“Well, that would explain why you don’t like sex,” Bella says. “Have you ever had an orgasm with Henk?”
“I am not going to answer such question!” Mebel snaps.
“That’s a no then,” Bella says to Gemma, who stifles her laughter.
“This is so disrespectful!”
“Aww, Mebs, we’re sorry. We’re just trying to make sure that you’re having a good time,” Gemma says.
“Yeah, especially now that you’re estranged from your philandering husband,” Bella says. “It’s time for you to enter your slut era.”
Mebel feels as though her head is about to explode with a mixture of mortification, frustration, and strangely enough, laughter. “No slut era!” she snaps again. “Stop this nonsense now.” With that, she strides out of the room. It’s only when the door clicks shut behind her that she realizes she’s just stormed out of her own room while only half-dressed, and of course, it is this very moment that Adam walks out of his room, which is two doors down from hers.
He sees her, takes in her bare legs, gulps audibly, and says, “Good day, Mebs.” Then he turns and goes back into his own room.
“Aiya,” Mebel mutters before marching back into her room and pointedly ignoring the two giggling girls while she finishes getting dressed.
When she goes down to the reception hall, Agatha calls out to her. “How are you doing?” Agatha says.
“Okay. You?”
“Good, good,” Agatha says. She tucks her frizzy hair behind her ear. “Ah, I was wondering, how are things going between you and Chef Alain?”
“Oh!” Mebel feels her cheeks warming. If Agatha, like Gemma and Bella, asks her for intimate details about her relationship with Alain, she is going to melt into a puddle right here, she knows it. “They are going okay.” She turns away to signal that she is done with the conversation, but Agatha calls out to her once more.
“Only”—Agatha pauses, wringing her hands—“I just wanted to make sure everything’s, you know, kosher?”
What is she trying to say?Mebel wonders. What does “kosher” mean in this sense? With a sense of growing horror, she realizes that Agatha, like Gemma and Bella, might be referring to Mebel’s sex life. Is she about to ask Mebel if they are practicing safe sex?Oh my god, this is mortifying.
“Oh yes,” Mebel chirps. “Everything very good. Very healthy!”
Confusion crosses Agatha’s face. “Healthy?”
“You know, all kosher. Very organic!” Mebel’s brain, it seems, has hit a wall and is now choosing to throw random words out.
“I don’t quite follow…” poor Agatha says.
“I have to go. Bye!” With that, Mebel rushes off, her heart thundering, her face melting from sheer embarrassment. Once she is round the corner, she has to stop and take a few deep breaths to recenter herself before heading to the front door.
Lessons are going swimmingly. Mebelfinds that she is adept at the soup module. The first day, they learn to make consommé, and Chef Clarke is surprised by how clear and deeply flavorful Mebel’s consommé is. They also learn to make leek and potato soup, which Mebel doesn’t quite understand because leeks and potatoes seem like two of the most boring ingredients one could put into a soup. When the soup is done, Mebel has to admit that it is far more delicious than one might have reasonably expected. Her favorite is the cream of spinach and kale soup, which comes out in a beautiful, vivid shade of green and tastes both healthy and decadent at the same time.
After the second day of soup class, Mebel goes out to dinnerwith Gemma, Bella, Adam, and Bruce. It is now a regular thing for them to do, and at least twice a week, they all go down to Cowley Road for a casual meal. Their favorite place is a pub that serves mediocre food but decent cheap cider, and Mebel has developed a taste for English pear cider, which is both refreshing and dangerously gluggable. Their conversation flows easily, and they’ve all accepted Mebel into their inner circle, even Bruce.
Sometimes, they ask her for advice, something that Mebel is always ready to give. A typical example might go something like this:
Mebel:“Bruce, you seem even more bad temper today than usual.”
Adam:“Thank god someone’s noticed.”
Bruce:“Mind your own business.”
Gemma:“Why don’t you tell us what’s on your mind, Brucey?”
Bruce:“It’s nothing, just family drama.”
Mebel:“With your parents? Tell me, I know how to fix. I am a mother.”
Bruce:“You can’t fix this, Mebel. My parents don’t want me to go to culinary school. That’s all there is to it.”
