Love, Life And Linguine Part 11

"Thanks," Jeremy says. "I'm glad you came. It's not an easy day, is it?"

"Why isn't there an Aunt's Day?" I ask, ignoring the point of his question. "Aunt Day. Uncle Day. In-law Day. Hallmark better get on that."

"Aunt Mimi!" The twins come tearing across the lawn. They're always so happy to see me. I love that.

"Well, if isn't Bert and Ernie," I say.

"We're not Bert and Ernie!" Gideon wraps his arms around my leg. "You know who we are, Aunt Mimi."

"Oil and vinegar?"

"No!" Ezra tackles my other leg.

"Salt and pepper?"

"Aunt Mimi!"

"Chocolate and vanilla?"

Gideon looks at Ezra. Their eyes get big as they share a thought, then scream, "Ice cream!" The boys run toward the house. "Mom? Mom! Mom!"

Oops.

"h.e.l.lo, Aunt Mimi." Looking down, I see Sarah standing with her arms wrapped across her chest.

I bend to kiss Sarah's forehead. "How are you?"

From under her eyebrows, Sarah looks at me with sad, brown eyes. For a moment, she looks exactly like my father did when he was disappointed in me. "You're forgetting me," she says.

"Of course I'm not. Why do you say that?"

"You said that because you are living here, we could spend time together. But we haven't. Not even once."

"I'm sorry, Sarah. I've been very busy at the restaurant. But I do want to spend time with you. Lots of time. When do you get out of school? End of June?"

Sarah nods.

"That's in two weeks, right? After you get out of school, we'll hang out. You and me. Okay?"

Sarah shrugs like she doesn't believe me, but wants to. She accepts my hug. Then she goes to sit with Mom.

"Where'd Sarah learn how to guilt?" I ask Jeremy.

"It's one of her innate gifts," he says. "How's Mom?"

"She sitting over there." I wave in Mom's direction. "Ask her yourself."

"Mom won't tell me the truth." Jeremy frowns. "She says I worry too much."

"You do." Peering into the grill, I say, "Might want to flip turn the meat, jefe jefe."

"I don't have all of your fancy food knowledge," Jeremy says, "but I know how to barbecue. I'm a man. Barbecuing is one of my innate gifts."

"Indeed," I say. "My apologies. I shall not criticize your very manly barbecuing. At least not on Father's Day."

"Remember what we did for Father's Day when we were kids?" Jeremy asks.

Together, we say, "Chinese food."

Jeremy laughs. "People used to say, 'Your dad is a chef? You must have the best food at home.'"

"The last thing Dad wanted to do at home was cook," I say.

"We got to eat out a lot," Jeremy says. "That was fun."

"I always felt like a spy at other restaurants. Remember how Dad would grill us about the food we ate? 'Too sweet? Too salty? Too sour? Too bitter?' We had to make sure Cafe Louis's food was better than any other restaurants."

"Remember Mitsitam Restaurant in Westfield?" Jeremy asks.

"Of course," I say. "Dad thought the Mitsitam was our biggest compet.i.tor."

"A few years ago, a shopping center went up across the street from the Mitsitam," Jeremy says. "That center has a Friendly's, Boston Market, and a Subway."

"Oy."

"Not surprisingly, the Mitsitam closed." Jeremy nods in silent homage to the Mitsitam. "Anyway, when I was going through Dad's invoices and paperwork, I found a copy of a letter he wrote the Mitsitams saying that they were welcome to eat at Cafe Louis any time. Free of charge."

"Really?"

"Yep," Jeremy says. "I asked Bette and she confirmed it. She also said that the Mitsitams never came to Cafe Louis, as far she knew. They moved to Oklahoma, I think."

"Still," I say.

"Absolutely," Jeremy agrees. "Would you ask my darling wife to bring her buns out here? And the mustard and ketchup and relish."

Sisters-in-Law, Part Three Allison is standing at the kitchen's island, mustard jar in hand, staring at a potted plant.

"Ally?"

She doesn't move or break her gaze.

"Ally? Allison? Major Tom?"

She shakes her head and turns to me. "Sorry. What's up?"

"Jeremy's ready for the rolls and condiments. Are you okay?"

"Tired. I'm tired." She rubs her eyes. "I think I fell asleep standing still with my eyes open. It was just so quiet in here. There's always so much noise in the house. It's so loud, so often. With everyone outside and Mom and Jeremy looking after the kids, I had an unexpected moment of peace." Allison looks at me. "Do you know what I mean?"

"Sort of." I pull the twist tie from a bag of buns and start to pile them on a plate. "The restaurant gets very frantic around lunch and dinner, but before and after that, the place is nice and quiet. But too much quiet in the house? Not a good thing."

Allison nods. "Are you making a profit yet?"

"A little. But I have until the end of the summer. I have time."

"Right." Allison hands me another bag of rolls. "You have time."

A noise I recognize as Mom's cell phone rings through the kitchen. Mom's cell is on the kitchen table next to her purse. I look at the caller ID. "It's Sid."

Allison says, "Aren't you going to take the phone to Mom?"

"He'll leave a message."

"Mimi."

"What? Mom's hanging out with her grandkids, and kids, which she hasn't done in some time. Today is a family day. Sid can wait."

Allison shakes her head. "You and your brother are being really immature about this. Why am I the only one who's thinking about what's best for Mom?"

"Because you're the only adult among us. Or hadn't you noticed?"

Quietly, Allison says, "I noticed."

"Seriously, Ally. You're supermom. Why are we having a barbecue for Jeremy? This day and every day should be about you."

Allison hands me a platter with the rolls and condiments. She puts Mom's cell on the platter. "Give that to your mother."

"Aren't you coming outside to eat?"

Allison rubs her eyes again. "I have to put laundry in the dryer."

"You're doing laundry? Now?"

"Mimi, I'm always doing laundry."

Canape "Cafe Louis. This is Mimi. How can I help you?"

"You can have dinner with me tonight. An official first date."

"Who is this?"

"Aaron Schein." A beat later he says, "Who else would it be?"

"No one. I'm kidding. I knew it was you. Did you say dinner?"

I wait for Aaron near the hostess desk wearing the khaki capri pants and a pink halter top I wore to work. My pink and silver bead bracelet is on my wrist and a matching necklace is around my neck.

Christopher von Hecht appears at the hostess desk. "Do you want some advice?"

"No," I say.

"Canape," he says.

"Excuse me?"

"On first dates, you should canape. Be delicious, but not filling. A tasty hors d'oeuvre that whets the appet.i.te for the meal. A gastronomic prelude, if you will."

Canape certainly sounds feminine and flirty. Maybe Christopher von Hecht is right. But I'm not going to tell him that. "Chrissie, please. Go yenta somewhere else."

USA Steaks Peach? Apricot? I'm trying to name the color of Aaron's s.h.i.+rt. Whatever color it is, the s.h.i.+rt is well made. Custom made? Maybe. His orangey s.h.i.+rt goes nicely with the blueberry and celery print on his tie. Silk tie, looks like. The loafers are alligator. And Gucci. I know my reptiles, and Italians. Aaron's ensemble is good. The boy knows how to dress.

Aaron looks at me looking at him. "Are you checking me out?"

"And if I am?"

"I came from a meeting," Aaron says. "Otherwise, I'd have changed into more casual clothes."

"You look very nice."

"Thank you, Mimi. So do you."

"Thank you. I'm glad we're doing this. Having a date."

Aaron smiles. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

See? I can canape.

"Are you kidding me?" I ask. Aaron has pulled his yellow Hummer into a parking lot. I see a crowd of people waiting outside a building that looks like a ranch house. On top of the ranch restaurant is a glowing orange sign. USA Steaks.

"What? This place has great food." Aaron gets out of the Hummer. He walks around the car to my side and opens my door.

Well, I am a filet mignon. Am I not?

As we approach the door, I say, "It looks like there's a two-hour wait."

Aaron smiles and walks to the hostess desk. The hostess coos, "Hi, Aaron. How are you this evening? Table for two?"

We're seated immediately.

"Let me guess," I guess. "Your family owns this joint?"

"Yep. Want to meet the chef? I think there are four chefs. I can introduce you."