Sizzling in Singapore (A Carnal Cuisine Novel) (16 page)

"Don't ride me, Tank. Just tell me what you need from me right now." Mae could feel the stickiness of Nick's semen in spite of the quick splash she had given herself before she dressed. As deeply as he had come within her, his jism was taking its time sliding out of her. She looked around to catch a glimpse of him, and saw his red bandana'd head bent over a huge pot.

In spite of the ordered chaos around her, Mae felt his presence and the tenderness it called forth in her. She finally understood the old cliché that
is
truly is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Because, at that moment, she could not imagine having never known Nick Seville or the passion and peace she found in his arms.

Thankfully, Mae could take her thoughts no further. The room was banging. All hands were on deck and there was no time for self-indulgent day dreams. If Mae was going to wallow in any kind of remorse or regret over Nick's eventual departure, it would have to wait until the banquet was over.

Both kitchens were involved in the preparations for the event--the main kitchen and the special purpose banquet kitchen. Until the hotel's regular dinner service began, as many burners, ovens and other resources had to be put to work getting food ready for the big crowd. At about 5:30, the main kitchen started to feed the dishes prepared there into the banquet kitchen and Mae stationed herself in the banquet kitchen to supervise.

It was a long and excruciating night. Although the guests would never know it, a dozen different disasters were averted behind the swinging doors. Mae didn't stop moving until nearly eleven when she finally sank into her old kitchen chair. The dish washers were just hauling the floor mats outside of the main kitchen to be hosed. It had been a late night for the dining room staff as well.

"You look completely spent." Nick came over to her as soon as he spotted her. "We had a helluva night in here, too. Unannounced big tops, a stove broke down, and Jonesie really burned his hand badly--but he's okay."

"I feel like I've been hit by a truck. I don't know what happened tonight, but there were more screw-ups than I've seen in ages." Mae rolled her shoulders in an effort to release some of the tension there. "How 'bout a shift drink for us?"

"Smack?" Nick always referred to Grand Marnier as 'cook's heroin' because of the orange brandy's notorious popularity among chefs.

"That would be fantastic." Mae watched Nick as he went to the kitchen liquor stock and pulled the bottle down from the shelf.
He makes the ordinary seem so extraordinary. I could watch him move--just simply move--for hours.
He brought the bottle and two coffee cups over to her desk and poured a couple of generous shots in each mug. Mae watched his hands remembering they were one of the first features she noticed about him.
How perfect they are--long, graceful and so masculine.

"Here you go, Babe. Cheers"

The endearment caught her a little off guard. She glanced around to see if anyone was within earshot. They only had a few more days and Mae was more than ever committed to keeping their relationship private. The last thing she wanted was to have to endure not only merciless teasing but probably also a great deal of pity after he left.

"Thanks for fetching it. I think this might knock me out."

"Listen, Mae. It's been a very hard night for both of us. I know you're exhausted. I know I sure am. Why don't you take your drink back to your room and soak in a hot tub. Get a good night's sleep."

Oh but we have so little time left! I want to spend it all with you.
Mae reluctantly agreed. She topped off her Grand Marnier with another splash. She looked at him and smiled, a little ruefully. "Good night, Nick."
I love you, Nick
.

***

Nick was up at dawn the next morning. He was excited, but he was also terrified. He grabbed a cab too early and wound up cooling his heels on the street waiting for the wood shop to open.

He wandered the street which was also home to a number of shops dedicated to the manufacture of paper effigies. He was fascinated by these offerings made to be burned at Chinese funerals. Cars, animals, houses and even chests of money all intricately constructed to go with the deceased into the afterlife.

Finally, he saw the doors to the wood shop creak open and accordion back to open the entire street side wall. His sign was, as promised, ready and resting on a pair of sawhorses just inside the door.

It was perfect. The wood carver had captured the cornucopia of produce that Nick had asked for. He had supplied the carver with printouts from an online seed catalog and the man had rendered them perfectly. The colors were bright and shaded in a beautifully natural way. Black-seeded Simpson, red oak leaf and romaine lettuces formed a verdant bouquet behind radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and several types of summer squash. Shiny purple eggplant, creamy turnips and blood red beets contrasted with sweet corn, cabbage, broccoli and asparagus. The lettering was excellent. He and the wood carver had chosen a font that was meant to be clear at a distance. When Nick stood back from the sign, he was very happy with their choice.

He carefully stowed the sign in the back of his waiting cab, paid the carver and returned to the Elysium. He nervously scanned the lobby hoping no staff member happened to be passing through as he sprinted to the elevator and up to his suite.

Spreading his complimentary "Straits Times" on the floor he laid the still-tacky work of art down on the newspaper. He propped it up at an angle with the phonebook and stepped back to have a final look before he called her up. It was perfect. Better than a diamond ring for his purposes.

He called down to the kitchen and asked for Mae. When she got on the line he tried his best to sound casual. "Mae, can you take a minute and come up to my room?"

"Sure, I guess so." She sounded hesitant. "We're pretty slow this morning. I'll be right up."

Nick thought it took an hour until he heard her tap on the door. He opened it just enough so that his body took up the space. "I have something for you," he said and pushed the door wide open.

***

Mae looked at Nick's dear smile and then followed his eyes to the object on the floor. It took a moment to figure out what she was looking at. It read: "Mae's Garden of Earthly Delights"

Her heart danced. "It's beautiful Nick."
What does it mean?

"It's a question, Mae. I've been thinking of little else since I found out Kurt is going to be back here soon. I realized--oh, I don't know when, really--but I realized that I don't want to let you go. I can't seem to envision the future without you. Hell, I can't even fantasize about my farm without you somewhere in the picture."

"But..."

"Before you answer just think about it. About us. There's never going to be another 'us' in my life, Mae. For better or worse, I know you're a once in a lifetime love for me. I want you to come with me. I want you to live with me and help me make the farm
our
dream." He took a deep breath. "I love you, Mae. With all my heart I do. I want you beside me always."

They were the words she had tried so hard not to wish for. The words she didn't think she'd ever hear. Her mind spun in glorious, confused happy circles and rendered her speechless.

"Look, I know you love your job, but it's just a job. And the travel...maybe we'll close a month a year and go to faraway places. I don't need to be a huge financial success, I've got enough socked away to never have to work again. We don't have to be tied to the place. But I do want to be tied to each other." He watched as Mae crossed the room to look at the sign up close.

Strings,
her heart sang.
Wonderful, wonderful strings.
Mae turned to him and all the love in her welled up in gratitude and exaltation. "My darling. My impulsive, passionate darling Nick. There is nothing in the world that I would love more than to come with you and share your dream."

"
Our
dream. Our
life
." In two steps he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. He put his hand to her chin and tilted her face up to his. "I want you to be sure, my love. I don't want to push you."

"Yes you do. Yes, you can. I love you Nick."

"It's going to be a fantastic journey, Babe."

"It's been fantastic already. It'll only get better." She tiptoed up to kiss him. He lifted her off her feet and they sealed themselves in each other's hearts.

***

Epilogue

Kurt returned a few short days later. After giving him a tongue-lashing about his disappearance, Mae listened to his story of Bernie and his adventure in Panama.

Nick made swift arrangements for them to fly to France so he could introduce Mae to Maria Seville. She fell quite in love with Mae and rejoiced for her only child. Mae saw how much Maria adored her son and had a wonderful time watching them together. Nick's male beauty was simply a masculine form of Maria's intensely feminine type. She felt accepted and welcome in Maria's presence. It was a beautiful beginning and Mae found herself hopeful that Maria could fill at least a small part of the motherless void in her life.

They took a week at
Cap d'Adge
to lay naked in the Mediterranean sun and visit nightclubs there where anything goes. They found out that the streak of exhibitionism they had discovered in the botanical gardens ran deeper than they imagined. They were able to frolic and play quite publicly in the south of France and both agreed they'd return to do it again.

The flight over the Atlantic was all about champagne and mischief. They became members of the mile-high club, even though Nick could barely fit in the tiny bathroom.

They finally arrived at the farm on a crisp morning in the early spring. Mae propped the sign for her garden against a fence post beside the rambling old house. "That's the spot, Nick. And it's a perfect time of year. If we hurry, we can have the first crops in before the daffodils are up."

He laughed at her impatience. "We'll get a few loads of compost and a tiller this week, my love. But right now, there's another 'garden of Mae's earthly
delights' I'd like to explore."

"Nick, my darling, no matter what, you'll always be my only plowman."

Companion Recipes for Romance from Sizzling in Singapore

Find more recipes for Carnal Cuisine on Torri's blog
:

http://torridcooke.com

"Elysium Hotel" Roasted Peach and Basil Vinaigrette

This dressing is simple to make and makes a wonderful accent for a green salad topped with grilled salmon or chicken. It has a bright and unusual flavor that is sweet, smoky and tangy all at once. The basil complements the peaches perfectly. If you are lucky enough to be in a place where you can get really good fresh peaches, by all means use them. Use three whole peeled peaches. Fresh peaches will give you a really wonderful color that canned ones can't match. But the restaurant where I learned this recipe was in a place where fresh peaches were grainy and tasteless so don't hesitate to use canned.

I use Canola oil in this recipe or an all-purpose blend. Olive oil just doesn't complement the peaches. I don't use corn oil for the same reason—the taste is too overwhelming.

For a variation on this recipe, try substituting pineapple slices for the peach halves. I have had the most success with fruit packed in juice as syrup-packed fruit tends to burn when grilled.

INGREDIENTS
:

¾ Cup of Cooking Oil

¼ Cup of Rice Wine Vinegar

¼ Cup Sugar

One Can –Fifteen ounces—Peach halves in juice

½ Cup of loosely packed basil leaves

1 Teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of cracked black pepper

Mesclun salad mix (or your favorite--clean and perfectly dry)

Grilled salmon or chicken, if desired

Drain the peaches well. Spray a grill pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat until very hot. Grill the peaches until they have dark grill marks. You may turn them if desired during cooking for more grill flavor. Don't worry if some of them break a little. You're going to blend them anyway.

Put the peaches in a container with the rest of the ingredients. You don't need to cool them. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can make the dressing in either a blender or a food processor. Taste for level of salt and pepper and adjust if necessary.

Handsome men appeal to the senses more if slightly underdressed and so does a salad. Don't drown your greens. Mix the salad just before serving to avoid wilting. Hate it when that happens.

"Elysium Hotel" Honey Roasted Beets with Cracked Black Pepper

If you aren't a beet fan, you really should try this funky vegetable on more time, roasted. Beets are really sensual food. They're earthy, sweet and slightly bitter at the same time, kick-ass for color on the plate and full of vitality-giving iron that all lovers need. Roasting brings out the sugars in beets and mellows the 'rooty-ness' That is one of the main objections I hear about beets.