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When Tasia finally found employment with an affluent family in a neighboring suburb, she gave Lois and Carl two weeks notice. She was ecstatic about leaving until the Huntingtons decided to beg off at the last minute. Obviously Carl had talked them out of hiring her. He took her first step toward independence well, though; he promised to let her have her old job back and didn’t offer a single lecture on obedience or retribution. So when she told him to go to hell, he had the audacity to act surprised.
Once stepping out of that massive front door and getting used to it, Tasia never wanted to go back to work for the Kastenmeiers. When the Huntington position fell through, she took a comparably meager job at a Detroit steakhouse instead. The work was hard, the hours were long, and she took an enormous pay cut, but at least she was happy.
Elaine asked if she could tag along when Chloe, Cameron, and Zach decided to go into the city to eat dinner at the restaurant where Tasia worked. Everyone was anxious to see her again; she could always manage to make people feel good without even trying. Chloe had called ahead and told Tasia about their plans to dine at the steakhouse, and she was very excited to hear it. She couldn’t wait to see them.
As they walked into the restaurant, they were ushered in right away. After taking their seats, Tasia came from the kitchen and gave them all a warm greeting. “Look at y’ all,” she said, speaking to them collectively. Her voice was so jubilant, it actually squeaked. She looked relaxed and well. “Thanks for coming tonight.”
“We can’t live without your cooking for long,” Chloe said.
“How are you doing?” Cameron asked her. “How’s this place treating you?”
“Great. I really like it here. It’s a lot of work, but hell, I’m a lot of woman, aren’t I?”
Cameron smiled and nodded his head. “Amen to that.” He paused, regarding her affectionately. “You look great.”
“Thanks.” She was speaking to Cameron, but she was staring at Zach. He was watching her, too. Finally giving him a coy smile, she said, “How are you, honey?”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
“I’m sorry that I….”
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” she said. “You left me to keep your job. I understand that.”
“Carl is an ass.”
“Hey, I agree with you.”
“We should get together sometime.”
“I’d like that,” she told him, “but don’t jeopardize your job. You’d have to work three times as hard for the same money anywhere else.”
Talking about his salary irritated him. “Forget the money,” he said. “No hard feelings?”
“You know I can’t stay mad at you for long. Carl pulls your chain so tight, you can’t breathe.”
“The man’s like sap on your fingers. Sometimes you have to shed a layer of skin to get rid of it. But even so, there’s one thing he can’t change.”
“What’s that?”
“How much I love you,” Zach said, reaching over and caressing her arm. Sincerity and warmth was written all over his strong, well-sculpted face.
“I love you, too,” she said with uncharacteristic shyness. She even grew redder. Zach always did that to her.
“Listen,” she said, addressing everybody, “I’m going to have one of the girls come over and take your orders. I’ll make sure you get the best cuts of beef, you know, the ones reserved for councilmen. But let’s keep that between you and me, all right?”
“I hear you,” Cameron said, nodding his head.
“You got it, honey,” Zach said, putting his hand on her hip before letting her go.
“Bring it over,” Chloe retorted. “We’ll eat it, I promise you. Thanks, Tasia.”
“All right now,” she said. “I’ll see y’ all later.”
“Later,” Chloe said, watching her walk away with a smile. “She’s just too good to us.”
“We’re just not used to kindness, that’s all,” Zach said. “And that’s what I love best about her.”
A waitress soon came and took their orders. After Tasia’s last declaration, everyone wanted steak and potatoes. Salads and hot rolls were the first to come, and the waitress who served them treated them like dignitaries. The restaurant wasn’t very crowded, at least not where they were sitting, so they felt free to be rowdy and loud.
It was a rustic, out west kind of place, with everything from steer horns to different types of saddle rigs on display. Authentic, sepia-colored copies of tintypes of cowboys at roundups, eating at chuck wagons, and roping steer could be seen on the walls from every angle. Cowboy cuisine was available as the specials for each day of the week, like tournedos chanterelle with chanterelle sauce on Mondays, and son of a gun stew on Fridays. Sourdough biscuits and spinach pudding could be had on any day. Elaine took special interest in the cartridge belts over by the sarsaparilla dispensers, and the spurs with the fancy jingle bobs dangling right above her head.
Everything was great: the mood was perfect, the food was very tasty, and the conversation was invigorating until Carl Kastenmeier walked through the front door. Elaine spotted him first, tugging on Chloe’s sleeve to send out the warning.
“What’s up?” Chloe asked, taking another bite from the hot buttered roll resting beside her plate.
“Mr. Kastenmeier just came in,” Elaine said. Chloe nearly choked on the bread in her mouth. “I swear! He’s right behind you.” Chloe started to look, but Elaine grabbed her arm and said, “Don’t turn around! He’s watching us.”
“Well, isn’t this just peachy,” Cameron said, looking toward the door. “It is him!” Cameron let his fork drop down to his plate. “If anybody invites him to join us, I’m leaving. I mean it! I refuse to break bread with that son of a bitch!” Carl started over, so Cameron leaned back in his chair and threw his napkin on the table. “Here he comes!” he said.
Carl looked out of place in a restaurant emphasizing crease styles for Stetsons rather than a rare wine selection. Crepes suzette and caviar were more his style. A little steak and French fry joint didn’t seem to be the kind of establishment he’d patronize, yet there he was. As usual, he was dressed in a three-piece suit, with a matching tie and dark blue shoes. His expensive clothes and polished appearance made him look very dashing. To say he was a handsome man with a world of wonderful things to offer someone wouldn’t have been far from the truth. Why, if they hadn’t known him so well, he would’ve seemed like a magnificent catch for some lucky girl.
“Hello,” Carl said as he finally reached them, resting one hand against the back of Chloe’s chair while the other held fast to his griffin-head cane. “How’s the food?”
“Great,” Elaine said, glancing at Chloe.
“I came to give it a try,” he said, staring at Cameron, probably because he’d started fidgeting. “May I join you?” No one answered right away.
“Sure,” Chloe said, receiving dirty looks from Cameron for her trouble. “We’ll have to ask for another chair, though.”
“No, no,” Cameron said, drinking the last of his red wine and then standing up. “He can have mine. I was just leaving.”
“I don’t want to chase you out of your seat, old man.”
“That’s quite all right. I have to be in Fort Wayne tomorrow morning. I get the kids this weekend, and I don’t want to be late. Good night, everyone.”
“Good night, Cameron,” Chloe said. She must’ve felt bad about inviting Carl to join them, but somebody had to. He did ask to sit with them, and it would’ve been rude to say no.
Carl hooked his cane over the back of the chair and then sat down, rubbing his clean-shaven chin as he looked around. The face of his very complex-looking Rolex watch gleamed with every flick of his wrist. Rumor had it that the watch was only one of twelve ever made, and it was worth about eighty-five thousand dollars. His aftershave lotion soothed Elaine’s nostrils; the boss had to be the best-smelling man on the planet. Smelling good—so Lois and Carl had somethin
g in common after all.
Carl didn’t seem eager to socialize; he looked like a jealous man. Everyone knew that Zach was the love of Tasia’s life, and the boss was no exception. A waitress came over to the table and Carl drew her attention by raising his hand. “Please bring me a steak and lobster tails with all the trimmings,” he said.
“And how would you like the steak prepared, sir?” she asked.
“Bloody.”
“Garden or Caesar salad?”
“Caesar salad, please.”
“Very good, sir,” she said, and then started to leave.
“There’s a five hundred dollar tip in it if you can coax the cook to come out for a few minutes,” Carl added, and that, understandably, made the waitress stop and take notice. She turned around, smiling.
“Tasia McAvoy?” she asked, and Carl fondled his chin with a grin on his face.
“Who else? Certainly not that big lummox you’ve got back there who doesn’t know a dash from a fistful!”
The waitress giggled. “I’ll see what I can do, sir,” she said, and then sashayed away from the table. It seemed to be all in good fun and all for Carl’s benefit. Her effort made him chuckle.