Page 10 of The Dating Prohibition
“We’re excited to be here! We’ve been waiting for this place to open,” a woman replied, smiling brightly as she craned herneck to take in the space. “It’s gorgeous in here!”
“Isn’t it? My brother and his wife are the owners, and I’ve been admiring all of the different touches they’ve made to reallymake this place sparkle.”
“Oh, are you one of the owners, then?” the woman asked Logan.
He smiled. “I am. Logan Porter, nice to meet you.” He shook hands with her and the man sitting beside her.
“I’m Jeanette and this is my husband, Larry. We live around the corner.”
“Well, thank you for joining us for our grand opening.”
“Jeanette’s been watching this place like a hawk. We’re so glad to see another Black-owned business in the neighborhood.”Larry leaned forward. “And something back in the kitchen smells delicious!”
Kendra beamed. “Well, here are some menus for you to take a look at. In the meantime, would you like still, sparkling, ortap water?” She slid menus in leather covers to each of them. “These blue ones are for food, and the black menus are our cocktails.There are some specials for opening day listed in each.”
“Excellent, thank you. Sparkling water please.”
Kendra nodded and turned to enter the bottle of sparkling water into her register terminal before grabbing two glasses anda bottle of chilled S.Pellegrino. “Would either of you care for ice? Lemon?”
“We’ll take both.”
Kendra grabbed a glass and scooped ice into it, repeating the same with the next. She twisted the lid off the bottle and pouredit into both glasses. She used tongs to grab a couple of lemon wedges, which she placed on a saucer on the counter. “Let meknow when you’re ready to order another beverage or some food.”
They nodded their thanks and proceeded to review the menu, making little remarks here and there about different items beingfeatured.
Tickets began to flow, and Kendra started making cocktails. Her audience at the bar oooed and ahhhed at the torched marshmallows on the old-fashioneds and the wine floaters on top of another cocktail. One of the servers carried a tray of freshly shucked oysters with a small ramekin of dry ice in the center to create a fog effect. People around the dining room pointed and practically broke their necks to see what else Shonda and the team were cooking up in the kitchen.
Every few minutes another dish would come out—there was fresh pasta with clams, a truffle risotto, a spiced grilled chickenover saffron rice, a bread tray with different toppings and a pile of toasted baguette slices. Kendra was trying to keep hermouth from watering, but over the course of the last several days, she’d had the pleasure of sampling everything that thecooks practiced.Shonda curated the hell out of that menu.
Parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins began to arrive. True to his word, Scott from the wine distributor arrived with hiswife. The indoor and outdoor tables were all accounted for, and the servers stayed on top of their tables.
BJ was behind the bar on the other side of Logan. He’d been tasked with running the glass washer and polishing the steamingglasses as they came out. His hair was pulled back from his face, and his black collared shirt clung to his body. Kendra avertedher eyes as he turned to look in her direction, moving to take Jeannette and Larry’s orders before rushing back to the kitchento grab an order for another patron at the bar.
“How’s it going out there?” Shonda called. She stood behind a stainless steel prep table adding garnishes to different dishesand making sure that presentation was perfect before anything left the kitchen. Her two cooks moved in unison, aprons tiedaround the waists of their chef’s coats, sweat beading their brows.
“It’s packed out there, but everything is moving smoothly,and people seem excited and happy with the food.” She gave a thumbs-up to the cooks. “Y’all are killin’ it!” Kendra turned to Shonda. “Do you want me to expedite for a bit so that you can greet some of the tables? We’ve had some turnover since you were greeting at the door. Logan can handle the bar for a few.”
Shonda handed two dishes to Kendra for the bar patrons and nodded. “That would be great! Can you drop those off for me? I’mgoing to freshen up my lipstick and dress these two plates for table six, and then I’ll come grab you to swap.”
Kendra nodded. “You got it.” She turned on her heel, balancing a bowl of she-crab soup and a steaming plate of honey-and-miso-glazedChilean sea bass with garlic fried rice and roasted asparagus. “Mmm, that sinangag smells just like our Lola’s!”
Shonda beamed. “I’ll be sure to save you some!”
“Please do!” Kendra dropped off the food to wide-eyed customers who immediately dug in, savoring each bite. She checked thetickets and made two of her s’mores old-fashioneds before turning to Logan. “I’m gonna relieve Shonda for a bit so she cangreet tables. You good?”
“Aren’t I always?” he quipped, his face lighting up in a mischievous grin.
“You know what...” Kendra shook her finger at her big brother, laughing. “Something is wrong with you.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I got it. And BJ can pour wines while I take care of the specialty drinks.” He gestured toward his right.
BJ was deep in conversation with a woman dining solo at the bar. Whatever she said made him roar with laughter.
Kendra watched with curiosity as he leaned forward and whispered something to the woman who looked like she was ready to risk it all. Something twisted in Kendra’s gut as the woman bit her lip before taking a sip of her Pink 75—one of Kendra’s specials. It was her take on a classic French 75 withgin, lemon, and sparkling wine, but instead of regular simple syrup, she made one with rhubarb, which gave the drink its pink coloring—even the foam from the shaken egg whites took on a barely blush tone.
“Hey, sis, you ready?” Shonda called.
Kendra turned and nodded. “Yep! Heading back now.”Get it together, girl. You have absolutely no right to feel a way.
