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JERRELL WAS PUTTING batches of scones into the oven when Lindsay ducked into the kitchen. “Jerrell, you got a minute? Customer wants to talk to you.”
“What?” Jerrell set his timer and wiped his hands on his apron. “Why?”
She shrugged. “He was smiling, so probably he doesn’t wanna throw his drink in your face.” Lindsay used to wait tables. “Anyway, front corner table, guy sitting by himself. Indian.”
He froze. “Wait, Rafi?”
Lindsay grinned. “Oh, okay, you do know him! He’s one of our regulars, but you’re always back here, so I wasn’t sure. Yeah, it’s the Doc. Just go on over when you’ve got a sec. He like, just got his order, so he’ll be here for a while.”
“Got it.” She left him, and Jerrell surveyed where he was. The last of the scones were in the oven, timer ticking down, brownies were in the cooler, tiramisu was done and plated... he was right on schedule. Okay. He washed his hands again, looked despairingly at his apron, and left the safe confines of his kitchen to go see what “the Doc” wanted.
He was at the same table again, wearing a different suit, and looked just as stupid-perfect as yesterday. He smiled when he saw Jerrell coming over.
“Good morning, Jerrell,” he said, nodding at him.
Rafi remembered his name? “Hi. I mean, uh, morning.” Right, it was only about eleven. Still morning. “You wanted to see me?”
“I did, yes.” But he was still smiling, so hopefully this wasn’t bad? Rafi looked up at him. “I was just wondering if you’d changed the recipe on the pumpkin cheesecake?”
“Changed the...? Oh! Oh, yeah.” Jerrell put his hands behind his back. “Yeah, a little. Was it not as good today? I’m sorry. I had to make more in a shorter time, so I adjusted a few things and couldn’t rest them in the oven as long and, uh.” Rafi probably didn’t care. “Uh. Sorry. They’ll be back to the old recipe next time, if there’s a next time.”
Rafi held up his hand. “No, no, it’s not bad at all. Just different. The texture is a bit more mousse-like. So I was wondering if something had been changed.”
Jerrell winced. He knew it. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”
Rafi chuckled. “It’s still very good. Perhaps you will continue to make both pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin mousse.”
Huh. There was a thought. The cafe didn’t serve a variety of mousse. His chocolate mousse cups were fairly popular, but he hadn’t tried other flavors, unless as topping for a special item. But it was easy enough to make, as long as it chilled properly, and it was pumpkin season, after all. He’d ask Melody. Maybe he could try some for tomorrow. And it would take way less time than cheesecake. Pumpkin-cheesecake inspired mousse, though? Or trifle cups! With a graham cracker crumble?
“Did I lose you?” Rafi asked, sounding amused.
Jerrell jerked back into reality from his side trip into pastry-land. “Sorry. I was just thinking–” Rafi didn’t need to hear pastry-land babble. He switched gears. “I’m sorry the cheesecake isn’t right, but it’ll be back to normal next time.” Though Melody had told him not to make a pumpkin cheesecake for tomorrow. But that meant a lack of a pumpkin product, and Jerrell was really wanting to try the trifle. If he got permission from Melody to make it... mousse took a couple hours to set so that’d be a project for tomorrow anyway, but–
“Jerrell?”
“Sorry!” Jerrell tugged at his apron, self-conscious. He tended to hyper focus when it came to certain subjects, and to the outside eye that looked a lot like he couldn’t pay attention worth shit. Rafi was already so far out of his league it wasn’t funny. Jerrell didn’t need to further prove the point.
Rafi shook his head. “No worries. I’m sure I’m keeping you from your work. I was just curious.” He smiled ruefully. “I was planning to get some macarons, but when I saw the cheesecake I had to get it again, since you said it was going to be a limited item.”
“Oh.” Great. So Rafi’d gotten the cheesecake specifically because it might not be made again, and Jerrell hadn’t even used the same recipe. “I’m, uh, I’m really sorry it wasn’t right, then.”
“It was delicious, even if it was different.” Rafi corrected. “You did a good job.”
Jerrell shifted, awkward. It was weird to have something he’d done wrong turned around into a positive. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Rafi said. His eyes flicked up and down, almost like he was looking Jerrell over. Then he cleared his throat. “Now, I’m sure I’m keeping you from your work. I don’t want to hold you hostage.”
“I don’t mind,” Jerrell said before he cursed himself. Stupid. “I mean, it’s okay. It’s fine.” Shut up, Jerrell. “Though, um, yeah, I should get back to work.”
“Right,” Rafi said, looking thoughtful. “Have a good day. Thank you for brightening mine.”
“N-no problem,” Jerrell managed. Then he retreated back to his kitchen before he could make more of a fool of himself.
In between baking for the rest of the day, Jerrell got approval to try his pumpkin trifle idea, though Melody stuck with the decision to table more cheesecake for the moment.
“We’ve got plenty of the rest of our flavors,” she said. “And I don’t want to overload people with pumpkin, even if it’s September. We’ll see how sales go. If the trifle is a hit, great. If customers request the pumpkin cheesecake, even better. It’ll give us an idea for the menu next week.”
“Got it,” said Jerrell as he took sheets of cookie trays off the cooling rack and set about bagging them.
Melody didn’t leave. Since she was usually all over the place, Jerrell figured she’d say what she wanted when she wanted to. He concentrated on his cookies, shuffling over a little when she went to stand next to him and started bagging too.
“I saw the Doc wanted to talk to you again today,” Melody said after a couple minutes of them working in silence.
“He wanted to know why the cheesecake tastes different today,” Jerrell said absently as he bagged cookies and twist-tied them shut. “Told him about the time thing.”
“Which, next time you will tell me, remember?”
“Yes ma’am.” Melody had not been too happy when she’d learned that he’d changed the recipe on the fly. It wasn’t good for customer-continuity, especially when it’d been a special request. “Won’t happen again.”
“What’d he think of it, anyway?”
“He liked it okay, I guess. He was the one who gave me the idea for the mousse.”
“Really?” Melody put altogether too much emphasis on the word. “How interesting.”
“If you say so.” Jerrell concentrated on bagging.
“Do you mind?”
“Mind what?”
“That he asks to talk to you.”
Mind that an attractive guy kept wanting to compliment his work? Really not. “Oh, uh, no. Not at all. It’s, you know, nice. I’m glad that he’s been liking my experiments.”
“Yeah?” Melody sounded like she was grinning.
Jerrell cleared his throat. “How’s Mary doing? Is she any better?”
“Yeah. Thank the lord, she’s almost over whatever she’s got. She said she should be in regular by Saturday, and wants to give you a break Sunday, so you get a couple days off, finally.”
“I can’t say I’ll mind that.”
“Yeah. It’ll also mean you’ll be off cheesecake duty. Though Mary’ll probably want to try the pumpkin one when she comes back.”
“Again,” Jerrell said, not looking up. “Not complaining.” The complicated stuff was fun and he enjoyed it, but it was ultimately Mary’s kitchen. Jerrell could admit to being a little overwhelmed with having to run it himself. It wasn’t the first time, but this was by far the longest he’d done it for. “I’m glad Mary’s feeling better.”
“Don’t get too comfortable with the idea of going back to second baker,” Melody said, gathering up the already-bagged cookies before starting for the door. “You know you’re taking over again the minute she goes on maternity leave.” She grinned at him over her shoulder. “This was a good test-run.”
Jerrell decided to not think about that, and finished bagging the cookies instead.
