Page 35 of Training Rain
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure what kind of greeting I would get. I haven’t been back for a few years.” His gut twisted.
“Jessé?”
“My Christian name.”
“I like it.” She relaxed her stiff posture and gave him a sweet smile. “It would seem your family is happy to see you. Will you go see your parents?”
“I said I would.”
“And you always do what you say?” He hated the doubt that clearly laced her words.
“When it comes to my family, I keep my word.”
“And everyone else?”
He shrugged. It would be a lie to say he was honest. He was a spy—lying, cheating and even stealing were often required actions of his job.
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.”
He was about to tell her she was perfectly right to believe he would and had lied to her but Bebe bounded out of the kitchen door with a platter full of food and carefully placed it on the table. “I thought you might be homesick for some good food. Not sure what you bin eaten out there in the world, but I know it can’t compare to a good Cajun meal.”
“You’re right about that.” The smell of fried food and thick gumbo swathed him in memories.
Bebe slapped him on the back and his laugh filled the room. “I done brought you some boudin balls, fried caimon, red beans with rice and gumbo. I’m fryin’ up some bram now and we bring that to you with a nice ponchartrain sauce.”
“Ca c’est bon, Uncle Bebe.”
“Good to see you, boy.Bon appetit.” His uncle beamed down at them and then rushed off to talk to some of his customers.
Jess looked across at Rain who was staring down at the plates of food with a slightly terrified look on her face. “What is boo dan?”
She pronounced it as if it were two words, but she was close. Jess pointed to the round, fried balls. “Boudin is a kind of sausage but with a lot of rice and spice in it.”
“And caimon?”
He shrugged. “Alligator.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Should I even ask about bram?”
He laughed. “Eggplant. They bread it, fry it and then smother it in the most delicious seafood cream sauce you’ve ever tasted.”
Her eyes widened. “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds much better.”
“Try the alligator bites. You’ll like it.” He pointed to the small breaded and fried strips of white meat that actually tasted similar to chicken.
That’s exactly what Rain said when she took her first bite and they both laughed.
Bebe returned near the end of the meal. He placed a plate filled with beignet and three cups of chicory-laced coffee down on the table before he pulled over a chair and sat down. The restaurant was still busy, but not quite as packed. He turned to Rain. “You know Jessé worked right here in this kitchen when he was a boy. He’s a fine cook in his own right.”
“No, I had no idea.”
A knot started in Jess’s gut. There was no stopping his uncle once he got started with the storytelling.
“Oh yes. He’s a fine cook. I thought for a while he might want to take over this place one day, but he was meant for other things. Better things.”
Jess gripped the other man’s arm where it lay on the table. “Not better, Uncle Bebe, just different. There’s plenty of nights I wish I’d stayed right here in this kitchen.” The knot tightened and his uncle locked eyes with him and nodded.
He turned once again to Rain, breaking the moment. “He was quite the ladies’ man.”
