A Taste of You

31: Almost Back to Normal

I want to try to clear the air with Ronnie before I head out of town. I don't want her to see me as the enemy. I've always been one of her biggest fans. I just need to remind her of it.

I dress casually. Ethan insists on driving me in. He has an afternoon outing with potential vendors, but he didn't think it was safe for me to take the bus by myself yet. He drops me off at the restaurant around 11 and tells me he'll be back at 2:30, 3 at the latest.

"No work. Talking, sitting, maybe eating. That's it. And if Mateo's around..." Ethan reminds me as a parent would a child.

"...no alone time. I got it, Dad." I huff, feeling every bit of the moody teen vibe.

"Don't make me put you over my knee, young lady." He teases.

"Oh Daddy!" I moan. He cringes and we both laugh.

He strokes my cheek and kisses me softly. "I know you're stubborn, but please just take it easy. I'm just a phone call away."

"I will be. I love you. Have a good meeting."

"I love you too." He says as I exit.

I take a deep breath and open the back door. I first spot Mateo, pressing a dough out on his counter. Shit, it's going to be hard to avoid being alone with him, seeing as he, Ronnie, and I were usually the only ones around before 3pm.

He looks up as I enter. "Ali, what are you doing here? Ethan said the doctor hadn't cleared you until Monday."

"I need to clear the air with Ronnie. Is she here?" I ask awkwardly, not moving far from the door.

"On her way. She wants to impress slash intimidate the new girl. She picked up crab from the market." He tells me.

"For a Tuesday night? Ugh, Ronnie!" I criticize.

Mateo surprises me when he defends her. "She really is doing a killer job when her ego doesn't get in her way."

"In case my meeting with her goes south, can you help take some of the heat off Aliya? I'd prefer she not go running for the hills before I have a chance to see her in action." I ask him to assist me.

"I think I can manage that, boss lady." He responds with a smile. There's an awkward silence between us. I start back towards the office.

"Ali?"

"Yeah, Mateo?"

"I'm really sorry about how eveything worked out. We're going to miss you Thursday night." Mateo says quietly.

"Yeah, um..." I'm cut off by Ronnie who comes crashing through the back door, her arms full and a giant sack of crab legs hung over her shoulder.

Her eyes fall on Mateo and then shift to me. "Shit, Alise! What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you until next Tuesday."

"I wanted to see if we could touch base on some stuff, maybe have a little lunch." I say, trying to seem as at ease as possible.

"Um, sure. Give me a sec to get everything unpacked from the market and I'll whip something up." Ronnie agrees.

I feel Mateo's eyes on me. I smile and go out to the dining area. I walk the front of the house trying to collect my thoughts before talking to Ronnie. She comes out about 20 minutes later carrying one of our favorite staff lunches - fancy grilled cheese and whatever leftover soup we have. Today it's a smoky ham and bean.

We sit and eat in silence, both of us sizing up the other when we think neither of us is looking. I decide to say something. "This soup is delicious. Yours?"