Steamed

night, and I didn’t want you to think I was trying to... can I go back to blonde tomorrow?”
    I nodded and hugged her. “You’d better. Now, put on something low-cut, skimpy, and sexy, okay?”
    “Yay! Chloe’s back! This Josh Driscoll must be something special if you’re so relaxed and happy,” she teased. “And I’m ready for a margarita.”
    I blended up our drinks while she changed into a fuchsia tank dress, shook her hair out, and applied more makeup. “We’ve got half an hour before Owen gets here,” she said, “so I say we drink up and discuss your love life a little more.” She leaned in to me and whispered, “Did you shave your legs?”
    Two strong drinks later, Owen picked us up in his beat-up Blazer, which was possibly the ugliest car I’d ever seen, dark brown with yellow stripes on the sides. “Ugly and reliable, just like me!” Owen always said. Please. He was gorgeous. Very Irish looking, Owen had fair skin, dark hair, and bright blue eyes. He and Adrianna actually made a strange-looking couple, since she was always glamorous and style conscious, and he bought most of what he wore at a vintage clothing store in Harvard Square. We jumped into the Blazer, and Owen hit the gas.
    “Owen! What in God’s name are you wearing?” Adrianna yelled.
    “What? You don’t love it?” He grinned devilishly. He’d gone all out for our big night by dressing in a deep orange polyester suit and brown cowboy boots.
    “Apologize to Chloe for this ghastly ensemble. I told you to wear something normal. And preferably something made in this decade.”
    It could have been the margaritas talking, but I had to laugh. As foolish as the outfit was, Owen managed to pull it off. Besides, as atypical as the suit was of Magellan’s clientele, everyone always liked Owen. He was charming and funny and loyal—and could put up with Adrianna’s headstrong, not to say occasionally obnoxious, personality.
    “Owen, I think you look dashing,” I insisted. “And I won’t lose either of you tonight in your bright colors.”
    Adrianna shrieked, “Oh, Jesus. I’m not sitting next to you, Owen. We’ll totally clash!”
    “So, Chloe,” Owen said, cutting off another car, “are you nervous?”
    “Actually, no. I don’t know why,” I answered. Butterflies on amphetamines were flying around in my stomach, but mostly I felt happy at the prospect of seeing Josh again.
    We reached the South End in record time, thanks to Owen’s terrifying driving skills, and parked with the valet outside Magellan. “And I don’t want to see any marks on this baby when I get back.” Owen winked at the attendant. Ade rolled her eyes, glancing at the wreck Owen called a car.
    Suddenly nervous, I said, “Ade, you go in first.”
    “Don’t be a loser.”
    “What if he’s wearing one of those silly tall white hats? I’ll be so embarrassed for him,” I said, panicking.
    “Only dorks wear those, and Josh doesn’t sound like a dork.” She pushed me through the door.
    The restaurant was so full that we had to squeeze through a crowd to get to the hostess, who was apologetically explaining to a couple that there would be an hour-and-a-half wait for a table.
    “Hi,” I said to the hostess. “I’m Chloe, and I think Josh made a reservation for the three of us?” 1
    “Oh, sure. He said you’d be coming in tonight. Nice to meet you all. I’m Margaret. Just follow me back here. Josh has set you up by the kitchen.”
    Déjà vu: I again followed a hostess through a restaurant for a date.
    Magellan was so high toned that I tried not to giggle as Ade in her hot pink dress and Owen in his orange suit followed behind me. We walked past a square bar area and past tables of customers in the center of the room to get to the open kitchen. There was another dining area ahead of us, but the kitchen was clearly the heart of this restaurant. Although Essence had been attractive, with its own open kitchen, I now saw that Magellan was the original and Essence a copy.
    “Oh, look at that rack of lamb,” I heard Owen say. For once, my own eyes weren’t on all the food around me but were scanning the kitchen for my chef.
    Once again, I had an eerie reminder of my visit to Essence: we were seated at a counter that ran the length of the kitchen. But this was a spacious counter covered with rustic-looking stone. As we took our seats in plush bar-height chairs, I felt sure that other customers of Magellan and Essence had noticed the