luggage on the bed, opened it, took out a silk robe and a toiletry kit. She stepped out of her shoes, fished in the luggage for some slippers and a plastic bag that looked like it also had shoes in it. “Look, my auntie gave me these for good luck when we opened the restaurant.” She pulled out from the bag a set of black high heels. “Ferragamo. No way I could wear these and cook. My feet hurt like crazy.”
Toby took out a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt with the logo of his business. The bag of condom boxes hovered at the top of the duffel. “I’ve got to kiss you,” he said, and moved in to plant a serious kiss on her lips. He tested with his tongue; she opened her lips to admit it, but her teeth were pressed together.
“You should open your teeth too, and kind of put your tongue forward so it feels mine,” Toby explained.
“Yeah, sorry. Try again.”
Toby wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Their warm tongues caressed each other for a moment before Kacie broke away. “Shower.”
“Yeah, sorry. Go ahead. Just — right there.” He guided her hand to where his erection was swelling against his dark trousers. He was afraid she would shy away, but she caressed it gently. “I’ve been dreaming about this since the day we met. Mm, it’s a big one. Can I say that?”
“Say anything.”
She let go. “Just keep it ready for me.”
She went in the bathroom and shut the door. Toby stood in place for a few seconds, missing her touch, stepped over to the window and drew the curtains shut — not that anyone could easily look in them on the higher floor where they were staying — and then finally settled on the bed. Got up again, headed for the box of condoms. Walked back and sat in the same spot. No, they’d need the condoms. He got up again, fished in the bag for the largest box and tore it open and put the strip of condoms on the bedside table nearer the bathroom. He could imagine the hot water streaming across her nude body inside. That body would soon be his to touch.
∞∞∞
Kacie had expected Toby to back off multiple times. She had more than halfway expected to be left at the curb outside the TKM offices. When Eloise had said, “The best woman won,” Kacie paradoxically expected that to be followed by Eloise taking Toby along with her in the cab. Toby stayed. The kisses in the step van were how she imagined a man kissed just to be polite. Toby stayed. Kacie had tested
his resolve yet again by telling him to buy the condoms. She expected him to demur, even separated from him so he would have a chance to abandon her unobserved, to abandon her sooner rather than later. Toby stayed.
It’s crazy, Kacie told herself. High school doesn’t matter anymore. This guy actually likes me. He’s really mine. I really have a man of my own. At some point I have to start believing that. At some point there just isn’t any reason to doubt anymore.
And then she tested him again by letting him pay for the room, and yet again by telling him to wait outside while she showered, even though she wanted him naked next to her in the worst way.
Standing in the glass-walled stall shower, Kacie soaped herself thoroughly. She decided to wash and condition her hair so it would be nice and silky and Toby would want to caress it.
She imagined him stroking her hair, and fingered herself as the water ran across her face. Her man was near. The mystery of her youth was about to replaced with glorious experience. Little pulses of excitement radiated through her lower body.
There was no sound from outside. Barge in, Toby, she thought to herself. Barge in, come in naked and grab me.
He didn’t. Kacie finally stepped out of the shower onto a rumpled floor towel and wiped the steam off the mirror with her hand. Then she opened the bathroom door. “Toby, are you still there?”
“I’m still here,” he answered.
She shut the door, toweled off, and began to blow-dry her hair. The bathroom was way too steamy. She opened and cracked the door. “Just a minute, then you can take your turn.”
Toby walked in completely naked.
She loved the lean arms, the curly dark hair on his chest, the line of hair running down his navel and across wonderful abs to that absolutely beautifully shaped dick she had been dreaming about. She stepped up and took it in her hand. “You’re all mine.”
He stiffened immediately, reached into the front of her robe to take her right breast in his hand. His fingertips traced around her nipple. “You’re all mine,” he said.