Tonya nodded. “I spent nearly a year there perfecting regional dishes. I also took cooking courses in China, South-east Asia, and the Mediterranean.”
“With that much experience, why aren’t you working for a restaurant serving international cuisine?”
“I did.” Tonya explained how she, Hannah, and dozens of others were downsized when the Manhattan-based investment bank they had worked for merged with an out-of-state bank.
“So, learning to prepare southern Louisiana dishes is your last frontier?” he teased, smiling.
She returned his smile with a dimpled one of her own. “I’d like to think so. Where did you do your training?”
“France. I’d just graduated Julliard when I decided to go to Paris on holiday. What I intended to be two months stretched into a little more than two years. I was fortunate enough to train under one of the best chefs in Europe.”
“You went from the Big Easy to the Big Apple, and then onto the City of Lights.”
Gage laughed softly. “And now I’m back to stay, while you’re leaving the Apple for the Easy. Even though New York is the city that never sleeps, New Orleans is the birthplace of the cocktail, along with a celebrated reputation for food, music, and drink.”
“Is it true what they say aboutlaissez les bon temps rouler?”
“Oui, Madame. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed my home until I came back.”
“Why did you come back?” Tonya asked.
A beat passed. “My father was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. I wasn’t back more than three months before he passed away. That’s when I had to step up and help Eustace.”
Tonya braced an elbow on the table and cradled her chin on the heel of her hand. “How old were you when you came back?”
“I’d just turned twenty-three. I graduated high school at sixteen and college at twenty.”
“Your parents didn’t have a problem with you living in a foreign country at that age?”
Gage shrugged his shoulders. “There wasn’t much they could do when I’d left home at sixteen to study in New York. I’d saved enough money from playing gigs during my last two years at college that I didn’t have to ask them to subsidize the trip.”
“What made you decide to live in Paris instead of coming back to the States?”
“A week before I was scheduled to return to the States I met three expatriate musicians who invited me to move into their flat once I’d joined their band. Meanwhile I got a job at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and after a while I worked my way up from dishwasher to sous chef and eventually assistant chef.”
“Were you still playing with the band?”
Gage nodded. “Once the restaurant closed for the night, I went directly to the bar where I played sets until dawn. I didn’t get a lot of sleep, but at that time I was able to get by on less than five hours of sleep.”
Tonya met his eyes when he gave her a long, penetrating stare. “Should I assume you’re still not getting much sleep?”
He smiled, and attractive lines fanned out around his brilliant eyes with the expression. “I’m good during the week. It’s the weekends that are challenging.”
Her eyebrows lifted questioningly. “You don’t work during the week?” she asked. She watched him intently as he measured the ingredients for the bread pudding, and then he slipped on a pair of disposable gloves to blend the mixture with his fingers.
“I do have a day job. After I returned to the States I went back to college to get a master’s degree in education. Right now I’m teaching music at a local high school.”
“Does it have a marching band?”
“Yes. Why?”
She lowered her arm. “What I miss most not going to a Southern college are the marching bands.”
Gage smiled. “There’s nothing better than Friday night football, cheerleading, and marching bands.”
“Do you direct the marching band?”
“No. I’m an artist in residence. The grant’s objective is for me to start up a jazz band for high school students who plan to pursue a career in music.”
