CHAPTER 24 - LAUNCH PARTY...PEOPLE GET SERVED!

TREEHOUSE - FRIDAY EVENING

OFFICE

ZEE

              "So not that I'm complaining but what happened to them being here tomorrow?"

Faal looks takes a long pull on his wine, this must be bad.

              "A combination of Kinnetic business and Mel and Lindsay happened."

I nod for him to continue.

              "Well because of an early meeting tomorrow morning with a client that couldn't wait until Monday Brian and Justin are in the loft, which meant that Matt and Hunter couldn't use it.  And they wanted to use it to get away from the constant simmering tension between Mel and Lindsay.  And..."

              "Since nobody wants to sit in the eye of that shitstorm here they are?"

He nods and frowns.

              "Is there any way that what Mel is doing can be sped up?"

              "Let's talk to her tomorrow, I mean Sunday."  I tell him and snaffle a sip of his wine.

BACK KITCHEN

JENNY

              "So Hunter's upstairs having a nice bath, Gus is on the phone to grandpa talking about more car parts, which I love to do too and we're in the back kitchen staring at a wall because...?"

              "The blinds to the office are down."

              "And?"

              "They never put the blinds down unless they don't want me to read something or they are doing something else."  He shudders

              "Ah.  So what do you think is happening?"

              "I'm not sure, but they were very keen for you to not blow up at uh..."

              "Lindsay."  I reply firmly.  "When they're not present she's Lindsay and he's Michael."

              "Right Lindsay and Michael for a reason, not just so that you can find out what they talk about."

              "Why don't we just ask them?"

He shakes his head

              "Whatever it is Double Oh Seven and a Bit, let them get on with it, just get ready for some serious shit to hit the fan when it does."

              "Double Oh Fifteen if you please!"

              "Okay blinds are going up, let's get out of here quick.  Time for more practice."

              "Yes dad!"  I snark but follow him upstairs with a smile on my face.

KITCHEN

FAAL

              "Okay, do you want for dinner?  Where's Hunter and Gus?"

              "I'm here.  Hunter's still in the bath?"  Gus appears grinning.

              "Of course he is.  What's tickled you?"  Matt asks.

              "Grandpa's sulking.  He wanted to cook a special meal for grandma tomorrow night but she said no, and when he asked why she said you didn't want to cook in my first kitchen you sure as fuck ain't cooking in this one now it's fancied up."

We all chuckle and can imagine papa bear's indignant expression after that.

              "Uncle Faal can I ask you something?"  Gus begins quietly.

              "You need me to leave?"  Matt asks.

              "No." 

He looks down and a tear plops on the counter.

              "Stront!  Come here what is it?"

              "When you and Aunt Zee argue what happens?  I mean do you just blow up and scream and shout and then it's over?"

              "Depends on the argument.  But generally, we try to stop it from becoming one, it has to be pretty bad for us to scream at each other.  She's been angry when I've been thoughtless and the other way round but I can't remember our last screaming match can you Matt?"

              "June 2007."  Zee comes in with Jenny and Hunter.  "Matt had come back from his grandfather's.  He said something to him and Matt repeated it and you Captain Caveman wanted to go over and have a word."

              "Oh that was horrible."  Matt shudders at the memory as do I.

              "I didn't care what he said, I cared that he said it to my son at an age when he could fully understand the hatred he feels for me."

              "What did you do?  Gus asks him

              "Stopped seeing my granddad.  I said if he can't respect my dad then I didn't want to see him anymore."

              "Wow."

              "He takes after his mother, her mother, his great grandfather and if she was alive at the time his great grandmother.  And I'm so proud of him for that."

We're quiet for a while.

              "What do you think all their fighting is about J?"

              "I don't know Gus, all I know is that I would rather stay in my room than be around them when they are pecking at each other like angry vultures over carrion." 

              "Its official you're spending too much time with my dad!" 

              "And we are done with being maudlin!  What's for dinner Aunt Zee?"  Gus ask wiping his nose.

              "I fancy take out from Nakama Japanese Steakhouse.  I'm bone tired, I never knew how much of a detail perfectionist Emmy Lou is...he even measured the distance between the coffee machine and the wall.  But at least he approved the glasses, I'll show you after dinner. The bases are already done and they look great it's just a matter of attaching the two after casting."

              "Sounds great, you guys go order, I'll get drinks."

I shepherd them into the lounge and leave the external light on for now and get cokes, some beers and the plum liqueur and make sure there's plenty of ice in the glasses.  When I come back, Zee is looking guilty.

              "Lobster?"  I ask and she nods.  "So how long till it gets here?"

              "With the lobster an extra 20 minutes on top."

She bats her lashes and then grins angelically at me, as if I could resist that.

WORKSHOP - SATURDAY MORNING

ZEE

              "Okay troops, that's how you do it!  Go nice and slow, don't suck just blow steadily and gently.  Now let's make some glassware!  If you make a mistake don't sweat it just stick it back in the furnace and start again."

After an hour we have quite the production line going.  Matt's great at graduating the colours - purple and orange - but each one is still individual.  Hunter's lung capacity is excellent and his breath control is exemplary and he gets them all the same almost every time.  Jenny has cast the bases in marcasite and each one is perfect and Gus's eye for detail means that he gets the bowl of the glass dead centre each time. 

We are having such a great day that we don't realise the time until Faal knocks on the door and tells us to stop now as it's almost four.  I send the kids to have well deserved showers before we order take out again, this time from Kaya.

KITCHEN

FAAL

              "How many did you manage to do?" 

              "Almost 30, which should be enough for client meetings.  We're going to get basic china and get the logo put on them.  Emmy Lou sourced some great cutlery so that's sorted out and I got all  the glasses, the Hocking Stolzle range from Webstaurant Store - their glasses have an aeration point.  And...what?  Faal what are you staring at me like that for?"

              "You, you're happy and I love it when you are."

She grins at me and tries to wipe her sweaty hands on my face.

              "No!  Not so happy that I want to share sweat with you that I haven't caused!"

I start running around the kitchen to avoid her when the bell goes.

              "Bet you $50 it's him."  She says.

I open the door and there's Emmy Lou, I hand her the money. 

              "Come on, I'm surprised you lasted this long.  Is Drew with you and are you staying over?"

She fires questions over her shoulder and they are answered by Drew coming up the path with an overnight bag.

              "It's Kaya - Caribbean food - and he just cost me $50."

              "I tried everything to keep him in the house...as my dick and ass can testify."  He mutters

              "Let me get you a beer, an ice pack and a cushion."  I snicker earning myself a glare.

BROWNSTONE

WALK-IN

MEL

              "Lindz what exactly are you doing?"

I've come downstairs to find her staring at the rack of clothes in confusion.

              "You've only got one outfit ready?"

              "Yes.  Is that a problem for you?" 

              "Are you off at some point this week?"

              "No, this is the outfit for Monday."

She turns to me and at the pinking of her cheeks she knows she's been busted.

              "I have to admit it was very clever, taking the clothes from the end of the week, it took me a week to work it out.  I had already said you shouldn't wear them but you did it anyway.

              "I don't understand why you won't share them with me, it's not as if..."

              "Because I don't fucking want to!  Brian has never thanked me before, well apart from the Kip Thomas thing but that was due to Justin, he's never given me, me, Melanie Marcus, anything..."

              "Except Gus, you remember our son!"

              "No he gave him to you and there were times you never ever let me fucking forget it!"

              "When tell me when I have ever made you feel less of a parent?!"

              "I never said that, I said you never let me forget that Brian is Gus's father, which is totally different."

              "How is it different?" 

              "Leeway, the amount of leeway you give Michael as opposed to Brian is vast.  If it was Brian pulling the shit that Michael does, you would be hounding him for days making sure Gus got what's due to him forcing him to live up to his rights as a father.  Why is it the moment Brian does something for someone else, you bring up how detrimental it is for Gus but Michael does nothing, fuck all for Jenny and you say nothing?"

              "He doesn't get a pass, you've seen to that!"

              "Because you won't!  Why must I be the bad guy all the time, you're her mother too, stand up for her!"

              "I do!"

              "Only when backed into a corner and to save face!  He's not working but can still buy collectibles but not pay support..."

              "He's got that tax..."

              "Oh please, that's an excuse and you know it!  And what about the loan repayment to Brian and Justin?"

              "He's only paying half that for now...I mean I-I heard that from..."

              "Lindsay please leave and until you respect my wishes I will keep this door locked."

She gasps flounces out, once I lock it I find her sulkily pouring a glass of wine, it slops over the counter and as she leaves she gives me a sneering look.

              "Since you are so cosy with Zee, you can save her countertop."

I wipe up the spill and pour myself a glass and head to the bedroom.  Just as I'm about to give into tears, Jenny calls.

              "Hey baby how are you?"

JENNY

I've just got off the phone with mom and even though she didn't say I know she's upset about something...most likely something Lindsay's done or she's defended him over.  I have to do something to make mom happy, she deserves to be happy.  Oh I know!  I need Auntie Em and Aunt Daph!

TREEHOUSE - SUNDAY MORNING

MASTER BEDROOM

FAAL

              "Ooh that smells good!"

I mumble and reach out my hand and come up with nothing.

              "Zee why can I smell coffee but not find it?"

              "Are your eyes open and looking say between the armchairs by the window?"

              "No."

              "That would be why then?"

I swat her on her behind and she giggles.  I open my eyes and take a look, it's a DeLonghi bean to cup coffee maker and judging by the smell it is the Sumatra blend.

              "Happy Almost Birthday." 

She mumbles into my chest before getting up and heading to the bathroom to brush her teeth and I follow eager to have some coffee.  We get ourselves a cup each and snuggle back down under the blankets, groaning she looks at the time.

              "Time to get up.  Okay for breakfast, instead of eggy bread sandwiches, how about egg in the hole with avocado and chilli jam."

There's a quick tap and the door opens and Emmy Lou's infectious grin beams out at us.

              "A great idea now get up and show me how to make it!" 

KITCHEN

EMMY LOU

              "Oh my God these are good and healthy too!  Not even King Kinney himself would object to these for breakfast."

Drewsie and the rest of the boys have decided to have a swim first, which is good because it gives me a few minutes to talk to my girl.

              "Now Zee, I do not want you freaking out on Friday, you are to be an oasis of calmness..."

              "As long as I can stay behind the scenes I will be calm."

              "Okay but sooner or later you are going to come out of there and greet your adoring public."

She smiles at me.

              "I promise to come out one day just not launch night okay?"

              "Okay, but before the end of next six events?"

              "Deal.  Just need to get my suit of armour polished."

              "I give up!  Commis will be here soon, want me to start prepping the next batch?"

Just as she nods, the doorbell goes.  Brian, Justin, Alice, George and the furballs are here and they have bubbles pressed into their hands and 15 minutes later, Zee bellows.

              "Breakfast in 5 minutes!"

              "Where's Jenny?"  Alice asks.

              "Talking to Daph in the office...FaceTiming."  Zee replies.

              "Oh do you think I can go in?"  Justin asks.

              "Sure you can take this as well." 

And with that he's gone.

              "Hey dad!"  Gus flings himself into Brian's arms.  "Where's papa?"

              "Talking to Aunt Daph with Jenny.  How was the glassblowing?"

              "Gus..."  I warn.

              "It was very good and we made great progress, but you're not allowed to see or hear a description until launch night, which I think is a bit unfair since he's doing the promotion for it."

              "That's as maybe but I want everything to be a surprise!"

              "Like you didn't show Drewsie the design of the glass?"

              "Nope I can hand on heart say that I haven't seen anything to do with your flatware, cutlery and glassware not a thing apart from the logo.  Honest Zee he's not shown me a thing."

Soon enough everyone else starts to arrive and soon the kitchen and lounge is bustling with chatter.

              "Where's Jenny?"  Mel asks looking round

              "Still talking to Daph, they've been in there for over an hour now." 

Zee smiles handing her a glass of wine, then we exchange a quick look, seems someone's in need of a hug, I give Mel's hand a quick squeeze whilst nobody's watching and whisper call me later in her ear.

              "Who's they?"  Michael demands...seems someone's in need of a slap.

              "Justin and Jenny, I think they are discussing boys, judging by the smile on Daphne's face, definitely boys."  Faal comes out of the back kitchen.

              "Matt go tell her to put the blinds down."  Zee instructs swatting Faal on the butt.

              "Actually, Matt I'll tell her I want a word with her anyway." 

Michael's imperious tone silences the room, he grabs a glass of wine and stalks out.   Zee is taking this a lot better than I thought though Faal is starting to look annoyed, Michael comes back in less than a minute.

              "Well?  Where is she?"

              "In my office."  Faal replies.  "Which is off limits, you understand that don't you Michael?"

              "Oh, oh of course, I'll wait till she's finished."  He mutters and heads to the lounge.

Ten minutes later, Jenny and Justin come out giggling with sheaves of paper in their hands.

              "There, that's what the pampering weekend should entail.  Your fellow wedding planner has it all worked out and has booked the space and it's all locked down and paid for.  The other things are self- explanatory." 

He hands them to me with his signature grin and looks expectantly at Zee.

              "Okay so we have a themed menu and the main food group is sweetcorn.  So the menu is..."

Before we can find out what the menu is there are raised voices from the lounge, sighing we all head in that direction.

MICHAEL

              "What do you mean no?"

              "No as in no I will not let you see my phone, this is private and I don't have to show it to you."

              "Um Michael, maybe, well maybe if she shows it to me, then I can tell you what they say?"  Lindz suggests.  "Right sweetheart that would be okay wouldn't it?"

              "No I don't want you to see them either."  Jenny replies calmly.

Lindz and I exchange a look in surprise.

              "But sweetheart, we want to make sure that there is nothing untoward going on between you and this Hank boy."  She explains

              "Then I will show them to mom or papa and they can tell you, roughly, what they say, I think that's a reasonable don't you?" 

              "No actually I don't think that's reasonable..."

              "Why not Lindz?  She's showing it to her parents and they are hardly going to lie to you about it, it's a good compromise in my opinion." 

              "But Brian, I, well we would like to know first-hand what they say..."  Lindz stammers.

              "And she's uncomfortable with that, but she's comfortable with Mel and Ben knowing.  That's more than some parents get.  Use common sense, keep pushing and she will never come to you and stop going to them and then nobody will know anything.  And then where will you be?"

              "Thanks Brian, I knew I could rely on you to be the voice of reason."  I smile at him.

              "Okay, I agree too."  Lindz nods

              "Right now that's settled back to cooking, anyone whoever wants to help come with me, everyone else chillax."  Zee shakes her head and walks out.

Two minutes later, everyone except, Zee, Justin, Debs, Alice and Emmett are back in the lounge or elsewhere in the house.  I decide to see what the kids are doing.

UPPER LOUNGE

When I get up there they are just playing chess.

              "So this is what you do when you're up here, I thought it would be more exciting."

              "Chess is not about that it's about strategy, tactics and sacrifices."  Gus says gazing at the board

              "Your dad tried to teach me once, Gus, couldn't understand it at all."

              "Uh huh.  Well it also needs concentration so if you don't mind Uncle Michael I want to plan my next move."  Gus tells me still not looking up.

              "What do you mean sacrifice?"  I ask sitting down cross legged next to him and Matt.

This causes them to look at me and frown.

              "Sometimes you have to sacrifice your pawn, your rook or your knight for the greater good."  Gus explains.

              "And what's the greater good?"  I ask.

       "The greater good Michael is coming down and letting them get on with their game in peace.  Now come on go ahead of me!"  Ma voice booms from the door.

When I get back to the lounge, Brian is reading a magazine and there is a space next to him.

              "Where's Justin?"  I ask sitting down next to him.

              "Kitchen being official taster as usual." 

He replies not looking up and then suddenly he does and smiles and I smile back.

              "What you got there Sunshine?"  He asks reaching for the glass.

              "A rather cheeky glass of orange wine from Sicily and sweetcorn scones with bacon butter.  Excuse me Michael you're in my place."

I get up and head to talk to Lindz, who has another glass of wine for me.

              "What's that look for?"  Lindz asks.

              "Huh oh nothing.  Justin as usual getting between Brian and I; so what exactly did Mel say that Justin had done with regards to Kip Thomas."

As I look across at him and Brian, I think to myself actually Boy Wonder you're in my place and you won't be there for much longer.

LOUNGE

ZEE

              "Okay people come eat, and this time I've paired the booze.  Its roasted sweetcorn and chive soup with crab wontons to start paired with a Rioja Blanco.  Beer braised short ribs paired with Point Amber Lager and sweetcorn panna cotta with rum popcorn paired with a shot of golden rum."

There were murmurs of appreciation and hopeful looks from the kids.  When we got to the dining room, we all stopped.

              "What's the hold up?  The foods going to get cold!"  Debs demands.

              "We're waiting for papa bear and queen to take their seats." 

Faal tells her and pulls out her chair whilst I pull out the chair for Carl at the head of the table, clearing his throat Carl strides to his seat and sits down.

              "Right everyone else sit and let's eat!"  Carl orders trying very hard not to puff out his chest.

The food went down well, with the usual contretemps between Brian and Justin but having Debs next to Michael contained him nicely. 

The rest of the week is going to be very trying for Faal and I as the launch party grows nearer the more nervous I will get, it's not as if it's just people I know these were Emmy Lou's previous clients, Brian's clients and other the gallery owners, some members of the cultural boards and staff, even James Fienman is coming!

BROWNSTONE - MONDAY MORNING

LINDZ

I swear she did that deliberately, she deliberately kept topping up my glass and now my head feels like hell on earth!  Mel had to go to court early so has gone already and the kids have gone to school.  I reach for my phone and call Sidney. 

CHASE, HAROLD AND DRAPER

MEL'S OFFICE

              "Melanie Marcus speaking.  Oh hi Emily, how you feeling?  You are, you will, oh my goodness Emily, who do you have on retainer, oh yes I know him he's good!  When do you file?  Right let me make a couple of calls, you'll keep me posted yes?  Thanks Emily bye."

WHITE & SULLIVAN

ADAM

              "Adam White speaking.  Well I'll be damned Melanie Marcus as I live and hide behind a flame retardant structure how are you!  I heard you were back in the Pitts, where'd you end up, ooh Chase nice very nice!  Yeah actually I'm free today, what time?  Okay I'll book a place and let you know."

I sit back and smile.  I like Melanie, she's a fucking good lawyer, Chase is lucky.

              "Carol, can you book Butcher and the Rye or Nakama for lunch say at 1300 as private as you can get it, if you can't get either of those let me know.  Thanks."

BLOOM GALLERY

MARTINE

I can't believe she's off sick again.  I know I'm just the junior whatever the fuck but this is ridiculous, she's been here for almost six weeks and I don't think she's completed an entire week, oh wait, when we had those shows after the Fienman fire she did a week but only because Sydney was co-hosting I bet that if he wasn't we wouldn't have seen her for smoke! 

But, the good news is that I'm going to the launch of the new catering company up the street, they did the Justin Taylor Showing and I loved their food.  Sydney has even said that I can go early to go home and get ready, but I don't want to do that I shall just get freshened up here and go across with Aunt Lydia and Hunter. 

I like Hunter he's a sweet guy and very humble and genuine.  Aunt Lydia has told me all about him and how proud she is of him, have to admit I was gutted when I heard about him selling the Auzou but not as gutted as Lyndsey was I'll bet.  We've been out to lunch a few times and I've met his boyfriend and I almost wept in frustration but they are so in love with each other it's hard to be mad...almost!

Right more picking up of Lyndsey slack...even Scott our normally mild mannered curator is starting to get fucked off.

Roll on Friday is all I can say.

BUTCHER AND THE RYE - LUNCH TIME

ADAM

              "Come here you gorgeous lady you!"

I sweep Mel into my arms and give her a huge hug.

              "Adam it is so...so...I'm sorry!"

              "Mel!  Jeez what's happened?" 

I whisper urgently as this normally combative and tenacious lawyer starts to fall apart in front of me.  I signal for two brandies and order her to call her secretary to clear her schedule and I will clear mine. 

              "Okay tell me what the fuck has got you like this?"

Twenty minutes later I'm stunned and appalled. 

              "And she did this to her friend?  Who is the poor guy that she got pregnant by?"

              "Brian Kinney..."

              "Brian Kinney?  As in Kinnetic?" 

She nods and I groan.

              "What?  What's wrong?"

              "I had to deal with Brian Kinney last year, he wasn't the problem, but it's the person that I had to deal with that gave me heartburn.  Never have I met a man so fucking stupid."

              "Michael Novotny by any chance?"

              "Uh yeah..."

              "He's the father of my daughter Jenny and used to be Brian's best friend.  And yeah he's fucking stupid.  But there is one more thing."

I look at her warily.

              "I know who your client is and I want to help you as much as I can."

              "And who is my client?"

              "Emily Mitchell."

I signal for two more brandies.

BROWNSTONE - WEDNESDAY MORNING

LINDZ

Well I feel so much better having had those two days off.  I got a sniffy email from Sydney about me being off but I can't help being sick, I told him I would be in this afternoon.  Once again Mel went early, we've barely spoken since our massive blow up on Saturday and she's stuck to keeping the door locked to her walk-in, I'll just wait for her to calm down over that and it will be fine. 

KINNETIC

CYNTHIA

              "So let me get this straight.  For the pampering weekend for the wedding party, we're going to Caudalíe Vinotherapié Spa in New York.  I repeat, Caudalíe Vinotherapié Spa in New York for the entire weekend?"

I look at Brian and Justin in astonishment.

              "Yep we go up Friday night and come home Monday morning, so book your time off.  Luckily that weekend falls before another teacher day at Gus and Jenny's school.  And yes you can bring a guest if you so wish, apparently it is very romantic in places."  Brian rolls his tongue in his cheek.

              "Fuck the guest this is all about me!"  I laugh.  "What does Ted say?"

              "What does Ted say about what?"  The man of the hour does his usual tap and poke routine.

              "Caudalíe Vinotherapié Spa in New York."

              "Oh wow now that is supposed to be fantastic, and even though it's a spa, they have an incredible food places, why are we talking about this?"

              "Justin and Daphne have booked the pampering weekend there and yes you can bring Blake."

Ted's mouth drops open, much like mine did when he told me.

              "Right I've got a meeting in 10 minutes so I'll leave you guys to it... Caudalíe Vinotherapié Spa in New York the man is crazy!"

TED

              "Oh you are crazy, do you know what kind of shitstorm that is going to create?"

              "Yep." 

Justin replies with a smile that for some reason sends a shiver down my spine.

SHADYSIDE

MICHAEL

I'm going over to the ma's in a while, I'm hoping to persuade her to swap display cases with me as hers is better.  I've also been trying to locate Kip Thomas to get his side of the Justin Taylor story.  But so far nothing.

E&ZHoD - FRIDAY AFTERNOON

EMMY LOU

I'm looking through my to do list and at the door, Zee hasn't turned up yet and she's not answering her phone, I'm not panicking, I'm not panicking...it's only 50 people going to be here to watch us cook and showcase our brilliance and my partner seems to have gone AWOL with stage fright!

              "Have you heard from her?"  Faal rushes through the door great he's panicked.

              "Nothing!  What are we going to do?"  I almost wail at him.

              "Hey we're here what can we do?"

Carl's gruff voice doesn't soothe my frazzled nerves like it normally does.

              "Can you put an APB out for Zee she seems to have gone missing?!"  I shriek.

              "What the fuck do you mean missing Ems?"  Debs demands.

              "Look everyone calm down.  When was the last time you called her?"   Carl asks.

              "About 10 minutes ago, it seems like she picks up and then it goes dead."  Faal is pacing.

              "Okay try it again and put it on speaker."  Carl is so calm.

              "Fa..." 

              "See what I mean!"  He cries.

Suddenly Carl cocks his head.

              "Everyone be quiet, turn that music off!  Do you hear that?"

We all listen and at first there's nothing but then there's three thumps.

              "Where's that coming from?"  Debs asks

We all go through to the test kitchen and look round, but there's nobody here, Carl holds up his hand and there they are again, three thumps.

              "Um Emmy Lou...when the larder door shuts can you open it from the inside?"  Faal asks

              "No, it's a larder it's not as if...oh shit!"

Quickly we unlock the door to find an extremely pissed of Zee glowering at us.

              "Which one of you fucking idiots shut the door?!"  She snarls.  "As if I don't have enough fucking shit to deal with!"

I've never seen her so angry and to be honest I'm kind of scared!

              "Baz it's Zee, can you come over or send one of the boys over, we need to put a hook and chain the larder door so that it doesn't close on a person and leave them fucking in there...try...try..."

              "Baz its Faal, how soon can you get here?  Great thanks, see you soon.  Um guys may we...?"

FAAL

I pull her into my arms and she almost collapses in relief.

              "Je moet zo bang geweest zijn." 

              "Vertel iemand en jy 'n dooie man"

              "Nou in ieder geval zou je niet ..."

              "Ik ben te dicht bij je ballen voor u om die zin af."

              "There's my girl.  Now, can I let them back in?"

She clears her throat and takes a steadying breath and as she takes a step back to nod, Emmy Lou falls through the door in his rush to envelope her in a hug, sobbing and whimpering his apologies, which of course sets her off again.

              "Emmy Lou, come on I just got her to stop!"

              "Right the first order of the day is to get an Irish coffee going, just the one mind you!" 

Debs bustles over to the machine and pauses.

"When I said he couldn't get the same one you had I naturally assumed he would get the next one down, not up."  Zee tells her

"Excuse me of whom is it you speak, I do not downgrade!" 

And that was all it took for everything to be okay.

UPTOWN

LYDIA

              "Now Hunter as your boss and mentor I have certain rights..."

              "Not for the inside scoop on tonight you don't."

              "I see a more direct approach is called for.  What is your stance on tickling?"

              "Lydia!"

              "Oh come on just one thing, just one!"  I wheedle.

He shakes his head determinedly. 

              "And I thought you were my friend, hey Martine, maybe you'll have better luck with him."

              "For what?"

              "Finding out what tonight's menu is, are you looking forward to it?"

              "Yeah."

              "Okay what's wrong?" I ask.

              "Lyndsey I'm fucking sick again Petersen is what's wrong!  She's been off for a week now, saying she got food poisoning from something she ate at the weekend and we've been picking up the slack, I mean its great experience and Scott is a great mentor but it's so..."

              "More like something she drank."  Hunter snorts.

              "What do you mean?" 

Martine asks and then she sees my face and turns round, unfortunately, Hunter does not.

              "Yes Hunter, can you explain to me exactly what you mean by that?"

E&ZHoD - 10 MINUTES BEFORE LAUNCH

ZEE

              "Take a breath, power the fuck through and get shit done come on!"  I tell myself firmly in the mirror.

              "You ready pard'ner?"  Emmy Lou trills.

I nod and taking his hand we head to the kitchens and put on our head mikes and then into the gallery space.

              "Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Em & Zee's House of Delights, my name is Emmett Honeycutt and this beautiful lady to my left is Zee Ugerstacht.  We are going to showcase our food, our hosting skills and everything else we have to offer from this prime location.  We are able to cater from iddy biddy right up to but not including inaugurations, so without further ado, let the evening begin!  Libations please!"

The waiters with a mix of purple or orange cummerbunds and bowties serve drinks and Emmy Lou continues his speech and the more he talks the more I relax, it helps that every two minutes I get a buzz on my phone, I love Faal so much.

              "Now for the good bit, seeing how it's done and more importantly how it tastes!  Zee please lead the way!"

Everyone follows me through and we put on our aprons. 

              "Now I want to draw your attention to this table, all the flatware, cutlery and glassware are in-house so there will be no hire charges for that and the logo was designed by esteemed artist and Pittsburgh native Justin Taylor.  And the client glasses, the purple and orange ones, they were made by Zee, she's got great hands..."

              "I can vouch for that!"  Faal calls out.

              "Dad!"  Matt scolds.  "We can't take you anywhere!" 

              "But she does."

              "Moving swiftly on!  I would like to thank our sponsors for this event Kinnetic Inc, whose president and CEO of the company Brian Kinney is here tonight.  Now to the good stuff, the food!  Please take a menu and from left to right Zee will tell you what they are, if you want us to show you how we cook them come ask us, well actually I'm the commis, this lady here designed the menu from start to finish, so without ado over to you Zee."

I look up and lock eyes with Faal, he mouths I love you and I begin to speak.

              "Let me preface this by saying I am not a chef, I cook for pleasure for fun.  The menu has a mostly Asian slant for tonight though there are other cuisines smattered about.  Is smattered a word, oh well it is now, so here we have, potential items of our winter menu:"

Em&Zee's House of Delights Launch Menu

Gua boa buns with either

 Braised pork belly and peanuts;

Confit of duck with scallions

Prawn tempura with roasted chilli sauce

Spring rolls with Singaporean crab and crisp vegetables

Mini shrimp po'boys

Mini chargrilled beef marinated in soy, lemongrass and chilli baguettes

Prawn and potato fritters

Fried seabass with tomato, chilli and kaffir lime sauce

Assorted Goyzas:

Chicken - with sweet chilli sauce

Beef - with tamarind sauce

Pork and prawn - with sweet mirin and ginger sauce

Deep fried chicken wings with sambal and mint and coriander and lime salad

Stir fried rice

Vegetable curry with mini naan bread

Crispy chickpea and kale Ceasar salad

Asian oxtail sliders

Desserts:

Strawberry ice cream sandwiches

Mini baked Alaska

Mini cherry, hazelnut and praline dark chocolate bites

Coffees with a tot

Irish - Feckin Irish

French - Bertrand

Japanese - Hibiki

American...AKA The Kinney - Jim Beam

There is silence, absolutely silence apart from the roaring in my ears.

              "Excuse me, I'm Henry Feeley, one of Brian Kinney's clients, are you saying that you cooked all of this for today?"

       "Well in stages, some dishes are best cooked from scratch."

       "So do you travel, I mean would you only cater for people in Pittsburgh?"

       "Well since this our launch I don't think I can answer that yet.  But we do have a food truck and other uh resources."

       "Well if the answer to my question is yes by say October this year, would you consider catering our Autumn Company Party, we're based in Ohio."

       "Henry, why don't you contact me on Tuesday and we'll discuss it, as well as sponsoring this event we are a partner with this company."

       "Of course Brian, I'll get my PA to set up a call.  Remarkable and you've had no formal training."

              "No."

              "Well if it tastes as good as it sounds then you are going to be very busy indeed, can we start?"

              "Sorry of course, please everyone help yourselves!  Any questions, feel free to ask."

I let out a sigh, turn back to my stove and count down from 20 to steady my nerves.

              "How was that?"  I whisper to Emmy Lou.

              "So fucking proud of you."  He whispers back.

              "Uh guys, your head mikes are still on."  Brian calls out.

MEL

I dash over to Zee with a glass of red wine, which she virtually inhales, and give her a hug.  I asked Jenny to get me us a selection of food and she comes up with a plate, once I taste the confit bao bun I'm in heaven.

              "Oh you are in trouble with Faal over this one."  I grin at her.

              "Hence the word potential in the speech.  He and Drew have rights of veto."

MATT

Oh God, the confit bao bun!  I mean they are all good but that is just so good, dad and I need to talk.  I can see there is one left and I don't think he's had one, thankfully he's talking to Vince.

              "Dad taste this right now!"  I hiss at him.

He takes it from me and within 5 seconds of him finishing it he's making his way to Drew, and judging by the nodding the confit bao buns are off the menu.

CARL

This papa bear is so fucking proud of his cubs.

JAMES FIENMAN

              "Zee, hello!"

              "James, so glad you made it so what do you think?"

              "When you said you wanted to make it a food gallery I had no idea of what you meant but it's wonderful!  Oh let me introduce you to my partner, Conrad, you've made him very happy."

              "You've no idea how long I've been trying to get him to retire and I have you to thank for our trip to Boca next month!"

              "You're welcome.  Um sorry could you excuse me I need to cook up another batch of the..."

              "Please say oxtail sliders, I think people were stuffing them and the confit bao in their pockets."

She bursts out laughing and then pulls out a small bowl and spoons some of the oxtail in and hands it to Conrad, who beams at her.

              "No you are watching your cholesterol, this is all mine."

              "Conrad be reasonable!"  I call out to his retreating back.  "Excuse me Zee.  Conrad!"

JUSTIN

Brian still has a slider on his plate but on the side away from me and in his other hand.  He is doing this deliberately.

              "Brian!  Come on you know you're not going to eat it."  I whisper-pout.

              "I know but you look so adorable when you pout over food."

              "Bri.an!"  I'm virtually stamping my foot.

And then the bastard walks away with it.  I hate him.

MICHAEL

I've been trying to speak to Jenny for the last twenty minutes but she's dashing about helping Aunt Zee and Auntie Em, she never was like this in the comic book store when she came to visit, she acted bored out of her mind.  Ah it seems that Boy Wonder has let Brian off his leash.

              "Hi Brian."

              "Michael.  Have you enjoyed the evening?"

              "It was okay I guess.  So about this..."

              "Excuse me."

              "Okay we'll catch up later then."

LINDZ

Well I suppose it's been a success and once again she got lucky.  I did enjoy the little bit embarrassment she had when her mike was still on, though I'm not happy about this partnership that they seem to have entered into with Brian, he and I will need to discuss that at some point.

MIRANDA

You have got to be fucking kidding me!  That lazy ass bitch is here!  Oh I am so mad, we almost missed the speeches because we were picking up her slack!

ZEE

Emmy Lou keeps coming up to the bowl on the counter and putting cards in and grinning.  All I want to do is get a hug from Faal, but because of his indelicate interruption he's now one of the stars of the show.

LYDIA

Oh that's not a happy face on my niece, I wonder what's wrong?

ZEE

              "Ladies and gentlemen if I could have your attention please?  We are now ready to serve the desserts and coffees.  But before we do that, Jenny, Hunter, Matt and Gus can you come up please?  Now these four young people also deserve a mention, they helped me with the client glasses.  And prepped the gift bags for us, because of them this evening has gone smoother than we could've hoped because I was nervous as fuck, I mean hell, so please can you join me in giving them a round of applause."

Clapping rings out and lasted a good few minutes and they were all blushing.  Quickly they leave the stage to attend to their tables.

              "Oh one more person I need to say something to and they will know what I mean...each dish is in the mud room freezer."

              "Yes!"

              "Subtle Justin really subtle!"  Drew calls out.

Once again laughter ensued, this was replaced by murmurs of appreciation on seeing the desserts.

              "Now just one more thing, with regards to the coffees with a tot.  They are thus.  Jenny has the Hibiki table; Hunter has the Feckin Irish; Matt has the Bertrand; and of course Gus has to have The Kinney, now please have let's end this evening in style."

SYDNEY

I have to say I am very jealous at the moment, I've just been speaking to James and considering how he looked a few weeks ago he's positively glowing.  He was telling me all about their trip to Boca and there's just the person I want to talk to!

              "May I have a word?"

              "Oh of course."

I wait by the door whilst she gets her coat.

              "Did you enjoy the evening?"  She asks.

              "I did, it was excellent great food, lively conversation, and I think it's a great addition to the area!"

              "Yes, as you said we should book him in August and I'll speak to them about that.  Now was that all because I need to get back in and support my friends."

Was that all?  Was that all?!

              "No, no you won't book them..."

              "But you said that you wanted them.  Your messages are conflicting.  So what do you want me to do now?"

              "I want you to come back in the office on Monday and clear your desk because Lindsay you are fired, you weren't sick on Monday with food poisoning, you simply overdid the grape, don't attempt to insult my intelligence.  You've been out of the office more than in and your insubordinate tone is the last straw.  Now is that message clear enough for you?"

I sweep back inside.

LINDZ

Fired, has he just fucking fired me?  No that can't be right, Lyndsay Petersen does not get fired!  I take a deep breath and head back inside and try to locate Sydney but he seems to have disappeared.  I will speak to him on Monday and resolve this little misunderstanding.

EMMY LOU

The evening is winding down now and I can safely say we are a success!  We've already got four more bookings and have decided to hire Costino Waiters as our go to as they were perfect.  The only fly in the ointment is the EPOS...it jars horribly...I must have had a migraine that day when I decided that!

              "So we getting a tablet EPOS in sleek grey then?" 

Zee leans on my shoulder, she looks tired but happy.

              "Yes my darling girl we are, first thing on Monday that clunk of junk is out of here!"

I look around and it looks like it's only the family here.

              "Let me double check that there's no more patrons and then lock up."

The Tasting Area...as we have decided to call it...is clear and Faal and Brian are shooing out the last of the patrons in the Showing Area.

              "Are we alone?  It's just family now right?"  Faal asks

When I nod he dashes into the Tasting Area and we hear a little squeak of indignation.

              "Faal put me down!"

              "I will just a minute!"

He has hoisted her over his shoulder and is carrying her over to the sofa, which Tucker, Ted and Blake immediately vacate, he plonks her down and immediately takes off her shoes and starts to massage her feet.

              "How's that feel?"

              "Heavenly.  Keep going."  She murmurs.

JUSTIN

              "So Zee, Emmy Lou how'd you think it went?"

They smile tiredly at me.  I nod at mom and Debs.

              "Now when an operatic event like this has been played out it is customary for the principals to be given flowers, but we didn't want to do that, so to show you how proud we are of you, we've got you each these."

They open the boxes and I hand Brian over $20 as Emmy Lou immediately bursts into tears at the sight of his personalised chef's jacket and then Brian hands me the money back as Zee buries her face in Faal's chest.

              "And that's not all, we've had business cards printed out for you, we know you didn't have time to do them, what do you think?"

              "Uh they're great except you've got the wrong telephone numbers on there."  Emmy Lou sniffs.

              "No they're the right numbers, they belong to these phones." 

Brian hands them two new iPhones.

              "All the cards you've collected today have been put in so you are rip roaring and ready to go first thing on Monday?  And you've been put on the same answering service as Kinnetic for out of hours."

              "But how the bowl never left the counter?"  Zee asks.

              "Jenny bring it for me sweetheart."  Mel calls out.

Jenny comes back giggling.

              "Have a look."  Mel grins

              "Wow, there seems to be a lot from Melanie Marcus, Jennifer Taylor, Brian Kinney, Lydia Glendale and even Sydney Bloom.   So you swapped the bowls when we weren't looking?"

       "Like I said, my granddaughter is a swift little jammer."  Carl chortles.

              "There are just two more things, Brian and I want to say, one you two are not to cook this weekend, no arguing and Brian..."

BRIAN

              "Thanks Sunshine.  This is about the wedding.  As some of you know Justin and Daphne booked a pampering place for us and that's on the first weekend in April, so we won't be here, so please make a note of that.  Not only will we not be here but nor will the ushers, ring bearers, mothers of the grooms or the best man."

              "And why's that?"  Drew asks.

              "Because they will also be with us at the Caudalíe Vinotherapié Spa in New York."

              "What!"  Emmy Lou shrieks.

              "And you are allowed to bring a guest.  Do feel free to google it." 

I add and then watch as realisation sets in. 

              "Oh my God would you look at that wine store, I could just sleep there!"  Faal sighs.

              "But what about Gus and Jenny, shouldn't their parents come too?"  Lindz asks.

              "Thanks Lindz who do you think Ben and I are?  I ask tightly.

              "No that's not what I meant Brian, I meant whilst you are being pampered they..."

              "Will also be being pampered."  Justin interrupts.  "But don't worry the parent issue has been neatly resolved by Daphne."

              "It has and what the hell does she have to do with it?"  Michael whines

              "She's my best woman, remember?"  Justin looks Michael dead in the eye.  "And as Vince will working she has decided to invite Mel as her guest."