Steamed

chef understood that Josh was eager to have him succeed.
    “Ready for dessert?” Josh asked us.
    “Always,” Adrianna said.
    “Let me go grab Perry. He’s our pastry chef. He’s been downstairs tonight working on some cakes for a party here tomorrow. He’s a little crazy, but he makes the best desserts.”
    “What do you mean by ‘crazy’?” I asked Josh.
    “You’ll see.”
    Josh returned a moment later with a paper-thin guy of about thirty who rushed over to greet us. “Hey, I’m Perry!” he yelled manically. “So desserts, huh? Two ladies and a gent. Let me see what I can come up with!” He dashed off to work on the finale to our meal.
    “See what I mean?” Josh said. “He’s a little wired and off the wall. I try to keep him hidden in the basement when I can.”
    We had cappuccinos and waited for our mysterious desserts to arrive. Fifteen minutes later, Perry returned with three plates. “For lady number one,” he said to Adrianna, “we have the Chocolate Goddess.” Owen frowned as he looked at a giant chocolate tube that ascended from his girlfriend’s plate. “This,” said Perry, “is filled with lemon sponge cake, chocolate ganache, white chocolate mousse, and fresh raspberries.”
    Perry set a plate down in front of me. “And for lady number two, Kahlua crepes with banana pastry cream and Valrhona chocolate.” Two long rolls lay across my plate. Like the Chocolate Goddess, this dessert was distinctly phallic. I couldn’t imagine what Owen was going to have.
    “And finally, for the gent, we have a succulent passion fruit and guava tart with fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!” Perry took off faster than I could say “erotic desserts.”
    Owen scowled at Ade. “I mean, come on! Look at that! It’s a giant chocolate penis shooting up at you. I’m sitting right here next to you. Didn’t he notice me ? With you?” Adrianna and I got the giggles. The gazillion glasses of wine I’d had did nothing to squelch my laughter. “What do you think it means that I have two smaller ones?” I pointed at my plate.
    “I have no idea.” Ade said. “And how about Owen’s succulent fruit tart? A succulent tart ?”
    Josh passed by with an armful of foccacia. I love that stuff: flattish Italian bread saturated with olive oil and seasoned with wonderful herbs. Ordinarily, I’d have been wondering how to manage a taste of it. Tonight, the only armful I had eyes for was Josh. “So,” he asked, glancing at our plates, “what did Perry do for you? Wow, Adrianna. Perry must really like you!”
    My crepes were actually delicious. In some sort of metaphorically group-sex manner, the three of us traded bites. “I don’t know what it means,” Ade said, licking her spoon, “but I love that tart. Call me open-minded.”
    As I emptied my wineglass, Josh appeared behind me and put his arms around me cozily. “Listen, I’m going to be out of here in a little while. Do you want to meet up somewhere?”
    I looked at my friends, who nodded yes. “Definitely,” I told Josh. “Where do you guys want to go?”
    Adrianna mentioned a bar across town, a suggestion that Owen rejected quickly. “No way. If I have to listen to one more idiot play Van Morrison or John Mayer covers again, I’ll puke up this delectable dinner. Either we’re going to be cool and go to a jazz or blues club, or we’re going all out cheesy and heading over to Boylston Street. I’ve got the good suit on, folks, so let’s not waste my look.” He moved his eyebrows up and down dramatically.
    Adrianna and I voted for cheesy bars. Josh said he’d be at our chosen bar in about an hour. “I’ll get everything settled here. The good thing about being the chef is that I don’t have to clean up, so once all the food is out, I’m outta here.” He leaned over and kissed me slowly on the mouth. “I’ll see you soon,” he whispered to me.
    “Thank you so much for dinner, Josh,” I said. “This was by far the best meal I’ve ever had.”
    Owen and Adrianna jumped in with praise and thanks for the night. I asked if Madeline was around so I could say good-bye. “She’s talking to Brian right now. Probably trying to make him feel better. He tries so hard to impress everybody that whenever he screws something up, he feels awful about it.” Josh shrugged. “I’m not worried about him. He just needs to toughen up a little. He’s too sensitive.”
    “Well, please thank her and Brian for us. And, uh, Perry. And I’m sure