I couldn’t imagine being forced to learn something you didn’t want to learn. Especially when it required seven years of schooling. At least culinary school was something Iwanted.
My parents had started a college fund for me before my dad died, but I’d still be stuck with student loans. And when I told my mom I wanted to go to my dad’s alma mater, she was all about it. Cooking had kind of been our thing, my dad and me. During the day, he was stuck doing administrative stuff at my grandfather’s window and siding business. But when he got home every night, he’d start working on dinner and I’d help.
When I was just a kid, it was grabbing ingredients, learning to measure out stuff, setting timers. But slowly I got to do more. My dad taught me how to caramelize onions, what spices create what flavor profiles, and – his proudest achievement – how to make the perfect poached egg.
Some of my favorite memories were of cooking with him after work while my mom enjoyed a glass of wine at the kitchen table and watched us or read a book. Cooking and baking were the only things I could think of that I’d be happy doing for the rest of my life. I couldn’t imagine my parents not supporting my dream.
But then again, it was probably easier to support that dream when part of it was creating my own test kitchen on my days off where my mom got to eat whatever fun new treat I was making. And it was nice that it also honored who my dad was.
‘Anyway …’ Gabe put his hand down to pet Gertie and Arnold, who had joined us once again. ‘Still want to hang out? Even though I’m rich and have asshole friends and love movies when you have zero interest in them?’
That was a lot of strikes against our already burgeoning relationship – I mean friendship.
‘No,’ I said. I waited for his smirk to drop before I bent down and held out my hands to Gertie, speaking in my doggie voice. ‘But I’ll hang out because you have these puppers!’
Gertie lunged at me, knocking me off my feet. She licked my face as I shouted for help, pinning me under two hundred pounds of fluff and slobber.
Gabe grinned down at me. ‘You deserve that.’
Therewasan apartment above the carriage-house garage. And it was Gabe’s. Well, not technically his, but it was set up as a guesthouse, and ever since he’d told his parents he was going to film school, he had been hiding out there most days.
I dropped onto the leather couch. ‘So they just let you live on your own?’
‘Not totally.’ He filled up a dog bowl at the sink and set it down on the kitchen floor for Gertie and Arnold to share. ‘My mom gets annoyed if I’m out here too many days in a row and demands that I come back into the house.’
I glanced around. It was basically a studio apartment. There was a doorway leading to a bathroom next to a king-size bed. The couch was in the middle of the room, facing a large TV. The side door entered at a kitchenette, where Gabe was looking into a fridge.
‘Do you want a drink?’ he asked.
‘Sure. Whatever you’re having.’
He took two sodas and tossed one to me. I popped the tab and took a sip as Gabe plopped down on the couch next to me. He leaned back against the armrest and pulled his bare feet up onto the couch.
‘Should we continue your education?’ he asked with a smirk.
‘How many moreBack to the Futuremovies can there be?’
‘Oh no, we’ll be moving on to something else.’ He set his soda down and scrambled for the remotes – there were three of them.
‘Is this where you were watching with me?’
He shook his head. ‘There’s a movie theater room in the house.’
Of course there is.I tried to hide my smile behind the soda can, but he caught it.
‘Show me your favorite movie,’ I said. ‘The one that made you decide you wanted to make movies.’
‘Those are two different movies.’
‘How? Shouldn’t your favorite movie be the one that made you realize your dream?’
‘No, because my dad took me to seeThe Avengerswhen I was six, andthatwas the movie that made me want to make movies. It was the first time I had ever seen anything like that spectacle. It’s a great movie, but it’s not my favorite movie by any means. It’s a popcorn blockbuster.’
‘Oh, right, you’re apretentiousfilm nerd.’
He flicked his soda can at me, splashing me a bit while he tried not to grin. ‘Shut it.’
‘All right, well, evenIhave seen the Avengers movies. So what’s your all-time favorite?’
