A Christian Romance II

Chapter 27 - Sunset

Miriam couldn't hold her crankiness in. She worked in the kitchen of the restaurant helping set the mise en place along with the rest of the staff. Her face was grave, and her eyebrows furrowed. Christina - the sous chef - walked by her station to ask for an opinion, when she noticed that Miriam was chopping the wrong ingredient.

"Is that baby kale?" Christina asked, trying to get her attention.

"What?" Miriam was slightly lightheaded.

"I thought you said crispy kale chops... Didn't you?"

"That's what I said." Miriam was offended to be questioned like that. "Is there a problem with it?" She put her knife down and looked at Christina defiantly.

"You're chopping baby kale." Christina warned without making a big fuss of it.

Miriam looked down almost involuntarily to prove that she wasn't doing anything wrong, but to her surprise what she had on the table was baby kale and not kale. She put her hands to her forehead. "Good grief!" She exhaled. "What's wrong with me?"

"Fortunately you didn't chop much."

"I'll prepare lunch for the staff with it." Miriam resolved, pulling the baby kale away from the chopping board into a bowl.

Christina gave her a reassuring nod. Once that problem was out of the way, she brought up another one. "I came by to ask for an opinion, but you look so stressed out..." She commented.

"Opinion on what?" Miriam tried to shake off the fact that Christina noticed her distress.

Christina was a firm believer that food didn't simply taste good because of a set combination of ingredients and flavors, she also believed that the energy whether positive or negative had an impact on the final product. Therefore, she tried to entice Miriam to walk away for an instant, just to set her ideas in order and work in inner harmony.

"Come with me to the patio?" Christina suggested.

"Right now? We're in the middle of something!" Miriam hated breaks, they were disruptive.

"The way you confused ingredients doesn't really speak in your favor."

Miriam slouched her shoulders. "Ok." She gave in. "Just for a little while!" She warned.

The two ladies left, but not before making sure that the processes in kitchen were flowing properly. That distraction alone was enough to help Miriam loosen up.

From the patio it was possible to see the sky. It was blue and there were shafts of sun piercing through the tall trees. There was a smell of rosemary in the air. Miriam took a deep breath, whereas Christina sat on the garden bench ahead of her.

"So?" Christina was ready to tease Miriam. "Did it cost that much to come out for a second?"

"Not that much."

"You need to enjoy this place so much more..." The sous chef encouraged.

"I love this garden. Whoever designed it has a very exquisite taste." Miriam declared, looking around. "It must be very romantic at night."

Christina smiled with satisfaction that Miriam was enjoying that area of the restaurant that much. "I love it here!"

"I know!" Miriam moved to sit on the bench next to Christina. "I never understood what you saw in here!"

Suddenly Miriam's phone beeped, as if preventing her from decompressing. The girl rolled her eyes.

"Everything alright?" Christina questioned.

"Adam." Miriam replied, texting in response to the message she had just received.

Christina peaked at her phone and noticed the profile picture. "Is that him?"