Lea and Landon came back outside while holding a tray filled with sherbet glasses of desserts. Though Lea flashed a smile, trying to hide her nervousness, their friends however, noticed that her hands were shaking a little.
"Relax, they would surely like it," Landon tried to calm her as they walked towards them.
"I can't help it. I can't stop shaking," she nervously whispered.
When they finally got to their table, "What took you so long? Is my kitchen not enough for you?" Ricky sarcastically asked, knowing that the MTL restaurant has one of the largest and state-of-the-art kitchens in Myrtle Beach.
Before either Landon or Lea could answer as they placed the trays on the table, "We hope she was of help to you." Julie glanced at Lea.
When Landon noticed that Lea's friends were suppressing their laughter, he smiled at them, grabbed one of the desserts and offered it to them. "Sorry for the wait. Here you go. Why don't you taste it and see for yourself before the sherbet melts."
Lea was silently watching them as they passed on the desserts she had made. Mavis was the first to take a bite. "It's yummy!" he innocently expressed.
"Berries, huh?" Alfonso said as the rest took some as well.
They were all delighted by what they have tasted especially the friends of Lea.
"The sweetness of the sherbet blended well with the berries," Maggie noticed.
"It's always a pleasure to taste something done by a chef." Julie looked at Lea. "We hope you learned a thing or two from the experience."
Lea smiled. She was still nervous on what her friends would think about the dessert she just made. She believed that she was successful with the guidance of Landon but she couldn't help not to worry.
"Actually, Lea here..." Landon glanced at Lea. "...did everything." He motioned toward the desserts they were enjoying. "I just simply gave her instructions and watched her do it."
As soon as Landon said it, Julie felt ashamed of her remark to Lea. She heard the sincerity in his tone and knew he meant what he'd said.
"Oh my God!" Julie shockingly said. "Is that true, Lea?"
Lea nodded wryly.
"Oh my God!" she said again, quizzically stared at Lea, couldn't believe what was happening. "Did you really do this?"
Lea felt proud and at the same time shrinking. "Yes."
"Congratulations then on your first successful dessert," Shira joyously said.
While Lea's friends were shock; Abby, Enrico, Alfonso and Ricky, however, expected it. Having known Landon for ages, his friends weren't surprised by what he did. Landon has been known for teaching others some dishes by giving them the freedom to do things first hand. It became his policy to only intervene if worst comes to worst. This has always been his teaching method ever since becoming a famous chef. He had done it a lot of times. Most of them were events like fundraising shows by the Sea Heaven.
"You're not anymore queen of microwave but princess of desserts," Ryan branded her.
"Why princess?" Shira curiously asked.
"Because I'm still the queen of desserts." Ryan humorously smiled.
They laughed knowing that he's just joking about it. Ryan has a girlfriend waiting for him back in Los Angeles. They have been together for four years. They have actually met when he was still a freshman and she was a sophomore at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Both were taking up the same accounting class back then. It was unfortunate though that she couldn't join them since her work as an accountant to a firm has kept her busy.
Ricky took another bite and was thinking. "There's another thing you added here that combined the taste of the berries, the sherbets and the yogurt." He tried to analyze it but could comprehend the exact ingredient that they added.
Landon laughed and gave them a playful nudge. "Lea sprinkled some of her stardust," he said, trying to divert them from knowing the ingredient.
"It's actually good. Well done," Abby complimented.
"Why didn't you teach me this dessert before?" Enrico jokingly complained at Landon.
"Well, you haven't asked for a dessert recipe before. You have always asked about main course dishes," Landon smilingly reasoned out.
"It's your fault then," Abby blamed Enrico while putting her game face on.
Abby laughed, as did Enrico and the rest.
With his left hand, Enrico scratched the back of his head and sat a little straighter in his seat. "It's because my date usually doesn't last until the dessert," he honestly replied.
"That's a good point there." Ryan glanced at Sam and Andy. "I think we also need to take that class, don't we, guys?"
Enrico smiled. "You're always welcome to join--"
"Hey now! You're not the teacher here," Landon said, cutting him of.
Enrico has always been eager to learn new things especially those that arose his curiosity. Cooking was among them. He had also asked a thing or two from Abby regarding event planning and some tips from Ricky and Alfonso as a shop owner. As an artist, he's the type of a person who goes with the flow of the river, grabbing all the things that he believed to be useful to him at the present or in the near future.
Julie stared at Sam, "I don't think you need. You already have me."
Sam raised his both hand to show his innocence and the rest of them laughed.
"I know now." Using his dessert spoon, Alfonso pointed at Landon and Lea. "You added a bit of lemon sauce to balance the taste. Am I right?"
Lea smilingly nodded as Alfonso guessed correctly the ingredient Landon instructed her to mix with the yogurt.
"Nothing really escapes from your golden palette," Landon shrugged while Julie and others were amazed.
"It's not anymore golden if he couldn't guess it," Enrico tried to crack a joke but nobody laughed, leaving him hanging.
"Are you okay?" Abby mockingly asked while everyone laughed at him for failing to deliver a good punch line.
It was nothing new for Landon and his friends. Enrico has always been ridiculed for, most of the time, failing to tickle their bones. It's not that his punch lines weren't good enough. It's just that his ways of delivering them weren't that effective. Yet, he never gives up on his desire that one day; they would laugh at his jokes.
As they were enjoying the dessert and the chat, they suddenly heard a phone ringing. It was from Landon's phone. Many of them wondered on who could have been calling him at such a time as he pulled it out from his pocket and to a peak to know who was calling. "Excuse me for a while; I have to take this call." He stood up, started walking toward the beach and answered the call.
Those who remained at the open deck were in silence and still wondering who could have called him.
To give them peace of mind, Abby cleared her throat. "Probably, it's Sophie," she said, answering the question painted on their faces.
"Hasn't he finished it yet?" Alfonso asked Abby.
"Have you forgotten what happened to him? Of course not yet."
"Is something wrong?" Julie curiously asked.
"Sophie's my Dad's agent," Mavis innocently interrupted.
Abby showed a smile. "Oh, it's nothing. Well, it's just that Landon hasn't completed the cookbook he was working on."
"You see. Aside from owning a restaurant, we, chefs, also wanted to leave a legacy behind. That would be a published cookbook for families to enjoy by recreating some of our dishes," Alfonso slowly explained.
"So have you already published yours?" Shira glanced at Alfonso and Ricky.
"Alfonso and I have already published ours years back but..." Ricky turned his attention from them to Landon who was still on the phone, walking along the sand. "...Landon hasn't. He was actually working on it after several years of courtship from a publishing company in New York. But a year ago, an unfortunate thing happened in their life." He glanced at Mavis who was busy finishing his dessert.
"Theresa, his wife and mother of Mavis, had been hospitalized due to the worsening of her condition. And just a month ago, she passed away," Enrico sadly added.
The vibrant atmosphere, which was filled with smiles and laughter, suddenly became gloomy and sorrowful. Most of them were holding their tears back. It wasn't just a sympathetic tear but an emphatic one. Lea and the others already knew that Mavis' mother had already died since Shira had researched on Landon. However, knowing the full detail has not only touched their hearts but also felt a double edge sword piercing in their hearts.
Lea and her friends just nodded, beginning to have a full grasp just how difficult all this must have been to Landon.
After a few minutes of silence, Landon returned and noticed that they're quieter than before he answered the call. He felt a sorrowful aura bursting out from them. "What's wrong guys?"
Alfonso smiled at him. "Oh, it's nothing. We're just absorbed by the serenade of the silent night."
Landon returned to his chair without asking about it further even though he knew from the way Alfonso answered his question that they're hiding something from him. He could tell that something happened which he was gone talking on the phone.
Enrico tapped Landon on his shoulder. "So, who was that? Was it Sophie again?" He forced a smile as he wanted to divert his attention.
Landon nodded. "Yeah, as always."
"Is she still obsessed on you publishing a cookbook?" Abby asked.
"She's being pressured by the company for me to finish it."
"So, is your book ready to be published yet?" Ricky turned his attention to Lea and her friends. "You see. Many have been waiting for that book of books of his. It's no wonder that it would be a hit in the market," he narrated.
"Don't believe a word that he said." Landon motioned at Ricky."Actually his book, no, wait, scratched that." He patted Alfonso's back since his seat was adjacent to him. "This guy here and Ricky over there have successfully published their own cookbooks. Their cookbooks are being sold at bookstores like a hotcake in the morning."
"He's exaggerating!" Alfonso intervened. "It's the other way around. No one's buying them."
"We're sure they're good books." Maggie expressed.
"With the dishes you have prepared tonight, it's no doubt that they contained many more wonderful dishes," Sam added.
To divert their attention, Ricky blurted out, "How ironic? The great chef Bolton, an international renowned and multi-awarded chef hasn't published yet not a single cookbook."
Landon just smiled at him. Lately, he was actually leaning to not publishing it anymore since he didn't see the value of having one. His legacy has already been secured. He has already then hotel to leave behind and his name has already been printed in the long lists of competitions he had previously won. He only agreed on publishing one before because Theresa pressured him to do it. But since she wasn't around anyone, he thought that there's no point of having one. She wouldn't be able to see it anymore. He would rather concentrate on the hotel where Theresa's legacy could be seen in all the corners of the hotel.
"Anyway." Ricky paused and looked at Landon before going on "Is it not tomorrow is the annual South Carolina Music Festival? Aren't one of the sponsors again?"
"The Palace, yes. But not me."
"You should go and join the festivity tomorrow," Enrico suggested to Lea and the others.
"I'm sure you would love it," Abby added.
"We would actually be going to the music festival tomorrow." Lea glanced at Julie and the rest. "It's part of the reasons why we're here in Myrtle."
"That would be perfect then." Abby smiled at them. "Why don't we meet up again tomorrow?" She glanced at Landon who was quiet in his thoughts. "I'm sure Landon would be kind enough to let you enjoy some VIP access and taste his dishes. Isn't that right?"
"Oh, just like the old time. Listening to great music. Helping out in your kitchen. Having some fun," Enrico reminisced. "Let's do it again!"
In the past festivals, Landon's friends have always enjoyed the VIP access at the music festival since MTL Palace has always been sponsoring the event. However, there's a catch. They have to help out in the kitchen since the kitchen staff of MTL would be shorthanded. It was beneficial to both parties. The MTL would have a day two other great chefs in the person of Alfonso and Ricky representing them and in exchange, Landon's friends could enjoy the event with VIP access after the dinner.
It wasn't really about the VIP access though. It was all about helping a friend. Landon had numerous times done many good deeds to them. He had helped them in ways they could never forget. Giving him a hand, at least, on such event was their way of showing their appreciation to him for the help he had done them.
"And I can be with Lea while the rest of you cook." Mavis looked and smiled at Lea as he has just finished with his dessert.
Mavis used to be with Theresa as the rest were busy in preparing a meal for the performers. Now that Theresa's gone, it's one of the concerns why Landon was inclined not to go to the event since no one would watch over Mavis.
"I would love that," Lea said sincerely and smiled at Mavis.
Landon just showed a little beam. He'd been thinking lately of not going to this year's music festival since he hasn't find yet his mojo for cooking. He probably thought that it would be the best interest of the Palace if Chef Roselle would lead the preparation. They would be better of without him in charge. Besides, he has confidence with the kitchen staff since they're already exposed to such big events, which made him think that they can manage without him.
Of course, having Landon leading the preparation would make the whole event a little more interesting only because he has a name to back up the kitchen from the artists and committee executives of the music festival.