Page 250 of The Holy Grail
His hair was styled to look neat, but casual, and he was told to wear his glasses, as they made him look hot, smart, and earnest.
The interview was done in the kitchen, so the state-of-the-art appliances might be seen, as well as the overall beauty of the space, to showcase his devotion to cooking.
“Your coffee machine will probably seal the deal,” Evan said.
He and Jules were asked to leave the house during the interview, per Malcom’s request, because he didn’t want the added stress of them listening in, so they complied.
Once the zoom call started, Malcom felt himself relax a little as introductions were made, followed by some small talk. By the time they got down to discussing his motivation for studying culinary arts—and in a foreign country, no less—he was feeling pretty good.
What might have been an awkward moment, when Dawn Corleone jumped up on the island and came over to Malcom in search of behind-the-ear scratches, turned into a bit of bonding, as the three people on the other end all owned cats and could relate. There was even laughter when Dawn Corleone turned her attention to the laptop screen andput her face right up to it, filling the screen for several moments before losing interest and walking away, her tail in the air and leaving them with the parting shot of her butt.
The interview took almost an hour, and when it was over, he released a huge sigh of relief because it had gone better than he’d hoped. With a glance at Dawn Corleone, who was now curled up on a kitchen chair, he murmured, “Actually, I think you’re probably going to seal the deal.”
A few days before Thanksgiving, Malcom found out he’d been accepted into the École Ducasse program and he’d be receiving his admissions package soon in the mail. Upon receiving it, he needed to sign some of the paperwork and return it, then make a prepayment deposit to confirm enrollment.
The day it arrived, he did both … but kept it a secret.
Richard and Edie flew in for the holiday and stayed in one of the guest rooms. Things were much more relaxed during this visit as the Shaws (particularly Richard) got to see Malcom, Jules, and Evan in their natural habitat, and watch how they interacted with one another now that the initial awkwardness of the first meeting was over.
On Thanksgiving day, Beverly and Evangeline both came over early so they could meet the Shaws and everyone could get to know one another. In the afternoon, Paige, David, Julian, and Jacob arrived, followed shortly after by Valerie and Dolly, packing the house full.
It was also Malcom’s 43rd birthday, so there was a lot going on.
He’d informed Jules, Evan, and his mom there were to be no gifts, because at forty-three, the gift was having lived to see another year. Amazingly, they’d all complied with his order, but he did end up receiving several cards from people as they arrived, because of course Jules and Evan had mentioned Malcom’s birthday to everyone they invited.
The best ‘card’ was from Jacob, who’d drawn a picture of Malcom with stacks of colorful presents around him.
While Jules played hostess to everyone, refilling beverages and laying out snacks, Beverly, Edie, Evangeline, and Valerie helped Malcom in the kitchen. A few things had been prepped the day before, so they helped finish those dishes while he focused on the turkey, ham, and a chocolate soufflé. He’d gone with the ‘traditional’ dishes, but had made them all a little more fancy—real yams topped with dried cherries and marshmallows, homemade cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges, deviled eggs with a splash of white wine, homemade stuffing with pine nuts, celery, and sage, scratch gravy, fresh green bean casserole with mushrooms and slivered almonds, and mashed potatoes with sour cream, layered with cheese and bacon bits, and hot cross buns. The turkey had soaked in a brine for twenty-four hours, with onions, orange slices, garlic, herbs, peppercorns, white wine, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar, and the ham was brushed with a brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and pineapple juice glaze.
Even the snacks Jules set out were fancy: a walnut covered bacon and ranch cheese ball with crackers, a mango chutney cheese ball with pretzel chips, and prosciutto, bacon, and mozzarella roll-ups, with a creamy aioli sauce on the side. There was also a plate of Snickerdoodles.
Richard, David, Evan, Paige, Julian, and Dolly hung out in the living room and watched the Detroit Lions/Houston Texans football game, while Jacob drew pictures.
Julian got passed around, even finding his way briefly into Malcom’s arms, and while it wasn’t too awkward anymore, it still didn’t feel natural. He was definitely more comfortable holding cooking utensils.
With the TV on, conversations all around, people getting up and mingling, and Jacob (and Evan) sneaking the occasional Snickerdoodle, it was a fairly boisterous day, and it only got more so as they sat down to eat. To accommodate twelve people and a baby, Jules’ table and chairs had been moved into the kitchen, with a few people having to eat at the island, so it was fairly crowded when everyone started taking a seat.
As soon as everyone had sat down, Malcom got their attention. When all eyes were on him, he began speaking. “First, I’d like to say thank you all for being here today and making this Thanksgiving very special.” Raising his wine glass, he waited until everyone else had raised their own glasses, including Jacob with his milk, and said, “Here’s to family and friends.”
“Here’s to family and friends,” everyone toasted back, before taking a drink.
Before everyone could set their glasses down, Evan threw out another toast. “Also, here’s to Mal’s birthday.”
Once that toast had been repeated and drinks taken again, Evan got up and retrieved a brightly wrapped box from the pantry and presented it to Malcom, setting it on his empty plate.
“I know you said no gifts, but Jules and I got this before the edict was passed down,” Evan told Malcom. “But we still would have gotten it for you, regardless, because ‘no gifts’ is a dumb rule.”
The box had been wrapped in such a way that Malcom only had to lift the lid off, and after doing so, gazed down at the contents in appreciative shock.
It was a set of chef’s whites, with a chef hat on top.
Carefully, he set the hat on the table so he could pull out the crisp white, double-breasted coat, with ‘Malcom’ embroidered above the left breast pocket. Underneath was a pair of houndstooth pants.
As he carefully folded and replaced the jacket and hat, he couldn’t help the smile that overtook his face, knowing he’d be wearing them soon.
Something in his expression must have alerted Jules and Evan, because they both said, “You got in!”
As a little rush of adrenaline ran through him, Malcom nodded. “I got in.”
