“Here’s to moving on,” Daisy said and handed a bottle to Violet. The sisters clinked bottlenecks, and the party was on. Lily smiled, batted her eyelashes, and the men came running.
As Violet was swung around in swing dance after swing dance and jive after jive, she saw Lily flirting her way through the party. Even if she wasn’t over Frank, it was at least a start. And now that her sister was settled and on the road to mending her heart, it was time for Violet to enjoy her last few months in Keeneston. She would miss her sisters, but she had a life of her own to experience. And experience it she would.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Paris, France
One year later . . .
Violet breathed in the hot air of the kitchen. She lived for nights like this. The chaos of the kitchen, the chefs yelling, the frantic rush to fill orders. It energized her, and she knew this was what she wanted out of life. Her entrée was going to be featured in the restaurant owned by the culinary school. And somewhere in the crowd was one of the teachers who would grade it for her final exam.
One more month of classes and she would give her final presentation. One more month and she would graduate. Then she could go public with her romance. One more month and she could be a chef in her own kitchen with the love of her life by her side.
It was true. Paris was known for food and romance, and it had lived up to its reputation. The first day of culinary school she had looked up from her seat and into the eyes of the man she would spend the rest of her life with. They took it slowly, knowing it was a mistake to get involved. But they couldn’t stop themselves any more than one could stop the earth from spinning.
Needless to say, there had been plenty of late nights in the kitchen. And she’d learned that there were a whole lot of things you could do on a prep table that didn’t involve food. Violet basked in the freedom of living abroad. The pressure to always be the perfect woman and the perfect daughter she felt in Keeneston was gone. Instead, she lived life to its fullest without a care in the world . . . except for her heart and her cooking.
“You’re doing great. They love it,” he whispered into her ear as he came up from behind her. “I plan on showing you how much you made my mouth water tonight. I’ll meet you back here after everyone has gone.”
Violet felt her face flush, and she grinned as she plated one of her entrées to look as beautiful as it tasted. “Yes, chef,” she answered saucily back to her teacher. She heard his satisfied chuckle as he headed back into the restaurant.
She knew it was wrong, but at this point she didn’t care. True love was true love and nothing was going to stop it. There was only one other woman in her class of seventeen. Violet and Luc had been careful that no one else knew or even suspected their connection. It had started off innocently enough when she needed help with her crêpes. It had escalated to passionate moments in both his office and the practice kitchen in the early morning hours. But one more month and they wouldn’t have to be careful anymore. As soon as she graduated, they could bring their relationship out in the open and claim it had just started.
Violet set the plate on the counter and hit the bell indicating the table was ready to be served. A waiter swept through the swinging door and took the plates into the restaurant. Entrées were completely served, and it was time to work with her classmates on the desserts. In just one more hour the restaurant would be empty and cleanup complete.
Violet moaned happily as Luc pulled away and tossed the condom in the trashcan. “You did great tonight,
mon chouchou
,” he told her as he pulled his shirt on over his broad chest and started to button it up.
Violet nibbled on her lip as she watched him dress quickly and efficiently. “Are you in a hurry?”
“
Oui
, I have a student coming in early tomorrow to go over a menu.”
Violet sighed as she watched his flat stomach and impressive buns disappear under his clothing.
“I’ve been thinking about when I go home . . .”
Luc’s dark eyes met hers, and Violet stopped her thought. How could she want him again so soon?
He smiled, and she had her answer. “
Oui
?”
“I wondered how you would feel about a trip to America. I’ve sent out my résumé to restaurants here and in Kentucky. I'd like to stay here. However, I want to go home for at least a visit and have a backup plan in case I don’t get a job here.”
“It sounds divine, but let’s not plan anything until you graduate and then finally we can be a real couple.”
Violet giggled and buttoned her dress. “I’m pretty sure what we just did was us being a very real couple.”
Luc grinned back at her before leaning forward and kissing her. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow. Get some sleep.”
Violet finished getting dressed and grabbed her purse from the office. She locked up the kitchen and enjoyed the walk through the historical streets of the city. Paris never slept. It was so different from Keeneston. She didn’t know if she ever really wanted to go back home. Her sisters wrote her every week, and they called each other once a month.
Daisy was enjoying the University of Kentucky. She’d opted to join a sorority instead of trying to impress the Keeneston Belles. Her sorority focused on charity work, studying, and hosting parties. Daisy was really coming into her own. When Violet had asked her about dating, Daisy told her she’d gone out on a couple dates but hadn’t been too serious about anyone yet.
Lily had written to tell them about their new neighbors. She was glad when Frank’s house had sold to newlyweds, and she had hoped it would ease some of the bad memories. The husband, Mr. Schniter, was older than his young bride, Edna, who was just a couple years older than Lily. Mr. Schniter was a traveling salesman and, having been in the military, had taught his young wife how to shoot his service pistol so she would be safe while he was gone. Lily wrote about how he had tried to get her to try it, and when she finally had, she had shot out the windshield of his car parked to the right of the women. Mr. Schniter had taken back the pistol with a shake of his head and handed Lily her broom. He joked that he felt better leaving his wife at home knowing Lily could wield a broom like a police baton.
When Violet had talked to Lily about her dating again, Lily had grown quiet.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust another man, Vi. After feeling the pain of a broken heart and the betrayal I suffered at Frank’s hands . . .” Lily had said before changing the subject.
So much was changing around Violet. They were growing up and growing apart. They were no longer the inseparable Rose sisters but now just Violet, just Daisy, or just Lily. It was sad but, at the same time, empowering. To only be known as part of a whole and then experience life as just yourself was inspiring.
Violet passed couples pouring out of the cinema and smiled at them holding hands. Soon she would have that with Luc. He wasn’t much older than she was. He was twenty-eight to her nineteen. That was nothing compared to her parents’ thirteen-year age difference.
Violet turned down the alley that led to her apartment. The night air was warm, and she took a moment to soak in the noise of an active city before pushing the key into her door. The door pushed over that day’s pile of mail, and she bent to pick it up. There were letters from her mother and sisters and some bills that she tossed on the small table. But her hands shook when she saw two more envelopes from restaurants where she had applied for work.
One was covered with stamps and postage marks. It was from a restaurant in Louisville, the top gourmet restaurant in the state. She cracked the seal and hurried to open it. Her excitement plummeted when she read that they had no need of a woman chef. Unfortunately, it was still unheard of for a woman to run a large kitchen. Baking and putting out cookbooks, sure. But ordering men around and putting out exquisite cuisine instead of casseroles—no way.
Violet crumpled the paper and tossed it in the trashcan. She opened the letter from a small luxury restaurant outside of Paris and gasped with excitement. She had a job offer! She didn’t bother to notice it was only six in the morning at home when she picked up the phone and called.
“Is someone dead?” her father’s sleepy voice asked over the long-distance call.
“I got a job!”
“Who is this?”
“Your daughter,” Violet laughed.
“Which one?”
“The only one who would call you this early.”
“
Humph
. So, my baby girl got her first job. When are you coming home?”
Violet nibbled on her lip, unsure how to break the news. “Well, I didn’t get the job in Louisville. I got a job here in France.”
“Who is it? Is someone dead?” Violet heard her mother mumble.
“It’s our daughter.”
“Which one?” She heard her mother ask.
“The one that’s left us and isn’t coming back,” her father told her before turning his attention back to Violet. “What about the job offer with Chef Nichols?”
“It’s my last choice. If I work at one of these restaurants for just a couple years, I can come back and run my own restaurant. I could own it, run it, and cook for it. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of.”
“Well, then I guess I need to say congratulations. I am proud of you, Violet. We just miss your smiling face around here.”
“I know. I miss you all, too. I should be home to stay in a couple years, but I’ll be back after graduation to visit.”
“You better be. Although I’m sure we won’t even recognize you. Here, your mother wants to talk to you.”
Violet felt a tear roll down her cheek as she waited for her mother to take the phone. She missed her parents so much. “You got a job? That’s fantastic! Tell me all about it.”
By the time Violet talked to her mother and promised to tell Lily all about it, she was still too excited to sleep. She pushed open her window and sat at her table. Looking out over the streets of Paris, she wrote letters to her sisters.
She stamped them and walked downstairs to place them in the mailbox. When she made it back upstairs, she saw it was already two in the morning. She hurried to get ready for bed, but just as she feared, she couldn’t fall asleep. Images of cooking in the small luxury restaurant and coming home to Luc filled her thoughts. They could be married first here in France with his family and then again in Keeneston with all her friends and family surrounding them.
The two of them had talked about marriage when things turned serious. She had let him know she wasn’t someone who took their special times together lightly. Luc had promised he loved her, and they would marry as soon as she graduated. He cautioned that if they let their relationship be known before that, Violet might be asked to leave culinary school. Neither of them wanted to take that chance.
As the sun began to creep through the window, Violet gave up trying to sleep. Her grade from the night before would be posted at the school, and if she got to class early enough, she could catch Luc right after his students left and tell him about her job. Violet hurried to get dressed, and when she walked the streets to school, she found herself skipping.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Violet pushed open the glass doors to her culinary school and walked into the lobby. She passed students studying at the round tables and headed upstairs to Luc’s office. Nadine, the other woman in her class, came hurrying down the stairs with a cake balanced precariously in her hands.
“Nadine, do you need help?”
“
Oui!
I am afraid I will drop this beautiful cake Monsieur Luc helped me with. I just could not get the frosting to taste correct, but Monsieur Luc had just the right touch to fix it.”
Violet smiled at her friend and grabbed the books she was carrying in the crook of her arm along with her bakery kit. “Let me take these to your locker for you.”
“
Merci
! I am going to run this cake home real quick. I’ll see you in class.”
Violet watched as a rumpled and harried Nadine raced out of the building and down the street as fast as she could with her cake. Violet turned and walked down the stairs to the back of the building where their lockers were. She would see Luc soon enough to tell him the good news.
“That’s fantastic,
mon chouchou
!” Luc smiled from behind his desk. “I wish I could kiss you, but there are too many people around. Tonight I will make sure to kiss you everywhere.”
Violet blushed and tried not to giggle. Even though she was not so innocent anymore, his candid talk always heated her face . . . and other places.
“Now that I don’t have to worry about a job, I can focus on my final exams and be completely prepared to make my dishes for the teachers.”
“As if you need much practice. You’ll do wonderfully,” Luc told her as he stood up and slid into his white chef’s coat.
“Oh, I forgot, I wanted to see if you would like to join me this weekend at the film festival. It looks like great fun.” Violet had the festival article she had cut out of the paper in her purse. It would be so romantic and carefree. They could just be boyfriend and girlfriend there. No cooking, no worrying about school . . . it would be perfect.
“I am sorry,
mon chouchou
, but I’ve warned you this last month of school is always crazy for me. Everyone needs help on their dishes in preparation for their exams. Unfortunately, I will be here all weekend, handling confectionary calamities and duck disasters.”
Violet tried to remain smiling, but she was sad that they never seemed to be able to be together in public. Less than a month, she told herself over and over again as she went to her first class.
* * *
Violet was deader than a doornail. The next day was her crêpes exam. She had to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner crêpes in both sweet and savory. If the pan was too hot or the batter too thick, she would fail her exam. And right now she didn’t know what was going on, but her practice crêpes were completely wrong. There were bubbles and tears and . . . they were just a disaster.
Violet looked around for Nadine, but the kitchen was empty. She had been so engrossed in her work she hadn’t even heard her friend leave. Everyone else had perfected their dishes and had gone home. That made Violet feel even worse about her crêpe catastrophe. She glanced at her watch and was surprised to find it was after midnight.
She grabbed her cast-iron crêpe pan with the mangled crêpe still on it and went in search of a teacher. She just hoped someone was here. The hallway was lit for the custodians to polish the floors. Her heart dropped as she passed darkened office after darkened office.
Tears formed in Violet’s eyes as she walked farther down the hallway that housed the teachers’ offices. She was going to fail. A year of hard work and some flour and eggs were going to be her demise.
“Oh, thank goodness!” Violet audibly gasped as she saw a sliver a light coming from under Luc’s door.
Hurrying the rest of the way down the hall, Violet didn’t stop to knock on the closed door. She turned the knob and burst in.
“I need your help, Luc,” Violet called out in panic as she looked miserably down at her crêpe pan. “I can’t get my crêpe to—”
The woman’s shriek broke through Violet’s harried plea for help. “Nadine?” Violet managed to stammer. Her friend hadn’t left after all. Instead she was naked and splayed out on Luc’s desk with Luc’s mouth feasting on her.
“Oh hell,” Violet cursed as Luc’s head popped up.
“Violet,” Luc and Nadine cried at the same time.
“Please, Vi, don’t tell anyone. We’re in love and—”
“And you’ll be together once you graduate,” Violet finished for Nadine. She watched as Luc’s eyes went wide, and Nadine shot a glance between them.
“
Mon chouchou
,” Luc cooed.
“Yes?” Violet and Nadine responded at the same time. Nadine turned red and spouted a slew of rapid-fire French cuss words before kicking Luc in the nose.
“I’m so sorry, Violet.”
“So am I,” Violet said as an angry and tearful Nadine made her way out of the office with her clothes clutched against her chest.
Luc stood and grabbed his shirt from the floor to press against his bleeding nose as he turned on Violet. “
Mon chouchou
, it’s always been you I loved. She bewitched me,” Luc pleaded.
Violet held out her pan. “What did I do wrong with my crêpe?”
Luc froze in the act of pulling up his pants and with wide eyes stared at her in confusion.
“My crêpes? What did I do wrong?” Violet asked again as she shoved the pan under his nose.
Luc looked down at the pan and touched the crêpe. “Too much butter and too high of heat.”
“Thank you,” Violet said with a nod before turning for the door.
“Ah,
mon chouchou
, don’t leave. I love you. I didn’t want her. I want you. Please, don’t you have anything to say?”
Violet felt her hand tighten on the handle to her crêpe pan. “Yes, I do. Kiss my grits!” Violet swung the pan and was rewarded with a resounding
thunk
. Luc stood so still Violet thought he was stunned. For a moment she thought about swinging the pan again to erase the stupid grin stuck on his face. But then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he crumpled to the ground.
“Good riddance,” Violet said as she sauntered back to the kitchen.
* * *
With a flick of her wrist, the crêpe folded perfectly as she presented it to one of her teachers. Violet held her breath as the serious-looking teacher cut into the dessert crêpe. She’d received pleasant nods from the other teachers who had scored her breakfast, lunch, and dinner crêpes, but it was well known among the students that Chef François was the toughest nut to crack.
Violet bit down on her lip as Chef François fingered the texture of the crêpe and then wrote something down on his pad of paper. He held the fork up to the light and studied it from all angles before taking more notes.
“And what makes your crêpe any different from the others I have tried this morning?” Chef asked with something akin to a sneer on his face.
Violet smiled nervously as she wiped her hands on her apron. “It has a little bit of home in it.”
“The United States?” he asked with a snort of disdain.
“Yes, sir. Kentucky.”
“I fail to see what Kentucky can offer fine dining, Mademoiselle Rose.”
Violet gulped as he finally put the forkful of crêpe into his mouth. His eyes closed as he worked his palate. Chef narrowed his eyes at her and slid his fork back onto the crêpe before cutting off another bite. He chewed and his eyes rolled upward in contemplation.
“Interesting. The chocolate is very smooth, but there is an interesting bite to it. I though it was cayenne pepper, but it’s not.”
“It’s Kentucky bourbon, Chef.”
Chef François’s lips thinned as he stared at the now-offending crêpe. “
Humph
,” was the only sound he made before walking away.
With shaking hands, Violet set the plate aside and cleaned her station. She was going to fail. She was going to lose her job and go home with her head hung low. Not to mention she was no longer virtuous. Golly jeepers, she was done for.
“Attention! Your grades will be posted tonight in the lobby for this portion of your exam. Tomorrow you will prepare us a breathtaking duck. Dismissed.”
Violet hurried from the kitchen before Nadine could catch up with her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Nadine with bags under her eyes, trying to get her attention. Violet pretended not to notice as she bolted out the door. She was not going to talk to the woman who inadvertently crushed her dreams and her heart. Violet knew Nadine was just as much a victim as she was, but that didn’t make the pain in her chest ease.
Violet turned left out of the school and wound her way back to the apartment with hopes that Nadine had given up and had gone back to her place. Sighing with relief when no one was standing by the door, Violet dug into her purse and pulled out her keys. There was only one person she could talk to right now.
She picked up the phone and asked the operator to place a long-distance call. Violet crossed her fingers and hoped her sister picked up. She didn’t feel like talking to her parents right now.
“Rose residence,” Lily’s voice said from an ocean away.
“Oh thank goodness it’s you,” Violet said before great sobs broke forth.
“Vi! What is it?”
“It’s my heart. I thought he loved me,” Violet wailed into the phone.
Lily sucked in a breath, and Violet heard her curse. “I’m so sorry, Vi. So Luc broke up with you?”
“No! I caught him with his head between Nadine’s legs! He told her everything he told me—that he loved her and after graduation they could be together. I’m such a fool.”
“I am so sorry, Vi,” Lily whispered.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Violet yelled at her sister.
“Tell you what?”
“How much love hurts,” Violet said, curling up on her bed and crying.
“It’s how you know it was real.”
“I’m never doing it again then. It feels as if the whole world is pressing on my chest while every person in it is laughing at me. How could I have been so stupid? Well, never again. I will never trust a man, let alone love one again.”
“You’re not alone, Vi. I’ll be right there with you as we get old together. Are you going to come home?”
“And let him win? Never. I have my dream job lined up, and I’ll be home when I am good and ready.”
“Good for you, Vi,” Lily cheered. “Are you done with your exams?”
“One more. Duck. So far I’ve gotten all
A
’s except for one
B
. How are you doing?”
Lily chuckled as if thinking of something. “Good. I miss you. Our new neighbor is very entertaining. She’s our age, but married an older man. She seems to really love him, but she always likes to act younger. We went skinny-dipping at Lovers Pond and were almost caught by the sheriff.”
“Skinny-dipping! That sounds terrifyingly free. I just might have to try it.”
“You should. And I’m letting my hair grow out more. Daisy loves UK. She’s been dragging me along on all these double dates, but my heart isn’t in it. And honestly, neither is Daisy’s. She’s just having a great time learning and doing charity work.”
Violet smiled as the tears slowed, although now she was feeling a bit homesick. “How is work going for you? What’s it like working with Dad?”
“It’s not bad. He’s been giving me more and more responsibility. I’ve started working with the doctors to make sure prescriptions are right, and I’m now completely in charge of the soda fountain. Oh . . . and I’m a bridesmaid in another wedding coming up. I fixed up Donald and Suzie. Now they’re getting married.”
“It seems you are quite the matchmaker,” Violet laughed.
“I think it’s easier when your heart is no longer in it. You can see the way couples look at each other and know if it’s real or not.”
Violet looked at the clock and gasped. “We’ve been talking forever! I’ll need a second job to pay for this. I better go, but thank you for being there, Lily. I love you.”
“I love you, too!”
Violet hung up the phone and grabbed her cooking supplies. She raced out the door and almost barreled into Nadine. “Jeez Louise!”
“I’m so sorry, but I had to talk to you. Luc is in the hospital.” Violet just snorted at Nadine’s announcement. “I went to see him, and his wife was there.”
That got Violet’s attention. “Wife? What wife? Luc wasn’t married.”
“He used us, Violet. He was married the whole time with three kids at home.”
Empty. That’s what Violet was. She was empty. She would never allow another man to take advantage of her. From now on she would be in charge. “Well, I guess we shouldn’t really be surprised. Although now I don’t feel bad about hitting him with a crêpe pan.”
Nadine laughed. “So, that’s what happened to him. He told the doctors and his wife he fell down the stairs at the school. I giggled, and his wife narrowed her eyes at me so I left.”