“Oh, no,” I say.
And then her face breaks into a grin as she pulls her blue ticket out from behind her back and waves it in the air. The room erupts and Ian shoots out of his chair and goes to congratulate his new friend. I feel full to bursting. Ever since I told Shelby and Brad last week that I would be honored to be guardian for the kids in case of an emergency, it’s like my heart just got four sizes bigger.
The morning’s blue ticket kids all get escorted into a big room after lunch to do the technical audition. They all get the same recipe and ingredients and have to execute it perfectly, a test of their knife skills and working off the cuff. Only half of the remaining kids make it through this round, and luckily both Audrey and Ian are in the group going through to the final round, a timed mystery basket challenge followed by an on-camera interview. It is after six o’clock by the time they are all finished, and we are told that they will get a call in the next two weeks to let them know if they are being invited to callbacks. The producers will be looking at tape from all of the day’s activities, and, from what I gather, only four or five kids from Chicago will make it to callbacks, where they will meet the producers in person as well as the actual judges. This was the same place Ian got to last year, and we don’t really know what part of his day was his weak link that prevented him from getting called back, but I know he is just happy to have gotten to the same round. He and Audrey exchange phone numbers so that they can make a cooking playdate, and I take Catherine’s info to share with Shelby.
“Hey, Eloise?” Ian asks as I’m driving him home.
“Yeah, buddy?”
“Thanks for being my teacher. If I don’t make it, it was still worth it to try because we got to cook so much together this year.”
“Thanks, Ian. I really love cooking with you, and no matter what happens for the show, you and I can still cook whenever you want.”
“Yeah? We can keep the lessons going?”
“Of course! You didn’t think we’d have to stop just because the auditions are over, did you?”
“I thought maybe.”
“Not a chance. I’ll cook with you till you don’t want to anymore, deal?”
“Deal. I want to do a little thank-you present for you.”
“That is unnecessary, but I never say no to a present.”
“I want to cook dinner for you and the whole family . . . and your boyfriend,” he says with a wicked chuckle.
“What do you know about my boyfriend?” I’m shocked, but amused.
“I overheard my mom telling my dad that you were in love and she’s so excited for you, and hopes that it’s the real deal. Do you think it’s the real deal?”
I laugh. “You know eavesdropping is rude, little man. But yes, it’s possible that it might be the real deal. And yes, I’d be delighted to bring Shawn to dinner one night when you’re cooking.”
“Cool. You have to tell me his favorite stuff so I can learn to make it.”
“I know he’ll love anything you cook.”
“Well, yeah, but it won’t hurt to have a secret weapon!”
I reach over and ruffle his hair. “Nope, won’t hurt at all.”
Eighteen
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Happy Valentine’s, ladies! Thought it would be a good time to check in on our lists, and to start thinking about what we want the party to look like, since we are only a little more than three months out from our big week. As part of my online financial class, I’ve been learning how to do spreadsheets, so I’ve done one for us! Based on my calculations, here is where we all stand:
TERESA:
Marriage heating up: 4 of 9 events completed
Volunteering: in process—two things tested, still not committed
Part-time job: not yet secured
Learning to cook and eat non-Italian: check, doing non-Italian at least once a week
Learn finances: course half completed, and Gio has promised to sit with me and take me through everything once the course is over in April
LYNNE:
Land seven-figure client: check
Buy house: check
Join a board: in process—DuSable Museum—waiting to hear from nomination committee
Hire matchmaking service and meet men: service hired, 1 of 5 men met
Get a dog: check
ELOISE:
Find a new hobby: check, drawing class
Create cookbook proposal: in process
Find a new athletic endeavor: check, swimming and training
Social life: 12 of 18 events completed
Dating: 18 dates completed
I’m really proud of us, and glad we made this bet, because it is definitely getting my butt in gear on some stuff I’ve been wanting for myself forever, and I hope you both feel the same. I’m also really excited that it looks like we are all going to complete everything on our lists, which is pretty cool. So for the party, I’m thinking we keep it fairly small? Nearest and dearest? Something casual and fun, where kids can come? What do you guys think?
XOT
Lynne replies quickly.
Happy Commercialized Romance Day, girls. Good job on the lists, everyone. But since we are all going to really get this done, maybe we up the stakes a bit? I say that the first person to finish their list doesn’t have to donate anything, the second person donates 2,500 and the person that comes in last does the full 5,000, and both of the losers have to donate in the name of the girl who wins! You guys ready to really throw down? Party details are really up to the two of you—my guest list is very small for this shindig, since most of my people are on the West Coast, so I’ll go along with whatever you both want.
L
Things have been relatively okay with Lynne since our talk. She is clearly making an effort to just let me live my life, despite her objections. The three of us had brunch last weekend at Wishbone and it was actually mostly pretty fun, despite her making the occasional snide little comment, including one weird one about cultural appropriation when I ordered cheese grits. As I promised myself I would, I let the little digs slide, and Teresa, true to form, told Lynne that food is the great connector, and that we are at the restaurant as part of her own exploration of food outside her comfort zone, and then proceeded to order hoppin’ John with a side of greens to make her point, and that shut it down.
Of course Lynne wants to up the ante, since she is about ten minutes from finishing her list. And as far as I can tell, Teresa is right on her heels. It feels like more of a way for Lynne to punish me than to reward herself.