chapter thirty-three: flying ovens

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."

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Chef Romano towered over a boiling pot of potatoes, unflinching against the sweltering steam coming from the surface.

"This won't do," she growled.

Kelsey stood next to her, frowning down at the stove. It had been acting up over the past few days, and everything that was put on the stove was burned.

They realized that the low-heat setting was broken.

The knob was turned to the number one setting, yet the pot of potatoes was almost boiling over.

Kelsey bit back an "I told you so". She'd been blamed for burning lunch every day and had to face the wrath of Chef Romano.

"I'll go place an order for a new one," Kelsey said.

"The sooner the better," Chef Romano agreed.

Kelsey retreated to the back room and picked up the phone, dialing the number to a local appliance store.

When she inquired about the type of stove she needed, the salesman told her that they happened to have it in stock already and that she could come pick it up whenever she wanted.

Kelsey hung up and peered around the corner. "Good news!"

"There better be," Chef Romano replied.

"I'm going to go pick one up right now."

"Hurry up, then!"

Kelsey drove down to the appliance store and had a man come out and load the new stove into her trunk. It was too big to fit, so Kelsey had to strap it down.

She was checking her clumsy knots when a voice startled her.

"Miss Harris? Miss Harris, can we have a word?"

Kelsey turned around and saw a blonde woman with a notepad standing behind her. A man holding a fancy camera stood next to her.

"Excuse me?" Kelsey asked, blinking when the flash of the camera went off. "What is this?"

"Is it true that you'll be accompanying Ethan Glenn to the premiere of "A Summer in Paris" next week?"

"I..." Kelsey was stopped when another blinding flash went off.

"Just give us a few details!" the woman pleaded, inching closer.

"I don't know if I can—"

"Did he ask you to come before or after you started dating?"

"Please—"

"Just a few sentences!"

"I have to go," Kelsey yelped.

She skirted around her car and got into the driver's seat. For a moment she thought she was safe until the woman knocked on her window. "Miss Harris, just one more—"

Kelsey stepped on the gas and pulled forward, turning the corner a little too sharply.

Her car jerked unexpectedly as the stove toppled out of the trunk and tumbled across the pavement.

Kelsey didn't stop.

She kept driving around the block until she was sure that no one was following her and then continued on to the movie set.

Her heart never stopped pounding and her face was almost as warm as their old stove.

It took her a long time to process what had happened.

She didn't know if she was more afraid of the reporters that had crowded her or the fact that she'd just flung an oven across the country.

Chef Romano wasn't going to be happy.

Should she have answered the reporter's questions? Was it going to show up on Buzzfeed that she was a horribly rude monster?

She'd seen famous people avoiding the cameras and ducking their heads as people shouted questions at them. It was normal, right?

But Kelsey wasn't famous.

What were the rules? What were the standards? What was she supposed to have said?

A new kind of dread filled her as she entered into the kitchen again.

Chef Romano glanced up and said, "Ernest, go get the stove!"

Kelsey held her hand out to stop the other chef from going outside.

"Um, that won't be necessary," she said quietly.

Chef Romano scowled. "Why not?"

Kelsey opened her mouth to explain when the door behind her swung open and a man from the appliance store appeared.

"Hey, we found a stove in our parking lot—cashier said this was who the bill was addressed to."

Kelsey spun around. "Don't worry about it."

"I got it in my truck, but I gotta say it's been damaged. Your warranty doesn't cover that."

"What?!" Chef Romano bellowed, making her way towards Kelsey like a bull in a chute.

"What did you do?" she spat, whirling towards the appliance man. "Go get me a replacement!"

"That'll cost you—"

"I need it here in thirty minutes," Chef Romano interrupted.

Once the man was gone, the kitchen was silent for a few moments before everyone began turning towards their work and pretending like they hadn't noticed.

"Explain." Chef Romano crossed her arms and set her brow.

"You know this crazy L.A. traffic," Kelsey laughed. If Chef Romano knew the real reason she'd wrecked the oven, she'd be in even more trouble.

Chef Romano frowned. "I know you're lying," she said.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Kelsey sighed.

Chef Romano lifted an eyebrow. "Get back to work."

Kelsey breathed a sigh of relief and kept her head down as she grabbed a handful of dirty dishes and began washing them.

~~~~~~

"Well would you look at that," Kelsey murmured to herself, standing back and beholding her work.

She'd made what she had named the "mile-high parfait". She was feeling miserable after her day and decided to get creative. She found the tallest glass she could find (which she was suspicious was a vase) and crumbled up leftover cake to put on the bottom.

She whipped up some cream and made a quick raspberry jam that she layered with the cake.

It stood about three feel tall, though the glass was slender.

Kelsey was looking for a spoon when the front door swung open.

She jerked her head up and smiled. "Can you just smell when I'm cooking something, or...?"

Ethan shrugged with a guilty expression. "I dunno. I just happened by the set and saw that the light was on."

"You haven't been to the kitchen in weeks!" Kelsey scolded, grabbing a second spoon and placing it on the table.

Ethan raised an eyebrow and examined the parfait. "You were gonna eat that all by yourself?"

"Is that a challenge?"

Ethan laughed and picked up his spoon.

Kelsey watched him with a fond smile. She missed these late nights with him.

Ethan popped a spoonful into his mouth. "How was your day?"

Kelsey bit her lip and stared down at the parfait. "I'd much rather talk about your day."

"That bad, huh?"

Kelsey shook her head. "It was fine."

"Oh...okay," Ethan said. "My day was alright. There's a lot of hype about the premiere coming up; I had two interviews today."

Kelsey gulped and stirred her spoon around in the whipped cream. "Yeah, I'm sure. Are there, uh, a lot more paparazzi around? You know, with the movie coming out?"

Ethan nodded. "Oh yeah. Whenever there's a premiere going on, it's all about publicity."

Kelsey chewed a mouthful of raspberries and cake meditatively. "What do you do when they start asking you questions?"

Ethan shook his head. "I never answer questions from the paparazzi. They're just looking for a good story to twist around for the tabloids."

Kelsey breathed a sigh. So she had done the right thing, for once.

Ethan looked up at her with a timid smile. "Are you looking forward to the premiere?"

"I mean...yes? Kind of?" Kelsey glanced at her hands. "I'm really scared."

Ethan moved closer and kissed the tip of her nose. "You're going to be amazing, don't worry."

~~~~~~~

"Ugh, I haven't been to one of these in years," Becca muttered as she and Kelsey entered the food court.

"Oh come on," Kelsey sighed. "You're such a snob."

"And I'd like to keep it that way." Becca pulled her forest green fedora down lower on her face.

For the first time since Kelsey had known her, Becca was wearing neutral colors that actually covered up most of her skin—jeans, a baggy jacket, tennis shoes, and a scarf.

"No one will recognize me," Becca had said when Kelsey came to pick her up.

As much as she hated to admit it, Kelsey was excited to see her dress. She just hated the thought of what she was going to have to do while she was wearing it.

They made their way into a department store and Kelsey crept up to the service desk, her heart fluttering. "Hi, I'm here to pick up a dress?"

"Of course," the employee said, and reached down beneath the desk to reveal a large box. "You have three days to return it if the measurements don't fit to your liking."

"You mean if they don't measure up?" Kelsey asked with a laugh.

"Kelsey," Becca groaned.

The employee gave a polite smile.

"Okay," Kelsey sighed, taking the box and leaving as quickly as possible.

They drove back to Becca's house, where Kelsey locked herself in the bathroom and stared at the box as if it were a caged animal.

She was surprised at how much nerve it took to open it, but once she did, she was in love.

The shimmery material was laid out beautifully, and when Kelsey picked it up, the tiny silk flowers cascaded to the ground.

She tried it on to find that it fit perfectly.

She turned towards the mirror, holding her breath.

She smiled and ran her fingertips along the skirt.

It was beautiful.

Becca banged on the door. "Hurry up! I wanna see!"

Kelsey unlocked the door and backed up, an awkward smile on her face. "Ta-da!"

Becca's hand flew up to her mouth and she squealed. "It's amazing!! You're gonna slay, queen!"

Kelsey looked down at the dress. "Are you sure it's not too—"

"Don't. Just don't. It's like an angel had a baby with a flower garden."

"Is that good?"

"Girl, it's perfect! You're going to kill it at that premiere."

Kelsey glanced at the mirror again, feeling another wave of butterflies knot her stomach. "I just hope it doesn't kill me."

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Hey everyone!

~Do you think Kelsey will ever get used to the life that comes along with dating a movie star?

~How do you predict that the premiere is going to go?

~General thoughts?

Thank you all so much for reading! {Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!}