Page 99 of Mr. Aster
“Señora Aster has requested it, and I am happy to accommodate,” he said graciously. “Your father had lamb from Mont Saint Michel flown in for the meal I’ve been honored to prepare this evening.”
My parents were too fucking much. They’d asked Antonio to recreate one of my mother’s favorite dishes, prepared by Chef Alain Passard at Arpège, a three-star Michelin restaurant in Paris. Antonio was referring to the lamb from the Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, known for its rich flavor because the sheep grazed in the salt marshes.
“Allow me to make a wild guess,” I said, hearing Darcy rightfully sigh. “You’ll be serving the leg, roasted to a perfect pink, with an oyster emulsion and perhaps a selection of grand cru vegetables and potato puree?”
It wasn’t necessarily my mother’s favorite meal, but I knew what was happening here. My mom was putting pressure on Antonio, the chef brought in from Mexico and revered amongst the Burke family. Margot would never accept such treatment of a staff member. The staff members were her servants, and she wouldn’t dare fraternize with any of them. I was wholly put off by my mother’s audacity to demand the chef prepare what she wanted, the way she wanted it, and with the ingredientsshechose, and then I realized why Darcy had found me so rude when I arrived. I’d been no better than my mother.
“Of course, Señor,” he answered with a smile, pots steaming in the background while Ines was pulling together the last of the meal. “Combining the lamb’s natural flavors with the minerality of the oyster sauce makes for an exquisite meal. I do hope it meets everyone’s expectations this evening.”
“Well, if it does not,” I smiled at him, “rest easy knowing that I’ll be begging you to make some of your delicious mole to replace my mother’s rudely requested meal.”
I felt Darcy laugh at my side, probably because she knew I finally understoodhow rude and entitled I’d been when I arrived.
“Your family has also requested the French Syrah they had flown in to accompany the food.”
That’s when I exhaled in utter annoyance, “It’s one thing to order a particular, special tequila to unwind with, but it’s entirely another thing to stay at a wineryyou ownand still order special wine from the Rhône Valley to complement the lamb.”
“I am merely serving what was requested, Señor,” Antonio stated.
“I’m not trying to shoot the messenger here, Antonio. I’m just pointing out that while I was a rude bastard upon my arrival, I can see I’m no match for my parents.”
“Would you expect anything less?” Darcy finally spoke up after Antonio nodded and quickly dismissed himself to plate the food.
“Honestly, I sort of did,” I admitted, guiding her toward the dining hall. “I thought my parents would be out of their element and thrown off once they arrived.”
“Well, don’t forget, they haven’t beenherethe entire time. I don’t think they have had a proper introduction to my parents yet, and it’s obvious my mom hasn’t given your mom any spiritual yoga sessions.”
I forced a smile in response, but I was internally shaking my head. My parents believed they were above everyone else, and they never pulled shit likethisunless their status felt threatened in some way. How my parents could meet Darcy’s parents and feel threatened enough toorder infrom another fucking country was the question I needed an answer to.
“Darling,” my mother said, the first to greet us when we walked into the dining area, needing to remain in superior control of the evening. “You look well.”
I stepped to the side, avoiding her usual greeting of air kisses to each of my cheeks, and I turned to look at Darcy, forcing my mother to bring her attention to the stunning woman standing at my side.
I smiled at the simplicity and beauty of Darcy. Her hair was shimmering in its relaxed golden blonde waves, softly flowing down the center of her back, while my mother’s coiffed hair was as stiff and bleak as her personality.
“Allow me to introduce you to Miss Darcy Burke,” I said, bringing the back of Darcy’s hand to my lips. I looked at my mother’s fake smile, knowing the woman was holding her shit together the best way she knew how when her insides must’vebeen raging like a hurricane. “As I know you are aware, she is the?—”
“A pleasure,” my mother purposefully interrupted me and stared intently at Darcy while clasping her hands together. “I’ve been made aware that you’ve stolen my handsome son’s heart. Not just that,” she looked at me with a cold and affectionate smile, “but that he intends to marry you?” She finished by bringing her calculated expression back to Darcy.
“Oh, great. You’re all caught up, then,” Darcy said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Aster.” She looked toward the table where everyone was silently watching this weird exchange, “I look forward to meeting Sebastian’s dad, too.”
“Forgive me,” my mother said with a touch of snark. “I thought we might beproperly introducedbefore I passed you off so abruptly.”
“Why don’t we join everyone who is staring at us while we rudely stand here and make introductions without them?” I seethed to my mother, who was trying to start something I would not allow her to finish.
“As you both wish,” she said as if this was her home, not the Burke’s.
It was refreshing to see that Billy and Tina were wearing their usual casual wear, the same as their daughter, and that nothing had changed with them to impress my parents. That was probably why my mother ordered a fucking Michelin-star meal to be cooked using saltmarsh munching lambs and the tears of seventeenth-century French monks. She was bothered by the fact that she couldn’t intimidate this family. I smiled, loving everything that’d bugged me about these people from before, from their natural way of wanting everyone to love each other to their constant desire to be happy and get along with everyone.
This would be an interesting dinner, to be sure.
“My sweet girl,” Tina said, breaking all sense of propriety my mother was trying to establish by being the first to greet the two of us. “You are glowing and radiant, and youwilltell me about this engagement I only heard of because Ines and the kids have all those social media Snapgrams and Instachats.”
I grinned, keeping my eyes on Darcy. I knew Tina was sending my mother’s nerves on a downward and frantic spiral, and I was living for this moment.
“We can talk about it later, Mom,” Darcy chuckled.
“And you, my handsome future son,” Tina said to me, bringing her hands up to my face unexpectedly and kissing each cheek, a gesture that would’ve customarily irritated the shit out of me; however, knowing it was setting my parents down on their asses helped me to appreciate it that much more. “That you got the girl I love with all my heart to trust you with hers is the most wonderful news I’ve ever heard. Youwilltell me how all of this happened.”
