Chef's Kiss by TJ Alexander

Author:TJ Alexander
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Published: 2022-05-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

In the days that followed, Simone found herself nervous but excited to be the best ally possible to Ray. A thrill went through her the first time she was able to use the right pronouns at work, just like she’d been practicing with Luna and the girls.

“Have you seen Ray?” Petey asked her one afternoon in the test kitchen.

“Not since lunch,” she said, looking up from her bowl of meringue. “They said something about going to the greenmarket to look for pencil asparagus.” Winter was coming to a close, and the first bundles of spring vegetables would be appearing in the farm stands.

“If you see them before I do, tell them I need to go over our production calendar,” Petey said. “We’re going to try to get approval to shoot some footage at breweries upstate. You’ll be coming, too; we can do a special episode of Revamp.”

“That would be awesome,” she said. “As long as I can sit up front in the passenger seat so I don’t get carsick.”

“I think we can swing that.”

Simone was surprised to find she was looking forward to this. “Thanks, Petey. This should be fun.”

Petey shrugged. “Don’t thank me, thank Ray. It was all their idea.”

Simone allowed herself one silent, internal cheer. It was going so well! As slow as The Discerning Chef could be to catch up with modern times, it was nice to see that the staff were all on the same page when it came to Ray’s coming out. She smiled down at her mountain of fluffy whipped egg whites.

“Ray mentioned that you were going to talk to the video crew about—” Simone paused, not sure how to phrase it.

“Ray’s pronouns and stuff? Yeah, I told the guys.” Petey climbed up on a stool to watch Simone work. It was getting to be a habit for the team, one that Simone was surprised to find didn’t bother her. “Maybe I shouldn’t say ‘guys.’ Bridgette and Lin might not like that. What’s a better word? Group? Team?” He scratched his chin. “This gender stuff, man.” Then, eyes widening: “Should I not say that either? Aw, geez, I say ‘man’ all the freaking time!”

Simone almost laughed at his deflated look. “Glad to know I’m not the only one who’s overthinking this.”

Petey gave a sheepish shrug. “I’m trying to be a good bro. Sibling. You know what I mean.” He waved his arms a little. “I’d never really heard of nonbinary people before. Ray kind of had to explain it to me, how there’s a spectrum and some people don’t fit in the man or woman boxes. And now I’m seeing all the weird ways things are gendered, you know?” He leaned forward on his stool. “Like, did you know the shampoo they sell to women is more expensive? And you get less of it? Even though it’s the same stuff as the men’s shampoo?”

“Yes.” Simone sighed. “I’m very well-acquainted with the Pink Tax.”

“How come we can’t have just one kind of shampoo that everyone uses?” Petey asked.

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