A Table for Two (5 page)

"Thanks for saying that. Now, stop trying to distract me and start answering my questions. I'll repeat them one by one, so you can keep up."

For the next twenty minutes, Ridley answered Karen's questions until she thought Karen's curiosity might have been satisfied. "If you're through with me, I've got a few questions of my own," she said when Karen had nothing left to ask her.

"Fire away."

"First of all, tell me about this chef friend of yours, the one whose restaurant we're going to this evening. I remember when you and Laurie went to Chicago to visit an old friend, but you never told me much about her. Laurie didn't even tell me her name."

"I guess I never had a reason to talk to you about her. Her name's Dana De Marco. We were good friends all through high school and right after we graduated, her parents moved to Chicago and she went with them, of course."

"Dana De Marco. That's a pretty name."

"And she's a pretty girl," Karen added.

"I'm fascinated by the fact that she's a chef. I've never met one and I've always been curious about someone who does that for a living."

"She wanted to be one as far back as I can remember. We kept in touch for a while after she moved away, but then I didn't hear from her anymore until she called me and said she was moving back here to open a restaurant on South Street."

"Have you seen her since she's been back?" Ridley asked.

"She came over once, right after she moved here, but this will be the first time we've had a chance to get together since then."

"I'm anxious to meet her and try her restaurant. Where is it?"

"It's between seventh and eighth on South. It's only been open two mon..."

"Hey you two, what are you talking about? Me?" Laurie rushed up to Karen, put her arm around her and kissed her. "You look nice honey and you smell so good." She let out a moan as she nuzzled her lips into Karen's neck. "Remind me to explore this area more extensively later on, when we're alone."

"You look nice yourself and no, we're not talking about you." Karen kissed Laurie on the cheek. "And I'll remind you if you're still awake. So, are you finally ready to go?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Give me a minute or two to check out my best friend here before we get going." Laurie hugged Ridley, then stepped back, holding her at arms length. "You've got that sexy, young lesbian thing going for you, but that's hardly newsworthy. That top matches your eyes and with that tan and all..." Laurie shook her head. "God, you have no idea how attractive you are, do you?"

"I don't know what to say. I wasn't aiming for any kind of young lesbian thing. I was just being me," Ridley replied. She knew her close friends found her attractive and she knew other women did because they told her often enough. What mattered most to her was that she be loved for the kind of person she was inside and since Laurie did love her for who she was, both inside and out, she took Laurie's compliments as they were intended.

"We all know how cute she is, Laurie," Karen said, heading for the door. "Now, let's be on our way before we end up being late. You two grab the wine, will you?"

Without further discussion, they strolled one block north and turned west onto South Street. Ridley was the first to break the silence. "I love South Street. I don't think there's another place quite like it in the entire world."

"You don't know that for a fact, do you?" Karen teased. "Have you actually been everywhere in the world?"

"No I haven't, counselor." Ridley glanced at Karen. "What's with you?"

"I'm simply paying you back for picking on me earlier. You know Laurie and I love South Street. That's one of the reasons we live down here, right Laurie?"

"Right, your honor," Laurie said. "I love all the funky shops and ethnic restaurants and it's great people watching. That's one of the best things about it."

"That's what makes it interesting," Ridley said. "I think South Street is one of the city's treasures. It would be hard to find a stranger collection of people gathered together in on place anywhere else that I can think of. Where else would you find people in business suits walking next to gothic teens and new age hippies?"

"And where else would you find stores like these?" Laurie asked.

"They're unique all right, but do you know what I like the most?"

"I don't believe you've ever told me," Laurie said.

"I like the hustle and bustle feel of it," Ridley said. "The way everyone darts around on the streets in every direction and seems to be going somewhere important."

Without responding to what Ridley had said, Laurie stopped in front of one of the stores and stared at the window display. She waved her hand to beckon Ridley and Karen over. "Hey, check out this display of penis shaped pasta. It says penis pasta, right on the boxes."

Ridley leaned in closer, her nose almost touching the window. "They didn't have them in there last week when I went by," she remarked. "I would have noticed that."

"What kind of sauce would you serve on those?" Karen's question sounded so serious, it made Laurie and Ridley laugh. Karen glared at them for a moment and then she joined in the laughter. They took one last look at the window display before Karen said, "Let's keep moving along, girls, we're almost there." She led them along for another block until they reached the corner. "Here we are. This is it."

Ridley paused outside the three story brick building. The name,
Café De Marco
, was painted in gold letters on the large downstairs windows and again on the awning over the front entrance. She followed Karen as she led them inside and listened as Karen told the hostess who they were. The hostess promised to let Dana know they'd arrived and then she handed three menus to a waitress who escorted them to a nicely situated table tucked away in a secluded corner of the main dining room.

"This is really beautiful," Laurie said as she and Karen took their seats.

"I'm not the least bit surprised," Karen remarked. "I'd expect Dana to have exquisite taste." She opened her menu and disappeared behind it.

Ridley scanned the room as she slid into her chair. One wall of exposed brick ran the length of the dining room. The other three walls were a heavily textured plaster, painted in a muted gold and decorated with hand-painted olive branches. Some of the branches followed the ceiling line or climbed the wall seams while others twisted randomly across the walls and reached up onto the ceiling. Brick-red table cloths were draped over black lacquered tables set with sparkling glassware and rich gold napkins. Small bronze lamps suspended by long thin black cables, cast a warm glow over the center of each table. "If the food is as good as the ambience suggests, we're in for a treat," Ridley said as she picked up her menu.

"This is quite a menu. It all sounds so appealing, I don't know what to choose," Laurie said. "Did you see the specials? They sound scrumptious."

"Here she comes now," Karen said. She got to her feet and Laurie did the same.

Ridley got to her feet and watched Dana De Marco as she walked toward them. One glimpse of her in her starched chef's jacket caused Ridley's stomach to dive to the floor where it landed with a resounding thud somewhere in the vicinity of her feet. For several suspended seconds, she wondered if her shaky knees would continue to support her in an upright position. All the other sounds in the room were obliterated by her thundering heartbeat and she felt a warm flush bathe her face and spill down into her neck. Dana was simply adorable. She was about an inch shorter than Ridley with dark chestnut hair and even darker eyes. Why hadn't she prepared herself for the possibility that she might be so good-looking? Karen said she was pretty, but this?

Dana swept Karen into her arms for a big hug and then she hugged Laurie. After greeting the two of them, she focused her attention on Ridley and acknowledged her with a nod. "You must be Karen and Laurie's friend. Karen called and told me you might come along."

"I'm glad I did," Ridley said. She could think of nothing else to say.

Karen took hold of Ridley's arm. "Dana, this is our closest friend, Ridley Kelsen. She and Laurie went to Temple together and I think I already told you she's a teacher." Karen turned to Ridley. "Ridley, I'd like you to meet Dana De Marco."

"I'm so happy you could make it tonight," Dana said. "I hope you enjoy my restaurant. She offered her hand.

Ridley shook hands with Dana and prayed her hand didn't feel damp or cold. She stood dumbfounded with Dana's hand in hers as Dana stared at her with lively, penetrating eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you and I'm sure I will," Ridley said, surprised that she could speak coherently. She remembered to let go of Dana's hand when she heard Karen's voice.

"You haven't changed that much," Karen said to Dana. "Your hair's a little shorter than you used to wear it. I like it."

"Do you? When I first got here, I got it cut by someone new and she cut it shorter than I wanted. But after it grew in and I got used to it I decided I liked it a little shorter so I kept it that way. It's easier to take care of." Dana reached up and touched her hair.

Dana's eyes captured Ridley's again. "Karen told me that you and Laurie work at the same high school."

"We do. I just started there last week. I'm not new to teaching--I've been a teacher for years. I just left my old school and went to hers." Dana's eyes had a way of taking hold and Ridley had a hard time letting them go. After a brief pause, she said, "We brought wine."

"Great. Let me get someone to take care of those."

Dana waved to the hostess who rushed right over as if the Queen of England had summoned her. "Open these bottles of wine, will you please, and put them on ice for my friends?" The hostess bowed slightly, took the bottles from Ridley, and hurried off to take care of them.

"Do you have time to sit and visit with us?" Karen asked Dana.

Dana directed her answer at all three of them. "Not right now. We're really busy and I have to get back to the kitchen. Why don't you go ahead and order? Your waitress will explain any of the dishes on the menu."

"Do you have any recommendations?" Karen asked.

"I highly recommend the butternut squash lasagna if you don't mind eating vegetarian. It's very popular with our customers. We have some nice specials tonight and I'd say go with what appeals to you because I think it's all good. At least I hope so."

"I'm disappointed. I thought you'd spend time with us," Karen said.

Dana took Karen's hand. "I will, I promise. I'll be out later." She squeezed Karen's hand as if to seal her promise and hurried away toward the kitchen. Karen sat down and picked up her menu again. "I have to go over this. It's going to be tough to choose."

While Karen was absorbed in the menu, Ridley leaned over and hissed in Laurie's ear, "Why didn't you warn me she was so attractive?" It wasn't like Laurie to withhold that kind of information and Ridley wondered why she had. Maybe it didn't cross Laurie's mind that Ridley would think of Dana in any way other than friendship.

Laurie held her menu in front of her face to hide from Karen's watchful eyes and whispered to Ridley. "I didn't know you'd be interested in her and if I recall correctly, you warned me in no uncertain terms to mind my own business, so there." Laurie smirked as if she felt satisfied in an evil way. "So you like what you see, huh?"

"I sure do," Ridley answered. She thought Dana was the most delicious thing on the menu, but she did not share that particular thought with Laurie.

Karen pulled the top of Laurie's menu down. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Nothing," Ridley said firmly as she shot Laurie a warning glance.

"Nothing and we're not whispering," Laurie said with that smirk barely hidden beneath the surface. "We're just talking quietly."

After an hour or more of great food and spirited conversation, they waited as their waitress served dessert. Ridley stared down at the pineapple upside down cake as it was ceremoniously placed in front of her and then she made eye contact with the waitress. "This has been one of the best dinners I've ever had in my whole entire life."

"Thank you and I'll tell the chefs you said so. They always appreciate a compliment." She paused and then added, "I think our chefs are amazing. Our customers rave about the food."

"It's not hard to see why." Karen leaned back in her chair, her hands cradling her distended stomach. "I think I'm going to bust a gut."

"Don't even think of busting anything in here," Dana's smooth voice made an entry as she sneaked up behind Karen. "It would make an awful mess and it would be very bad for business, although we could use the publicity."

"So, exploding in a restaurant would be my ten minutes of fame, huh? Just what I always wanted." Karen groaned. "The Daily News would have a field day with that story."

"Can't you just see the headline?" Laurie asked.

"So, how was everything, ladies?" Dana asked.

Karen answered first. "Everything was outstanding. I had the beef and shrimp special and it was wonderful. The beef was tender and the shrimp were perfectly cooked and I loved the salsa. I cleaned my plate." Karen pointed to the dessert in front of her. "But as you can see, that didn't stop me from having dessert. I couldn't resist that sorbet and those ginger cookies. They were out of this world, by the way."

"You can thank Tracy, my sous-chef and pastry chef. She creates all of our desserts," Dana told them. "I consider her a genius."

"I can see why," Karen replied. "Tell her how much we loved everything."

"I will. She'll be pleased to hear it."

"Your lasagna was out of this world," Ridley said. "I've never tasted anything like it. Dishes like that could turn me into a vegetarian. I also loved my salad."

"Which one did you have?" Dana asked.

"I had the green papaya salad."

"That's an excellent choice. It's one of my personal favorites."

"The papaya reminded me of Jicama in a way. It has a delicate flavor and a nice crunch. Are green papayas just papayas that aren't ripe yet?" Ridley asked.

"No, they're actually another variety of papaya altogether. There are many different papayas and this salad is very common in Thai cuisine."