Susan was still agitated and seemed nervous when they arrived at James’s house. James asked her again if something was wrong, but she told him not to be silly. She was just anxious about dinner was all.
Mel had put the beef roast in the oven as Susan had directed him and the potatoes were on the boil. Susan immediately went into the kitchen, popped the bread in the oven and started on the Crème Brulee.
“You don’t happen to have a blow torch, do you?” she asked looking at Mel, eyebrows raised.
“A blowtorch? And what would you need a blow torch for?”
“To caramelize the sugar on top of the custard when it’s done,” she replied as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
“Well, yes, I do have a small blow torch I use to repair the plumbing from time to time. You want to use it on the custard then?”
“If you don’t mind,” she said, whipping the eggs and cream together then adding the vanilla to the cream mixture.
James watched and listened, a bemused expression on his face.
“You’re in the way,” she said, looking at him. “Go play the piano or something.”
He gave her a quirky smile. “Certainly, my lady,” he said with a small bow.
Mel looked amused. “Have him wrapped around your little finger, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Well, certainly looks like it to me. I find it quite amusing. A different side of Jimmie, that’s for sure.”
She threw her head back and laughed, forgetting about Lynn and what she might be saying to Mindy. She certainly wouldn’t be able to tell her the truth. Mindy would never believe it.
The iPhone was the problem, however. What would Mindy think of the iPhone? Would Lynn show Derek and Ian? What had been going on between Lynn and Ian anyway? She’d caught the unmistakable way Ian had looked lustfully at Lynn, knowing they must have been together intimately, especially with Lynn’s blushes.
She dashed the thought from her mind and concentrated on putting the custard into glass cups she’d found in a cabinet and placing them in a water bath before putting in the oven with the roast and bread. She heaved a great sigh.
“Something troubling you, dear?” asked Mel, who’d been observing her while setting the kitchen table for dinner. She could hear James at the piano, playing another Scott Joplin tune.
“No...no...nothing at all...just worried about getting everything right. I’m a bit of a perfectionist...” she said, taking the salad out of the refrigerator, tossing it with the vinaigrette then dividing it onto three salad plates.
“I think you might be too good for him, you know.”
“Oh! How can you say such a thing?” she asked, now hearing James dabbling at the piano, the notes of “All My Kisses” reaching her ears. She did her best to act normal even though her heart was pounding and she felt rather faint.
“You just seem so much wiser for your years. You know so many things...gardening, cooking, music, taking care of household things...and you talk so sophisticated-like...we’re just simple people...”
“I’m nothing special, Mel. I was just raised by my grandparents. They’re from the old school. Women need to know a lot of things early...the domesticated things...my grandfather is insisting that I go to college, but I’ve really been raised just to get married and have babies.”
“Is that what you want to do?” he asked, brightening.
“No, not at all. I have too rebellious of a spirit. I couldn’t be under any man’s thumb. That’s why I thought it was so funny when you said I had James wrapped around my finger. I don’t think he’s the type to let a woman rule him. I always have to have my way, and so does he. That could be a problem.”
Mel was thoughtful. “You’re probably right.” He thought. “If those two end up together, there will certainly be a lot of fireworks between them…But, fireworks will often calm down to burning embers…”
Susan opened the oven and took out the roast, removing it to a platter to let the juices settle, then set the roasting pan on a stove burner and lit the gas to make gravy. She stirred some cold water into flour, adding some salt, then added it to the drippings in the pan. She stirred and added water until it was the right consistency then turned the stove burner down to low. She checked the green beans. They were perfectly tender. She turned off the burner and removed the pan from the stove. She took the bread out of the oven.
“Can you please slice the bread?” she asked Mel as she set the salad plates on the table. “I’ll go get James.”
She walked out of the kitchen and came up behind him at the piano, wrapping her arms around him as he started into her favorite song again.
“Close your eyes while I touch you…
You know how I love you…
Remember me while you’re away…
And then while you are gone…
I will try to go on…
And send all my kisses your way…”
He stopped. “So, what do you think,” he asked. “Will you remember me every day when you’re on your tour?”
She wanted to cry. It was like a knife pierced her heart as the reality of leaving hit her full force.
“Stop!” she screamed at herself silently. “Don’t even think about leaving! Don’t think about it...not now...not now...!”
“Dinner’s ready, Sir James,” she said softly into his ear, avoiding his question.
When they went into the kitchen, Mel was slicing the roast and Susan went to mash the potatoes, adding a generous amount of butter and the bit of whipping cream she’d saved from the Crème Brulee. She checked the clock. Another forty minutes on the custard.
Everything was on the table, and they sat down to eat. James and Mel looked at each other, contemplating the extravagant feast before them. They’d never seen the likes of it.
“Well, dig in!” Susan said, looking at them both a bit shyly, wondering if they’d like her cooking.
“Fabulous!” said Mel. James just smiled, nodding in agreement.
As the meal came to an end, Susan jumped up to check on the custard. It was done. She removed the tray with the glass cups from the oven and set it on the counter to cool a bit then she went to gather the dishes.
“Mel, can you please get the blow torch now, then why don’t you guys go in the other room and play something else for me on the piano? Scott Joplin would be nice. I’ll take care of cleaning up the kitchen then we can have dessert.”
“I don’t know if I can handle dessert as stuffed full as I am,” said Mel, walking outside to the potting shed, where he kept the blow torch and a box of other tools. He was back a minute later and showed Susan how to use the torch. “You sure you don’t want me to do this for you?”
“Positive. I’ve done this a lot before. You and James just go and relax.”
She put the leftovers in the fridge, washed the dishes, dried them then put everything away. She wiped down the kitchen table and counters, swept the floor then fired up the blowtorch and held it over the sugar she’d sprinkled on top of the custard. When everything was done, she went into the other room where James and his dad were companionably playing the piano together. She smiled at the picture they presented.
“Okay, I’m sure you have a bit of room for Crème Brulee,” she said smiling. “It’s one of my specialties.”
After enjoying dessert, James realized it was almost time to leave for the club. He raced upstairs, put on a clean white shirt and tie and donned a jacket, thinking Ryan might show up at the club to listen.
“Can we please stop by the hotel first so I can change out of this dress I’ve worn for two days now?” she asked.
James looked at her like it wasn’t important.
“Really,” she said, “I need to get out of this dress.” She turned red as she realized what she’d said, thinking of other things.
James smirked, and Mel stifled a cough.
“You young people be off then,” he said.
Susan picked up her purse, then winked at Mel as she and James went out the door.