Joe was a jovial man with ruddy cheeks and kind, intelligent eyes. He looked surprised when Maria told him that Hollie was his new assistant cook, but he was supportive of his wife’s decision to hire Hollie.
After shaking Hollie’s hand, Joe rattled off some instructions for a simple dish and asked her to show him what she could do.
Hollie got the ingredients and started cooking. She followed Joe’s instructions and cooked the dish flawlessly. Towards the end, she decided to prepare a special sauce to go with the dish and whipped the sauce up in just a few minutes.
She would never forget the look on Joe’s face when he sampled the sauce. “Oh, good lord!” he exclaimed. “This is perfect! Why haven’t I thought of this before?”
Grinning from ear to ear, he clapped Hollie on the shoulder and said, “You are a godsend! Now, get to work. You can refer to this old recipe book. I wrote all my recipes in this notebook, but feel free to improve on them!”
Hollie rolled up her sleeves and flexed her fingers. She was right at home in the kitchen. She was in her element and she even hummed softly as she zipped around the kitchen. It was her very first day at work, yet she worked comfortably and efficiently alongside Joe.
Joe seemed delighted with her. He saw that she was a very competent cook and he encouraged her to experiment and come up with some new dishes.
“I am so glad that Maria hired you,” he said happily.
“You can thank me later,” Maria quipped, waltzing into the kitchen with a large order.
“I will thank you now,” Joe said, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek.
Hollie smiled as Maria blushed. They were so sweet and affectionate, and she liked them both a lot. They were outspoken and gutsy, and even though they had known her for less than a day, they weren’t afraid to stand up for her. Joe told Hollie that if the Black Blade wolves came near the diner, he would go after them with his cleaver.
Joe was studying the order that just came in. He handed it to Hollie and said, “Let’s get cracking, kiddo.”
“They ordered a lot of food,” Hollie remarked as she started grabbing the ingredients. “It must be a big party.”
“It’s for the Ballsy Hookers,” Maria said over her shoulder as she went back out to the diner.
Joe chuckled. “The Ballsy Hookers have been coming to our diner for years.”
Hollie’s mouth fell open. “Um...hookers?” she managed. “B-ballsy hookers?”
Joe guffawed and slapped his thigh. “Oh, it’s not what you think, Hollie!”
Hollie turned red. “I wasn’t thinking...” She ducked her head. “I would never judge anyone,” she added in a small voice.
“I wasn’t implying that, Hollie,” Joe said gently. “I admit I was thrown for a loop when I first heard their name. It’s really clever. I won’t give anything away. But I promise you, you’ll have a real good laugh at the end of it!”
Confused, Hollie shook her head and busied herself whipping up all the dishes. Joe was still grinning as he cooked alongside Hollie.
“You should go out and meet them,” Joe said, wiping his hands on his apron.
“Who?”
“The Ballsy Hookers.”
Hollie smiled awkwardly. “That’s okay. There are more orders coming in. I should just stay here and do my work.”
When the dishes were ready, Maria and Lucy balanced all the plates expertly on two trays and marched out to serve the Ballsy Hookers.
After a few minutes, Maria popped her head into the kitchen and beckoned to Hollie. “The Ballsy Hookers send their compliments to the chef!” she announced. “Come on out, Hollie. Come and meet these lovely ladies!”
Self-consciously, Hollie followed Maria out of the kitchen.
Her eyes bugged when she saw three booths filled with giggling, chattering little old ladies.