Nydia pointed to an overhead cabinet. “The cups and plates are in there. And the silverware is in a drawer under the countertop.”
Lamar opened the cabinet door. “What’s on the menu?”
“I thought we’d have a Southern breakfast with grits, eggs, biscuits, and sausage gravy.”
He froze. “What do you know about a Southern breakfast?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “This Boricua knows how to cook more than just Latin food. I shared this apartment a couple of months before Tonya moved to New Orleans, and she taught me how to prepare Southern food, while in turn I did the same with Spanish dishes.”
“The pasteles you gave me didn’t last a week.”
Nydia stared at him, complete surprise freezing her features. “You ate a dozen pasteles in a week?”
Lamar laughed as he removed plates and cups from the cabinet. “No. I had help. I gave my daughter and housekeeper a little piece to see if they liked it, and that was all she wrote. Then I had to boil a couple for them. Three days later, there were none. I’ve eaten a lot of pasteles, but yours were the best I’ve ever had.”
“I’ll definitely tell Abuelita that she has another fan. Whenever we used to tell Abuelita that she made the best pasteles in the whole wide world, she would give us a sly smile and then say, ‘Yo sé.’ My mother would try to get her to say thank you instead of ‘I know,’ but Abuelita knows her pasteles are the bomb.”
“They are definitely going to be a hit with the locals when Tonya adds them to her menu,” Lamar stated.
“Everything she and Gage prepare will be a hit.”
Lamar had to agree with Nydia. Chez Toussaints was renowned when it came to serving Cajun and Creole dishes to diehard customers, but with professional chefs Gage and Tonya Toussaint opening their own restaurant in the Garden District and offering an eclectic international menu, the family’s reputation was certain to soar beyond the environs of the Big Easy.
“Are we eating in the kitchen?”
“No. You can set the table in the dining area.”
Lamar busied himself setting plates, glasses, cups and saucers, serving pieces, and napkins on the table with seating for four. He hadn’t learned to cook well, but he did know how to set a table for formal or informal dining. His mother had given up on him when he refused to grasp the steps that went into preparing a meal, so she assigned him the task of setting the table.
He returned to the kitchen as the distinctive aroma of sausage wafted to his nostrils. “That smells delicious.”
Nydia smiled at him over her shoulder. “Tonya turned me on to a local butcher who makes his own sausage. My favorites are country sage and cheese and garlic.”
Leaning against the entrance, Lamar crossed his arms over his chest. “You and Tonya were roommates?”
Nydia gave him a quick glance. “Only for two months. We were like college students sharing a dorm. We stayed up late, and slept even later the next morning. We’d go down to Washington Square farmers’ market or to the Hunts Point produce market in the Bronx to shop for ingredients we couldn’t find locally. Last Christmas when my grandmother wanted to makepastelesI told her I would shop for the ingredients. I called the butcher and placed an order for Boston butt and pork bones for the stock, and Abuelita raved about how much better they tasted. I’ve volunteered to buy everything she needs to make them this year. When you and your daughter come up for Christmas, I want you to be prepared not to get much sleep. The house will be loud and noisy with Nelson and Joaquin’s kids underfoot. The women will do most of the cooking, while the men hang out together in Nelson’s man cave watching and talking sports all day and half the night.”
“I’m really looking forward to it. I told Kendra we were coming up here for Christmas, and she nearly blew out my eardrum when she screamed.”
“How long do you plan to stay?” Nydia asked him.
“How long do you want us to stay?”
“Christmas is on a Tuesday this year, so why don’t you come up either late Friday or Saturday. We always have a Christmas Eve banquet and at the stroke of midnight we open gifts. Christmas Day is for sleeping in late and eating what is left over. I’d like to plan a few outings for the girls for that week before you and Kendra return home.”
“I’m willing to pay for the outings.”
Nydia shot him a withering glance. “That’s not happening.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry about that.” It was apparent he’d put his foot in his mouth without thinking of the consequences. Nydia hadn’t mentioned money. Lamar recalled Nydia telling him she was subletting Tonya’s apartment, and he wondered for how long she planned to live here. “When does the lease expire?” he asked, verbalizing his thoughts.
“January thirty-first.”
“Are you going to renew it?”
Nydia concentrated on breaking up the sausage meat into little pieces with a wooden spoon. “No.”
He stood straight. “Where will you live?”
