Page 12 of Unexpected Pickle
I can handle it. It’s good for me. Helps me be more casual about food prep in real-world settings.
But Sunshine is sneaking away from her mother again. Sonya is focused on digging out eggshells.
I glance at Hex in alarm, but he’s on it. He ducks beneath the counter and snags the girl. “Can you help me since you did such a good job with your mom?”
The girl crawls up onto his stool. She snatches up an egg and is about to throw it into his bowl when he takes it. “Gentle. Gentle.”
I’m not sure who beams at him more brightly. Sunshine’s mom.
Or me.
God help me.
5
HEX’S HOT GRIDDLE
Idid good.
When the class is over and I’ve dodged the clingy mom and the even clingier daughter, I start cleaning up.
Jeannie is busy talking to a woman who wants to be a chef. The student appears to be asking about every tiny detail of choosing a culinary school, filling out applications, and figuring out what direction to go.
I smile to myself as I gather the big bowls in a pile, then collect the smaller ones that held ingredients.
The griddles are a terrible mess, burned bits sticking to the edges, raw batter sloshed onto the table. But most of us managed to get crepes out of the deal. I fed mine to Sunshine. I was happy to. None of the items on the menu fit into my nutrition routine with my next MMA match only days away.
The back wall is filled with sinks, so I take the bowls back there and collect the compost pots, combining the contents into one for easy removal.
Jeannie watches me out of the corner of her eye. Does she want me to save her from this conversation, too? She didn’tlike my hero routine at the commercial shoot, and I’ve already intervened with Sunshine.
I let her handle this one. She’s no damsel in distress, and I won’t treat her like one.
The sink water is slow to get hot, so I let it run while I walk the rows of cooking stations, unplugging the griddles. I won’t even try to clean those without Jeannie’s instructions. I’ll mess it up for sure.
“Thank you. I really need to clear the room before it has to be locked. Good luck with your choices.” Jeannie breaks away from the woman and heads my way.
When we’re alone in the room, she approaches where I’m shutting down griddles. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Are you still trying to woo me? I’m not the woo-able kind.”
I move to the last griddle and turn it off. “That’s okay.”
She follows me as I return to the sink. “You’re going to wash dishes for a woman who isn’t interested?”
“Seems like a nice thing to do.”
Steam curls up from the water. Jeannie passes her hand through it and closes the drain. “All right. I’ll wash. You dry.”
That’s more like it.
“Have you analyzed why you’re after me?” she asks as she passes me a bowl. “The thrill of the chase? The one woman who isn’t falling at your feet?”
Is that what she thinks?
“No.” I dry the bowl and set it down, taking another.
