new restaurant, there are always things that can be improved.”
“You must have spent some time in Japan,” I said. “You don’t see shabu-shabu on a menu very often. Or puffer.”
“We won’t have that on the menu regularly, but our chef insisted that we carry it for the opening and my wife agreed,” he said with a friendly smile. He patted her on the back. “She’s the Japanese expert. I would have been fine with fried fish and steamed shrimp, but she convinced me that our town needed something different.”
“I thought Key West could use something a littlemore challenging,” Olivia said. “We’ve got plenty of seafood restaurants on the island already.”
He waved his arm at the bustling dining room. “I believe she was right. Again. Although I see you’ve chosen some of my favorites, too.” They moved aside so the waiter could deliver our main courses, including the landlubber dishes I’d ordered.
“Your waiter mentioned that you not only run the restaurant, but you catch the fish as well?” Ray asked.
Edwin smiled. “Unfortunately we’re getting too busy to spend as much time on the water as we’d like. We’ll leave you to enjoy your meal.” He hesitated. “I couldn’t help overhearing—another murder is a real shame for this island. That kind of publicity hurts all of our businesses. So I can only hope the police wrap this up soon.”
“Me, too,” I said, “me, too.”
Once the Mastins had moved on to the next table, I asked Palamina, “How did your meeting with Commissioner Greenleigh go?”
She made a face. “I really got nothing of substance. It was like a puff piece in a magazine, only in person.”
I nodded, trying to look sympathetic. But feeling a tiny bit of pleasure that she had run into the buzz saw that could be Key West politics.
We powered through most of the food, especially enjoying the process of cooking the thin slices of beef in a pot of simmering broth. When Wally insisted that his lips started tingling after tasting the tiniest bite of puffer, none of the rest of us tried it. We ordered one bean cake just to say we’d sampled dessert; then I collected the check.
We saw Palamina off, and the three of us returned to Houseboat Row. “Come in for cake?” I asked Ray.
“I’d better get going. But I’d love to take a piece to go for Connie.”
I rushed into our galley, cut two pieces of raspberry cake, wrapped them in foil, and sent him off. “Are you hungry now?” I asked Wally. “Or should we wait on dessert?”
He patted his stomach. “Let’s wait a bit.” He sat on the couch and tapped the seat beside him. All three of the cats leaped up and nuzzled his hand.
“Scram, you guys.” I scraped them off the upholstery, then sat, and he circled his arms around me and leaned in for a long kiss, which turned into another, and another.
“I’ve been looking forward to that,” he said with a smile. “Missing you.” He brushed a curl away from my forehead, leaving me tingling from my head to my toes. After a few more kisses, the conversation with Palamina, and Lorenzo’s dilemma, and my mother’s unhappiness, all floated away. I even began to forget that I had a senior citizen roommate.
The screen door banged and Miss Gloria burst into the living room. We leaped apart, straightening our clothing and our hair. I was sure my cheeks were flaming red; I felt like a teenager caught necking with a boy in the living room by my parents.
When I had collected myself, I looked up and noticed the contraption on Miss G’s head that had replaced her bobbing hearts. A black band circled the crown and her forehead, and a webbing of straps crisscrossed her white hair to hold the band in place.Attached to all that was something that looked like a small pair of binoculars.
“Good gravy, what are you wearing?” I asked.
At the same time Wally said, “What in the world are you doing in those glasses? You look like a sea creature.”
“Night vision
“You must have spent some time in Japan,” I said. “You don’t see shabu-shabu on a menu very often. Or puffer.”
“We won’t have that on the menu regularly, but our chef insisted that we carry it for the opening and my wife agreed,” he said with a friendly smile. He patted her on the back. “She’s the Japanese expert. I would have been fine with fried fish and steamed shrimp, but she convinced me that our town needed something different.”
“I thought Key West could use something a littlemore challenging,” Olivia said. “We’ve got plenty of seafood restaurants on the island already.”
He waved his arm at the bustling dining room. “I believe she was right. Again. Although I see you’ve chosen some of my favorites, too.” They moved aside so the waiter could deliver our main courses, including the landlubber dishes I’d ordered.
“Your waiter mentioned that you not only run the restaurant, but you catch the fish as well?” Ray asked.
Edwin smiled. “Unfortunately we’re getting too busy to spend as much time on the water as we’d like. We’ll leave you to enjoy your meal.” He hesitated. “I couldn’t help overhearing—another murder is a real shame for this island. That kind of publicity hurts all of our businesses. So I can only hope the police wrap this up soon.”
“Me, too,” I said, “me, too.”
Once the Mastins had moved on to the next table, I asked Palamina, “How did your meeting with Commissioner Greenleigh go?”
She made a face. “I really got nothing of substance. It was like a puff piece in a magazine, only in person.”
I nodded, trying to look sympathetic. But feeling a tiny bit of pleasure that she had run into the buzz saw that could be Key West politics.
We powered through most of the food, especially enjoying the process of cooking the thin slices of beef in a pot of simmering broth. When Wally insisted that his lips started tingling after tasting the tiniest bite of puffer, none of the rest of us tried it. We ordered one bean cake just to say we’d sampled dessert; then I collected the check.
We saw Palamina off, and the three of us returned to Houseboat Row. “Come in for cake?” I asked Ray.
“I’d better get going. But I’d love to take a piece to go for Connie.”
I rushed into our galley, cut two pieces of raspberry cake, wrapped them in foil, and sent him off. “Are you hungry now?” I asked Wally. “Or should we wait on dessert?”
He patted his stomach. “Let’s wait a bit.” He sat on the couch and tapped the seat beside him. All three of the cats leaped up and nuzzled his hand.
“Scram, you guys.” I scraped them off the upholstery, then sat, and he circled his arms around me and leaned in for a long kiss, which turned into another, and another.
“I’ve been looking forward to that,” he said with a smile. “Missing you.” He brushed a curl away from my forehead, leaving me tingling from my head to my toes. After a few more kisses, the conversation with Palamina, and Lorenzo’s dilemma, and my mother’s unhappiness, all floated away. I even began to forget that I had a senior citizen roommate.
The screen door banged and Miss Gloria burst into the living room. We leaped apart, straightening our clothing and our hair. I was sure my cheeks were flaming red; I felt like a teenager caught necking with a boy in the living room by my parents.
When I had collected myself, I looked up and noticed the contraption on Miss G’s head that had replaced her bobbing hearts. A black band circled the crown and her forehead, and a webbing of straps crisscrossed her white hair to hold the band in place.Attached to all that was something that looked like a small pair of binoculars.
“Good gravy, what are you wearing?” I asked.
At the same time Wally said, “What in the world are you doing in those glasses? You look like a sea creature.”
“Night vision
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