Eggs Benedict Arnold (54 page)

“
I
’
ll take ya,
”
said Toni, linking an arm around Joey
’
s neck.

“
You
’
re too permissive,
”
said Petra, gently slipping her medallions onto the grill.
“
Witness the way you deal with
Junior. No,
”
she continued,
“
Joey needs someone who
’
ll ride herd on him. Help unleash the gentleman hidden within, and maybe channel his aspirations into something besides skateboarding.
”

“
Skateboarding
’
s cool,
”
said Joey.

“
But you can
’
t make a living at it,
”
argued Petra.

“
Some guys do,
”
said Joey.
“
In California.
”

“
Unless the town fathers truck in a load of sand and re
name this place Redondo Beach,
”
said Suzanne,
“
I
’
d say you
’
re out of luck.
”

“
Why is Earl Stensrud here, anyway?
”
asked Toni, pull
ing four bottles of Pinot Gris from the cooler.
Suzanne had
selected it to complement the salmon appetizer. The wine
’
s
acidic flavor to balance the oily richness of the fish.

“
Missy purchased tickets a couple of days ago,
”
murmured Petra.
“
If you ask me, the girl
’
s in love.
”

“
A poor choice,
”
murmured Kit.

“
On the rebound from Ozzie,
”
said Toni, knowingly.

“
If you ask me,
”
said Suzanne,
“
I think Missy
’
s completely heartbroken over Ozzie and that she
’
s just subli
m
at
ing.
”

“
Earl
’
s her pacifier?
”
asked Kit.

“
So she might . . . what . . . dump him?
”
asked Toni.
“
Once everything settles down?
”

“
We can only hope,
”
said Suzanne.

The
salmon medallions, when served to their dinner guests,
were an instant hit. Ditto the Boston bib lettuce with walnut dressing and Maytag blue cheese. Suzanne, Toni, and
Kit did the honors serving while Joey cleared dishes. Sam
Hazelet, who was seated across the table from Carmen
Copeland and Ray Lynch, fairly beamed at Suzanne every
time she brushed past him. At one point he grabbed her hand and declared,
“
Your food is fantastic!
”

“
You ain
’
t seen nothin
’
yet,
”
she whispered back.

When Kit removed Earl
’
s empty salad plate, she purred,
“
Hello, Earl, long time no see.
”

Earl
’
s face suddenly puckered in recognition and turned
to
ma
t
o red.
“
Huh?
”
he grunted.

“
You used to be a real regular at Hoobly
’
s, but I haven
’
t
seen you for a while,
”
said Kit.

There were giggles all around the table. They all knew
about Hoobly
’
s. It was no big secret.

“
I wouldn
’
t say
regular,
”
said Earl, looking defensive. He shifted nervously in his chair, then tipped it back onto two legs, looking as if he
’
d been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
“
I had a
meeting
out there once. This one client...
”
But the rest of Earl
’
s words were suddenly lost as his chair skidded out from under him and banged hard against the cafe wall, causing a tremor in the
wooden shelf directly above his head. That tremor seemed to send seismographic waves down the length of the shelf causing Suzanne
’
s prized collection of ceramic chickens to
tremble and rattle.

“
Oh jeez!
”
shouted Toni as a yellow chicken with red
tail feathers tottered dangerously, then, like a reluctant dive
bomber, tumbled from the shelf!

“
Watch . . . !
”
began Carmen, who was sitting across from Earl.

“
Incoming!
”
yelled Toni, as the chicken struck Earl on
the back of his head. Thwack!

“
Owwwww!
”
Earl let loose a howl that sounded like a scalded banshee. He jumped up, stomping about like he
’
d
been stung by killer bees, while his chair continued its un
fortunate trajectory and crashed over backward.

“
What an idiot,
”
muttered Toni, and the people close to
her chuckled.

Earl continued hopping up and down like a madman, pointing an accusing finger at the smashed chicken.
“
That... that
thing
attacked me!
”
he screeched.

Toni hurried over to gather up pieces.
“
Take a chill pill, Earl,
”
she told him.
“
It
’
s just a fricking chicken.
”
She
smirked and held up the chicken
’
s jagged head.
“
Not much
left,
”
she said.
“
A head, a tail, a few paltry fragments.
”

“
Doggone thing smacked me!
”
complained Earl, rub
bing his hand against the back of his head.
“
Gonna have a
goose egg.
”

“
Some kind of egg,
”
murmured Suzanne.

“
What
’
s going
on
out there?
”
asked Petra, sticking her head through the pass-through.

“
Ceramic chicken,
”
Sam called to her.
“
Fell off your shelf. Smacked Earl.
”

Petra gave a wry smile.
“
The chicken has spoken.
”

Squash
soup wi
th
fennel and onion garnish was the next course on the menu.

“
How
’
re you doing?
”
Suzanne asked Petra as she hurriedly braised the last bits of fennel.

“
Good,
”
replied Petra.
“
Fennel
’
s nice and tender with a lovely caramelization.
”

“
Let me rephrase that,
”
said Suzanne.
“
How are
you?
”

Petra turned with a grin.
“
I am woman. I am invincible. I am pooped.
”

“
Of course, you are,
”
said Toni, flying through the door.
“
We
’
ve been at this all day. And by the way, Su
zanne, Carmen Copeland is flirting shamelessly with your
boyfriend.
”

“
He
’
s not my boyfriend,
”
said Suzanne.

“
Yet,
”
said Toni.

“
Besides,
”
added Suzanne,
“
Carmen flirts with anyone
and everyone in pants, long or short. You should know that
by now.
”

“
Good point,
”
said Toni,
“
since Carmen
’
s also making goo-goo eyes at Ray Lynch.
”

“
Maybe you could con Carmen into taking Junior off your hands,
”
suggested Suzanne.

“
You
’
d have to pretend you were super jealous,
”
said
Petra, going along with Suzanne’s suggestion.
“
So Carmen
would take up the challenge.
”

“
You mean bait her?
”
asked Toni.
“
Like she
’
s some kind
of crazed, feral animal? I could do that. In fact, it sounds like fun.
”

Chapter thirty one

Thunder
pounded and lightning flashed overhead, but the rain had let up for the time being. One cell passing through, another one chugging its way toward them.

Suzanne glanced out the window as another brilliant
flare lit the backyard, leaching color from the grass, trees,
and far farm fields, giving everything the curious appearance of a black-and-white negative. Earlier, she
’
d run out
and stashed Baxter in the shed with Dil. Now she fervently
hoped they were okay together. In fact, as soon as she got a chance, she was going to sneak out and check on them again.

“
I hope the power stays on,
”
worried Petra. Their guests were enjoying the soup course and now she was in the pro
cess of broiling the fillets.
“
If not, we
’
re going to be slogging away in the dark.
”

“
Not to worry,
”
said Toni.
“
We
’
ve got enough candle
power out front to keep things cheery. And my handy dandy
flashlight
’
s sitting on the back shelf.
”

“
We might need it,
”
said Petra.
“
If the main transformer
out by the highway decides to go on the blink. Literally.
”

“
How
’
s the potato gratin?
”
asked Suzanne, tactfully changing the subject. No sense courting disaster.

“
Looking good,
”
said Petra, pulling open the oven door.
“
Bubbling away and turning golden brown.
”

Joey struggled in with a gray plastic bin piled high with
dishes, followed by an embarrassed-looking Nadine Carr.
“
Hey,
”
Joey said,
“
I accidentally spilled soup on this lady
and she was nice enough not to yell at me. Do you guys got
some soda water or something?
”