New York - The Novel

roared. He said to hell with dinner and his cholesterol, and ate three hot dogs. The boys assuredly ate more, but he didn’t count.
    What a game! The Yankees made seven runs in the sixth inning, and Tino Martinez hit two home runs, to defeat the Red Sox 9 to 2.
    “Well, boys,” he said, “that was a game to remember for the rest of our lives.”

    When they got back to the apartment, they found a scene of activity. The caterers had already arrived.
    “You boys,” said Maggie firmly, “get cleaned up and out of the way.” And it was clear to Gorham that this referred to him as well.
    Lee was sleeping over, because he and Gorham, Jr., were going to Greg Cohen’s bar mitzvah. This would be the bar mitzvah year, and it was normal for the Jewish boys and girls having a bar or bat mitzvah to invite most of their class. Sometimes one went to the religious service as well, especially if it was a close friend, but Gorham, Jr., usually just went to the party later. And that was what the two boys were doing that evening.
    Gorham went straight to the master bedroom, showered and changed into a suit for dinner. He was going to take the boys to the bar mitzvah, spend a few minutes there to say congratulations to the Cohens, and get back to the apartment before the guests arrived. It was a little tight, but he reckoned he could do it.
    By 6:15, he was ready, and Maggie came into the bedroom to get ready herself. But he still had one important duty to perform before taking the boys. He went into the kitchen.
    “Hi, Katie.” He smiled with pleasure, and went to give the caterer a kiss.
    Katie Keller Katerers. She’d asked them what they thought of the name when she started up two years ago. He and Maggie had both told her to go with it.
    Gorham hadn’t really known the Kellers until after his father’s death. Charlie had still had the Theodore Keller photograph collection and, following his instructions, Gorham had gone to see the family to find out what they’d like him to do with it. It hadn’t taken long for them to agree to find a dealer, who had quietly promoted and sold the collection down the years. He and the Kellers split the modest proceeds. They’d kept in touch, so Gorham had actually known Katie Keller her entire life, and he was delighted to do what he could to help someone whose family had such a long connection to his.
    Katie was twenty-five now, though with her blonde hair tightly pulled back, and wearing her chef’s outfit, he reckoned she looked more like eighteen, and adorable. It went without saying that whenever they needed catering, he and Maggie called upon her services.
    Not that they entertained a lot. The occasional party. Once in a while, a sit-down dinner. Bella’s cooking was fine, but not up to a formal dinner party, and they hadn’t anyone to serve really, so like most people they knew, they used caterers for these occasions.
    They’d be ten at dinner tonight, and Katie would produce a four-course meal. She had one full-time employee, Kent, supplemented by two young actors to serve and wash up afterward. Including his own wine, Gorham reckoned the entire evening would cost a little over a thousand dollars, which was less than you’d have to pay for ten people in a fancy restaurant.
    But first he must deal with the wine.
    Gorham didn’t have a large wine cellar, but he knew quite a bit, and was proud of his modest collection. The storage cages down in the building’s basement were about ninety-five degrees, so he kept his wine up at the country house, and for an occasion like this, he’d collect what he wanted from there and bring it down to the apartment, where he had a temperature-controlled unit. After the menu had been chosen last week, he’d selected some bottles of a French Chablis, an excellent Californian Pinot Noir he could trust, and a wonderful dessert wine, made in small quantities by a winery he’d discovered that was owned by a rich dentist in San Francisco.
    He had some nice decanters that had come originally from the oldfamily house in Gramercy Park and he liked to use them. But one had to be careful with Pinot Noir and not decant it too early. Kent had a considerable knowledge of wines himself, so the two of them had an enjoyable five minutes discussing the wines and agreeing on the arrangements for serving them.
    Then he turned to have a few words with Katie.
    On the outside, especially when she was working, Katie seemed such a serious little person,