“We have room at our table, if you guys want to join us,” Alex invited them.
“Sure, lead the way,” Jim said.
Stacy looked up with interest when they all returned to the table. Introductions were made and Bethany was unimpressed to learn that Stacy not only had three children but also waitressed at Mimi’s Place with Gina. Jessica was polite, though.
“That sounds like hard work, working at the restaurant and raising little children.”
Stacy smiled. “It keeps me busy.”
“Well, maybe if it works out with John, you won’t have to work as much,” Bethany said. “Neither of us work.”
Gina couldn’t imagine not working. “Don’t you get bored?” she asked before she could stop herself.
Bethany laughed. “Hardly. We joined a ladies’ golf league at the club and we’re active with local charities. Cory’s ex-wife Mandy used to do a lot of charity work with us, before the divorce. I hear she’s working at your restaurant now. That’s such a shame.”
Gina had to keep from letting her temper show. “Mandy is one of the owners of that restaurant, and she told me she was dying of boredom and eager to work. She loves it there.”
“Hm. Well, good for her.” Bethany lifted her glass as the waiter came around to indicate that she wanted another. She turned to Jessica and the two of them chatted, talking softly so that no one else could hear them.
Stacy leaned over and whispered to Gina, “She’s horrid. Poor Todd to be married to her. I know John said Todd is a great guy. All the guys are, it seems.”
“Alex seems to really like it there.”
A waiter carrying a silver tray with sweet broiled Nantucket scallops wrapped in bacon stopped by their table and everyone took a scallop or two. A moment later another tray come by, this time with puffy wonton chips topped with diced raw tuna mixed with chili oil, lemon and avocado. More appetizers followed and everything was exquisite.
“Oh, look what they just brought in,” Todd said excitedly. “Come on everyone, you have to try this. It’s insane. Cory had the vodka and caviar bar last year too. Go easy, though. I had five shots last year and didn’t feel a thing and then it suddenly hit me.”
They all followed Todd over to the long side table that had elaborate ice sculptures, five different kinds of top shelf vodka and bowls of caviar, tiny buttered toasts or miniature blini pancakes and toppings, like minced onion, egg, and sour cream.
Gina had never tried caviar and watched Todd as he built the perfect caviar bite, with a little of everything on the buttered toast.
“So, first you pop this in your mouth and then you wash it down with an ice-cold vodka.”
The attendant picked up the bottle of vodka that Todd selected, poured a shot sized portion into the ice luge and collected the icy vodka at the bottom in a chilled shot glass.
“You have to try this,” Alex said to Gina.
“I’m not much of a vodka drinker,” she protested. “But the caviar looks interesting.”
Todd overheard her and grinned.
“Trust me. You’ll like vodka this way. Just try a small shot, ask for half the normal amount. They’ll do that, right?” He glanced at the attendant who nodded.
Gina stepped up and put some caviar on toast the way she’d seen Todd do it, with a bit of onion, egg and sour cream. She took a tentative bite and it was much better than she expected, an explosion of slightly salty flavor. She finished it, accepted the half-size chilled vodka shot and swallowed it quickly. And was surprised to find that Todd was absolutely right. If she wasn’t driving, she would have been tempted to have another and maybe even a full shot. The vodka and caviar complemented each other and made everything taste better.
All the guys and Bethany and Jessica went through the line twice. Stacy had tried a smaller amount, like Gina, as she was also driving.
Gina thought they were done, but then Todd excitedly said, “One more shot!”
All the girls went back to the table while the guys went through the line again for more vodka and caviar. They returned to the table a few minutes later and the talk quickly grew louder and looser as dollar amounts began flying around. Stacy and Gina glanced at each other.
“You two guys are lucky you landed here. You’ll do well enough now, but in a few years when you move into the PM role, you’ll see what I mean.” Todd glanced at Stacy. “You won’t have to worry about working ever again, unless you want to.”
“We just moved into a new, waterfront house and paid cash. Todd’s year-end bonus money,” Bethany said.