Louie Morelli's Mistress by Patricia Bellomo

Author:Patricia Bellomo [Bellomo, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780984630547
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2013-02-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Victor could have been a five star chef. Not only was he an excellent cook, he presented his food beautifully, starting with a simple cucumber and tomato salad. Crusty, Italian bread was sliced and passed around, and then Victor served penne pasta with the meat sauce. It was a delicious sauce, not too heavy or spicy, with just a hint of sweetness. “I was going to make the marinara, but Uncle Jimmy likes the meat sauce,” explained Victor.

“I freeze it,” said Jim Munro, who sat to Robert’s right at the round table. “Since the wife passed, I don’t cook much. I have to rely on handouts for a home-cooked meal, or wait for my nephew to visit.”

Victor served the pasta on salad plates, as a prelude to the main course, but Robert went for seconds. Anthony, seated to his left, made sure his wine was replenished often. The chicken, breasts and thighs, had been roasted in a casserole dish with sweet peppers, Vidalias, and a sprinkling of parmesan in light wine sauce. “Nobody serves chicken on the bone anymore,” explained Victor. “None of the restaurants, and it’s a shame, because once you take meat off the bone, you lose the taste.”

Victor’s chicken certainly had taste, and Robert could only nod and mumble, “It’s delicious,” between bites. There was breaded eggplant, lightly fried, as a side dish. They all ate, even the kids, silent and chewing, Roxy with her own plate on the floor. The conversation at the table was scant, confined to food and family matters: Anthony’s wife and young daughter at some kind of ballet thing, Louie’s youngest son flunking all his classes at Florida Atlantic University, his oldest son’s wife pregnant with Louie’s first grandchild, and the daughter, Stella, planning a half-million dollar wedding at a private club in Boca Raton.

Robert said that he too, had been planning a wedding. “In fact, tonight was supposed to be the rehearsal dinner,” he told them.

“What happened?” asked Anthony.

“She broke it off a few weeks ago,” he said.

Nobody asked why, and catching the flicker of amusement in Morelli’s eye, Robert assumed they all knew. He was glad it was Anthony sitting next to him; Louie Morelli, for all his pleasantness, intimidated him. Toward the end of the meal Anthony’s boys got restless and started squabbling, and he sent them from the table. They went out the sliding door with Roxy, who was reluctant to leave the kitchen and had to be coaxed. Robert could hear them whooping and hollering in the yard, Roxy barking excitedly.

It was dusk, the light shifting beyond the windows going gray. Victor, stacking dishes on the counter, said, “Coffee will be ready in a minute.”

Robert was anxious to go, ready to decline coffee, but Jim Munro said, “Victor will be insulted if you leave before dessert.”

So he stayed. He felt a bit of an outsider as Morelli and Anthony retired to the family room, and Jim Munro helped Victor clear the table. He visited the half-bath and then stepped out the side door to catch a breath of fresh air.

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