Page 10 of Codename: Dustoff
CHAPTERSIX
“You know ninety-nine days out of a hundred, I’m perfectly content creating comfort food and helping you plan innovative menus for the Tavern. But every once in a while, I feel so, constricted.” Gemini threw her towel down in frustration, flipping through her notebook over and again. She stood behind our prep counter; her hair tied in a messy bun, and already in chef’s whites though they weren’t actually white. When we designed the Tuckaway she decided whites didn’t fit with the aesthetic of the restaurant, so she’d switched to “an autumnal palate of pumpkin, sage, and teal.”
“You have been bellyaching for weeks about how you wish you had more opportunities to show off your fancy skills. What are you waiting for? Or rather, who needs to give you permission to do it? You’re part owner of the damn restaurant. Just do it.”
Her mouth quirked in tandem with her head tilting and arms folding, “I’m sorry?”
“You know what, why don’t we have a holiday event? We can invite the town, and the people from the hotel! You can create a special menu, maybe Jasper will want to come and showcase his bourbon and whiskey. Finn will see what a huge success that is going to be—I’m loving this idea, Gem. We need to do this.” I squared her shoulder, looking her dead in the eyes. “You need to do this. Give yourself the creative space to explore and innovate.”
The whole thing was genius. It checked off boxes for everyone. It showed Finn that the locals were just as interested in this place as the resort guests. Gemini could go crazy with a no holds barred menu to impress the shit out of everyone, and I had a built-in excuse to call Amelia.
* * *
“Oooh we could have carving stations! And like a Christmas village except it’s made from gingerbread and chocolate cakes!” Gemini rattled ideas off, writing down whatever tasks she needed to accomplish in her tiny chef’s notebook.
The dinner rush began, and she continued to throw ideas at me and plan the menu in her head, while cooking, tasting, and serving. Finn pushed through the swinging doors that separated the front of house from the kitchen, his arms full of empty plates. With the snowstorm, a lot of our waitstaff had called off, so we were operating with limited help.
“If y’all did less jawing and more cooking, maybe we could keep up with all the people here to eat.” He gave the two of us a stern look. Only Gemini got a heated kiss to soften his ornery delivery. Not that I wanted a kiss. But clearly only one of us actually had to deal with him being a pain in the ass.
“Emmett and I are talking through a fantastic idea he had.” She tilted her head up to look Finn in his eyes. From where I stood at the stove, I could practically see her shining with excitement.
“Good ideas? From Stubs? Not possible. He lost all of those, along with sense of humor, when they took his arm.” He winked at me before returning his focus back to his woman.
“We’re going to throw a holiday party!” Gemini twisted away from his grip giggling, returning her focus to plating and calling out ready orders. “Next Saturday. It will allow the townies to check us out while also giving everyone at the resort something fun to attend.”
Gemini answered before I could even open my mouth to answer the question. She handed him the notes we’d compiled just before he’d walked in, overflowing with all the details she wanted to share. I’d expected Finn to smile and tell us we were silly or overboard or a number of things that would show he was mildly annoyed but understood their value. I didn’t expect actual upset from him. Especially considering it was Gemini who stood glowing in her element.
“The two of you always over complicatin’ things.” He threw down a piece of paper he’d been holding. “We live in a simple town, with simple people, who don’t need all this fancy shit.”
Gemini stood there, frozen, gaping at his little tantrum. But I wasn’t going to tolerate that bullshit. Between being lukewarm on the bourbon experience and now outright criticizing a holiday party? I was at a total loss as to where he was coming from. Especially since it was only a year ago when he’d been ready to do just about anything to make sure this bar stayed open. Including bringing Gemini in in the first place as a consultant and advisor. I was fixin to tell him exactly what I thought about his shitty fucking attitude when a couple of the county sheriffs who’d been eating dinner stepped into the kitchen.
“Sorry to interrupt, but we just got a call that a car drove off the road on I5 before the bridge. The whole town’s in the shits with the bridge out and all kinds of spin outs. Finn, can we get your help towing her out?”
We didn’t even need to have a conversation about it. Finn and I both got our coats and followed the sheriffs out, while Gemini took over in the kitchen. I asked one of our bartenders to help her with plating and calling out ready orders so she could focus on cooking.
The second we were in his truck and on our way following the Sheriff I laid into him.
“Where do you get off, Finn?”
“Where do I get off? Where do you get off? Our Tavern is perfectly fine the way it is. We don’t need any of this highfalutin shit. Bourbon tastings and now this pricks fix? What the fuck is a pricks fix?”
I tried valiantly to hide my snicker. Knowing Finn for as long as I had, he didn’t like being made to feel unintelligent. By anyone.
“It’s prix fixe. It means that for a fixed price anyone can come and enjoy a full menu from appetizers through dessert for fifty-five dollars. That’s a fantastic price point for two people. I think it’s going to be really successful, Finn.”
Finn slapped his hand on the steering wheel. Taking the opportunity to throw his little tantrum while we waited at a stop light. After a string of expletives and an aggressive rubbing of his hair, he turned back towards me. Surprisingly, he didn’t look mad. He looked, despondent.
“Hey. Talk to me.”
“Aren’t we enough the way we are?”
Finn has always been more of the bear just woken up from hibernation type when it comes to feelings and expression of emotion. In a single statement he pulled back the curtain on his vulnerability. It both surprised me, and kind of shocked me.
“Not good enough for what? Gemini?”
“It seems like all she wants to do is change things.”
“Finn. She loves you. Like head over heels, in love. She walked away from her whole life in Chicago and Madison to be with you.”