A Sweet and Spicy Kind Of Love (12 page)

~~~

Lionel watched the men work, as they erected the structure that would temporarily house the competition on the following day. It was a solid, white, canopy customarily used for weddings. The structure was located near the cherry blossoms tress and the yellow rose bushes, which presented quite a festive atmosphere. Large, square tables with white tablecloths were placed in rows, each adorned with beautiful blooms from the estate.

He was pleased to note how well the plants looked. Molly’s mother was exceptional at growing things and he decided to offer her a place at the estate for as long as she would like. Perhaps they could even participate in some kind of floral competition in the near future.

When Julian appeared, Lionel repeated his thoughts “I think we should have Belinda working here indefinitely. She reminds me of your mother’s touch when it comes to plants. Exceptional work really.”

Julian smiled in approval “Yes, they are beautiful father and I agree with your plan. I am glad that you were not upset with the competition being held here. I was worried it would cause a greater rift between us. I know how much you prefer isolation, but I think it is time to widen out a bit more, don’t you think?’

Lionel inclined his head. Yes, it was time to widen out but not for the reasons Julian assumed. With a new spring in his step, Lionel patted his son on the back and told him to get a good night’s rest. “Something tells me you’ll need it my boy.” With a deep chuckle he left Julian staring at him, with a curious expression on his face.

~~~

Molly could not sit still. Her legs shook, her lips trembled and her hands were fluttering like a hummingbird’s wing. She could not believe what Yolanda had convinced her to do. It was a bad idea, something would go wrong and if Julian found out, heaven forbid! With butterflies eating at her insides, Molly dialed Yolanda, relieved to hear her musical voice on the phone.

“Here I am girlfriend. Are you ready to get your man once and for all?”

Molly was not even close to being ready. With a tremor in her voice she sought reassurance for the unorthodox plan she would attempt to carry out “No, I am not ready. I am so not close to being ready. Are you certain this is a good plan? Suppose things go horrendously wrong? Suppose he ends up in the emergency room? Suppose…-”

“Enough of supposes” Yolanda interrupted with a no nonsense tone “It will not happen.  You will simply do as you have been ordered to do. And if you carry out everything according to our plan, I am stressing our plan here, then all will be well, do you hear me?”

“But Yolanda, I have never done something like this before. It is not in my nature to pretend subterfuge or anything like it. Guilt will be written all across my face! You should know that.”

Yolanda appeared unconcerned “Get yourself ready and let me worry about the details. You just do what you do best and that’s cook. Now tootle pips. Ta –da.” And just like that, the phone went dead and Yolanda was gone.

Molly replaced the receiver and looked at herself in the mirror. Besides a little flush to her cheeks and bright eyes, everything seemed well. Appearances were truly deceiving.

~~~

The Bloomfield, Chili competition was in full swing and anyone who was anyone in Sunnyvale was present. There was a bit of overcrowding, but Lionel took it all in stride. If Templeton manor wanted to open up to the neighborhood, this was part of the deal.

 A band had been hired to play classical music, as the children ran around the ponds chasing the ducks and tried to catch the fishes. There were thirty contestants and five different prizes offered: Horrendously Good Chili, Most Original Flavor Chili, Knock-your-socks-off Chili, Highway to the stars Chili and Finger-licking-good chili. The prize included a plaque with the contestant’s name and cash. Lionel chuckled. It should be quite an interesting competition from the looks of it. With a smile he returned to the library. The younger generation could have all of the fun they wanted. An older man preferred a bit of quiet and solitude.

` `  ` ` ` ` ` ` `  `  `

It was almost time for the actual cooking to begin, but Molly’s jitters had not faded. If anything, they had increased to the point where her breathing was coming is short gasps. She only hoped she could pull of the stunt she had arranged with Yolanda because if not, Julian would never want to see her ever again.

After greeting her mother who was helping in the kitchen, Molly entered the contestant area and noted the judges in deep conversation. There were five of them and Julian was number two. She hadn’t seen him since the awful incident after Ethan’s sudden kiss, but the feeling of contempt lingered in her mind. She hoped he would never look at her in such a way again.

As contestant number seven, Molly made her way to the appropriate table when Ethan appeared. At the look in her eyes, he held up his hands in a peaceful gesture and smiled “Now, now, no fighting. I just wanted to take a moment and apologize for what happened. I really didn’t do so well when I spoke to you on the phone the other day, but I truly am sorry.”

Molly nodded and shook his hand “Thank you Ethan, we will agree to forget. I would actually like to congratulate you as well. This is quite a nice event you have organized. I didn’t realize that so many people would be here. Was that a television crew I saw when I arrived?”

“Yep, it sure was. They will ensure that the competition will be more of an international flavor shall we say? Especially since Julian will be one of the judges. Don’t imagine it will hurt the family business to be talked about on an international level, wouldn’t it?”

Molly shrugged “I really wouldn’t know about that. I don’t know what the family business really is.”

Ethan’s eyes widened with disbelief “You’re joking right? You don’t even know what he does for a living?”

“Nope. Never asked and no one ever said.” Molly replied with a sheepish grin.

Ethan laughed so hard the tears ran down his face. “Sorry about that. I can’t help it. After all these years of living here, I find it ironic that you don’t know what he does for a living. But, for your information, his family is into luxury cars. Manufacturing a certain type to be precise, but don’t ask me which kind. Ask him.”

Molly was surprised “Luxury cars? But I don’t see him driving any luxury cars here, except for the Bentley which belongs to his father.”

Ethan agreed “Yeah, probably doesn’t want to show off. Bet you its different when he’s abroad though. He can hold his own with the best of them. Probably better if you ask me. Well then, I just wanted to say sorry and to wish you well today. Mind if I ask what you are making?”

 “Of course not. I will introduce you to my culinary arts, in the form of my Betsy-boot-kicking chili dish.”

“Whoa girl! What is a Betsy-boot what?”

It was Molly’s turn to laugh “Just go over there and let me get to work. Thank you Ethan for everything. In a way you did me a favor by getting some kind of reaction out of Julian. That in itself was worth it, I suppose.”

Ethan reached out and kissed Molly lightly on the cheek. “Best wishes to you Molly Makepeace. May all of your dreams come true.”

“Why don’t you worry about your own dreams Mr. Brommel?” The icy tone cut through the air and Molly cringed in response.
Not again
. She hadn’t even noticed Julian’s approach, but this time his face said it all. To Ethan’s credit he did not appear ruffled at the comment. He simply winked at Molly and said his goodbyes.

“Perhaps you should focus on the competition instead of a man, don’t you think so Ms. Makepeace? That is if you can manage something as simple as that.” With those biting words, Julian turned away and melted into the crowds.

Molly bit the inside of her cheek. Fine! But, today he was going to hear her side of the story once and for all.
Be patient my love, I promise you an experience you will never forget.

With determined movements, Molly put her jitters aside. She had a chili to make, a man to impress and hopefully the day would end much better than it had begun.

~~~

The three hours were almost up and most of the meals were prepared. At the sound of the timer, all contestants stepped aside and prepared to be judged. As each contestant’s chili was tasted and the scores written down, the audience clapped with delight. The entire crowd was having a wonderful time and a festive atmosphere lingered within.

Since the judging began with the last contestant working their way down to the first, Molly still had a few minutes to collect her thoughts. As the judges got closer, she thought for the millionth time if it was right to do what she had planned. But it was now or never. With quick deft movements, she held her breath, placed the secret ingredient in the chili and stirred it quickly. As Yolanda had predicted, it blended it well with no outward signs that anything had been added at the last minute.

When the judges got to her table all of them smiled, except for stoned faced Julian, and Judge number one asked her to describe her ingredients before the taste test could begin. Molly complied dutifully and the judges prepared to taste the meal. But, before the first judge could act, Molly found her courage and spoke up firmly ““Respectfully Judges, I would like Mr. Chambers to be the first to taste my dish as there is one secret ingredient I think only he can identify.”

The room grew quiet and then whispers surfaced through the crowds, as the remaining judges looked at her with an odd expression.

Molly refused to flinch. Smiling as gracefully as she could, she repeated her request in a firm voice “Mr. Chambers, would you please taste my dish and then I will reveal the last secret ingredient?”

Not bothering to hide his surprise, Julian came forward and did as she requested. Molly waited as calmly as she could for his reaction. It wasn’t long in coming. First he coughed, then his eyes watered as he looked at her in astonishment. A moment later he turned multiple shades of red, as beads of sweat peppered his brow and then he doubled over.

The other judges were torn between looking at Molly and watching Julian. Stunned, Judge Number four inquired “Julian, are you all right? Surely the chili can’t be that hot, can it?” Julian did not respond to that question other than to gasp as he begged for some milk.

Judge number three couldn’t help herself and started to laugh. “Good gracious Man. I have never seen such an odd reaction to perfectly good chili. Milk? We are used to this sort of thing and you told us you could handle any kind of chili no matter how how hot it was. What is wrong with you?”

Molly fought to keep still. She knew exactly what was wrong with him. The Moruga pepper that was a part of her chili was one of the hottest on the market. Guaranteed to get a reaction, no matter how professional a taster was.

 Springing into plan B she acted swiftly. “Oh my goodness. I am so sorry. It seems as though my Chili is a little warmer that I had intended. I will take Mr. Chambers with me and make sure that he gets the milk he desperately needs. I respectfully withdraw from the competition as it is my dish that has caused this violent upset.”

Amidst the scatterings of laughter and stunned expressions from both the judges and the audience, Molly led a gasping Julian to the manor kitchen to get some relief.

~~~

Yolanda jumped with glee and ran behind Molly and Julian. Things were falling into place and now just one final part to make the plan complete. When she got to the kitchen Julian was still doubled over, sweating like a bull and begging for some milk. Molly’s face was white and her lips pinched, but her eyes reflected determination. The staff was staring in horror and even Belinda did not look pleased.