Miranda Bliss - Dying for Dinner

I had not, though, expected Raymond.

At least I hadn’t expected the Raymond that Raymond turned out to be.

Jim had told me the man he hired to help out was a Très Bonne Cuisine regular. I knew he was in his forties and that he was some kind of IT genius who ran his own incredibly successful business but longed to leave the corporate world behind and become a chef.

Go figure.

Raymond was gay, Jim had also told me. He was also helpful and friendly and when it came to food and cooking, he had encyclopedic knowledge. He lived in one of the million-dollar town houses that had just been built nearby.

All that was well and good. But whatever picture had formed in my mind, it was not a buttoned-down African American version of the Incredible Hulk.

Sometimes I catch on slow. But eventually I do catch on. At the same time I gave Raymond a welcoming smile, I realized that in the last week, Jim had come into the shop to help a couple of times, and always in the evening. Not coincidentally, evening was when Greg had been killed. Sure, Jim had hired Raymond to provide the culinary expertise the shop was sorely lacking now that I was in charge. But he was also looking out for me. He was worried about me. Jim had not just hired an assistant, he’d hired some muscle. Some incredibly amazing muscle.

“Raymond! I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you!” True on both counts, the culinary count and the muscle one. “It’s going to be so nice to have help here. We’ve been slammed.”

“And from what I hear, when it comes to cooking, you’re not exactly Martha Stewart.”

Raymond said this with so much good humor, I couldn’t help but laugh along with him. “You got that right,” I admitted.

“Then I’m going to assume Jim was right about everything else he said about you, too.”

I should have accepted the compliment at face value, but who could blame me for being a little curious?

“Oh?” I had to crane my neck to look up at Raymond. “What, exactly, did Jim say?”

Looking me over, Raymond ran a hand through his close-cropped hair. “Pretty, Jim said. He got that part right. He said you were smart, too, and I’m betting that’s also correct since you single-handedly took over this place and it’s looking as good as ever. He did not, however…” He plucked the list from my hands. “He did not tell me that you didn’t know what a rasp was. Do you even know what it’s used for?”

“Rasping?”

Raymond was kind enough not to point out that my guess was lame.

Instead, he strode down the nearest aisle (he practically filled it) to where the gadgets were displayed. He pulled what appeared to be a giant (and dangerous-looking) file from the shelf and held it out to me, its bright yellow plastic handle pointed my way.

“Rasp,” Raymond said. “Sometimes called a rasp grater or a zester. What’s Jim making?”

I stood on tiptoe to point to the printed e-mail message in Raymond’s hand. “Broiled lamb chops with lemon caper sauce. See. It calls for lemon zest.”

“And it sounds divine!” He smacked his lips. “What he’s going to do…” Raymond grabbed another rasper and demonstrated. “The rasp is run across the skin of the lemon. Like this.” He pretended to hold a lemon in one hand, then glided the rasp over it. “That will shave off the zest, and it will gather here.” He pointed to the underside of the grater blades, which, the way he was holding the rasp, were facing up. “Then Jim can measure the zest and put it in his recipe. See, it’s really pretty easy when you just know what to look for. What else do you need, babycakes?”

I doubt I’ve ever been called babycakes by anyone, much less six feet four inches of muscular man. Had I been thinking clearly in an I-am-woman-how-dare-you-minimize-me sort of way, I actually might have been offended.

If I didn’t like it-and Raymond-so much.

I motioned for the e-mail and read over Jim’s message. “Grapefruit citrus sectioning tool,” I said. “That’s for the spinach, chicory, and grapefruit salad he’s making.” Raymond handed me something that looked like it belonged in the garden. “These aren’t pruning shears?” I asked him.

He smiled like I was kidding.

I wasn’t, and since I didn’t want to break his heart, I kept reading. “Baked bananas and blueberries. Which means we need-”

“A banana slicer.” Like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, Raymond whisked a weird, banana-shaped item off the nearest shelf and held it up for me to see. “Clever little object. You put your banana here and just slice along the lines. Every home should have one.”

Mine didn’t. Rather than get into it, I went right on, reading from the list again. “He’s also going to make glazed apple slices. Don’t tell me, let me guess. That means we need an apple peeler.”

“One that can also core and slice would be perfect.” He marched down the aisle, reached to a top shelf, and produced the gizmo. “I bought one of these from Jacques right before Christmas last year so I could make my chicken breasts with slivered apples when one of my clients and his wife came to dinner. It works like a dream.”

“And…” I checked Jim’s list one last time. “A pineapple slicer. That’s for the Jamaican punch the drink folks will be making.”

“Done.” Raymond added one last device to the pile. It reminded me of a small cordless vacuum, only more compact and skinnier. He must have been reading my mind. “Easy to clean up. Very simple to use. Perfect pineapple rings every time,” he said.

And I knew that when it came to hiring help, Jim had found us a gem.

I was past the point of proud and, as the day had proved all too clearly, I was heading straight to desperation, so I wasn’t even embarrassed when I blurted out, “How often can you work?”

Raymond’s grin was infectious. “You’re open late Mondays and Thursdays. I’ll be here for sure those two nights. Need me on Saturdays?”

“I need someone who knows what a pineapple slicer looks like every day of the week.”

“I’m going to take that as a yes.”

“Yes!”

“I’ve got water aerobics on Wednesdays, and Fridays are always my night out so I’d rather not work that day. I have to get my beauty nap, you know! But except for the pesky meetings that keep getting in the way of my social life, I make my own schedule. If you need me during the day, I can probably make it. And don’t you dare thank me,” he added quickly, probably because he saw that my mouth was open and he knew I was going to thank him.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me. It’s a dream come true. As a matter of fact, I checked my schedule before I came over here and I’m free and clear tomorrow. If you need some help during the day cleaning up or stocking shelves-”

“Would you? Really?” I could feel the tears welling in my eyes, and rather than have Raymond think I was some kind of weirdo, I balanced my armful of gadgets and took them to the front counter. “I can’t tell you what a wonderful help that would be.”

“Hey, I love this place. And I miss Jacques. Any idea when he’ll be coming back?”

“Soon. I hope.” The reminder put a damper on the excitement I felt at having a new helper, and a new friend. “Not that I don’t like working here or anything, but-”

“Jim told me.” Raymond patted my shoulder in a friendly sort of way. His hands were as big as frying pans and I had to brace myself against the counter or risk falling over on contact. “He says you’re not-so-good at cooking and great at everything else.”

Yeah, that sounded like Jim. He was a gem, too.

I was thinking exactly that as I loaded my cargo of gadgets into a shopping bag and gave Raymond some last-minute instructions about the cash register and locking up. While I was at it, I’d noticed earlier that our supply of soup mixes was dwindling. I didn’t remember selling any, but, hey, I was willing to chalk that up to a case of trying to do too many things at the same time. I told Raymond where the extras were kept and asked him to please restock the shelves, and I’d already hoisted my shopping bag into one hand when the front bell rang again.