Sweet Bits (8 page)

“Can you get that?” she asked Josie. Her hands were covered with berry juice.

Josie swung open the door. It was Ben. He wasn’t expecting her and she wasn’t expecting him. They both got a little nervous as their one and only date had ended with an awkward goodnight kiss on her cheek and no more dates.

Ben looked down. “Uh, hi, Josie. Is Ali here?”

“The kitchen queen is right over there,” said Josie pointing. “I’m on my way out. See ya, Ali!” she called making a hasty exit.

Ali smiled at Ben. “Sorry ‘bout that. I didn’t expect you until later.”

“Yeah, I decided to take a break and come early. Is it OK?”

“You bet. I’m just finishing up on my third cake. You can taste all three I’ve made and give me your honest opinion.”

“O…K…,”said Ben dragging his heels. “If I must…” he teased. “It’s a tough job, but I guess I’ll do it.”

Ali threw a kitchen towel at him. “Oh, right! Suffer through it for the greater cause…”

She sliced two pieces, put them on separate plates and gave them to him. “Number three is still in the oven, but should be done any minute. Do you want to wait for all of them together?”

“Are you kidding?” asked Ben looking at the fluffy white cake, berries and whipped cream on each plate. “I’ll try these now and later all together,” he said winking. “Just to be sure I’m giving each a fair chance.”

Ali smiled, put her hands on her hip and said “Have at it then.”

Ben teased and took a bite, chewed slowly, looked at the ceiling and mulled it over, imitating a food critic. “Sweet, tart and delicious,” he announced.

The second bite went much the same. “Less sweet, more tart, just as delicious!”

“So…? “

“We’ll just have to wait for number three,” he said.

Ali screwed up her mouth. “Great,” she said. “In the meantime you can help me with the dishes.” She tossed another towel in his direction. “I wash, you dry.”

“Anytime,” he said catching the towel.

They stood and washed and dried dishes like a couple who’d been married for years; each could think of nowhere else they’d rather be.

Jason Worthington had always been a guy with casual good looks. He had a shock of light brown hair that always seemed to look wind-blown, brown eyes and a mischievous-type of grin that made you think he was fun and willing to do anything. Ben had known him around campus, had beers with him and other guys at school and liked him well enough. When he saw him enter the café where they met for lunch there was no mistaking him; he hadn’t aged much and only looked like a more mature version of his college-kid self.

“Hey Jay!” Ben waved him over to his table and stood up. They shook hands and gave each other half-hugs like guys do. Jason had a big grin on his face. He was dressed casually in shorts and button down shirt. Ben had come from work and wore his suit.

“Casual Wednesday?” asked Ben.

Jason looked down at his clothes. “No, I’m on vacation! I live out in California now and I’m just here visiting my family for the week.”

“Oh, wow, I didn’t know,” said Ben. “What part?”

“Oakland. It’s awesome. I love it there, but it’s great to be back here in the windy city.”

“When did you go out there?”

“After law school. I took the bar here and then got wooed, well, sort of wooed, to go out there. I took the California bar and got a job out there.”

“Wooed?”

“Yeah, well, kind of… I was dating this girl, we’re married now, and she got a job out there and kept begging me to come out, so I guess she was the one who did the wooing.”

“Congratulations,” said Ben. “On being married, I mean.”

“Thanks,” said Jason. “How about you? Are you married, seeing anyone special, what? You were always kind of a lady-killer.”

Ben laughed. “I wouldn’t say that… But no, well, maybe…it’s complicated.”

“Relationships always are,” smiled Jason. “So I saw you, Mr. Big Man, all over the TV this week.”

“Yeah,” said Ben slightly blushing. The notoriety still embarrassed him. “That was good win. I never expected all the press, though.”

“So, I thought you were some fat-cat attorney working with millionaires and such,” said Jason. “Did you switch firms or something?”

“No, actually it was a pro-bono case. I guess some higher ups wanted it cleaned up and my boss put me on it for some reason.”

“Because you’re good, that’s why,” said Jason taking a sip of iced tea.

“So, how about you? What type of firm are you with now?” asked Ben.

“Not really a firm,” said Jason. “I’m with a public interest organization and work on wrongful convictions, human rights issues…that sort of thing. There’s no money in it, but I love it anyway.”

Ben’s eyebrows rose. “Really? How’d you get into that?” He had never considered that type of law, but after doing the slumlord case, he felt really drawn to those types of projects. It really meant something and it made him re-spark his interest in being an attorney.

“Well, my wife, then my girlfriend, got me out there and I took the bar, passed and did the typical thing and interviewed with a few high-end firms, but nothing really clicked. Then I worked pro-bono at a community center and really loved it. I started to re-focus my job search and found a great place. I’ve been there about four years now.”

“Sounds good,” said Ben. He didn’t dare confide in him about how the work was re-inspiring him. He wasn’t really verbalizing it out loud to anyone but Ali. “I am really enjoying these cases,” he said, “so I get it.”

“Yeah, man, it feels good to really make a difference in someone’s life, huh?”

“Yeah,” agreed Ben. He was starting to like Jason even more than he had in college. He hadn’t thought about him since graduating.

“Well, it’s good to see you, man,” said Jason. “I guess if you’re ever out to the San Francisco or Oakland area, look me up. Oakland’s just across the bay from the San Francisco. I’d love to show you the city.”

“Odd you say, that,” said Ben. It was strange how San Francisco was such a common thread in his life lately. “I was just out there with Ali.”

“Ali? Is this the complicated relationship?”

Ben pursed his lips and nodded. “Yep, that’s it.”

“Well, I won’t ask for details about it, but what were you doing in San Francisco?”

“We were out there looking for housing for her. She was going to go to culinary school out there, but…well, it’s a long story.”

Jason just nodded in understanding.

They finished lunch talking about sports and various friends they’d had back in school, catching up on each other’s lives. By the time lunch ended, they were closer than they’d ever been and Ben really liked Jason. He respected him and his choices.

They promised to stay in touch and parted outside the restaurant with a handshake and exchange of business cards. Ben had no idea why Jason, who’d just been a casual friend so many years go, had called him to have lunch, but he was sure glad he did.

***

“Contestant Number Fourteen? Contestant Number Fourteen?” The heavy-set woman shouted out over the large auditorium.

“That’s me!” shouted Ali waving her hand. She had a large number fourteen badge on and her favorite yellow apron. “It’s my lucky apron,” she had told Ben who waited with her in the crowded auditorium, full of hopeful bakers and their friends and families.

Ali wove her way up to the front. She was assigned a kitchen space and she and Ben hustled her pans, utensils and ingredients to the space. She could set up for the next half hour and then the competition would begin.

“Flour over there with the sugar,” said Ali. She was barking orders and Ben was her faithful servant. He wanted to help her as much as he could. She was allowed one assistant during the process and he had happily agreed to do it.

A large clock was at one end of each kitchen space. Each baker had ninety minutes to make their creation. Nervous contestants scurried around their spaces in a flurry of activity. No actual cooking could begin until the bell rang and the clock counted down the minutes.

Ali kept the clock in her view and made sure to prepare her baking mise-en-place. “It means everything in its place,” she explained to Ben who nodded, happy to be helping and learning.

As the clock neared the start, she took a couple of minutes to breathe and steady her nerves. Nerves only caused error and she couldn’t afford any errors. This had to be a win. She’d made six cakes in the past week and between she, Ben and Josie they had all agreed on one recipe.

Clang! The bell rang and she jumped a bit. She started mixing the batter while Ben prepped the strawberries. He could chop, bring her things, stir things and put things in the oven, but he could not add any ingredients to the batter himself. He was fully aware of the rules and careful to stay inside of them.

Ali lightly sugared the berries and added a teaspoon of fresh-squeezed orange juice. They were to soften and sweeten before being folded into the whipped cream and layered into the baked cake. It was just a matter of steps and she must carefully follow each one as she’s done in her practice baking. She was confident in her skills and in the time that she had.

“Cake’s ready for the oven,” she announced and carried two full tins to the large ovens set up at one end of the auditorium. Ben walked with her and opened the oven. She carefully slid them in and watched the time. “At 2:18, they must come out, OK, Ben” 2:18.

“Got it,” he said looking at the clock. They gave each other a quick high five and scurried back to the kitchen space where set about making the whipped cream. “I’ll make it and get it good and cold in the fridge before I add the berries,” she informed Ben.

He nodded. “Whatever you say.”

“What would I do without you today?” she asked him as she eyed the clock and patted his back. She didn’t want to let her cakes over bake. Ben was a Godsend. Josie had to work and she couldn’t count on her aunt Toni to help. Toni was sweet, but following directions was not her strong suit. She’d be more trouble than help.

He smiled at her. “I guess you’d be one busy girl.”

She laughed. He was right. His help carrying things and doing basic prep was helping her stay on-track. It was essential to have a good sous-chef and he was doing his best to do just that. As she watched him stir the macerated berries and wipe up spills of cake batter from the counter, she felt a strong feeling for him. She loved him more in that moment than ever before.

“2:18!” He announced several minutes later.

“Shoot,” she’d been so involved in her whipped cream she had neglected to look at the clock. “Thanks,” she said as she scurried to the ovens, Ben following closely.

They took out the perfectly golden cakes using large oven mitts and each carefully carried one back to the kitchen. They set them on cooling racks. “Good job, she said to him smiling.”

They waited for the cakes to cool, cleaning up the space. Ali mixed the cream and berries. She would wait until the last minutes to assemble the cake. She just prayed it cooled quickly.

They stood and tasted a small sample cake she had made. “Excellent!” he said as he pressed his finger into the plate to pick up the moist crumbs.

She watched him pick up the sweet bits of cake and her heart filled with affection and love. She wished she could kiss him right then and there. The thought jolted her and made her a little nervous.

“Get all those little bits,” she teased him.

“Oh, I will,” he said licking his finger. Man, she was a good cook. He couldn’t get enough of whatever she made. He couldn’t get enough of her.

“That’s gorgeous,” said Ben as the final seconds of the contest clicked away. The cake was a work-of-art and suited for the cover of any magazine. Ali had outdone herself.

“Yeah, it looks pretty good, doesn’t it?” She was proud of herself. She had tasted everything along the way and was confident it was a winner. It just had to be.

***

The title winner eluded her. She got second place, a set of new bake ware and $1,500. Not exactly the $10,000 first prize, but an impressive showing. Unfortunately, an impressive showing wouldn’t pay her Dad’s medical bills.

Ali couldn’t help but be disappointed and Ben could tell as he drove them back to her apartment. “Man, Ali, second place? That’s incredible! There were over fifty contestants and you beat all but one. You should be proud.”

“Yeah,” she was proud of herself, but disappointed anyway. She had started to count on that money. The winner had made some type of triple-fudge cake and she kept chastising herself for not going with chocolate. Chocolate was always a winner.