Burnt Sugar - Part 5 (standard:romance, 4202 words) [5/7] show all parts
Author: damnation	Added: Jan 23 2010	Views/Reads: 2325/1647	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Continuing story

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


* 

Kristen wasn't rostered on so a dejected Eleanor had left Taters after
securing a promise from Frances to create an opportunity for them to 
hang out again. Frances put on rubber gloves and got ready for work, 
idly wondering how she could accomplish that. It would require catching 
Kristen at the right time and make the invitation casual enough so 
Kristen wouldn't suspect something was up. Perhaps they could have a 
barbecue? First of all, she had to check out Kristen's roster to see 
when the woman was free. 

Russell glanced at his daughter's form and sighed under his breath. Even
though she was physically not more than five meters away from him, he 
felt as though they had an unbridgable gulf between them. 

His recollection of the other night was blurry at best. It had been
Tammy who had hinted at what had happened and he had been mortified. 

Russell looked distastefully at the bottle of bourbon in its usual spot
beside the grill. He wished that he was not dependent on the drink but 
he was. He only had a few weeks before Frances would disappear again 
for God knows how long and he knew he had to do something to repair 
their relationship; he just did not know what. He scratched his stubbly 
cheek in silent despair. His fingers itched for the bottle, to feel its 
comforting weight in the palm of his hand, to savour the hot trek of 
liquid down his throat. He spared another glance at Frances' back and 
stopped himself. 

When he got home after work tonight, he would see if Kristen was up so
that he could perhaps clarify what transpired the other night. 

"Order up," Missy called out, handing over a few dockets to Ramsey and
breaking Russell out of his reverie. According to Tammy, the new girl 
was also present the other night. It made him very uncomfortable that 
he had conducted himself so badly in front of his employees. Russell 
cleared his throat and moved his hands. Now was not the time to mull 
over things; he had work to do. 

Ramsey peered at his boss as he put the dockets up. This was the first
time he was working with Russell and his never-heard-of-until-now 
daughter and he was interested to see how they worked together. Tammy 
had told him how surprised she had been when Frances had walked in one 
night, helped clear a table and started doing the dishes like it was 
the most normal thing in the world to waltz into a kitchen and be a 
part of it. 

That was an impressive feat in itself, Ramsey opined, because God knows
how quickly employees passed through Taters. Her being Russell's 
daughter might have had something to do with her still hanging around 
but Ramsey suspected that it wasn't just that. 

Taters had seen many employees in her day. Ramsey was her longest
standing employee, having been there since the beginning. Doug Tang was 
the other chef that Russell had hired around the same time he hired 
Ramsey, but Doug did not make it to six months before he threw in his 
apron and stalked out of the restaurant. A string of chefs then went 
through the kitchen until Kristen appeared and miraculously managed to 
not get on Russell's nerves and stay. And Ramsey hadn't even gotten 
started on the number of supervisors and waitresses who ripped through 
the restaurant like tornadoes. 

Right about this time, six dockets came through at once and Ramsey did
not have anymore time to waste on musing. 

14 

"I said that? I actually asked her why she had to come back?" Russell
said in disbelief. 

Kristen looked uncomfortable as she nodded. It hadn't been difficult to
answer Russell's questions; the events of that night prior to their 
drinking session at the Courthouse pub were still fresh in her mind. 

"Ever so charming, aren't I?" Russell muttered ruefully to the surprise
of Kristen, who had never witnessed the self-depracating side of her 
boss. "Marie would be so disappointed in me," he continued, as though 
he had forgotten that Kristen was there. 

"I think you both have a lot of things to work through," Kristen started
hesitantly, not sure if she was speaking out of turn. "She loves you. 
That's why she's still here." 

Russell almost snorted at that. "She's still here because she's waiting
on her medical results. As soon as she gets that cleared and gets her 
visa, she'll be gone again. Love has nothing to do with this." 

"Well, yes, maybe those are the circumstances around her visit, but she
could have gone and stayed with a friend after the other night. But 
she's still here, isn't she?" 

Russell did not answer, but Kristen's words soothed the ache in his
chest a little. "Well. Thank you for that. Good night," Russell said as 
turned to go back into his house. 

"Um, Russell?" 

Russell paused. 

"Tammy said that a man from Canning & Cameron turned up at Taters not
long ago," she started, not sure if this was the best time to broach 
the topic but she wanted to know what the visit was about. 

"What about it?" Russell's voice was gruff but not foreboding. 

"Can I ask what he wanted? It's just that I've had some run-ins with the
company before...." Kristen said, hoping that the explanation was 
sufficient and that Russell would not think that she was just being 
nosey. 

"He wanted Taters to be a part of the franchise. I told him to get out,"
Russell stated simply. "I'm not interested in being a part of a 
franchise." 

"That was all he wanted?" Kristen had to be sure. 

Russell arched his bushy brows. "What else could there be?" 

Kristen nodded, relieved but tried not to show it. "Good night,
Russell." 

She remained in her chair in the yard to finish her tea as she watched
Russell let himself into his house. If trying to buy over Taters was 
what C&C wanted, then Kristen's cover was definitely not blown. 
However, knowing how C&C worked, Taters would have some cause to worry. 


Taters had been mentioned in several eating guides and was a popular
restaurants in the area. People were beginning to make reservations to 
ensure that they got a table and the small restaurant was consistently 
doing almost two hundred covers a day. Kristen knew that C&C wouldn't 
stop at just opening a new franchise across the road from them. 

"Hey." 

Kristen looked up. Pretty popular with the Russells tonight, Kristen
thought as she eyed Frances. 

She must have just had a shower because her dark locks were rather damp
and fell haphazardly around her shoulders and down her back. It was a 
good look; Frances was actually rather beautiful, Kristen thought idly 
when Frances flashed her a dimpled smile. She was taken back to the 
night at the Courthouse where Frances had also had her hair down. 

Somewhere between their second bottle of wine and Jäger-bombs, Kristen
distinctly recalled someone coming over to chat Frances up and the 
embarrassed smile that she had given her friend, Nell, after the woman 
left her a slip of paper that had to hold a number. Kristen wondered if 
Frances had given the interested party a call. 

"How was your day off?" Frances asked, taking a seat beside Kristen. She
had noted Kristen's and her days off this week and had decided to ask 
her out on Sunday. 

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Kristen replied, "Good. How was your
day?" 

"Filled with dirty dishes." Kristen's face broke out in an amused smile
but before she could comment, Frances casually asked, "Are you free on 
Sunday? I was thinking of going snorkelling with a few mates. Do you 
wanna join us?" 

Kristen took another sip of her tea and glanced at Frances. She felt
like something was up. Her mind quickly ran through the possibilities 
and quickly came to the most likely one that Frances' friend, Eleanor, 
had put Frances up to this. "Maybe," she answered noncomittally. On the 
other hand, she could be wrong and snorkelling did sound like a really 
nice way to spend her next day off. 

"It'll be fun," Frances persisted, hoping that she could get a definite
answer from Kristen so that she could set it up. "Have you been to 
Gordons Bay?" Kristen shook her head. "Well then I'll have to insist 
that you come," Frances said tucking an errand hair behind her ear. 
"It's beautiful there. You won't regret it. Actually, you might even 
thank me for it." 

"Huh." Kristen chewed on her upper lip as she considered. It had been
too long since she had a social life of any kind. When she had an itch 
to scratch, a venture to the club would do the trick. But those 
connections were never lasting. And to be honest, there wasn't much 
'socializing' in those escapades. That night at the Courthouse was the 
first in a long while since she was a part of a social gathering and it 
had actually been fun. 

"So what do you reckon, Chef?" Frances asked, her head slightly tilted
as she anticipated Kristen's answer. 

Kristen's eyes crinkled as she smiled. Frances was pulling out the big
guns. 

In a way, she was glad that Russell had his drunken outburst the other
night because that had been the catalyst for this blossoming friendship 
between Frances and herself. She hadn't realised how much she was 
lacking in the friendship department until this moment. She narrowed 
her eyes playfully. "Should I be suspicious about why you seem to want 
me to come along so much?" 

Frances shrugged innocently. "Just thought you'd enjoy it." 

"You're not hitting on me, are you? And this is not some roundabout way
to ask me out, is it?" Kristen teased with a smirk. She began to 
chuckle when Frances widened her eyes in alarm. 

"What? No!" Frances all but blurted. Me? Asking Kristen out? As if!
"Eleanor's the one who's interested in you, not me!" 

Kristen arched a brow at Frances. "Aha! Gotcha! Knew there must be a
motive," she said, shaking her head as she rolled her eyes. The 
knowledge flattered her, of course, but it also changed things. She did 
not want to be spending her day off at a gorgeous bay trying to dodge 
someone's advances the entire time. "I'm really flattered by your 
friend's... attention but I'm not... interested in her," Kristen said 
regretfully. 

Frances could have kicked herself for disclosing that information. She
sent her friend a mental apology. "Ah, I didn't mean to let that slip," 
she confessed ruefully. 

"It's a pity, because it would have been nice otherwise to check this
place out," Kristen said wistfully as she picked up her now empty mug. 
"Well I'm off to bed now. Good night," she said playfully as she got up 
from her seat. 

"Hey. I meant to go to Gordons Bay regardless and... I haven't invited
anyone else other than you at this point, so do you wanna come with? 
Just you and me?" she suggested. 

She did not want Kristen to feel as though she had only asked her out
for Eleanor's sake. Well, she did but now that she had and had heard 
Kristen's reason for rejecting the invite, she felt a little bad. 
Before Kristen could say anything mocking, however, Frances hurriedly 
added, "For the record, I'm not asking you out. I mean, I'm asking you 
to hang out with me, not out on a date." 

Kristen smirked. She stood there with a mug in one hand and her other
hand on her waist. "You're cute when you're all nervous and flustered," 
she observed. 

Frances' eyes widened. "Wha- I'm not nervous or flustered!" she
exclaimed, not liking what the woman was insinuating. "God!" she 
huffed. 

"Well, now, how can I say no to someone who calls me 'God'?" Kristen
said with a smug look on her face. This was just too easy. Frances was 
definitely losing her touch. Must have been all those dirty dishes. 

Flabberghasted, Frances could not reply and watched as Kristen went back
to her flat. Then she sighed and scratched the back of her neck. Oh, 
wait. Was that a yes? She must be too tired; her brain felt like mush. 
Did she just arrange for herself to hang out voluntarily with Kristen 
for an entire day? 

Russell was still up in the kitchen when Frances let herself into the
house. She glanced at him in surprise. "I was thinking maybe you wanna 
come fishing me next week," Russell said abruptly. "We could hire a 
boat out to sea. You're not leaving yet, are you?" 

"Um, no, not yet." Frances leaned against the kitchen bench. "Yea, okay,
when?" 

Russell shrugged. "I don't know... Monday, maybe. Everyone gets Monday
off." 

The awkwardness between them grew as they lingered around the kitchen,
looking at everything but each other. Frances couldn't bear the thought 
of having to spend an entire day with her father in such a manner. What 
if he got drunk again? She wouldn't even be able to escape if that 
happened because they would be on a boat! 

"Hey, Dad, I- That'll be really nice. Shall we ask the Taters crew to
come along with us?" Frances suggested, hoping that her father would be 
open to the idea. "Do you guys hang out much outside of work? I mean, 
you know, it'll be nice to have some kind of team bonding 
experience...." Frances trailed off, knowing that she was rambling. 

Russell got up from the kitchen table. Knowing that his daughter did not
feel comfortable being around him made him sad but he had to 
acknowledge his own sense of relief when she suggested adding company 
to their outing. He felt the same way she did. At least this way, they 
could spend time together without the pressure of only having each 
other to talk to. "Good idea, lass. I'll tell them tomorrow. Now get 
some sleep," Russell said as he turned to go up to his room. 

Frances felt the urge to run over and give her father a hug, to erase
the lines from his face, to hear his hearty laugh again. But instead 
she stood rooted to the spot beside the kitchen bench as she murmured, 
"Good night, Dad." She could not even bring herself to tell him she 
loved him. 

15 

Kevin Russell sat up in his bed, knocking over several things on his
bedside table as he reached out blindly for his mobile phone, all the 
while mumbling under his breath. His heart was racing as he peered at 
the small mobile screen that had lit up because of his fumbling 
fingers. It took him several tries to get it to unlock and he quickly 
scrolled down the list of numbers in his phonebook. He was still groggy 
as hell and a little intoxicated but he had to get hold of someone at 
the Metro because he had forgotten to order sausages for the 
restaurant! 

When an operator finally picked up his call, Russell barked, "I need
five kilos of lamb and rosemary sausages for Taters." 

His busy brows furrowed. "What do you mean what do I mean? I need
sausages!" Good help was extinct these days! "Lamb and rosemary 
sausages!" he reiteriated. 

"Huh? What? Mastercard?" Russell finally opened his eyes and hit the
'end call' button before scrolling down his phonebook again. He had 
called Mastercard instead of the Metro grocery shop. Letting out a 
groan, Russell slammed the phone back onto his bedside table and looked 
around. He was at home, in his bed, and... he had better check to see 
if he had ordered those sausages. 

After a quick shower and a few painkillers, Russell left his room and
was surprised to smell the aroma of food in the air. Following his 
nose, he was led into the kitchen, where Frances had her back to him at 
the stove. 

"What's cooking?" 

"Hey Dad," Frances greeted. "I felt like chorizo burrito for brekkie so
I made us some." She slipped a tray into the oven and turned to face 
him with a tentative smile playing on her lips, flashing her dimples 
briefly. Russell felt guilty and uncomfortable, surprised and happy in 
rapid succession. "Coffee?" she offered. Russell nodded mutely and went 
to sit down at the table. 

Frances brought two steaming cups of coffee over to the kitchen table
and slid one over to her father. Then she lifted her own mug and blew 
on the hot liquid before taking a sip. The welcomed bitterness 
enveloped her mouth. 

Russell gazed at his daughter for a second before pulling his eyes away.
He felt awkward if he looked at her for too long. "So tell me about 
what you've been doing abroad." 

"Other than teaching and sightseeing? Nothing much," Frances said,
lowering her coffee mug. "I didn't think I was going to stay anywhere 
in particular until I landed myself a job in Vietnam. It's... 
different. I feel very privileged. And I feel like I'm making a 
difference. Life there is... simple, for the lack of a better 
adjective." 

Russell was silent for a long time as he took in what his daughter had
just told him. Pride swelled in his chest; Frances had matured. Oh, she 
was still hot-headed and had a quick temper to match but he could see 
and feel the difference... almost as though she was calmer. Then his 
inspection turned inward and the pride was quickly replaced by shame. 
What had he done with his life in the same amount of time? 

"I'm glad," he said gruffly, brushing away an invisible tear when
Frances' back was turned. 

"Burrito's ready," Frances announced, plating up for both of them.
"Here, Dad. Extra chili for you." 

Russell chuckled and dug in. Sausages be damned! It was his day off, he
was eating a breakfast prepared by his only child and it was good. 

* 

When Russell stepped into Taters, he immediately picked up on the vibe
that something was not right. Missy was setting up for service; Russell 
was glad that the girl had stuck it out. She seemed like the good sort 
and everyone seemed to like her. She looked up from what she was doing 
to flash him a quick smile which he attempted to return. He also 
recalled Tammy telling him that they were trying out new waitstaff that 
evening. He was glad to leave the administration part of running Taters 
to the woman. Maybe he should give her a raise. 

"Hey, Russell," Ramsey greeted him when he entered the kitchen. He was
about to go to the cool room and check on the sausages--it had been 
niggling at him the entire morning--when Ramsey made like he wanted to 
talk to him. Kristen was on her side of the station finishing up some 
prep but Russell could see that she was tensed up about something. 

"What is it? I forgot to order the damn sausages, didn't I?" Russell
grumbled. Ramsey gave him a blank stare which annoyed him further. "No? 
Then what is it? Spit it out already!" 

"Nothing, nothing," Ramsey said hurriedly. "Just that someone from
Canning & Cameron came by again today and left this." Ramsey handed an 
envelope to his boss. "The man said something about a friendly cooking 
competition." 

"What man?" Russell asked, grabbing the envelope from Ramsey and ripping
it open unceremoniously. 

"Oh. Uh. I forgot his name. But he left his business card...." Ramsey
patted down his pants pocket and finally retrieved a business card from 
one of them. "Uh, Steve Johnson," he said, handing the card over to 
Russell who made no move to receive it. Ramsey ended up placing the 
card on the bench in front of Russell. Kristen had come up to stand 
beside Ramsey; both of them were curious about what C&C wanted. 

Russell placed the envelope and its contents on the business card and
shrugged. "What do they want?" Kristen asked, a tad concerned. He 
motioned for them to read it for themselves and they did. "Huh. A 
cooking competition," she murmured after Ramsey and she did a quick 
scan of the document. 

"Wonder what they're up to," Ramsey said, stroking his chin. 

C&C was proposing holding a friendly cooking competition at their new
franchise across the road to mark the opening of the restaurant in a 
few weeks. Apparently, it was a practice that they had adopted a while 
ago, inviting popular eating establishments around their restaurants to 
compete with their kitchen. 

"Lush, A Small Fish and Mexicana were invited as well," Ramsey said. "I
guess it could be fun." 

"It's a gimmick. That's just gonna draw them crowd," Kristen said,
trying to keep the annoyance from her voice. "Are you gonna say yes, 
Russell?" 

"It's my day off. I'm checking on the sausages and then I'm going
fishing," Russell announced. 

"What's wrong with the sausages?" Ramsey asked, confused. 

"Nothing! I just need to make sure that-" Russell stopped himself when
he realised that he was actually explaining himself to his subordinate. 
After he saw that there were plenty of sausages in the cool room, he 
slammed the door shut behind him cleared his throat. "Let everyone know 
that if they're up for it, I'm taking everyone fishing. Monday. On a 
boat." 

Ramsey and Kristen exchanged a raised brow look when their boss left the
establishment as quickly as he had entered it. "Maybe he had a 
dream..." Ramsey started. 

"About us running out of sausages?" Kristen continued. 

"And in his dream he felt so guilty, he had to offer to take us out to
sea to make up for it!" Ramsey concluded. They snorted at each other 
and shook their heads. "He's never done that before. Ever." 

"What, forget to order sausages?" Kristen said drolly. They exchanged
another look and laughed before turning back to their work. 

TBC


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