Meant to Be by Johanna Knowles

Author:Johanna Knowles [Knowles, Johanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781536226966
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Published: 2022-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

I decided to try Lucas next. I knew he would be as excited as I was about the book.

When he opened the door, a strong smell of garlic wafted into the hallway. Mr. Stevens was standing at the stove with his walker to keep his balance.

“Hi, Mr. Stevens! What are you making?”

“Meatballs!” he called over his shoulder. “Could sure use a hand!”

“What’s that?” Lucas asked, gesturing toward Larousse.

“It’s a special cookbook encyclopedia! Miss Beverly from 104 gave it to me. I tried to show Alice, but she’s still not talking to me.”

“Oh.”

“Do you want to look at it? Or are you mad at me, too?”

Lucas shrugged. “Why should I be mad at you?”

“For what I said to Alice. And ruining our fun showtime.”

“Hm” was all he said.

If he wasn’t mad, he certainly didn’t seem like his usual friendly self.

“Does that mean you’ll look at it with me?”

“I can’t. I’m helping my dad.”

“Can I help, too?”

Lucas shrugged again. I really did not like that gesture of his. Just say yes or no! Care!

“Of course you can!” Mr. Stevens said. “We need to roll the last of these balls in some bread crumbs, but my leg is awfully tired. I’d be glad for the help.”

“I was helping you,” Lucas said.

“A third set of hands would be nice,” Mr. Stevens said. “What are you so testy about?”

“Nothing,” Lucas said.

I set Larousse on the kitchen table, then washed my hands at the sink and began to roll the meatballs in the bread crumbs and line them up on a cooking tray next to the ones Mr. Stevens and Lucas had already made. Mr. Stevens pulled up a chair by the kitchen table to rest.

“Too bad we didn’t get to make the challenge today,” Lucas said as he formed meatballs next to me.

So I was right. He was grouchy about the show. And it was my fault. Again!

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“You say this is a cookbook?” Mr. Stevens asked, pulling the book closer to take a look.

“It’s a cooking encyclopedia, to be more precise. Miss Beverly gave it to me. She said if Alice, Lucas, and I learn the terms and techniques described in this, we’ll be real chefs!”

“That was awfully nice of her,” Mr. Stevens said, flipping through the pages.

“Carly Lin and Dustin Kendal never mentioned that book,” Lucas said.

“Well, they never mentioned Julia Child, either. But she was a famous TV chef, too. Miss Beverly said she was the best!”

Lucas made a face to show he wasn’t impressed.

“Sure seems fancy.” Mr. Stevens leaned forward to look more closely at a page. “I wonder what Émincé is.”

This time, I was the one to shrug. But not in Lucas’s grumpy way. “I dunno,” I said. “But I’ll learn how to make it. That’s the point!”

“These ingredients sound expensive.”

“We can be creative and do substitutes,” I said. “Like when we don’t have all the ingredients for our Bake It to Make It! challenges.”

Mr. Stevens nodded, impressed. He rubbed his leg and made a face as if it hurt.

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