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Amanda and Sidney were Kayla’s best friends. The three women had all lived together when Kayla moved here and now they were all married to Bonds.
“Maybe it’s love,” Chelsea said, laughing.
“I don’t think your voice ever changes like that when you talk about Roark,” Emma said.
“Roark had to wear me down,” Chelsea said with a smirk. “I’m not as easy as Kayla and Grace.”
There was a lot of laughter to that statement. No one in this room thought she was easy.
And two hours later when they were sitting around waiting for the first episode to start, Grace turned to the room and said, “Listen, don’t hold anything against me and don’t pick on me either. I did the best I could, but I’ve got no idea what they are going to air.”
The first episode was going to be ninety minutes long while they spent some time showcasing the venues that each chef worked at. She found it nice that everyone was willing to have a late night knowing they most likely had to work tomorrow. Even the kids were lying on the couch calmly now. They’d get to bed late.
“We are all proud of you,” her father said. “I’m sure you did wonderfully.”
“It’s starting,” Emma said. “This is so exciting.”
Grace wasn’t so sure she felt that but would let it go.
She watched the same as everyone else when they showed the contestants and then she was last.
The Retreat was first shown up above by several shots from the helicopter. Production had done a wonderful job showcasing all the venues. No one would complain about that.
It started with her climbing out of the helicopter and Lincoln being in the shot but no comments on who he was or why she was there. Talk about embarrassing. As if she arrived at work that way every day!
Then there was a thirty-second reel of her in the kitchen cooking the plate they asked of her, then showing it by her face as she’d said what she felt was a forced comment they made her say about why she loved her job.
She wouldn’t say she loved it because it was family and carried so much pride for her to do her best. She didn’t want that aired so she came up with something else.
At the first commercial, Hunter said, “Lucky you getting a lift to work from your boyfriend daily.”
“That was overkill,” she said. “Why would they do that?”
“I’m pretty sure no one is thinking what we are,” her mother said. “They also got you saying you loved living on the island. You wouldn’t need an airlift to work if you lived on the island.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said. Grace knew she was reading more into this.
After an hour, they were going to move to the judging after the commercial. Her grandfather said, “So far, so good. They aren’t focusing on more than one person at a time but spreading the viewing around.”
“They kind of are,” she said. She noticed the camera was more on the two people who’d end up on the bottom along with the two people who’d be on top.
She wasn’t either of those four on the first day and was fine riding the middle.
She wasn’t going to say that to the group either. They’d figure it out themselves. Most reality shows did that.
“Your dish looked great,” Hunter said. “Are you going to use some of them on the menu? That might be asked.”
“We’ll see,” she said. “I had thought of that too, but some of them I’d tweak or not use. You’ll see when we get further along in the show.”
When the episode was done, she breathed a sigh of relief that it was over.
“You did great,” her father said. “Very professional and relaxed. I thought you might be stiff.”
“Me too,” she said. “I think I was at times, but they do a good job finding the right angles and what to show. Again, not much was on me. Just judging my plates.”
“And you got positive comments on it,” Ashley said. “I think they were nuts saying you needed more seasoning. Your stuff never needs salt.”
She grinned and loved how Ashley stood up for her. “Actually they were right,” she said. “I didn’t have a chance to put a finishing touch of it on at the end. The clock ran out. But I’d stand by that dish every day of the week. I appreciate you all being here for this.”
