Aunt Aggie signed off with no fewer than seven winking-face emojis.
“I think we found our leak,” she said, angling her phone for Warren to see the message.
He laughed. “Well, that explains it. And here I was thinking I’d become a minor celebrity overnight.”
“You have now.”
“Well, even if I don’t get the job, I’ll still submit the article; it can be part of a travel piece, and that way everyone gets their moment in the sun. It’s the least I can do, given how kind everyone’s been.” He shrugged.
“That will make a lot of people very happy.” She smiled at him. “So, have you found your voice for the piece yet?” she asked, trying to pretend people weren’t staring. “Do you know what your hook will be?”
“I’m getting there. I think I’ve finally found that delicate balance between it sounding fresh and arresting but still being true to myself.”
“I’m glad. I think being true to yourself is the key. I imagine it would be hard to keep up an act for any length of time.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
The first trays of dishes arrived. There were garlicky prawns and butter beans in a rich tomato sauce, buttery mushrooms, juicy langoustines, and warm flatbreads to mop up the juices, alongside bowls of olives and feta cheese, hummus and griddled meats on skewers. Fred was glad she hadn’t eaten since second breakfast.
“I want to thank you,” said Warren, tearing off a piece of bread and using it to swipe sauce up from one of the bowls, “for helping me to find my way here, and encouraging me to really go for it with this food column.”
“I’m not sure I’ve done very much.” She bit another langoustine in two.
“If I’d gone straight back to London, not met you, I don’tknow that I’d be as far along in making a bid for this. I might even have backed out of trying.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you feel like I helped.”
“I don’t normally do this. Sharing something before it’s finished always feel a bit like getting naked, but…” He looked at her with those big blue eyes, his expression loaded with that hesitant shyness that made her melt again. “Would you like to see a rough draft? I’d appreciate your eyes on it.”
“I’d love to. I feel honored that you trust me with your words.”
He smiled, reached into the inside pocket of his blazer and pulled out a thin sheaf of paper folded into four.
“Obviously, I need to add in my write-up of tonight’s meal, but this gives you a flavor—pardon the pun—of the style I’m going with.”
She carefully unfolded it, aware of the emotional weight it held for him, and gave him a reassuring smile before she began to read.
No Bluff Required
The small town in the Scottish Highlands with a sincere love of world cuisine
Situated on a stretch of wild coastline, so remote that even the long arms of the fast-food chains haven’t reached it, Pine Bluff is a microcosm of multicultural gastronomy.
At Nonna’s Olive Branch I was treated to light pillowy gnocchi doused in pesto so fragrant that I was transported to the pine forests of Italy…I asked them to adopt me, but they thought I was joking, sigh…
Fred read on, filled with gratitude to Warren for loving her hometown, and experiencing a tinge of sadness—seeing it now through the eyes of another—at having turned her nose up at it for so many years.
The alchemy of spices, so exquisitely blended with the sweet fire of Scotch bonnets, is a mouth carnival that will have you dancing your way through the entire menu at Smoke and Soul…an ice bath between courses wouldn’t go amiss…my only criticism is that they don’t offer a wheelbarrow service to roll you home afterward…
It was funny and conversational, and if she was a foodie who had never heard of Pine Bluff, she would be sticking a pin in the map and packing a suitcase.
“You’ve nailed it,” she said, carefully refolding the paper and handing it back to him. “Only a fool would hesitate to give you the column after reading that.”
He laughed. “Can I quote you on that when I submit it?”
“You can quote me—and give your editor my email address, if she wants to discuss it further.”
His expression turned serious. “It’s meant a lot, having your support,” he said, tucking the article back into hisbreast pocket. “I was a stranger in a new town and you’ve made me feel like I belong.”
