Susan Mallery - Delicious

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he said. “I didn’t mean for you to find out.”

She walked into the bedroom and began pulling clothes off hangers. “Interesting. You’re not sorry you were cheating on me, you’re just sorry you were caught.” She heard him move into the room. “With a student, Hugh. That’s tacky, even for you.”

“It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“You have no idea what I’m thinking.” She tossed the clothes into an open box, then glared at him. “You don’t know anything about me. I’m furious. You want a divorce. Fine. We’ll get one. You’ve moved on. I can accept that. But what I can’t accept is that you’re messing around with your students. God knows how many.”

“Don’t be insulting.”

“Oh, right. Because only sleeping with one of them is so noble. What a great man you are. How proud we all are.” She moved close and stared down at him. “I was there for you, you bastard. Every day from the second you were hurt. I gave up my life to help you. I encouraged you, I begged you to keep living. I loved you with every fiber of my being. What I expected in return was for you to love me just as much. And if you couldn’t do that, I expected you to respect me. But you didn’t.”

“Sure. Make me the bad guy.”

She wanted to scream. “How am I at fault in any of this?”

“I just wanted a divorce. Why is that a crime?”

“It’s not, you bastard. You lied and cheated. You betrayed me. That student isn’t the first. I’m stunned to find out you’re a lousy human being.”

He glared at her. “Because I’m in a wheelchair, you expect me to be a saint? I’m not supposed to have flaws like other men, because I’m not really a man?”

She’d never wanted to hit another person before in her life, but the urge to pick up a lamp and crash it over Hugh’s head was incredibly powerful.

“I expect you to be a decent person because we’re married,” she yelled. “I expected you to honor your wedding vows because I thought you had a sense of morality and because I thought you cared about me and our relationship. Not everything is about you being in a wheelchair. You being an asshole has absolutely nothing to do with you being in a wheel chair. You’d be one even if you could run a marathon. Now get out of here so I can finish getting my things.”

“Dani-”

“Get out!”

“THE MUSHROOMS SMELL FUNNY,” Penny said as she held a clean cloth to her left ring finger.

“They’re mushrooms,” Naomi told her. “They’re supposed to smell funny. Do you need stitches?”

Penny rolled her eyes. “Is my finger still attached to my hand?”

“Yes. Fine. Be that way.”

Cal walked into the kitchen. He was moving a little slow, but otherwise was doing fine since his procedure. “How much is she bleeding?” he asked Naomi.

“I’m fine,” Penny said.

“It was a gusher,” Naomi said. “But I don’t think she went down to the bone.”

“Good to know,” Cal said. “I could forcibly take her to the urgent care center.”

“No, you couldn’t.” Penny moved between them. “I’m right here in the room. Stop ignoring me. I’m fine. Cuts and burns come with the territory. I’m fine. It’s barely even bleeding.”

Not that she was willing to let up on the pressure just yet, but in a few minutes, she would. Naomi would put on a butterfly bandage and all would be well. If she rushed around screaming for medical care every time someone got cut in the kitchen, no one would ever get fed.

“Hey, it’s here,” Dani yelled as she walked into the kitchen. “The write-up on new restaurants, and yes, you’re mentioned.”

She set the newspaper on the stainless-steel counter and flipped through the pages. The two cooks already chopping vegetables there moved in close, as did Edouard. Penny wiggled in front of both Naomi and Cal. If she stayed behind them, she wouldn’t see a thing.

Suddenly the sting from her cut faded as an entire squad of butterflies took up residence in her stomach.

“They had to say something good, right?” she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. “Why say something bad?”

“Because it’s the newspaper,” Naomi grumbled. “What do they know about good food?”

“They are the sort of people who eat fast food,” Edouard muttered.

Penny bit her lower lip as Dani continued to flip pages. She stopped on a huge spread featuring new restaurants in the Seattle area.

A friend of a friend had warned her about the write-up and had mentioned there was a bit on The Waterfront. Now Penny scanned the page until she saw a small box.

“There!” she said, as she pointed.

They all leaned forward to read it.

“I’ll do it,” Dani said, snatching up the paper. “Okay. While we here at the paper were only interested in new restaurants for this feature, The Waterfront has risen like a phoenix from the ashes. A few short months ago one was guaranteed old fish and a tired, uninspiring menu; these days The Waterfront is the place for fabulous dining. It’s not just that chef Penny Jackson has redefined delicious with her innovative menus and clever pairings, it’s that the dining room, with its wonderful views and good service, provides the perfect backdrop for an exciting and addictive culinary experience.”

Penny screamed and jumped up and down. Naomi joined her and they hugged each other while they jumped. Cal put his arms around both of them and suddenly there was a group hug in the kitchen.

“Congratulations,” he said to Penny. “I knew we could do it.”

“Me, too. Although you’re just in charge of the backdrop. I have an addictive menu!” She held up her uninjured hand and hit it against Cal’s. “I knew we were good, but I didn’t think anyone else was smart enough to figure it out.”

“It seems they are.”

“Yay, us.”

“I’ve always liked newspaper people,” Edouard said.

“We should celebrate,” Naomi said. “I vote for liquor.”

“Sure. Cheap champagne all around.” He handed her the keys to the liquor closet.

Penny laughed and moved to the walk-in refrigerator where she removed a small piece of tuna.

“Hungry?” Cal asked when she returned to the counter and began cutting it up.

“It’s for Al. Our cat,” she added, when he looked blank. “He’s been doing a great job with rodent control. I’m inviting him to the party.”

She put the tuna in a dish and walked to the back hallway. After calling for a couple of minutes, she watched the large cat appear. She patted it, then put down the plate of tuna. Al inhaled it in less than thirty seconds.

“I didn’t know he was a fish lover,” Cal said from the doorway.

“He’s a cat with great taste. That was premium tuna.”

Al took himself off to clean up after his meal and Penny picked up the plate. She smiled at Cal. “We did good.”

“I agree. I thought it would take longer, but I’m not complaining.”

“Me, either.”

There was something about the way he looked at her. Something that made her insides get all quivery and her mouth go dry.

“About that rain check,” he said with a smile.

“Yes?”

“Penny?” Dani called. “You have a call. It’s your mom.”

“Be right there.” She looked at Cal. “Sorry.”

“Don’t sweat it. I know where you live.”

A promise she would hold him to, she thought as she walked toward the phone and checked her cut. The bleeding had stopped. As she picked up the phone, she held out her finger to Naomi.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, dear. Your father and I saw the article about you in the paper. It’s wonderful. Congratulations.”

Naomi appeared with the first aid kit and went to work on trimming several dressings down to the right shape and size.

“Thanks,” Penny said, holding the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she ran her finger under water and tried not to wince.

“We’ve decided we can’t wait another minute to see the place. We’re driving over.”

“That’s great. When?”

“In a couple of weeks. I know Saturday is your busiest day, so we’ll arrive Sunday and stay until Tuesday.”

Naomi fitted the bandage in place and secured it with tape.

“That’s great,” Penny said. “I’m looking forward to seeing you and Dad.”

“Oh, not just us. Your sisters are coming, too. And the kids. Sean and Jack can’t take off, which is too bad.”

“The whole clan,” she said weakly. “My house is kind of small. Oh, and I have a temporary roommate.”

“Not to worry,” her mother said. “We have hotel rooms. I’ll e-mail you the details. We’re really looking forward to this, Penny.”

“Me, too.”

They chatted a few more minutes, then hung up. Naomi sipped from her champagne glass and grinned. “Hell of a time to be pregnant, huh?”

Penny eyed the liquor enviously. “Tell me about it. My parents are coming, along with my sisters and their kids. They’re going to want to see the restaurant.”

“Yes, they are.”

“They’re going to poke through my house and want to talk about the future.”

“Parents are like that.”

“They’ll worry about me having a baby on my own.”

“Sure.”

Edouard swore in French. “The back burners are out. All four of them. I cannot work in conditions like this.”

Penny groaned. She couldn’t afford to lose half her burners. Not when they were expecting a full house.

“I’ll call,” she said as she hurried toward her office. Welcome to her world, she thought. Where it was always insane.

“Then we need to talk about the mushrooms,” Naomi told her. “They smell funny.”

“THANKS FOR COMING,” Cal said. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to,” Penny told him as they walked through the hospital.

He doubted that visiting his daughter would make the top-five list of ways she wanted to spend her day, but he appreciated her willingness to accompany him.