Sweet Bits (10 page)

“Yeah”, chuckled Ben. “I don’t remember you as a particularly patient person.”

Ali wanted to change the subject. “So how’s your day going?”

“Uh, it’s fine, I guess. I’ve spent the better part of the day in court and now I’m just about to head home and I wanted to see if you’d like me to stop by the hospital and wait with you?”

Ben, sweet Ben. She did want to see him, but wasn’t sure it was such a good idea. “Nah, it’s OK,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll be hearing something soon and you’ve had a long day. You should just go home.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind…”

“No, thanks, though. I appreciate the offer. I’ll call you later, OK?”

She hung up and immediately second-guessed her decision. A hug in his strong arms would really help right about now. She walked back to the waiting room with resolve to be more patient.

“Why didn’t you want him to come, honey?” asked Toni when Ali told her about Ben’s call.

“Oh, I don’t know. I think this should just be family, I guess.”

“Ben practically
is
family, Ali. I know you haven’t seen each other in a while, but I remember he was a permanent fixture around the dining table when you were a kid. He ate with us, what? Three times a week?”

Ali smiled at the memory. Ben was always around. His parents worked a lot as a kid. His mom was a nurse and often worked swing shifts. His dad spent late hours at his law firm and Ben, an only child, often ate alone or at Ali’s house.

“That’s funny. I hadn’t thought about that for a long time,” she said. She remembered one night when her Dad had gone to bed early. She and Ben had stayed up watching a movie. She had fallen asleep with her head of his shoulder and when she woke up just after the movie ended, they had kissed. It was the one time it ever happened and it was awkward, like kissing her brother. They both agreed it was a silly mistake and they’d forget about and never talk about it.

Toni watched Ali. She had seen her niece with Ben in her younger teen years and wondered why they never dated. Ali had explained they were just friends, but what about now? Surely there were some feelings between them that extended past friendship?

“Why didn’t you two ever end up as a couple?” asked Toni.

Ali abruptly shook out of her moment walking down memory lane. “You know why, Toni. We’ve always been friends. It was just…weird.”

“Well, maybe back then, but what about now? I see how you two look at each other when the other one isn’t looking,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, quit it, Ali. You
know
what I mean. You both have feelings for each other. It’s as plain as the nose on my face.”

“Really?” Did Ben really look at her that way?

“Yes, really. Don’t you?”

“Well, I…” Could she admit her feelings about Ben out loud? Could she tell Toni? She hadn’t said it out loud to anyone, but was it that obvious?

She continued. “I guess I do. I really think I do.” She looked at Toni and her aunt could see the fear in her beautiful niece’s eyes.

Toni hugged her. “Oh, honey, don’t worry. Don’t be afraid of love. Ben loves you. I know he does. Everyone knows it. You just have to be honest with yourself and admit how you feel. You both do.”

Ali was happy and scared at the same time. It felt good to admit it. It also felt incredibly scary. What if she put her heart out there and got hurt?

“You aren’t dating anyone, are you?” asked Toni shuffling through her enormous bag, retrieving a lipstick and swiping it on without a mirror.

“No.”

“Is he?”

“I don’t think so. He doesn’t talk about women to me.”

Toni gave her a
well-then-you-have-your-answer
look. “Don’t you think you two should have a talk?”

Ali sat back on in the chair where she’d spent the better part of the day. “I guess… I don’t’ know. What if he doesn’t feel the same way? I’d feel like a fool.”

“Feel him out. I’m sure he does and he’ll be relieved to get it out in the open. Then you two can get on with it and be together, get married, have a bunch of kids … like you know you want to.”

Toni definitely said what was on her mind. Ali laughed at her aunt’s candid assessment of her future. She wondered. Could it be as easy as that?

She wondered about it for the next hour until the doctor came out, gave a positive review of the surgery and informed them that her father would be groggy for the rest of the night, but they could see him for a moment.

As the staff wheeled him out of recovery and to his room, Ali grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Good job, Dad,” she said. “You’re going to be fine.”

Her Dad looked at her through glassy eyes for just a moment. He gave her the thumbs up and promptly went out again.

It was good enough for Ali. She’d prayed all day and took a moment to silently give a warm thank you to God. When the chips were down she always knew where she could turn and He was always there for her.

Ali spent the week wrestling with insurance, the hospital and her own bank account. Her Dad’s bills were starting to roll in and she was struggling to manage it. She couldn’t imagine the amount of paperwork that went into having a medical issue. She resolved then and there to take better care of herself.

At the end of a stressful day she decided to take a hot bath. It was a nominal reward for finally getting a handle on the financial issues that took up her days. She added lots of bath gel and the bubbles started growing quickly. The white mass of fluff smelled faintly of jasmine. She lit a candle, turned on the stereo to a smooth jazz song she liked and started to undo her pink terry robe and climb in. Her phone rang.

She looked at the screen. Ben. She answered carrying the phone to the tub. She’d enjoy a long soak and a talk with her favorite person.

“Al, I’ve got a problem,” he said.

“Hi to you, too,” she joked.

“Oh, sorry, hi. I was hoping to come over and talk. I need some advice.”

“Uh, OK,” she said. She looked longingly at the tub beckoning to her. “I was just going to get in the tub.”

“Oh, sorry. Uh, how about in an hour?”

She agreed. A short bath was better than no bath. She placed her phone on the bathroom counter where she could see the time. She’d try to relax and be done and dressed before he got there.

Wondering what the problem was that he was having, she sank low in the tub and let the bubbles meet her chin. A better feeling in the world she did not know.

An hour and fifteen minutes later they sat on her living room sofa. Ben explained about his friend Jay, now going by Jason, and how they came to meet again after a few years.

Ali listened but still didn’t understand.

“Well, he’s offered me a job,” Ben finally blurted out. “In Oakland, California!”

“What?” Ali couldn’t believe her ears.

“Yeah, he works at a public service law firm and called me today and said that if I was up for it, they’d love to have me work for them. They’ve seen the work I’ve done here and they need someone who can fight and win cases like I’ve been working on.”

“In California?”

“Yeah,” said Ben. “Can you believe it? It’s just the kind of work I was doing on these pro bono cases here. I think I’d really like it.”

Ali was stunned. Her Ben was possibly moving away. It was more than she could process.

“I don’t know what to do,” he went on. “They offered me a job at the firm while I studied and took the California bar and then after I pass, I’d be a Junior Associate or something like that. I can’t remember exactly what he said. I was too stunned.”

“The California bar? You’d have to take the bar again?”

“Yeah, that’s the only drag. I’d need to be licensed in that state. He said that I could work as a consultant while I was studying and then once I passed I’d get a full position.”

Ali’s calm demeanor from her wonderful bath went away and her brain raced with all Ben was saying.

“So wadddya think?” he asked.

“Ben…uh, I don’t know…” she was flummoxed.

“I know. I feel the same way.” He paused. “You know with you going to school out there, I would have jumped at it, but now…”

Ali watched him. Maybe Toni was right about how Ben felt about her… She couldn’t think about that right now.

“Well, it certainly sounds like and amazing offer,” she said.

“Yeah,” said Ben. “The money isn’t as good as here. It’s a whole different type of law and clients, but the work…well, it would definitely be more interesting to me.”

“Can’t you find a job doing that type of work here?”

Ben looked at her for a long moment. He hadn’t really thought about it. Chicago was a big city. Surely he could find something. Of course! Why hadn’t it occurred to him before now?

“Seriously, Ben? You haven’t thought about it?”

“You know, I haven’t. I know that sounds dumb, but I guess I’ve just been caught up in what’s going on my firm and didn’t think to look outside of it.”

He stopped and looked out the window. It was dusk and the street lights were just starting to come on. “I guess I was just kind of hoping that my firm would take on more cases that I liked and I’d get to go on with those.”

He sighed heavily. “But now my boss has informed me that won’t be happening. They basically just used me to keep the Mayor happy and make the firm look good.”

Ali frowned. She could never understand how he could work in corporate law. Everyone knew it was unfulfilling money trap. “So put out some feelers. With your recent success, I’m sure you’ll have your pick of jobs.”

Ben brightened. “I’m so glad I came over here. I feel so much better. Of course, I’d love to go out to San Francisco, but it’s not like it’s my dream. I like it right here.”

Ali felt a little envious. It was
her
dream. Why couldn’t someone call and offer her an amazing job in California? She remembered that she had been offered an amazing job right here in her home city. She was immediately grateful and felt bad for being jealous. She smiled at him. “So, now that that’s settled, how about some dinner? I’ve been craving Chinese all day.”

***

Ali’s first day at the Golden Palm was a huge disappointment. She had assumed she’d be learning to bake luscious pastries and getting in on trade secrets from their famous chef.

Instead she spent the day working as a prep cook grating cheese for Gruyere biscuits, chopping nuts for pralines and mixing spices. The day started early, before she normally got up. It was tiring work and although she wasn’t doing anything inspiring, she enjoyed just being in the kitchen.

“Is this right?” she asked one of the other prep cooks and got a grunt. “Go ask Marcella,” he said pointing across the kitchen.

Ali looked over to see Marcella, a large woman with skin the color of maple syrup. She wore the largest white chef’s jacket Ali had ever seen and remained seated at all times. Ali carried her bowl of chopped nuts over for inspection.

“Are these the right size?” she asked.

Marcella looked at the nuts. “Did you do these by hand?”

“Yes.”

Marcella looked at Ali as if to say “are you an idiot?” “Why didn’t you use the processor?” She pointed over to a corner and a huge food processor.

“No one told me…” Ali felt stupid. Of course! A food processor. She always chopped her nuts by hand when baking at home but certainly a restaurant uses equipment. She had a lot to learn.

“Humph!” grunted Marcella loudly. “Well, ask next time.” She went back to marking things off on her clipboard.

Ali stood there. Should she do a whole new batch? Run these through the processor? “Uh,” she hesitated, but had to ask. “What should I do with these?”

“Who’s training you?” asked Marcella abruptly. She was obviously not happy to be interrupted with this newbie’s questions.

“Uh, John was showing me around and then I haven’t seen him in a while. He told me to chop the nuts, so I did.”

“John.” Marcella rolled her eyes. “OK, come with me,” she lifted her huge body off the chair while holding the table and walked to the processor. She walked like a penguin with a side-to-side gait.

“This here’s your nut chopper, put those in here and press number three on the keypad. It’ll give you a nice, fine chop. When you’re done, let me know.”

She walked off. “John! John!” She shouted walking to the side door of the kitchen where Ali saw John put out his cigarette and run inside.

“John, you know better than to leave a trainee alone,” said Marcella in a loud voice the whole kitchen could here.

John nodded and ran over to Ali. “Hey, so how’s it going?” he asked.

Ali explained the past few minute’s events and the rest of the day John was never more than arm’s length away.

After her shift, she was exhausted. As she gathered her things to leave, a woman about her age opened the locker next to hers. “Hi,” she said. “I’m April. You new in the pastry kitchen?”

“Yeah. Today’s my first day,” she said looking at the women with strawberry blonde curls, a round face and huge blue eyes.

“Marcella come down on you?” she asked.

“Yeah, she did. I didn’t chop the nuts right,” Ali admitted.

April laughed. “Yeah, I’ll bet. Her bark is worse than her bite. She’s not bad.” April swiped on some lip balm.

“We’re all going to over Max’s for a drink. Want to come?” she asked Ali.

Ali was beat, but maybe getting out with the staff would help tomorrow be a little easier. She would go for one drink.

***

Three hours later Ali walked into her apartment with an entirely different viewpoint. She’d stayed and had a burger and met the whole kitchen crew while learning John practically lived on smoke-break and if you couldn’t find him just look outside; Marcella was the kitchen “Mistress” as the staff called her and although she didn’t move much, she knew everything that was going on at every moment.

The Pastry Chef was Adolphe, who was from Belgium and thought of himself as above the rest of them. The pastry kitchen was its own domain and different from the regular kitchen where the staff was three-fold larger and more boisterous. Adolphe liked a quiet, intense environment and could not bear the barroom atmosphere that went on in hot foods.

“You may not meet him for weeks,” she was told by April who was a line cook and not only friendly but slightly protective of Ali as another female on staff. “These guys will eat you up and spit you out,” she said. “I’ll keep ‘em in line,” she said.

“Thanks,” said Ali. The few minutes she’d spent in the hot kitchen was like a different planet from the pastry kitchen. They were all shouting orders and various other things, including several four-letter words back and forth. The kitchen where she worked was quiet and practically sterile in comparison.

“Wish I’d had someone like me when I started. I was the only girl in a sea of rowdy guys,” said April drinking her beer.

“Really? That must have been rough.”

“Yeah, it was a regular frat house,” she said. “I was pretty naïve. I’d just gotten out of school and had only one other job, working at a coffee shop up in Wisconsin.”