Page 8 of The Paris Roommates: Dean
Dean kicked it off with a muffled laugh, and Brooke listened until the end like the rest of them as the parrot stood sentinel on his left shoulder. There was no denying it was a good story and one that had lifted the interview from uninspiring to electrifying. More, it was so Dean. As a New Yorker, she wanted to be little skeptical about the parrot knowing what Dean had eaten last night and what was in his pocket. But she remembered vising Chez Papa and she couldn’t discount the possibility. She also understood the power this parrot packed in terms of draw and buzz.
“You do know that we’re stuck with this parrot now, right?” Kyle asked, resting his elbows on the table. “That interview ensured it. I’m thrilled with the cave possibility—great job—but this is Nanine and Madison’s kitchen. Business partners don’t make unilateral decisions. Even with famous parrots.”
“I know, dammit!” His easygoing smile vanished. “But everything in me was screaming yes. I have to trust my instincts, or I’m not being true to who I am.”
“We get it, Dean, and way to go on the cave.” Madison gestured to the parrot with a grimace. “But I don’t collaborate with nonhumans. Not even a parrot who can sniff out dishes. Nanine, it’s your turn.”
The woman Brooke loved with all her heart held out her arm. “Come,” she told the parrot, who flew to her with a delighted squawk. “Pierre, I knew Chef Beaumont. Not well. But he was well regarded as a good man and a good chef. I did not eat at other restaurants much, but Bernard took me there on a few occasions because he loved the story about you helping in the kitchen. Who wouldn’t love such a story?”
Exactly, Brooke thought.
“Ratatouilleshowed that,” Sawyer interjected. “I already mentioned that movie to Dean.”
Madison shuddered. “I had nightmares after one of the chefs told me about that movie. Worse, we caught six rats that week in the restaurant traps. I blamed it on the movie. Dean, this parrot has to be against health and safety standards.”
“The French have discerning souls,” Nanine murmured, running her finger along Pierre’s gray-feathered neck. “Chef Beaumont never experienced trouble, and neither shall we. Certainly not after Gustave’s article comes out. That man—known for his reserve—was moved to tears and happiness at reencountering the parrot.”
Dean leaned forward, taking Nanine’s hand. “So was the owner of the pet store. That’s gotta be worth something. I was in tears too over the emotion other people displayed because of this little guy. You can ask Sawyer.”
They all turned to Sawyer, who was slouching in his chair. “Who can say what moves the hearts of men and women?”
Brooke wasn’t going to ask which philosopher had said that. “Before Pierre’s arrival, things were not going so well,” she put in, because she was the fixer, the peacemaker, and this unlikely family of hers meant everything.
“She’s right,” Kyle agreed reluctantly. “They were not. That parrot turned the whole interview around and will no doubt move the readers ofLe Monde.”
“Was anyone as blown away as I was that Gustave wrote the article I got from the pet store owner?” Dean asked, holding it up in the air. “You can’t make that kind of thing up.”
Dean’s point struck a chord. She glanced over at Madison, who was staring at the parrot as if waiting for it to fly over to one of the counters and commence whipping together an omelet. She would like proof, and Brooke couldn’t blame her.
“I find myself equally moved.” Nanine rose and handed the parrot back to Dean. “I know what grief feels like. While no one has to collaborate with this parrot, he has a home here. In the kitchen. In the house. With us. Madison, can you live with that?”
She nodded crisply after sucking in her breath. “It’s your kitchen and your house, Nanine. What you say goes.”
“But you are the head chef now, and I must become better at saying it isyourkitchen. As for the living arrangements, we can find him a place in the heart of Nanine’s. Pierre, I believe Chef Beaumont made a place for you as such in his restaurant.”
“Oui,” the parrot answered, as if following along with the conversation was as natural as breathing.
“Then he will not bother Sawyer or Kyle upstairs,” Nanine concluded with a nod in their direction.
Another rule born, and one everyone would respect.
“And here I was looking forward to fitting Pierre’s shower times into our current morning rotation,” Kyle said dryly.
“A practical consideration—one we can always count on from you.” Nanine bowed her head, rubbing her heart.
Brooke almost blurted out,Are you all right? Do you need an aspirin?before reining herself in. Her father had survived a heart attack, too, so she knew how taxing the recovery could be and watched Nanine like a hawk.
“I am like Dean, I suppose,” Nanine continued, a soft smile on her mouth. “Used to doing things my own way. However, we must all make more room for each other as partners. As family.”
If there was one thing Brooke loved about Nanine, it was how she could make a point firmly but from a place of wisdom and kindness. Crazy fashion designers who threw shoes and phones at their business associates could learn at her feet. Maybe Brooke should write her next article about that, but she didn’t thinkTRENDS’readers would appreciate it.
“Understood, Nanine,” Dean said, meeting everyone’s eyes. “I brought Pierre in. He’ll be my responsibility. Baths included.”
Sawyer and Kyle only rolled their eyes while Madison shot out, “I can’t wait to see that fun.”
“I’ll be sure to set up a GoPro,” Dean said with a wink. Brave of him, because Madison’s mood wasn’t in the welcoming stage yet.
“Don’t bother.” Madison mimed covering her eyes. “I’m not crazy about the idea of seeing either one of you wet.”
