Chapter 12
Tonya and Gage reversed roles when she became his sous chef. Both had covered their clothes with bibbed aprons, while the ingredients for the various dishes lined the quartz countertop. She hummed along with the music flowing from wireless speakers set up around the first floor as she concocted a marinade for the spareribs, made a dipping chili-soy sauce for the pork dumplings, sliced the ribs in small pieces, and cut beef and carrots into thin strips for the crispy shredded beef.
“I like your choice in music.” Gage had put on a recording fromEvita.
“Thank you. I’m rather partial to Broadway show tunes.”
“Which one is your favorite?”
“I have too many to select from, because most of the plays had finished their run by the time I moved to New York to go to school,” he admitted.
Tonya gave him furtive glances out of the side of her eye as Gage measured rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, and egg white into a bowl with the minced pork, bamboo shoots, and soy sauce, mixed the ingredients, and then added corn flour. He had halved the recipes, which would result in smaller portions.
“Now you’re ready to fill the wrappers.” She demonstrated how much mixture to place in the center of each wonton wrapper. “Brush lightly around the edges of the wrapper with water, and then bring the wrapper together in the center by pinching and gathering it at the top.” She placed the wonton on a clean damp towel lining a bamboo steamer, and then handed him the teaspoon. “You try the next one.”
Gage duplicated what Tonya had done, smiling when he accomplished it quickly. “I think I’ve got it.”
She smiled. “Excellent. The spareribs need to marinate for a couple hours, so we’ll start with the dumplings as appetizers.”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “Will you share a cocktail with me to go along with them?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“What else but a Mai Tai.”
Tonya laughed softly. “You’re really going all the way with the Chinese theme,” she teased. “Will I get an orchid and umbrella with my drink?”
He winked at her. “Sorry, babe, the best I can offer is pineapple garnish.” He made quick work of filling the wrappers and placing them in the steamer.
* * *
The sound of falling rain against skylights lulled Gage into a state of total relaxation as he lay on the sofa, his arm resting on Tonya’s waist and his chest pressed against her back. Once the sky darkened with storm clouds, he flicked on wall sconces and table lamps. The afternoon and early evening was nothing short of perfection. The dishes, with a little tweaking from Tonya, were comparable to what he had eaten in New York. Although he had selected recipes that were modified for the Western palate, he knew for certain if she did decide to offer several traditional Asian dishes, they would also become quite popular.
Over dinner she admitted experiencing bouts of guilt and occasionally sadness when she left her daughter with her parents whenever she had traveled abroad to expand her culinary training. Gage reassured Tonya that her daughter had not suffered too much from the separation if she was planning to graduate college in the coming months.
He wanted to tell her about his son, who appeared to have adjusted to his parents’ divorce, because he had continued to provide monetary support and maintained a close relationship with Wesley until he turned fifteen. That was when his son’s life took a turn for the worse when he began cutting classes and abusing drugs.
Gage closed his eyes, but he could still see the image of his son lying in a hospital bed with fluids running into his veins to flush out the poisons polluting his body after he OD’d for what would become the first of many more episodes. Exasperated, Gage told his ex-wife if she didn’t agree to put their son in rehab, he would petition a court to grant him sole custody and cut off her child support. And it was obvious the money he sent Winifred meant more to her than the welfare of their son. Rehab had become a revolving door for Wesley, and the last time he’d had contact with him was the weekend St. John hosted their family reunion. He got a call from Wesley from a Baton Rouge police station, saying that he had been arrested for drunkenness and public lewdness. And inasmuch as he wanted to give up on him, he drove up to the state’s capital, posted bail, and dropped him off at his mother’s house without going inside.
“Is it still raining?”
Tonya’s voice shattered his musings. “Yes. I thought you were falling asleep on me,” he whispered near her ear.
“Not yet.”
“I know you didn’t plan to sleep over, but I do have an extra bedroom if you don’t want to go home.”
Shifting, Tonya turned to face him. “Your invitation is rather tempting, but I’ll pass this time.”
“Are you saying there may be another time?”
Tonya placed her fingertips over his mouth. “No, I’m not. But if I come over again, I’ll know enough not to accept a cocktail from you. You were rather heavy-handed with the rum.”
Gage’s fingers curled around her wrist and then pressed a kiss to her palm. “What’s the matter, babe? You can’t hang?”
She smiled. “I can hang as well as you can.”
He winked at her. “I assume that’s something we’ll have to find out once I take you with me when we visit several local watering holes.”
