Love and Food (19 page)

“May I help you?” the man asks gruffly.

              “Yes.  I’m here to speak to Marcos.”

              “Is he expecting you?” the man asks.

              “He’s not, but I’m sure that he will be willing to speak to me.”

              The man seems to bounce around whether or not to let her see Marcos.  She is relieved when he says, “Okay.  Follow me.”

              She follows the man through the restaurant.  Her hands are balled up into fists and sweaty.  She’s nervous.  She needs this interaction to go her way.  She needs Marcos’ to admit to his diabolical actions.

              When they reach his office door, Marcos is writing something on a notepad.  When he looks up at her, his usual smirk appears.  She resists the urge to jump across his desk and slap the smirk off his face.  She watches as he places the pen he is writing with down and cross his hands over the notepad. 

“Well, what do we own this pleasure?” he says, waving the man with the menu away.  “Please sit,” he says, motioning towards a chair. 

She looks at his face.  He is acting surprised, but she doesn’t believe that he is surprised to see her at all.  She believes that he has been waiting for and expecting this moment. 

“Why do you think that I’m here,” she asks as she sits down.

              “I haven’t the faintest clue.  Why don’t you tell me why you’re here.”

              “I’m not going to beat around a bush with you, Marcos.  I know what you did,” she says, looking him directly in the eye.

              “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I understand what you mean,” he says without flinching.

              “I know that you’re the one who sabotaged my opening night,” she continues.  She searches his face, but Marcos’ face registers no significant response to her question.  She doesn’t see any signs of guilt.

              “I’m confused.  Are you saying that you think that I’m the one behind the poisonings at your restaurant?”

              “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

              Marcos begins to laugh.  “I don’t know where you are getting your information, but you’re mistaken.  I had absolutely nothing to do with what happened the night of your reopening.  I feel sorry for you that you had such an unfortunate night, by the way.  I wouldn’t wish what happened on my worst enemy.”

              The sound of his laughter makes her cringe.  “How did you do it, Marcos?  How were you able to tamper with the food?”

              “Like I said, I had nothing to do with what happened.  I may have wanted the building across the street, but I would never stoop so low to get it.  You’ve got the wrong person.  I’m sorry but you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

              “Am I, Marcos?  I checked your plate the night of the reopening and you never ate a single piece of food.  Why is that Marcos?  Explain to me why you came to my restaurant, ordered, and never ate a thing?”

              “I came to your restaurant because I wanted to see what you had done with the place.  I didn’t eat because I wasn’t hungry.  I was just there to feed my curiosity.  There’s no mystery or intrigue, I’m afraid.  I was just there being nosey.”

              She throws her head back and chuckles.  “You have got to be kidding me.  You expect me to believe that line of bullshit.  You run a restaurant.  You weren’t the least bit curious of how the food tasted?”

              “Not at all.  I was there to see what others had to say.  Even if I had tasted the food, my opinion doesn’t matter.  What mattered was what the general public had to say.  I wanted to be front and center to hear their opinions.  I’m sorry that you experienced what you did, but what happened had nothing to do with me.  In fact, I’m starting to resent your accusations.  I don’t appreciate you coming into my place of business and accusing me of things that I did not do.”

              She leans back in her chair.  This conversation is not going the way that she had planned.  What is she going to do?

* * * * *

              Mack locks his house and heads to his car.  He keeps replaying the night of the reopening in his mind over and over again.  He can’t escape the thoughts and the images.  They are with him in the shower, when he eats breakfast, and when he lies his head down to sleep at night.  Any time that he thinks they might fade away and he might forget what he’s done for a while, the thoughts return and pound his conscience. 

              He knows what he did was so wrong.  The gravity and the guilt of what he did didn’t set in until a little while after the fact, but now it’s always present and piercing.  He has a hard time looking in the mirror at himself now.  The person that he used to be is long gone.  He doesn’t even recognize the man that stares back at him now.  When did he become so hateful?

              He can’t get the look on Haillee’s face that night out of his mind.  He can’t erase the horrified look on her face and the terror in her eyes.  He thought that he was going to enjoy seeing that look on her face, but he discovered soon after that what he thought was the farthest from the truth.  The look on her face caused him to start to loathe himself.  He thought that he would feel like some sort of champion getting his revenge and avenging his honor, but instead he feels like the biggest loser on the planet.  He has never felt so low and disgusted with himself.  It’s hard to believe that he went to such a low place over a menu.  It turns out there was nothing satisfying about what he did.  There was no moment of pleasure or feeling like he gained an advantage.  There was no glory.  All he felt was absolute shame and the feeling won’t go away.  There has been no redemption for him.

              He hates himself for being enticed by Marcos.  He hates that he allowed himself to accept the temptation of money.  He’s always been a simple man.  Money wasn’t his main focus in life.  Friendship, family, happiness – those were the things that mattered to him before.  Instead of thinking about his friendship with Haillee and all the good times they have had together over the years, he let his pride, his ego, and Marcos’ money get in the way.  He threw all of his morals, ethics, and his values in the garbage can so easily.  He let revenge take over.  It’s the biggest mistake he’s ever made. 

It’s hard to except what he’s become.  It’s hard to accept that there is no going back.  His friendship with Haillee is over.  He’s made damn sure of that.  He will never be able to completely look her in the eye again.  He’s lost a good friend and friendship over something that should have been a non-issue.  He’s had plenty of time to sit and really think about what he would have done if he were in Haillee’s shoes.  He knows that he would have done exactly what she did and he probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it, just as she did.  That also is what makes what he’s done so hard to deal with.  How can you punish someone for doing something that you yourself would have done?  He feels like such a coward now.  Instead of being a man and taking the highroad, he buckled and took the low one and destroyed something that was very meaningful to him.

Now, he just wants to collect his money from Marcos and skip town.  He’s contemplated not accepting the money, but he’s decided that he needs compensation for the pain he’s caused and the pain feels inside of himself.  He’s decided to turn down Marcos offer of a job.  He doesn’t want to work for Marcos.  He doesn’t want to see the man another day in his life.  How could he possibly stand in Marcos’ kitchen and work after what he’s done?  It would like working in Satan’s kitchen.  Marcos Perilli is the devil in his eyes.  He’s an enticer, a liar, and a filthy tempter.  Marcos used him to do his dirty work just as Satan would.  He’s Marcos’ little minion now and it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. 

All he wants to do is get his money and leave what he’s done in his rearview mirror.  He wants to get as far as he can away from Haillee and Marcos and never ever look back.  He wants to wake up in a new place and start to try and forget the horrible thing that he has done.  He wants to start over and try to become a better man in the future.  He vows that he will never betray another friend again, no matter how hurt they may made him feel.  In his heart, he is not that guy - he is not a backstabber.

* * * * *

              “I think that it is time for you to leave,” Marcos says and stands up behind his desk.  “As far as I’m concerned our conversation is over.  There is nothing more to be said between us.  I’ve answered your questions.  Your accusations are unfounded and that’s it.  I didn’t have anything to do with the poisoning that occurred at your restaurant and I have nothing further to say to you, so I would appreciate it if you would leave now.”

              She wishes that she had something clever to say, but nothing comes to mind.  Marcos hasn’t confessed to her and there is nothing she can do to change that.  She can’t beat a confession out of him.  Her visit has been fruitless and she has no other choice but to accept it.  She’s tried and she’s failed.  It’s time for her to admit her defeat.

“I know that it is you behind the poisonings and one day the truth
will
come out.  It may not be today and it may not be tomorrow, but the truth will come to the light.  Lies never stay hidden.  You must know that, Marcos.  You’ve been around long enough.”

              “Haillee, you need to stop being so naïve.  People lie and get away with it every single day.  You, yourself, have probably gotten away with many a lie, I’m sure.  I know I have.  I’ve been around long enough to know that some things just stay buried and that’s not just the truth, it’s the facts.  I hope that one day you do find out the truth about the poisoning at your restaurant because then you will find out that I had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

              She stands up.  “I look forward to that day.  I look forward to seeing….” Her sentence is interrupted by Mack walking into Marcos office.  Her eyes bounce back and forth from Mack to Marcos.  “What is going on here?” she says, shocked to see her longtime friend and chef standing in her enemy’s office.             

“What the hell are you doing here?” Marcos says with an angry look on his face.  “I told you not to come here.”

“Someone needs to do some explaining.  Right now!” she exclaims, stunned by the situation.  She looks at Mack for answers.  She is starting to put two and two together and she doesn’t want to believe it.  Was Mack apart of the poisoning?  It can’t be true.  “Mack?” she says, feeling her heart sink.

“Haillee, I am so sorry,” Mack says, taking a step towards her.

“Don’t,” she says, putting her hand up to stop him from getting any closer.  “Please tell me that you had nothing to do with the poisonings.”

“Haillee, I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“Shut up!” Marcos yells at Mack.  “Do not say one more word!”

Mack continues.  “I was so upset about the menu that I completely lost what was important.  I was upset, hurt, and then Marcos came along and offered me a lot of money and a job to help him ruin the reopening.  I was so lost at that time that I stupidly accepted his offer.”

“Mack, I can’t believe that you would do this to me!  Why didn’t you just come and speak to me?  We could have worked it out.  You didn’t have to do this,” she says, having a hard time being angry with that man that was once her very good friend.

“I’m telling you.  If you say one more word I will kill you,” Marcos snarls at Mack.

“It’s over Marcos.  What we did was wrong.  I can’t keep it inside anymore.  It’s time for me to tell the truth,” Mack says, tears starting to form in his eyes.  He turns to her.  “Haillee, I’m so sorry.  I deeply regret what I did to you.  If I could turn back time and do things differently, I would.  What I did to you was a huge mistake and I regret it every single day.”

“It’s easy to feel sorry when you’re caught, isn’t it?  How much money did he offer you, Mack?  How much was it worth to betray me like you did and ruin our friendship?”

“A hundred thousand dollars,” Mack says, shaking his head.

“Wow.  A hundred thousand dollars, eh?  That’s a lot of money, but I would think that our friendship would be worth more than that.  I would like to think that our friendship is priceless.  I guess not.  I can’t believe that you would do something like this, Mack.  This is completely out of character for you.  Frankly, I’m shocked.  I never suspected that you were part of the poisoning at all - not for one second,” she says, baffled at what has transpired.  “Do you have any idea what you have done, Mack?  I don’t know what went through you mind to think that partnering up with Marcos was a good idea.”

“I know exactly what I’ve done.  I’m well aware.  I live with it everyday.  I messed up.  Teaming with Marcos was a huge error in judgment.”

“So, what are doing here?  Let me guess, you’re here to get your money?” she asks Mack.  He doesn’t respond.  His silence lets her know that her assumption is correct.  She looks at both men.  She looks at the man that she once trusted with her life and she is saddened.  She looks at the man who tried to destroy her and the sight of him gives her chills.  This is what it looks like when you make a deal with the devil.  She will never forget this moment.  After she ponders for a second what has occurred, she gathers up the strength to say one more thing.  “Mack, I loved you like a brother.  You have broken my heart into pieces.  I would have never even considered doing what you did to me to you.  It’s sad to know that our friendship meant so little to you and it’s sad to see you standing there, having compromised yourself for money.  I really wish that you had made better choices and stayed true to yourself.  I wish that you hadn’t let this monster persuade you to throw your whole life away.”