Angels at the Table (Angels Everywhere #7)(15)

“You haven’t tasted your dinner yet,” Josie said.

Filled with anticipation, Aren reached for his fork. The sole was cooked perfectly. His mouth watered with eagerness to sample his first bite. He closed his eyes, expecting sheer delight.

Delight wasn’t the word he’d use to describe the sole. In fact, it took restraint not to spit it out. Only by sheer willpower did he manage to swallow his food.

In a word the sole was dreadful. The beurre blanc sauce was salty to the point that it ruined the entire dish. Apparently the chef realized the mistake and overcompensated with lemon, which left an acidic flavor so powerful he nearly puckered his lips. If that wasn’t bad enough, he distinctly tasted cayenne pepper. The only thing he considered edible was the asparagus, which was cooked to perfection. Unfortunately, everything else on his plate wasn’t fit for human consumption.

This meal was a serious disappointment. By contrast his sister seemed to savor every bite.

“Is something wrong with your dinner, sir?” the waitperson asked as she removed Josie’s empty plate. Unable to force himself to swallow a second bite of the fish, Aren’s plate remained basically untouched except for the one bite of sole, potatoes, and asparagus. Even the potatoes were off, so heavily buttered that their natural flavor was lost.

“No, everything is fine.” Aren forced himself to smile. In other circumstances he would have returned the plate to the kitchen and refused to pay.

“Could I interest you in dessert?” the waiter asked. “We’ve got a reputation for our wonderful desserts. I highly recommend our sea salt caramel mousse.”

“Salted mousse?” Aren repeated. Apparently the chef had a love affair with the salt shaker. Frankly he’d had all he could take. Nothing sweet would redeem this restaurant. He’d already gone through one glass of wine and two glasses of water in an effort to remove the foul taste from his mouth.

“I will,” Josie volunteered, far too eagerly, in his opinion.

“I’ll take a bite of hers,” Aren said.

His sister ordered the mousse and to be completely fair, Aren gave it a taste and it wasn’t half bad. He’d sampled others that were comparable but this chef way overdid the salt. This could be a health hazard to diners with high blood pressure or on a low-salt diet. The menu should come with a warning, which he planned to mention in his review.

“Aren didn’t like his dinner,” Will moaned.

“You don’t know that.”

Goodness was such an optimist. Even Mercy could see that Aren hadn’t taken more than one small bite of the fish. He’d scrunched up his face as if he’d bitten into a lemon and hardly tasted anything else afterward. He’d returned his plate to the kitchen practically untouched.

“His sister ate her dinner.”

A suspicion began to brew in Mercy’s mind. Each one of her friends had disappeared for short amounts of time. Could it be … was it possible …? Surely they wouldn’t tamper with the food.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.” Will was more than a little upset and continued to rub his palms together as he mulled over the situation.

“Will, you vanished for a few moments just after Aren ordered the sole.”

“Hmmm, yeah.”

“Can you tell me where you went?”

“Ah …”

“You visited the kitchen, didn’t you?”

“Ah …”

Enough said, that was exactly what Will had done. “You didn’t by chance happen to add a bit of salt to the beurre blanc sauce, did you?”

Will shrugged and then reluctantly admitted to the deed. “Perhaps a little, but just a few shakes. All I was looking to do was heighten the natural flavors.”

“You added salt?” Shirley cried, tossing her hands into the air. “How could you?”

“I was only trying to help,” Will muttered.

“I fear Will wasn’t the only one,” Goodness confessed. “I added a little extra lemon.”

Almost afraid to ask, Mercy looked to Shirley.

“Seeing that red spice, I thought to brighten up the dish a bit,” the former Guardian Angel admitted. “And while I was there I might have stirred in a bit of this and that.”

“Oh dear.” Mercy’s shoulders sank. This was even worse than she’d assumed.

“What about you?” Will asked.

Mercy exhaled slowly and admitted she’d taken part in this, too. “Guilty as charged.”

“We all added extra spice to that wonderful sauce.” Will started to wring his hands. “We’ve ruined everything. Aren won’t have any choice but to write a scathing review. People will read it; it won’t be just the printed version either. Aren’s review will go online and soon it’ll be all over the Internet.”

“Lucie and her mother will be ruined,” Goodness cried. “Their business will go down in flames. Wendy’s entire life’s savings will dwindle away bit by bit and the two of them will lose everything. They won’t be able to pay their bills and will end up living on the streets, homeless and alone, and it will be my fault.”

“And mine,” Shirley wailed.

“We’ve ruined their lives.” Goodness was close to tears.

Mercy waved her arms, silencing her friends. “We have bigger worries than what’s going to happen to Lucie and her mother.”