The Restaurant(44)

Emma always hated this part of going to a shelter. Her heart went out to all the animals and she wanted to gather them up and take them all home with her. But of course, that wasn’t possible. It turned out that her decision this time was easy. There were only four cats currently available. One was a kitten, two were both about a year old and then there was Izzy, a six-year-old beauty. She was a multi-colored Maine Coon cat, but a tiny one with a delicate face and a long, fluffy tail.

Izzy looked up as they walked into the room and Emma was glad to see that the cats weren’t in cages but were free to roam the room. The kitten was sound asleep while the two younger cats stretched in a patch of sunlight that came through the window. Izzy was perched on a carpeted cat stand, watching them. As they came closer, she lifted her head and closed her eyes, inviting Emma to pat her and scratch lightly under her chin. And then she hopped down and rubbed against Emma’s legs, weaving in and out. Emma wanted to scoop her up and take her right home.

“I’d love to adopt Izzy, if possible.”

Mary looked surprised, and hesitated a moment before saying, “She’s six years old, you know?”

“I know. She’s the one I want.”

Mary’s eyes grew damp, and she looked away before smiling and saying, “Bless you. She’s a doll, but we’ve had her for months now. Most people want to adopt the younger cats.”

“When can I take her home?” Izzy was still rubbing against her leg, and Emma bent down to talk to her. “I’ll be back for you soon.”

“I’ll process your application this morning and will call you as soon as I’m done. You might be able to swing by this afternoon to get her, if all goes well.”

“Wonderful. Thank you.”

Emma was still smiling as she followed Paul back to his truck and climbed in.

“Well, that was easy,” he said. “She’s a beautiful cat. Do you want to come by for lunch? I was planning to make a pot of seafood chowder, and you can meet my cat, Brody?”

“Sure.”

It didn’t take long to reach Paul’s cottage. It was small but neat, and Emma could see that it had everything he needed and was close to the restaurant. When they walked in, Brody ambled out to the kitchen to greet them. He was a big boy, and a vivid orange with white along his belly. When Emma scratched him under his chin, he purred so loudly that it startled her and Paul laughed. “I tell him he sounds like a train. He’s enthusiastic, that one.” Emma settled into one of the kitchen chairs and Brody hopped into her lap. They both watched as Paul got busy in the kitchen.

“Can I film some of this?” Emma asked as Paul added diced bacon and onion to a big stock pot and turned the heat up.

“Sure. I’ll let you know when it gets interesting.”

Emma shot a series of very short videos, documenting the various stages of the chowder making, from the initial sauce to adding the seafood, which was a mix of clams, scallops, shrimp and lobster with a flour and butter roux to thicken the half-and-half. Paul finished it with a swirl of heavy cream, more butter, sherry, and a sprinkle of fresh thyme.

He poured bowls for each of them and they ate at the kitchen table.

“What do you think of adding this onto the menu?” he asked when Emma was about half-done. She gave him a thumbs-up.

“Everyone does clam chowder. This is better and fits the luxurious comfort food brand, if we decide to go for that.”

“Works for me. We’ll run it by the others.”

Emma looked around as she ate. The cottage was small but homey. “Have you lived here long?” she wondered aloud.

“As long as I’ve worked at Mimi’s Place. I moved in right after Patsy and I split. I should probably look into buying something bigger, but this is just so easy and convenient to the restaurant.”

Emma nodded. “I can understand that. Easy is good.”

Paul finished eating and set his spoon down. “Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we’d stayed together and gotten married?”

Emma shook her head sadly. “I wasn’t ready to get married that young. I didn’t think you really were either.” Even though he’d said that he was. They were in their senior year of high school and Paul had wanted to get engaged before they went off to college. But as much as she’d loved him then, and he had been her first love, it just didn’t feel right.

“I suppose you’re right. I think I always thought though that after college you’d come back and we’d pick up where we left off.”

“We didn’t really keep in touch though.” Paul hadn’t taken their breakup well and stopped talking to Emma at the time. She’d been upset at first, but then she’d moved on.

“You’re right. Still, I was surprised when I saw your engagement notice in the paper a month before you graduated from college. I knew it was truly over then.”

“I’m sorry, Paul. I had no idea. I fell in love with Peter. We married a few months after graduation and settled in Scottsdale.”

“I know. I met Patsy not too long after that.”

“And there hasn’t been anyone serious since?”

He shook his head. “No. I’ve dated here and there, but I’ve mostly focused on work. It’s hard with the hours. I’ve mostly dated other people in the restaurant business. What about you?