French Romance Cooking Class (3 page)

Their duck was shrunken in the pan, the smell of vinegar wafting up.

Chef Louis brought everyone’s potatoes to each table, encouraging people to eat their main course. He stopped at Frannie and David’s table last, sliding their potato blobs onto a serving dish.

“You have an interesting dish here,” Chef Louis commented as he regarded the duck. “At home, do you cook?”

“We kind of wing it,” David told him. “We do the best we can with what we’ve got.”

“I see,” Chef Louis said. “May I help you?”

“Yes!” Frannie said with relief. “We would love that.”

Chef Louis returned to his work station, and brought an armload of ingredients back to Frannie and David’s table. He showed them how to add ingredients to balance flavors and save their duck dish. In five minutes, an appetizing wine aroma floated up from their pan.

“Voilà,” Chef Louis said. “Now you can eat. I think practicing would be good for you. Perhaps you could cook at home together? You could make it a romantic endeavor.”

“I don’t know if we have it in us to be great cooks,” Frannie admitted.

“Pah!” Chef Louis said. “We all cook in our own way, just as we are different in love. Celebrate your own way of doing things.”

He patted Frannie on the shoulder, and went off to another table.

“What do you think?” she asked David. “Should we celebrate our uniqueness?”

“We are good at improvising,” David said. “It really is one of our strengths as a couple.”

“We’re also resilient,” Frannie said. “We’re good at picking ourselves up after mistakes.”

David looked at her for a long moment. “Did I ever tell you that I love you?” he asked.

Frannie blushed, the heat rising to her face. “I love you too,” she said.

They finished off two pieces of duck, declaring everything else inedible.

David fished out his phone and typed in a text message.

“You’re having Brittany order pizza, aren’t you?” Frannie asked.

“Two,” David said. “One cheese and sausage and one with the works.”

“My hero,” Frannie said.