Natalie:No I can’t call I’m clipping my grandma’s toenails
Clara:I’m bathing my pet lizard
Natalie:Guess you’ll have to handle this one on your own LIKE RIGHT NOW GO DO IT GO GET YOUR MAN
Clara:you are woman hear you roar!
I laugh, shaking my head at this ridiculousness. It’s clear the mama birds have decided this is the time to push their cowardly baby bird out of the nest.
Reese:Y’all are no-good dirty liars but I get the point
Reese:Here goes nothin
My heartbeat is pounding in my ears as I continue through the Friends of Flavor offices. I want to find Benny before he starts his livestream, to tell him how I feel and patch things up so I can at least take that stressor off his plate and then wish him luck for his first time filming alone. I get to the whiteboard at the head of the hallway connecting the kitchens, where the filming schedule is listed each day, and check the time, confirming that Benny’s show should start in exactly two minutes.
I think of him in PK 2, where we spent so many hours goofing around and filming together and falling for each other. I picture him introducing his first show on his own, and I…I can’t help it. I know it will probably hurt to watch, knowing he may be hurting and my not being able to do anything about it yet, but I have to see. To support him. To try to discern anything I can about where his mind’s at on all things Reese Camden.
And if he actually seems totally fine and done with me, maybe it’ll help me move on, too.
I sneak around to the corner of the kitchen, out of Benny’s line of sight. My view is mainly his back, along with Charlie filming and Aiden overseeing it all. Benny’s voice is relaxed, but the line of his shoulders is…stiff. Tense.
Not totally fine and done with me, then? Oh, sweet Norberto.
Returning my focus to what Benny is saying, I realize that he’s not introducing the prep part like he normally would.
“So, today is a little different, for a lot of reasons. As you may notice, my partner in crime, Reese Camden, is not here.”
I flinch at my name being brought up first thing. I can’t help it. I thought I was going to be the blond elephant sitting at the edge of the room. He’s just dragged me right into the middle.
“That’s kinda shitty, to be honest. For all of us. There’s no way I’m gonna be any good without her beside me.”
Wait,what?Aiden’s shocked, slightly horrified expression probably mirrors my own. He’s waving his hands wildly like,What are you doing? This isn’t what we planned.Behind him, some kitchen assistants and Seb have trickled in to watch, and I see Margie weaving through them to stand next to Aiden and Charlie. So many people to witness this bizarre spectacle unfolding.
Benny goes on. “So in her honor, I prepared something special. You’ll have to excuse me if this is a bit unconventional. Or don’t excuse me. Honestly, I don’t give a shit.”
Oh. My. Stars. Whatis he doing? Aiden’s eyes are about topop out of his skull and it feels like mine are doing the same. Clearly Benny knows nothing of my intentions to resolve things with us, nor that I’m staying on at FoF because of the new series. Of course he doesn’t know yet; I barely know what’s going on. Bless his heart, he’s talking like I’ve died. Or rather, like the show killed me off and he’s my disgruntled number one fan.
I see Aiden lunge for the camera, presumably to shut it off less than two minutes into the livestream, but Charlie—Charlie! Quiet, grumbly, couldn’t-care-less-about-anything Charlie!—puts an arm out to stop him. Then Margie—Margie! My solemn boss turned champion of women!—leans over and whispers in Aiden’s ear before laying her hand on his shoulder and pulling him back a couple of steps.
What on God’s green earth is happening?
Meanwhile, Benny has kneeled behind the counter and when he stands back up, there is no Italian food nor any relevant ingredients in sight. Rather, he’s holding an elegant, three-tier cake on a cake stand. He sets it on the counter, and the cake is nearly level with the top of his ball-cap-covered head. It’s flawlessly frosted, white with intermittent swirls of light and dark brown, each layer topped with brown crumbles of…
Reese’s Cups?
Lord. Have.MERCY.
I need to step away. I should if I know what’s good for me. Either that, or run into the kitchen and shut off the camera myself before Benny does something stupid.
But I don’t.
“I made this cake for today from my very favorite candy in the whole entire world, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.”
I feel more than see Katherine approach my side. She murmurs, “So, now might be a good time to tell you that I, uh, let slip to Charlie about our talk yesterday.”
My attention is divided as Benny goes on. “And this cake, my friends, has a lot of meaning to me, and I couldn’t imagine making anything else for my first livestream. Apologies that I didn’t show you the process of making it, but it’s only because I wanted to ensure I’d have the time to walk you through the many facets that make this cake so special. Let’s get started, shall we?”
“Katherine, what did you do?” I hiss.
