Page 27 of In a Pinch

Iam not sure why I thought this was a good idea. Probably has something to do with the fact that Addie is the first person in forever to make me laugh. And put me in my place. It’s probably more of the latter. For being the bubbliest person I’ve ever met, she knows how to bust balls like no one's business. Seeing her cry was like a punch to the gut. So, I did the only thing I could think of: take her to my happy place.

And I offered to drive in a desperate attempt to get more of her.

“Well, Prince Charming, where are you taking me?” she asks me from the passenger seat.

“I need to prove to you that Cal is a rookie in the kitchen compared to me.” The best way to impress a woman is to doit through her stomach. Once again, why am I wanting more of her? This is a bad idea, and I already know it.

“Damn, your ego is really that fragile. How have you ever survived in the wild?”

I scoff at that. “My ego is not sensitive. I’m a professional cook. Obviously, I’m the better cook.”

“Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night. Also, you only explained what we are doing, but where are we headed?” She looks over at me and the glow from the city lights bounce off her face, making her look even more beautiful. She has her long, red hair tied up into a delicate top knot. Somehow, she looks just as classy in fitted jeans and a sweater as she does in her dressed-up work attire.

“We’re headed toward Flambé. It’s where I work. The owner lets me come down and experiment with food and recipes on days we are closed, and it just so happens that we’re closed every Monday. What is your favorite thing to eat?”

“Wow, starting out with the hard questions, huh?” She taps her chin, deep in thought. “Okay, this is the most basic answer, but I feel like you can't beat a really good mac and cheese. Or biscuits and gravy. Chicken alfredo is good, too, though.”

“We’ll go with the first one. If I make the best mac and cheese of your life, you have to admit I’m a better cook than my brother.”

“Okay, and if you don’t, what do I get?” she asks, cocking her head to the side.

“A lifetime of rubbing it in my face that my brother can cook better than me.”

“Oooh, we’re bringing in the sibling rivalry? I like it. You’ve got a deal.”

We pull up to Flambé, and its matte black exterior mixed with murals of flames makes the place really stand out. Walking inthe back doors, I immediately feel more relaxed. The kitchen is my safe haven, and this particular one is my favorite.

“All right, over here are the walk-in fridge and walk-in freezer.” I open the door so she can see inside, and we get blasted by a rush of cold air. “Don’t piss off the bus boys or they will lock you in there. Don’t ask how I know.” She follows as I give her the grand tour. “This space back here stores all our dry goods: pasta, beans, and whatever else we need it to.”

“Now, when it comes to the cooking stations, we have a few spots. The first island,” I run my hand across the butcher block top, “is used to cut vegetables. Can you guess why we don’t cut meat on here?”

She gives me the deer in the headlights look, which answers all my questions. Good cook, but knows jack shit about food safety. “We can’t use butcher block on meat since it would absorb the juices and bacteria, making it a breeding ground. We only use the stainless steel tops to prepare meat with just in case.”

“Do you not use a cutting board?”

“We do when we cut the meat, but we still don't want to risk it. And, sometimes, once it is prepared, it sits off to the side, while the rest gets prepped.” She nods, and I point to the stainless steel top.

“Here is where we prep the meat, and we have little basins to help hold them all to temperature.” We move on to the next little station, and Addie runs her hands across the cold stainless steel as we pass it.

“Now, this is my favorite: the main line. This is where the magic happens. We get all the plain prepped items and turn it into something delicious. Tonight, we will make some grown-up mac and cheese.” She claps her hands in excitement, and I can’t help but smile.

Addie follows closely behind as I walk over to the food storage and gather our ingredients. Heavy cream, milk, butter, flour,breadcrumbs, noodles, a handful of herbs and spices, and some chicken, because we want this to be a real meal. I start running out of room in my hands when I grab some brussels sprouts and stuff to make a glaze. So, I pile it in Addie’s arms, and then head on back to our station.

I tap my hand on the counter as an indication for Addie to sit.

“Oh no, buddy. I am not just going to sit here. Give me a job.”

“Okay, but please don’t cut off your fingers. I like my job here and would like to keep it.”

She brings her hand to her chest, faking insult. “First of all, I’m a professional chopper. You should put some respect on my name.”

Yeah, I’ll believe her when I see it. I’ve heard plenty of people say they have good knife work, and half of them end up in the ER.

I go under the workstation, where we have our tools and extra appliances hidden, and pull out a mandolin. And because I don’t trust her to not shave her fingertips off, I also grab a thick rubber glove we use on new hires without any experience.

“Here. Can you shred these brussels sprouts?” I ask, setting the mandolin down in front of her, along with the glove.

“How many should I do?”

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