Page 11 of Happy Endings

She tapped impatiently while he reheated the stew and rice. He’d gotten the idea to serve the rich, buttery stew over scorched rice. Technically it was the scorched rice at the bottom of the pot. Normally he’d scoop out the steamed rice and dump the scorched part. Until he went over for dinner at Trixie’s house.

When her mom scooped the scorched crust into a bowl and filled it with a vegetable soup, he was curious. Trixie taught him how to eat it. Once Andre had tasted the crunchy, nutty rice mixed with the flavorful broth, he was hooked.

He’d forgotten about the scorched rice, but this morning, the idea came to him. Seeing Trixie again was bringing back too many memories. At least he could channel some of it into his cooking.

“Usually shrimp etouffee over steamed rice is too mushy—texturally,” he explained as he set the bowl in front of Keisha. “So I’m serving it over scorched rice.”

“Shut up and let me taste it.” Keisha grabbed her spoon and dug in. “Oh my God, that’s—” She stuffed another spoonful into her mouth.

“I guess you like it.” He chuckled.

Keisha held up a finger to quiet him while she scarfed down the rest of the bowl.

“That was so fun to eat.” She wiped her mouth. “Where did you get this idea?”

“Um, I—” He wasn’t ready to tell her about Trixie. Then he’d have to tell Keisha how badly he’d mangled their breakup.

“Never mind, I don’t care where you got it, we need to serve this in the restaurant. Maybe invite some food bloggers to try it.” Keisha was practically bouncing. “We need a catchy name for it.”

“We can’t serve it. It’s not Mama’s recipe.” He couldn’t change her legacy. If they put it on the menu and it became popular, he’d have to go back into the kitchen to change even more of her recipes.

“How about Crispy Etouffee? Or Etouffee Surprise? No that sounds too much like Tuna Casserole Surprise.”

“Keisha, stop.” Andre grabbed her arm to quiet her. “This is just for fun. Not for public consumption.”

“But think of all the bougie people who would come for this!”

“I’ll think of another way to bring in more business. One that doesn’t blaspheme Mama’s food. You should concentrate on school.I’m the head of the family now. I’ll figure out how to save the restaurant.”

“I wish you’d stop being such a man!” Keisha smacked his shoulder.

“Hey! What was that for?” He grimaced and rubbed his shoulder. That really hurt.

“Stop treating me like a kid! I’m twenty-six and I want to be an equal partner in this restaurant,” Keisha demanded, hands on her hips.

“You are an equal partner. Mama left the restaurant to both of us.”

“Waiting tables and helping Luis in the kitchen doesn’t count,” she huffed. “I can help you with the management and accounting and still get my classwork done. The experience will be good for me.”

His sister had a point. She’d been taking business classes at the community college. Some real-life experience would be good for her. But he wanted her to focus on her degree first, without the burden of past-due invoices.

“After you finish your accounting class this semester, you can help me with the books,” he conceded.

Keisha’s face lit up with a huge grin. Her eyes glittered. He knew that look. She had some kind of scheme up her sleeve.

“Spill it, Keisha.”

“Let’s hold another bachelorette party,” she blurted. “Look at how much money we made last—”

“NO!” His voice boomed in their small kitchen.

Keisha jumped, and her face fell.

“You didn’t have to yell at me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice softened. “We’re a family restaurant.On a block with a used bookstore, a hair salon, and other businesses who don’t sell sex toys. What would everyone around us think?”

“They’d be excited for the foot traffic. Didn’t you say if the hipsters would walk a few blocks past District Market, we’d make more money?”

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