Right.
Before I could ruminate on it for too long, Natalie’s cleavage was pressed against the front window and by the way her mouth was running I could approximate she was saying “Get your ass inside now.”
“Your friends are . . .” Archie trailed off, unable to take his eyes off what she was presenting.
“Weird?” I finished.
“So weird,” he agreed, dragging his eyes away with a laugh and a shake of his head.
“Come on, the sooner we get in there the sooner we can leave. And do naked things.”
He froze with his hand on the door, hanging his head dramatically. “Why in the world are you just telling me this now? We could’ve been doing naked things this whole time?”
“Who knows, if I have enough wine tonight,” I said, ducking under his arm and sailing inside, “I might do naked stuff in the car.”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say the guy with the pocket square growled.
Zombie Pickle Class was a success. We’d come on a banner night, something the class had been asking for all winter long. It was piecrust night. After we said hello to everyone and Roxie got us sorted at stations, I listened as my friend took charge of a class that was literally bursting at the seams. They spilled out across the restaurant, into the kitchen, along the counter, each table was taken and there were even makeshift stations set up in the entryway.
“She needs a bigger place,” Archie whispered, while we listened to Roxie explain what was required to make the perfect piecrust.
“She’s been looking, but in a small town like this, it’s not like there’s tons of space for a professional chef. Leo offered some space over at Maxwell Farms, but I think she wants to do it on her own, you know? I think that’s why she was so excited when you brought up the idea of bringing it up to the resort and—”
“Is there something you’d like to say to the rest of the class?” Roxie asked, as she made her rounds.
“Yes, I’d like to say that I’m excited to be here, and the teacher is awfully pretty.” I batted my lashes at her as she rolled her eyes.
“I am awfully pretty, so I’m not going to argue with you,” she replied, inspecting our table. “I see you’ve got your flour all measured, your butter is cut into perfect squares, ice water is at the ready, pastry cutter in hand.”
“Yup,” I said proudly. My station was neater than anyone else’s. “I’m ready to go.”
“One question,” she asked. “What are you going to let Archie do?”
“What?” I asked, looking up in surprise.
“This is a team effort, Clara, you’ve got to let him do something. One can’t learn to make perfect piecrust without actually getting to do some of the making. Now back away and give him the pastry cutter.”
Archie chuckled under his breath as I pushed the pastry cutter in his direction.
“Of course he gets to do some of the making, I was just getting things set up for him,” I muttered, rolling my eyes in her direction.
“I saw that,” she said as she sailed away.
“I meant you to,” I shot back.
When class was finally over, most everyone left except for a few of us who gravitated to the kitchen to help Roxie clean up.
“I can’t believe I made a piecrust,” Archie was still saying, shaking his head as he kept an eye on his perfect pie on the counter as though it might disappear.
“You did really good, Arch, you guys should definitely come back next week,” Roxie said, leaning against Leo as he stacked clean dishes on the shelves.
“What’s on the menu next week?”
“Homemade chicken stock. I taught it last fall, but that was before the class got so big, and everyone’s been asking for it again.”
“Oh, we’ll be here, we will definitely be here,” Archie said enthusiastically, nodding and wiping his sudsy hands on his apron. He was washing up the last of the plates, and Oscar was drying them. Natalie and I sat together on top of the stainless-steel prep table in the corner. “Won’t we?”
“Hmm?” I asked, looking up from my nails to see Archie looking at me expectantly. “Oh yeah, sure, we’ll be here. Next week.”
Archie went back to the sink, laughing as Oscar glared at a slippery glass that he couldn’t seem to get ahold of. I felt someone else’s eyes on me, and I turned to see Natalie looking at me expectantly.
“What’s up?” I asked, crinkling my brow.
“You tell me,” she said, crinkling her own brow like she was trying to see inside my brain.
“You know I don’t like when you try to mind-read, just ask your question.” I sighed, suddenly exhausted. It was warm in the kitchen with all the people and the hot water.
“Someone’s making plans for you,” she said, lifting her chin in Archie’s direction. “Someone is making plans to make stock with you, next week.”
“Yeah? So? It was fun tonight, didn’t you have fun?”
“Sure, it’s fun every week. Oscar and I never miss a class when I’m in town.”
“How very homemaker of you,” I replied, hearing the snap in my voice and regretting it almost immediately. “Sorry, that was bitchy.”
“A little,” she agreed, bumping my shoulder, “but I won’t hold it against you. Why are you being bitchy?”
“I don’t know, I’m just . . . I guess feeling a bit overwhelmed with all this.” I sighed again.
“With all this . . . what?” Natalie asked, looking at me with a secretive grin. “You finally ready to admit that you and Archie are dirty dancing up there on your mountaintop?”
I buried my face in a dish towel. “Yes, yes, I give up.”
“I knew it!” She laughed, slapping at my shoulders. “Tell Natalie everything, starting with how much he loves it when you ride him like a cowgirl.”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” I snapped, now covering my entire head with the towel. But then I peeked out a little. “Actually, that’s one hundred percent correct, how the hell did you know that?”
“It’s a talent.” She sighed. “Seriously, though, good for you. It’s about time.”
“It is about time, in fact it’s all about time, and that time will eventually come to an end,” I said, watching the boys finish up the dishes. Archie was laughing, snapping towels and ducking as Leo threw a soapy sponge his way. His eyes were crazy blue, catching the light and twinkling merrily. His hair was messed up, his shirtsleeves were soaked even though they’d been rolled up, and he looked completely relaxed and at home.