Simmer Down

seven thousand bracelets—an outfit she must have thought would help her fit in. Her adorned arms kept making a piercing, clinking sound every time she moved. She might as well have thrown some hideous, big poncho over the whole ensemble to complete the look. I couldn’t resist peeking down to see that she had even put on simple brown flats instead of her usual Birkenstocks. Although her attempt at upping her fashion sense had failed, I still felt touched by it and hoped that she didn’t notice the difference in our attire. I had on my most recent purchases from Banana Republic, a shiny brown Empire tank under a yummy off-white crocheted sweater, and dark suede jean-cut pants. I wanted to look good for this evening but knew that I needed to look somewhat conservative since I was, after all, working at the Organization’s sexual harassment awareness booth, and any sort of provocative clothing might send an odd message.
    When Josh and I reached the table, I made the mistake of putting down a stainless steel tray of beef tenderloin in front of Naomi. Glancing at the meat, she visibly tried to avoid gagging. I’d forgotten that she was a vegan. Before she could open her mouth to say anything about cruelty to cows, I turned to Eliot. Lord, did he have big bug eyes!
    “Hi, I’m Chloe Carter. I’m Naomi’s social work intern. And this is Josh Driscoll, the executive chef at Simmer, which is opening a few doors down from you on New Year’s Eve.” Josh placed a massive food processor next to the tray of dead cow, and we all shook hands.
    Eliot smiled. “I can’t wait for people to start arriving. This is fantastic that I get to help promote an organization like Naomi and Chloe’s, and such a great restaurant with a fine chef such as yourself, Josh. Please let me know if you need anything at all. Consider this your home for the night. Can I get you anything to drink?”
    “Nothing right now, thank you,” I answered. Josh and Naomi shook their heads in agreement.
    “I need to get moving if I’m going to get food out on time.” Josh clapped his hands together, eager to start working.
    “Okay, then. You can set up here.” Eliot gestured to a couple of tables next to the one with the tablecloth. “Josh, I thought you might need two tables for Simmer, and I put you right here next to Naomi and Chloe. There’s a large coat-room behind us, here, and a phone in there. Or feel free to use my office if you need to.” In contrast to the front of the gallery, this area retained its interior walls. Eliot pointed to a room right off a hallway that led to a set of stairs illuminated by an exit sign. “And there are outlets here, too, if you need them. I see you’ve got a big food processor there, huh?” Eliot said, eyeing the industrial-sized piece of equipment, which Josh had put on Naomi’s table. The heavy-duty machine, all steel and black and shiny aluminum, looked like a monstrous version of a Cuisinart.
    “This is what we call a Robocoupe,” Josh said. “Thanks to Gavin, I’ve got all new top-of-the-line equipment. And, yeah, I need to hook this up for the dressing. Okay, I’m going to go move the rest of the stuff from the car and find a parking spot, if possible.”
    “Please, park in the alley behind us. I own six spaces back there. Naomi’s parked there. You’ll never find a legal spot at this time.”
    “You know what? I’ll take you up on that offer. And I’ll just unload from there and come up these back steps if that’s okay with you?”
    “Absolutely,” Eliot said.
    Josh took off, and Eliot went to open the rear door. With Naomi’s help, I covered Josh’s two tables with the white tablecloths that Eliot had thoughtfully provided. Then, with considerable effort, I shifted the heavy Robocoupe to Josh’s space. After that, Naomi and I worked on setting up the harassment table. Before long, Eliot and Josh returned, each carrying armfuls of culinary supplies, and then Eliot left to go to the front of the gallery to rearrange the bottles and glasses. I looked around the room as I worked, admiring the large canvases on the walls. The paintings here were much more appealing than those at the front, abstract works with bold colors streaked throughout.
    Naomi leaned in and whispered to me as we spread out flyers. “Eliot has been extremely welcoming to us. And did you see how he helped out Josh just now? Not all gallery owners would do something like that.”
    “He seems very nice. And has